Gunther just took a loss to Trick Williams after WWE RAW, and the timing has fans asking some interesting questions. The Ring General was pinned in a dark match following the November 9 show, just days after news surfaced that he refused to travel to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel.
The November 9, 2026 episode of Monday Night RAW took place in Greenville, South Carolina, where Trick Williams defeated Gunther in the untelevised main event. Williams picked up the pinfall victory after hitting Gunther with The Bookend, sending the crowd home with a big moment.
But the loss comes at an interesting time for Gunther. As Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer previously revealed, Gunther was originally supposed to face Demon Finn Balor at Crown Jewel on November 7. WWE had even filmed segments building toward the match, but those plans were dropped after Gunther decided against making the trip to Saudi Arabia.
Now, some fans on social media are wondering whether WWE is punishing Gunther for refusing to travel, especially after seeing him take a pinfall loss to Williams just two days later. However, there’s another explanation that makes plenty of sense.
Williams is from Columbia, South Carolina, so having him beat Gunther in Greenville could simply have been WWE’s way of giving the local favorite a big victory in front of his home-state crowd. There’s also the fact that Gunther has lost dark matches before. WWE frequently books untelevised matches differently from its television programming, so this loss doesn’t automatically mean he’s being punished for anything.
Still, the timing is hard to ignore. Gunther turned down the Saudi Arabia trip, WWE scrapped his planned match with Demon Balor, and now he’s taking a pinfall loss to Trick Williams after RAW. That doesn’t prove there’s any heat on him backstage, but it’s certainly given fans something to talk about.
For now, there’s no evidence that Gunther’s loss had anything to do with his Crown Jewel decision. WWE may have simply wanted to give Williams a big win in South Carolina, but with Gunther’s Saudi Arabia refusal still fresh, people are paying close attention to how he’s being used.
What do you think about Gunther losing to Trick Williams after RAW? Was WWE just giving Williams a home-state victory, or do you think there’s more to the story following Gunther’s decision to skip Crown Jewel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
