GUNTHER Addresses Chad Gable

Now we head back inside the Canada Life Centre where we hear the familiar sounds of Imperium’s theme song. Out comes GUNTHER, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci to the ring for our next match of the evening. As they settle in the ring, we see a video package looking at their recent dominance.

From there, we head to a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see footage of their issues with Alpha Academy last week. Now live, we see GUNTHER standing on the commentary desk with a microphone in his hand. He says “The Ring General” has arrived in Winnipeg to continue his campaign as the best Intercontinental Champion ever.

GUNTHER says as a European he has always looked forward to coming to Canada. He says after walking the streets, he understands why they call Winnipeg the arm-pit of Canada. He says he’s here to address the number one contender for his title, Chad Gable. Modern Day Dolph Lundgren continues, saying he was impressed by Gable’s recent performances, but he’s achieved more than him.

As he continues, we hear a loud, sustained “SHOOOSH!” as Chad Gable comes out turning red with Otis and Maxxine Dupri by his side. He takes a deep breath and then lets out a loud “uhh-THANK YOU!” He boasts lasting 5 minutes with GUNTHER last week when he said he couldn’t.

He tells GUNTHER it’s funny because now he’s the one on the clock, as it’s only a matter of time before Gable takes that I-C title from “The Ring General.” He then tells Giovanni Vinci that he’s got him as a tune up tonight. He tells him to get his bald head in the ring, “uhh-THANK YOU!”

Ludwig Kaiser comes in the ring and does his drawn-out style of talking routine for some quick cheap heat. He mocks Otis in the process and flirts with Maxxine again. She slaps him. We head to another commercial break.

Chad Gable vs. Giovanni Vinci

When we return from the break, we see Gable and Vinci already in the ring and ready for one-on-one action. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.

Early on we see Gable dominating the action and stopping to taunt Vinci with his catchphrases for cheap pops from the Winnipeg crowd. Vinci fights back with a single chop that drops Gable. The commentators bring up how Vinci is likely training with GUNTHER when it comes to chops.

After literally another minute or two, this one is wrapped up and over, as Gable hits his Chaos Theory finisher for the pin fall victory.

Winner: Chad Gable

Otis vs. GUNTHER

Once the match wraps up, it looks like the Alpha Academy and Imperium rivalry will continue through at least a third or fourth segment, as GUNTHER gets on the mic and says things will not end like this tonight.

GUNTHER goes on to seemingly call out Otis for a one-on-one match right now. Before we can find out if that’s official, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see Otis and GUNTHER both in the ring and ready to rock and roll. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. The two get into a test of strength situation straight out of the gate. Neither man budges.

Otis finds himself on the defensive as GUNTHER takes it to him with big kicks and elbows early on. He blasts him with an enormous chop that wakes him up. Otis clubs away at GUNTHER, who blasts him with a single shot to slow him down, but Otis flurries again and now he starts to take over.

We see Otis catch GUNTHER and launch him with a big fall-away slam before doing his trademark Catapillar / Worm spot, only for GUNTHER to recover and stop him with a big boot. He hits a second one and then power bombs Otis in an impressive sight for the pin fall victory.

As soon as the match ends, Gable hits the ring and launches GUNTHER with a German suplex. The Imperium guys and GUNTHER head to the back as Gable screams “uhh-THANK YOU!” in the ring one final time.

Winner: GUNTHER

After that, the familiar sounds of the Alpha Academy tune hits and out comes Mr. “SHOOSH PLEASE!” and Mr. “Thank YOUUUU!” himself, Coach Chad Gable! He gets a big hometown pop from the Minneapolis crowd. Maxxine Dupri and Otis accompany him to the ring and hang at ringside.

Ludwig Kaiser Approaches Maxxine Dupri

We shoot backstage and see Maxxine Dupri on the phone when in walks Ludwig Kaiser. He congratulates Dupri on Chad Gable winning tonight. He tells her GUNTHER is gonna wipe him all over the ring when they meet. He then mentions having his eye on her for the past couple of weeks.

