Raw in Düsseldorf Closes out with Gunther Stealing a Win over AJ Styles After an Epic Battle

Gunther got one up on AJ Styles by taking advantage of the referee's blind spot in a shady finish to an otherwise banger on Raw.

Raw in Düsseldorf Closes out with Gunther Stealing a Win over AJ Styles After an Epic Battle

Gunther beat AJ Styles on Raw [via- WWE]

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This week’s Raw in Düsseldorf staged the first-ever main roster encounter between AJ Styles and Gunther. After having numerous faceoffs in recent weeks, they finally went at it last night. The match was as physical as one would expect out of these two.

‘The Phenomenal One’ kept working on the Austrian’s left leg and even delivered a springboard 450 splash on it. Having softened up the left leg of ‘The Ring General’, Styles doubled down on it by applying the calf crusher, to which Gunther tapped out.

But the referee not being able to see it made all the difference. The match ref, Rod Zapata, got blindsided in that sequence where Gunther gently tapped out on his left with the referee not in the correct vantage point.

As soon as the former Imperium leader gave up, AJ Styles let go of the submission hold, thinking he’d won. ‘The Face That Runs the Place’ got into an argument with Zapata, who could be heard telling the timekeeper that the match was continuing as he didn’t see Gunther tap out. Styles, in obvious disbelief, turned around to pick Gunther up from the ground.

The Austrian, in the meantime, had bought himself those valuable seconds to take a breather. And that dearly cost Styles, who got low-blowed by ‘The Ring General’ while the referee was engaged. Gunther lifted Styles up on his shoulders and slammed him down with a vicious powerbomb to pick up the win.

While the Vienna-born wrestler, who’s notoriously earned himself the nickname of a career killer ever since retiring John Cena, could brag about putting away AJ Styles for now, their feud doesn’t appear to be over by any stretch. Some fans believe that this rivalry has the legs to carry itself over to this year’s WrestleMania, where Styles might compete for the last time and call it quits.

Finn Bálor emerged as the next challenger to CM Punk’s world title on Raw

A week removed from surviving a hellacious battle against Bron Breakker to remain the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk got confronted by Finn Bálor on this week’s Raw. It stemmed from the Irishman receiving a blatant pep talk from his Judgment Day cohorts, Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez, in a backstage segment.

Finn Bálor and CM Punk on Raw
Finn Bálor and CM Punk on Raw [via- WWE]

Morgan took offense to Bálor playing video games while questioning what he was waiting for after claiming in a promo two weeks ago that he’ll bring championship gold to the Judgment Day in 2026. The inaugural Universal Champion later interrupted Punk, as mentioned above.

Bálor reminded the ‘Best in the World’ about that promo where the latter namedropped ‘The Prince’ as one of the wrestlers he’d want to test himself against.

‘The Second City Saint’ admitted that he did say so, but asked where Bálor had been in those two months. Punk underscored that Bálor has been too busy worrying about Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh. The former AEW star also quipped about ‘Prince Devitt’ just showing up to work to shine Liv Morgan’s shoes sometimes.

The Chicagoan eventually asked Bálor to wrestle him for the world title last night in Düsseldorf itself. The Judgment Day member, however, deferred the bout for a week and asked Punk to clear up his schedule for next Monday, when Raw will be in Belfast, Ireland. Bálor wanted the backing of his countrymen, with his Judgment Day buddies currently sidelined due to minor injuries.

‘The Second City Saint’ accepted the challenge while apologizing to the fans in Germany for Bálor disappointing them. Punk did the same for the folks in Belfast in advance as he asserted that he’ll put their hero to sleep with a GTS on next week’s Raw. It’s going to be Finn Bálor‘s first crack at a world title in WWE since December 2024.

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