WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther and Chad Gable have been feuding for several weeks. Many fans hoped they would have a match at WWE Payback. Instead, they will battle it out on the September 4 episode of WWE RAW.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that the match was put on RAW, rather than WWE Payback, in order to keep the runtime of the premium live event down. Additionally, WWE made the move to get Gunther closer to the record for the longest Intercontinental Championship reign and put a spotlight on the match.
Per Sapp, WWE has been determined to ensure that the runtimes for many PLEs don’t “overstay their welcome.” As a result, several matches that would have been held on PLEs have instead been booked for RAW.
Fans recently saw this dynamic in the feud between Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch. They were seemingly set for a match at WWE SummerSlam, but they clashed on Monday, August 14 instead. The two stars later faced off at WWE Payback.
WrestleZone will have coverage of WWE RAW as it airs on September 4.
Check out WrestleZone’s recent interview with Gunther here:
