Drew McIntyre makes his typically crowd-pleasing ring walk prior to Ludwig Kaiser giving an especially enthusiastic version of his introduction of Gunther.
The two men stare each other down as the bell rings, taking their time and circling. They exchange some words we can’t hear before finally locking up.
McIntyre strikes first, knocking Gunther down and nodding as if to say I got your attention. Gunther uses a headlock takeover to force the action to the mat, but only for a moment as McIntyre lifts him into a belly-to-back suplex.
They brawl from the floor back to the ring, but McIntyre sends the champ back outside. Drew is sent into the post, then gets his back bounced off the steel steps.
Gunther’s chops knock McIntyre on his back, but after a suplex he’s surprised when Drew kicks out immediately. He also shrugs off some strikes, which gets the crowd back into the match.
A big overhead throw is answered right away, and McIntyre looks like he’s psyching himself back into the driver’s seat. He manages to out-chop the champ and drive him back into the corner for his own overhead throws.
McIntyre reaches back for a neckbreaker that leaves both men down again. He wants a Claymore but misses as Gunther sees him coming, slamming him back into the turnbuckles with a shotgun dropkick. McIntyre is unfazed, hitting a Future Shock for a near fall.
Drew counts it down but sees Gunther slither outside, so he launches into a tope con hilo instead. Claymore now? Nope as Gunther hits a dropkick and a powerbomb for a near fall.
Gunther decides to go high risk, splashing his challenger from the top rope but only getting two again. The champ smacks McIntyre in the back of the head repeatedly, almost daring him to get back up. But he changes his tune when the Scottish Warrior starts chopping away again, even as he tries to fight back.
The crowd is wooo-ing now, and McIntyre finally hits a Claymore that only gets a two count. Both men look like they need to do something special to seal up a victory.
McIntyre puts Gunther on the top turnbuckle and chops away at him, taking some fire in return. Drew is crotched on the top rope when he tries to follow his foe up there, and some powerbombs are able to end it for Gunther.
Check out full WWE SummerSlam 2023 results here.