When Chad Gable took the ring against Gunther for the third time mere days before the “Ring General” unseated The Honkey Tonk Man's all-time Intercontinental Championship record, the “Master” of Alpha Academy took things personal.

Despite the lofty task at hand, the former Olympian hit the media circuit, brought his family to the show, and ultimately gave it his all in the television main event, working a match that would have been the highlight of the Payback Premium Live Event card a few days prior. Did Gable come out on top? No, he lost the match in heartbreaking fashion, but in the end, he left the ring as a winner too, as fans and performers alike from all over the professional wrestling world celebrated his efforts and what it could mean for the future.

One of those fans is none other than the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, himself a two-time Intercontinental Champion, who told Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download podcast that not only was the match awesome, but he hopes to see the father of four win the IC Title at some point in the future too.

“Bringing family to the show, it's as real as it gets. Chad did amazing,” Cody Rhodes told Dale Earnhardt Jr. via Fightful. I do hope that Chad finds the Intercontinental Championship. He had the shot, I hope he finds it. Amazing. True athlete, real Olympian, amazing. It's hard to tell what we do, what is real and what isn't. When it's in the middle, it's so sweet and so good. That's as real as it gets. His daughter, wanting to see that, and have that moment. I felt bad because they sent me out after to raise his hand, and I have to do the dark match. I feel bad, he's getting his time and moment, and I have to go out there. Had I gone out there and he told me to ‘F off,' no problem. He's an amazing athlete.”

Is it surprising to see Rhodes endorse Gable in such a public way? In a word, no; Rhodes famously wanted to sign Gable to AEW had he been afforded the opportunity, and that admiration clearly hasn't waned over the past few years. Still, with Rhodes' future somewhat up in the air, as someone has to be traded to SmackDown in exchange for Jey Uso, it's safe to assume the “American Nightmare” won't be gunning for the IC Title any time soon, regardless of who holds it.

Corey Graves absolutely loved Chad Gable vs. Gunther III, too.

Speaking of Gunther's recent RAW classic against Chad Gable, Cody Rhodes wasn't the only member of the WWE Universe to single it out as a classic worthy of note, with Corey Graves, a man familiar with calling both performers' respective matches, taking to his podcast, After The Bell, to complement the dynamic of the feud.

“For my money, Gunther vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship on Monday Night Raw was as close to perfect as you can get in the year 2023. The emotion was at an all-time high. You have got this daunting, dominant Gunther Intercontinental Champion on the verge of making history to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history,” Corey Graves said via SEScoops.

“You've got Chad Gable, this guy who's sort of flown under the radar for a while. We've seen glimpses of what he's capable of. But Gable seems to have really found it and feeling it and the crowd. The energy from the crowd. Gable's family in the front row. It was as close to Rocky vs. Ivan Drago in a WWE ring as we're going to see or we've seen since at least the 80s in the Hulkamania era where you have the evil foreign villain.”

Turning his attention to the match in question, Grabes explained why their in-ring efforts were so good: Chemistry.

“The chemistry from bell to bell…they could have gone an hour, and I would not have batted an eyelash. I was hanging on every move. Gable, reminding everyone that he's a United States Olympian, which in and of itself is a feat that most people can't fathom the work that actually goes into reaching that level. You've got Gunther, who I say it all the time on this show, and I believe it more and more every week. Here's your headline for the week. Corey Graves says ‘Gunther is the best professional wrestler on the planet Earth right now. Period,'” Graves said.

“Gunther makes me believe in what I'm seeing, and Gable met Gunther's physicality. Everything Gunther did, everything that makes Gunther, Gunther – Gable met every step of the way. It was magic. When Gunther got his hand raised. You could feel the sadness, the disappointment like somebody let the air out of the entire WWE Universe. But about three seconds after that, everyone went ‘God that was awesome.' You couldn't even be sad. You couldn't even be disappointed because what you just saw was so special and so magical.”

Is Graves on the money? Is “Gunther the best wrestler on planet Earth right now?” Well, he's certainly one of the best wrestlers on the planet, though your exact hierarchy may vary. The fact that he's in that conversation, however, and that Gable was able to go toe-to-toe with him spells well for the future of WWE.