With Chad Gable officially set to take place in the biggest match of his professional wrestling career, a match that could either make him a singles champion for the first time in his professional career or clear the path for Gunther to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history, WWE sent Byron Saxton to the Alpha Academy locker room to see how he was feeling heading into the matchup.

While some performers may have been incredibly worried heading into such a consequential contest, especially against someone as dominant as the “Ring General,” for Gable, it was the exact opposite, as he actually rolled up to the arena with the same pre-match calmness he felt before the Olympic trials in 2012.

“You know Byron, when you put it that way, and just, the ride up here today, it reminded me a lot of the Olympic trials in 2012, when I was rolling up, and my parent had dropped me off that day,” Chad Gable told Byron Saxton and the WWE Universe. “I remember and I will never forget, it was the biggest match of my life, I was going up to the arena, trying to make the Olympic team. My parents were too nervous to say a word, they didn't speak the entire time, but I was in the back seat just calm, cool, and collected because I was confident; I knew that I had prepared properly, I knew I was ready, and I felt great about it. So I walked in that place just confident, but the car ride was funny, and it was eerie, and it was the same today because my wife and kids dropped me off, and they wouldn't say a word because they're gonna be here tonight sitting in the front row. They're nervous, they're wondering what's going to happen, but I'm cool man, I'm ready, I'm confident.”

Not looking to add too much additional pressure to the situation, Saxton felt compelled to let Gable know that his match with Gunther would main event the show, a rare proposition for the long-time WWE Superstar. While Gable admitted that said news did give him a few more butterflies, in his mind, they were good ones.

“Okay, okay, as we say in Minnesota, woofta. That adds a little pressure, but that's good because on a night like this, you need that little extra pressure, right? That's giving me the butterflies but the good kind that you need as a competitor, as an athlete. That kind of pressure separates the men from the boys, so tonight, in the main event, let's find out who the men are.”

One way or another, Gable is going to make history in the main event of RAW, either for himself or for Gunther. Fortunately, the Master of Alpha Academy understands the gravity of the situation and is going to take it seriously.

Chad Gable fully understands the gravity of his current situation.

Speaking of understanding history, when Chad Gable was a guest on The Bump back in August, he was asked about the gravity of his feud with Gunther and how he could play into ending his record-chasing run. With two wins arguably on his resume, it's safe to say Gable has as good a chance as anyone else to come out of the match on top.

“He's on his way to try and make history, right,” Chad Gable said via Fightful. “But I think I carved out a little piece of history for myself. I beat Gunther, his big loss since coming to the main roster. Yeah, I didn't leave with the championship. That's true. But look at the crowd reaction and listen to that crowd reaction that night. It just shows you the magnitude of what a defeat of a guy like that does because he's established himself on a level that not many guys have done this quickly. They hire him as this immovable object, unstoppable force. So the reaction on a count-out victory, I don't think I've ever seen one like that before. The people took that, and they ran with it. Very seriously, it was a big deal.”

To Gunther's credit, holding the IC Title for 452 days would still be one heck of an accomplishment, as it's longer than Shawn Michaels, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and every other title holder not named The Honky Tonk Man – aka Roy Wayne Farris – over a single reign. Preventing him from getting that record, however, would be a pretty incredible accomplishment for Gable, as it would truly signify the former Shorty G belongs with the big dogs.