Gunther joins WWE SmackDown brand, issues challenge to Cody Rhodes
Gunther is coming for Cody Rhodes.
On Friday’s SmackDown, Gunther was set to discuss his actions after choking out Rhodes last week. Instead, Rhodes came out and said he wanted to face Gunther right then and there. Paul Heyman emerged and said the fight would not be in Jacksonville or even the United States. Rather, it would be in Turin, Italy on May 31, handing Rhodes a contract.
After the two traded some words, Heyman eventually left as Gunther used the distraction to run in through the crowd for the attack, attempting a sleeper. Rhodes managed to avoid it twice, causing Gunther to bail. Rhodes told Gunther that he was easy to find, but hard to beat, with announcers noting that nothing had been confirmed for Italy just yet.
It was also confirmed on Friday that Gunther had joined the SmackDown brand, jumping from Raw.
Gunther began to set his sights last week
Last week’s show had Rhodes announcing he medically cleared after injuring his orbital bone in the aftermath of his WWE title match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42. Rhodes accepted a challenge from Ricky Saints and managed to score the win, only for Gunther to jump him from behind and sink in his sleeper, quickly establishing himself as the next contender.
Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.