Gunther Beats Randy Orton to Retain WWE World Title at Bash in Berlin 2024

In his first defense since winning the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, Gunther defeated Randy Orton at WWE Bash in Berlin to retain the title Saturday.

Orton took the fight to Gunther throughout and had the champ on the ropes by working over his injured arm, which put The Ring General in a position he rarely finds himself in.

However, Gunther battled back and ultimately managed to make The Viper pass out in a sleeper hold to preserve his title reign.

The Ring General's road to the World Heavyweight Championship began with the King of the Ring tournament. He beat Orton in the finals at King and Queen of the Ring, although he did so under controversial circumstances.

That win earned Gunther a world title match at SummerSlam, and he made the most of it by beating Damian Priest for the championship thanks in part to interference from his former Judgment Day stablemate, Finn Bálor.

On the following episode of Raw, Gunther cut a promo in which he vowed to have a long and dominant world title reign while also hyping himself up as the top wrestler in WWE and a living legend.

Despite being a SmackDown Superstar, Orton surprisingly interrupted Gunther and revealed that he had been granted the opportunity to be his first challenger.

When Gunther beat Orton with a backslide at King and Queen of the Ring, one of Orton's shoulders was up off the mat. The referee didn't notice it, though, and counted to three.

WWE head of creative Triple H acknowledged after the fact that a mistake was made and suggested Orton would eventually get another opportunity to face The Ring General in the future.

The Viper announced he was finally granted that chance and would face Gunther in Germany at Bash in Berlin.

Gunther noted that while he was surprised to see Orton, nothing catches him from out of nowhere, which was a clear reference to The Viper's RKO finishing move.

In response, Orton insisted that he wanted Gunther to see it coming when he RKO'ed him and perhaps won the world heavyweight title.

As confident as Orton seemed to be, Gunther's first title defense was a successful one, and the stage is now set for him to have a long and successful reign.

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