Reigning WWE United States Champion Trick Williams defeated former World Heavyweight Champion “The Ring General” GUNTHER in a clean finish during a dark match that took place after last Monday night’s episode of RAW concluded. Dave Meltzer speculated that there might be more to GUNTHER’s loss, discussing on Wrestling Observer Radio whether GUNTHER’s recent refusal to go to Saudi Arabia for the Crown Jewel event could be a factor.
As reported by PWMania.com, GUNTHER and Finn Bálor were scheduled to compete at the Crown Jewel event; however, it was rumored that the match did not occur as planned because GUNTHER declined to attend. It was also said that while Bálor was not enthusiastic about going to Riyadh, he would have gone if GUNTHER had agreed.
Meltzer pointed out that GUNTHER’s loss to Trick Williams might be coincidental, noting that in a dark match, it’s common for the babyface to win. He also commented that typically, a wrestler of GUNTHER’s caliber would be protected in such situations, often resulting in a run-in or disqualification rather than a clean loss.
Alvarez added that GUNTHER had never lost a singles dark match until this encounter, and that he had previously lost only one house show match in his entire main roster career. However, he clarified that GUNTHER losing clean to Trick Williams is unusual. Some of Alvarez’s claims were inaccurate, as Cultaholic reported that GUNTHER had lost a street fight to Cody Rhodes at the WWE Road to Survivor Series: WarGames event in Winnipeg, Canada, last month. Additionally, in September, GUNTHER lost an Undisputed WWE Title Match against CM Punk during the WWE Mexico Live Tour. This year, his record in non-televised live events stands at 10 wins and 22 losses.
