Ghost of Gunther’s past to return to WWE to cost him World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam? Possibility explored 

Gunther will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk at SummerSlam, two nights from now. The Ring General reclaimed his title from Jey Uso last month on RAW, and then successfully defended it against Goldberg at Saturday Night's Main Event earlier this month.

However, he will have an uphill task at The Biggest Party of The Summer when he goes one-on-one with The Best in the World. It is just Punk's second world title match since his return to WWE in 2023. He would leave no stone unturned to outsmart The Ring General to win the gold.

In an unexpected twist, Gunther might have to face a ghost from his past, who could return at SummerSlam and eventually cost him his title. Ilja Dragunov, the Russian star who has had a long-standing rivalry with the Austrian, can return at The Biggest Party of The Summer in MetLife Stadium and cost Gunther his title. But why would he do so?

Gunther had injured the RAW star during a house show in October last year. Dragunov suffered a torn ACL during the match and has been out of action since then. He had made his main roster debut on the red brand the same year, and was doing well before he was injured by Gunther. The Ring General later even took a swipe at Dragunov after his injury announcement, saying that "weak things break."

While the 31-year-old superstar didn't reply, he might take revenge at SummerSlam by getting back at Gunther, causing him to lose his title. Ilja Dragunov was also the one who defeated The Ring General for the NXT UK Title in 2021, ending his title reign of 870 days.

Their rivalry dates all the way back to 2017, when they first clashed at wXw. Since then, they have locked horns multiple times inside the squared circle, exchanging wins.

The former NXT Champion could return at SummerSlam to teach Gunther a lesson for mocking his injury. This would also set up a feud between the two at WWE Clash in Paris on August 31, 2025.

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WWE veteran makes a bold comment on the winner between Gunther and CM Punk

Gunther seems highly confident of beating Punk at WWE SummerSlam. He recently posted his prediction on his Instagram account, mentioning that he will win on August 3. He uploaded a video of himself in a WWE arena and captioned the post thus:

"Clean victory."

However, former SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long thinks otherwise. While speaking to Mac Davis of Sportskeeda Wrestling recently, he said that Punk is a ring veteran and knows a lot of things, so he might win this battle against Gunther.

"Well, Punk is the in-ring veteran now. He's done a lot of things, he's smart, and he knows a lot of tricks. So, I'm looking for Punk to win this one."

While Punk might be a ring veteran, Gunther is also no pushover and is considered one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world.

It will be interesting to see who eventually comes out as the winner at SummerSlam.

75 year old legend has challenged Cody Rhodes HERE

Edited by Harish Raj S