It's Been Awhile: Gunther Reaches Milestone Not Touched In Over 40 Years

It’s a rare club. Titles are some of the most important things in all of wrestling as they help identify the top stars in the promotion. The longer a title reign goes on, the more important a wrestler will seem, with some reigns going on so long that they begin to re-write the record books. That has been the case with a current title reign and now it has reached a point few have reached in the past.

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Gunther is currently in the middle of the longest Intercontinental Title reign of all time, having won the title in June 2022 and still holding it today. According to Wrestling Stats & Info, this marks the seventh time ever that the same person has begun and ended the year as Intercontinental Champion. Gunther is the first champion to do this since Jeff Hardy in 2007 and the first person since Pedro Morales in 1982 to hold the title for a full calendar year.

Years that started & ended with the same Superstar as @WWE IC Champion:

– 1981: Pedro Morales
– 1982: Pedro Morales*
– 1989: Ultimate Warrior
– 1994: Razor Ramon
– 1995: Razor Ramon
– 2007: Jeff Hardy
– 2023: @Gunther_AUT*

*the same, uninterrupted reign began & ended the year.

— Wrestling Stats & Info (@WWEStats) December 29, 2023

Gunther had a heck of a 2023. Check out his time with the title last year:

Opinion: While the title reign is already the longest ever, Gunther is getting close to reaching almost every milestone imaginable as champion. He is about seven weeks away from holding the title longer than anyone else combined over the title’s history and there is a good chance he gets that mark as well. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from him, but it is going to be a big deal when someone does.