He talks about his looks compared to Otis, whom he calls a big, disgusting freak, prompting Maxxine to slap him. He turns back to tell her he liked that but instead sees Otis in his face. Otis calls him a pretty boy and challenges him to a match. Kaiser accepts and tells Maxxine he’ll see her around.

Otis vs. Ludwig Kaiser

When we return from the break, we hear “SHOOSH PLEASE!” With that said, out comes Otis accompanied by Maxxine Dupri. He makes his way to the ring to a nice pop from the Minneapolis crowd.

The Imperium theme hits after that and out comes Ludwig Kaiser accompanied by Giovanni Vinci. GUNTHER is not with them. Kaiser heads to the ring as Cole explains how this match was set up earlier in the show.

Now the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our next match of the evening. Kaiser and Otis circle each other and then lock-up as the fans chant “Otis! Otis!” The walking tree-trunk backs the Imperium member in the corner. He gives him a clean break, but then Kaiser takes over with cheap shots.

Otis ends up no-selling them to a roar from the crowd. He lets out a war cry, shoves Kaiser into the ropes and runs over him with a shoulder tackle, before hoisting him up for a big slam. He goes for a spear in the corner but Kaiser moves and Otis’ shoulder slams into the steel ring post. Kaiser takes over and settles into a comfortable offensive lead from there.

Kaiser taunts Maxxine at ringside, who pops up on the ring apron and gets in his face. Otis takes the distraction and uses it to his advantage, pushing Kaiser in the corner and unloading on him with a flurry of punches. He slams Kaiser into the opposing corner and splashes onto him with an avalanche. He then does his catapillar / worm spot.

Vinci hits the apron to stop him, but gets suplexed into the ring for his troubles. GUNTHER then hits a sneak attack on Otis from behind. Kaiser immediately follows up with the pin for the win. After the match, Imperium attack Otis until Chad Gable runs out to make the save.

Winner: Ludwig Kaiser

Maxxine Dupri vs. Valhalla

We see shots of Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla backstage before we head to another commercial break. The two women will do battle in one-on-one action when we return.

When we return from the break, Patrick and Graves hype Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar in their highly-anticipated trilogy match at Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam 2023 pay-per-view.

From there, they introduce a lengthy video package telling the whole story to date between “The American Nightmare” and “The Beast Incarnate.” Once it wraps up, we return inside the arena for our next match of the evening.

The theme music for Maxxine Dupri hits and out she comes accompanied by Alpha Academy duo Chad Gable and Otis. She heads to the ring for her scheduled singles match Raw debut. As she settles in the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see Valhalla make her way out. She heads to the ring accompanied by Erik and Ivar — The Viking Raiders. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one-on-one contest.

Early on we see Dupri showing off her basic wrestling skills taught to her by Coach Chad Gable, as she executes some picture-perfect arm-drags and other moves. She controls Valhalla on the mat with good grappling-based offense.

Valhalla starts to shift the offensive momentum in her favor and then we see her enjoy some time in the offensive driver’s seat. Ultimately, however, Dupri gets the roll-up after a couple of minutes for the victory in her singles match debut on Raw.

Winner: Maxxine Dupri

We see Chad Gable and Otis celebrating with Maxxine Dupri after her successful in-ring debut earlier tonight. Up walks Imperium. GUNTHER mocks them, noting Ludwig Kaiser put on a performance that brought the respect back to their great sport, only for Alpha Academy to turn it back into a joke moments later.

As the two teams continue to bicker back-and-forth, things culminate with a 5 Minute Challenge being issued, with WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER vowing that Chad Gable wouldn’t be able to survive five minutes in the ring with him.

Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri Issue Challenges For Next Week

We see footage from last week of The Viking Raiders beating Alpha Academy in a Viking Rules match. We return live backstage and Chad Gable challenges The Viking Raiders to an Academy Rules match. Maxxine Dupri also sends a warning / challenge to Valhalla for a singles match next week.