Gunther Shatters Carmelo Hayes’ Dream to Advance in The Last Time is Now Tournament on Raw

Gunther displayed unmatched tenacity to fend off a motivated Carmelo Hayes in the quarterfinals of The Last Time is Now tournament.

Gunther Shatters Carmelo Hayes’ Dream to Advance in The Last Time is Now Tournament on Raw

Carmelo Hayes and Gunther [via- WrestlingInc]

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Carmelo Hayes‘ victory lap ended on this week’s Raw after he failed to put away Gunther. There was a semblance of rejuvenated support from the fans for ‘Melo’ following his upset win over Bronson Reed on SmackDown.

Even though the former NXT Champion was a massive underdog against ‘The Ring General’, he punched above his weight. The Massachusetts-born wrestler didn’t go down without a fight. He even kicked out of the Gunther powerbomb, a maneuver that had put away so many wrestlers in the past.

The closing stretch of this quarterfinal match saw Hayes powering out of the sleeper hold only to get powerbombed by the Austrian once again. It was enough for the two-time World Heavyweight Champion to advance to the semifinals of The Last Time is Now tournament.

The erstwhile Walter hasn’t had it easy thus far. His first-round opponent in Je’Von Evans, made the 38-year-old earn a hard-fought victory last week at MSG. Who would’ve given a 21-year-old rookie from NXT a real shot at troubling the chop-hitting machine that Gunther is?

Evans didn’t allow the moment to get to his head, and it paid dividends for him. While he couldn’t get the result in his favor, Evans earned the adulation of a sold-out NYC crowd at the World’s Most Famous Arena. Hayes, likewise, was brimming with confidence ahead of the daunting task at hand.

The SmackDown star gave his all, but it just wasn’t enough. Taking to X, the 31-year-old said he’s keeping his head high regardless of the outcome, as he left no stone unturned in his eyes. On the back of two solid in-ring performances, the fans are pleading with WWE to capitalize on Hayes instead of letting his momentum fizzle out.

Solo Sikoa to face Gunther in the semifinals of The Last Time is Now tournament

In the other quarterfinal match in The Last Time is Now tournament on Raw, Solo Sikoa took on Penta. It ended in the most unfortunate of ways. The former AEW star injured his shoulder while attempting a Hurricanrana on Sikoa off the barricade during a commercial break.

Solo Sikoa and Gunther
Solo Sikoa and Gunther [via- Wrestling PT]

Once the show got back on air, the former Lucha Bros member could be seen getting medical assistance at ringside, and the ring announcer had the unfortunate duty to declare that Penta was unable to continue. Henceforth, the MFT leader advanced to the semifinals of The Last Time is Now tournament.

That being said, Sikoa will now face Gunther in their first-ever singles match on the main roster. These men wrestled a clinic on NXT back in 2022, with ‘The Ring General’ getting the better of ‘The Street Champion’.

Over three years removed from that showdown, the fans will get to see Sikoa and Gunther run it back. It’d be interesting to see if the former Imperium leader maintains his clean sheet against the former US Champion or not.

If the reports are to be believed, Gunther is the rumored final opponent for John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Taking that into consideration, the Vienna-born wrestler should make it through the former Bloodline enforcer of Roman Reigns.

Should Gunther beat Sikoa, he will await the winner of Jey Uso vs. LA Knight in the tournament finale. Uso and Knight won their respective quarterfinal bouts on SmackDown, which was pre-taped last Friday in advance.

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