Dave Meltzer has awarded Gunther vs Sheamus at Clash at the Castle an incredible 5 star Rating!
At WWE Clash of the Castle, Gunther vs Sheamus wowed fans with a hard hitting, no-nonsense bout that kept fans on the edge of their seat and sent them home with a newfound respect for both men.
Sheamus vs Gunther (formerly WALTER in NXT UK) battled over the Intercontinental Championship in one of the sleeper hits of the show. Whilst people did want to see the two men face off in a hard hitting match, nobody could quite expect the quality of the fight they would put on, in front of a rabid crowd that NEEDED to see Sheamus overcome the odds and beat the Austrian Champion.
Sheamus vs Gunther
The match at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff showcased Sheamus vs Gunther for the Austrian giant’s WWE Intercontinental champion. The title had been held by many legends, including Britain’s own Davey Boy Smith. The British Bulldog’s family were at ringside, alongside other wrestling legends like Bret Hart and Adrian Adonis.
The match started with both men’s entrances. First, Sheamus entered with Ridge Holland and Butch in tow, with the fans loudly chanting for The Bruiserweight. Meanwhile, Gunther’s entrance saw Ludwig Kaiser introduced Giovanni Vinci to reform Imperium, the all European group that helped keep WALTER on top of NXT UK during his legendary United Kingdom Championship run.
The Brawling Brutes and Imperium brawled the the bell rang. The wrestled each other out of the ring as Sheamus and Gunther stared each other down inside the ring, not moving an inch. The Cardiff crowd exploded with noise as soon as the bell rang and continued to scream and the pair stared accross the ring at each other.
The anticipation was palpable when the two huge stars finally stepped foot in the ring together. They are two of the top European wrestlers in the world and known for their hard-hitting style. They were the prototypical British-style heavyweight wrestlers so it was fitting that they locked horns in the UK, in Wales.
The match went on to become one of the best matches in WWE history. Neither men pulled their punches and left each other with horrific red welts on the others chest. Gunther’s chops could be heard around the stadium and Sheamus’ pale skin showed the full effect of the attack.
In a brutal 20 minute brawl, Gunther pinned Sheamus after a devastating clothesline to retain his Intercontinental Championship. The match was hailed as one of the “best main roster matches” of all time in WWE by famed journalist Dave Meltzer and is likely to get given the famous five star match rating.
F4WOnline wrote about the match;
“The strongest match of the night absolutely goes to Gunther and Sheamus, who destroyed each other in a match that saw Gunther successfully retain the Intercontinental title after one of the most wicked lariats you’ll ever see.
Going in, I expected this to be a hard-hitting match and now I can pat myself on the back, as they delivered a classic with sick sounding shots amid a great atmosphere. With Giovanni Vinici being called up as a surprise to reform Imperium, it is likely we’ll at least get one trios match between Imperium and the Brawling Brutes going forward.“
Even though he lost the match (and missed out on winning the last title in WWE he has yet to win) Sheamus showed how he is one of the best wrestlers in the world. The Irishman was the first European since Andre the Giant to hold the WWE Championship and has showed the fans that he could still strive to have one more title run in his future after his battling loss to his Austrian opponent.
However, the star of Gunther vs Sheamus was indeed the winner of the bout. Gunther has been a marvel since his main roster debut and continues to repay Triple H’s trust in him with incredible performances weekly as the fighting champion on SmackDown.
He is currently on one of the best title reigns of all time. It is one of the most dominant Intercontinental Championship runs in recent history and has made the title one of the most prestigious in all of wrestling and especially in the WWE. It remains to be seen how he could ever lose the title although it is likely he will do before he moves on to a main event run against the likes of Roman Reigns or Drew McIntyre.
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