Gunther Breaks Silence On WWE Return Ahead Of Huge Monday Night Raw

The Ring General is back and he is ready for another stretch of domination on Monday Night Raw.
Gunther has been out of action since August. He lost the World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk at SummerSlam, mere moments before Seth Rollins pulled off the 'Ruse of the Century' against the 'Best in the World', and had to take time away to have a nose injury surgically repaired.
He's now on his way to New York to take part in The 'Last Time is Now' Tournament, which will determine who gets the honor of facing John Cena in his retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13 in Washington D.C..
Gunther will face NXT breakout star Je'Von Evans tonight inside of Madison Square Garden, and he took to social media this morning to send a message to the rest of the WWE locker room.
“The Ring General is back on duty to raise the quality in WWE. I’ve had a bit of a break, fixed my nose and now I’m here in the beautiful Switzerland at the airport in Zurich, I’m about to head to New York City. There couldn’t be better timing to come back and participate in the tournament that will determine John Cena’s final opponent at the Madison Square Garden in one of my absolute favorite arenas. I’m looking forward to it, I’m back again.” h/t FightfulGunther on Instagram
John Cena himself will be in New York to witness the next two match-ups in his tournament, as the reigning Intercontinental Champion will make his final appearance ever on an episode of Monday Night Raw. At least, as an active competitor.

Sheamus, Rusev, LA Knight and Jey Uso have punched their ticket to the quarterfinals of the tournament so far, with four more matches left in the opening round.
Gunther is considered by many to be a heavy favorite, not just against Evans later tonight, but to win the entire tournament.
The Ring General already retired one WWE Hall of Famer this year when he defeated Goldberg at Saturday Night's Main Event in Atlanta back in July. He may soon get that same opportunity with the 'Greatest of All-Time'.
Can Je'Von Evans pull off the upset?
Win or lose, it'll be a big night in the young career of Je'Von Evans. The 21-year-old told The Masked Man Show over the weekend that he's more nervous about wrestling in Madison Square Garden than he is facing the former World Heavyweight Champion.
"I’ma have so many butterflies," Evans said. "I’ve literally watched Gunther for a very long time. I was watching Gunther on the indies, because I wanted to learn how to work against bigger people. So, he was a great example of that. But I’m excited. I know we’re gonna be in a hard fight. We gonna be scrapping. I ain’t backing down either."
The other opening round match tonight will feature Solo Sikoa taking on a mystery opponent. Check out our full Monday Night Raw preview here.
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Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com