WWE has officially found Penta’s challenger for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. On the July 13, 2026, episode of RAW, Chad Gable won a seven-man gauntlet match to earn a shot at the title.
The match featured Chad Gable, Dragon Lee, Joe Hendry, Je’Von Evans, Dominik Mysterio, Ethan Page, and Rusev. After surviving the entire gauntlet, Gable came out on top and booked his place against Penta.
Chad Gable earns his SummerSlam title shot against Penta
The match started with Mysterio taking on Hendry.
Hendry controlled most of the action early, but JD McDonagh got involved at ringside and distracted him. Dominik took advantage and eliminated Hendry.
Next came Evans, who changed the pace of the match.
During the match, Danhausen showed up and tried to curse Mysterio. Things didn’t go as planned, though, as the wrong ring post exploded and distracted everyone. Evans used the opening to hit the OG Cutter and eliminate Mysterio.
Dragon Lee entered next and had an exciting back-and-forth match with Evans. Both men traded quick counters and impressive high-flying moves. Just when it looked like Lee was taking control, Evans caught him with a quick roll-up to score another elimination.
The next entrant was Rusev, who immediately took over with his strength. The Young OG fought hard and even escaped one Accolade, but Rusev locked it in again and forced the referee to stop the match as Evans passed out.
Chad Gable entered sixth and wasted no time going after Rusev.
He hit multiple German suplexes and survived both the Machka Kick and the Accolade. In a surprise finish, Gable rolled Rusev up to score the pinfall.
Rusev wasn’t happy about losing. After the match, he attacked Gable and locked him in another Accolade before finally leaving the ring.
That left Gable hurt as the final competitor, Ethan Page, entered. Page tried to take advantage of Gable’s condition. He mocked Gable throughout the match and hit a Codebreaker, but he still couldn’t put him away.
Gable fought back with an Olympic Slam before locking in the Ankle Lock. Page had no choice but to tap out. With that win, Chad Gable officially became the No. 1 contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
After the match, Penta came to the ring and shook Gable’s hand as a sign of respect.
Read More: Maxxine Dupri Finally Turns on Alpha Academy on WWE RAW
