Kemo
09-15-2023, 07:02 PM
Chad Gable's recent Intercontinental Championship match with GUNTHER exceeded the expectations of the former Olympian.
During the September 4, 2023, Raw, Gable unsuccessfully challenged GUNTHER for the latter's Intercontinental Championship. This match was the last hurdle for the Austrian to overcome before breaking the record for the longest individual reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Before the Match
Speaking this week on After the Bell, Gable went into detail about his war with GUNTHER. On the show, Gable was asked if the match felt any different from a standard match and said his family helped him keep grounded.
"It kind of slowly built. You kind of go into it thinking 'Oh we're just going to treat this like any other match.' I used to say that in amateur wrestling. But it was more of just a phrase that people say when you get to these big tournaments when you try and qualify for a World or Olympic team. 'I'm just going to treat it like any other match.'
"But really, you never really do that, because it weighs on you in a different way. Whether you want it to or not. You might approach it similarly, preparation-wise and routine-wise. It may be similar, but I mean, your mind can't possibly look at it like it's a normal match."
Gable added that he was well aware that headlining Raw for the Intercontinental Championship would be the biggest opportunity for him since coming to WWE.
"For me this is, I mean let's face it, the biggest singles opportunity I've ever had on the main roster, or in WWE overall. It built and built, and I was lucky enough to bring my family along with me. It was cool that weekend, the last weekend before school started, so we were just on a whim, why not? So that helped keep me in a normal routine, relaxed a little bit at the hotel... It was nice, it helped me out during the week."
wF1xEQEYwE8
Gable's match with GUNTHER has received high praise from fans and those within the industry. On the podcast, Gable reacted to the critical acclaim, adding that the match exceeded his own expectations.
"I had high expectations, let's put it that way. I had very high expectations, and I feel like we exceeded those to a degree I did not expect. So I place a lot of importance on my own performance when it comes to big moments like that. Because you don't get them often and [if] you blow it, you might not get it ever again. Because all eyes are watching and they'll see 'He finally gets this opportunity and is he going to be ready? Is he going to deliver?'"
Despite their obvious differences in the ring, Gable had praise for GUNTHER, calling the Austrian the perfect opponent for a competitor such as himself.
"GUNTHER is a perfect opponent for me, in the sense that it's always, the size difference is there, that's the obvious one. But I think there's a level of professional competition between me and him. I do respect him, as a competitor, he's the type of guy who has set this bar so high.
"But I'm almost envious of that in a way, wherein I should have been the one, or I can be the one to do that as well. But you [GUNTHER] are the one who's going to get all the credit. So I'm going to step up and try it make it my turn."
During the September 4, 2023, Raw, Gable unsuccessfully challenged GUNTHER for the latter's Intercontinental Championship. This match was the last hurdle for the Austrian to overcome before breaking the record for the longest individual reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Before the Match
Speaking this week on After the Bell, Gable went into detail about his war with GUNTHER. On the show, Gable was asked if the match felt any different from a standard match and said his family helped him keep grounded.
"It kind of slowly built. You kind of go into it thinking 'Oh we're just going to treat this like any other match.' I used to say that in amateur wrestling. But it was more of just a phrase that people say when you get to these big tournaments when you try and qualify for a World or Olympic team. 'I'm just going to treat it like any other match.'
"But really, you never really do that, because it weighs on you in a different way. Whether you want it to or not. You might approach it similarly, preparation-wise and routine-wise. It may be similar, but I mean, your mind can't possibly look at it like it's a normal match."
Gable added that he was well aware that headlining Raw for the Intercontinental Championship would be the biggest opportunity for him since coming to WWE.
"For me this is, I mean let's face it, the biggest singles opportunity I've ever had on the main roster, or in WWE overall. It built and built, and I was lucky enough to bring my family along with me. It was cool that weekend, the last weekend before school started, so we were just on a whim, why not? So that helped keep me in a normal routine, relaxed a little bit at the hotel... It was nice, it helped me out during the week."
wF1xEQEYwE8
Gable's match with GUNTHER has received high praise from fans and those within the industry. On the podcast, Gable reacted to the critical acclaim, adding that the match exceeded his own expectations.
"I had high expectations, let's put it that way. I had very high expectations, and I feel like we exceeded those to a degree I did not expect. So I place a lot of importance on my own performance when it comes to big moments like that. Because you don't get them often and [if] you blow it, you might not get it ever again. Because all eyes are watching and they'll see 'He finally gets this opportunity and is he going to be ready? Is he going to deliver?'"
Despite their obvious differences in the ring, Gable had praise for GUNTHER, calling the Austrian the perfect opponent for a competitor such as himself.
"GUNTHER is a perfect opponent for me, in the sense that it's always, the size difference is there, that's the obvious one. But I think there's a level of professional competition between me and him. I do respect him, as a competitor, he's the type of guy who has set this bar so high.
"But I'm almost envious of that in a way, wherein I should have been the one, or I can be the one to do that as well. But you [GUNTHER] are the one who's going to get all the credit. So I'm going to step up and try it make it my turn."