Sami Zayn Upsets Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 40 to End Historic IC Title Streak

Sami Zayn shocked Gunther on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 on Saturday to win the Intercontinental Championship and end The Ring General's record reign of over 660 days.

Zayn beat Gunther clean, hitting the ex-champ with a brainbuster off the turnbuckle before finishing off his opponent with successive Helluva Kicks:

The new champion then celebrated with his wife, Khadijah, at ringside.

The Ring General beat Ricochet for the IC title back in June 2022, and he went on to surpass WWE Hall of Famer The Honky Tonk Man's longstanding record for 454 consecutive days as intercontinental champion.

Gunther faced and defeated many of the best challengers Raw had to offer along the way, which necessitated a unique way to determine his WrestleMania opponent.

Raw general manager Adam Pearce decided to give six Superstars from the red brand a chance to become No. 1 contender by putting them in a gauntlet match.

The gauntlet featured a few former IC champions in Zayn, Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura, as well as some championship hopefuls in Chad Gable, JD McDonagh and Bronson Reed.

Zayn beat Reed and Nakamura in the match, which brought it down to a final showdown with Gable, who had made it his stated goal to get another shot at Gunther after the Austrian made his daughter cry by beating him months earlier.

Gable nearly had Zayn beaten on a couple of occasions, but The Underdog from the Underground was able to escape an ankle lock and roll up the leader of the Alpha Academy for the victory.

In the months prior to winning the gauntlet, Zayn was put on the shelf by Drew McIntyre, and he struggled through a losing streak upon returning to action. In an effort to get back on track, Zayn vowed to put himself in championship contention.

Zayn did precisely that by winning several matches in a row, including a gauntlet, putting him in a significant title match on The Grandest Stage of Them All for a second consecutive year.

After he and Kevin Owens beat The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, Zayn thrived at The Showcase of the Immortals again this year, beating Gunther to become a four-time intercontinental champion.

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