Sami Zayn ends Gunther's IC title reign at WWE WrestleMania 40

For 666 days, Gunther reigned as WWE Intercontinental Champion. But that historic title run has now come to an end. Sami Zayn defeated Gunther at WrestleMania 40 night one to become the new Intercontinental Champion. The story of the match was Zayn refusing to give up despite the dominance of Gunther. He eventually caught Gunther with a Helluva Kick, hit a top rope brainbuster, and delivered two more Helluva Kicks to get the win. The top rope brainbuster was Zayn's finishing move on the indies. Gunther was the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history. He won the title from Ricochet on the June 10, 2022 episode of SmackDown. The Gunther vs. Zayn match had a special presentation that highlighted Zayn as the underdog babyface. Before the match, Zayn spoke with his wife and son backstage. Zayn then got encouragement from both Chad Gable and Kevin Owens. Zayn's wife Khadijah was at ringside for the title bout and embraced Zayn following his victory. During their pre-match interaction, Gable remin