WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER will defend his title against Chad Gable on tonight’s post-Payback and Labor Day edition of RAW.
The Gable vs. GUNTHER rematch was supposed to take place at WWE Payback this past Saturday, but it did not take place. At one point, it was reported that WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H did not want to overburden the Premium Live Event cards, so the match was postponed for RAW.
In an update, Fightful Select reports that the match is taking place on RAW because officials wanted to keep the Payback runtime in order while also bringing GUNTHER closer to the Intercontinental Title record held by WWE Hall of Famer The Honky Tonk Man without breaking it. WWE also wanted to emphasize the match more than if it had been held on a PLE.
It was noted that WWE has been very careful in the last year to ensure that many of the PLE show runtimes do not “overstay their welcome,” especially for smaller stadium shows. Many matches that would have previously been on PLE cards have now been moved to RAW or SmackDown.
A WWE source claimed that The Honky Tonk Man was never seriously considered for last week’s RAW in Memphis, or for GUNTHER to chop him.
