Top WWE SmackDown Star Makes Raw Debut

R-Truth ate dirt when a SmackDown star showed up on last night's WWE Raw.

by Andy H Murray
Gunther R-Truth
WWE.com

Rising WWE SmackDown bruiser Gunther made his Raw debut last night, clobbering R-Truth in a short squash match.

This was preceded by Truth's 4th of July celebration segment. Dressed up as Uncle Sam, the undercard stalwart veered between serious and comical, asking the live crowd to give a round of applause before treating Will Smith's Independence Day like a shoot, thanking the troops for saving the United States from alien invasion.

Gunther's ally, Ludwig Kaiser, interrupted, peeling off his typically elaborate introduction for the Intercontinental Champion. Chants of "USA" then filled the building as the burly Austrian hit the ring, knocked Truth's hat away, and destroyed him in under a minute.

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A lariat and powerbomb were all it took for Gunther to win his Raw debut.

Gunther has fared well on WWE's main roster since moving up from NXT to SmackDown in April. Immediately introduced as a big deal, the former WALTER commenced mowing through the competition en route to becoming Intercontinental Champion on 10 June, when he defeated Ricochet. This follows a controversial name change from "WALTER" to "Gunther" in January. Kaiser, meanwhile, was renamed from "Marcel Barthel" after hitting the main roster.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.