WWE Bash in Berlin results, grades and analysis: Gunther, Cody Rhodes retain; Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest win

Despite Gunther being the de factor hometown hero, the Berlin crowd embraced Randy Orton during his entrance and sang along with his theme music — a relatively new development in the relationship between Orton and the WWE fans.

While Orton took his time on his way to the ring, Gunther took a business-like approach to his entrance, only briefly pausing at the bottom of the ramp and before entering the ring. The crowd was behind Gunther but not overwhelmingly in comparison to Orton.

As ring announcer Samantha Irvin made her introductions, she was interrupted by Ludwig Kaiser, who introduced Gunther for the majority of his WWE career as members of Imperium. It drew a solid pop from the Berlin crowd.

The crowd intensified as the bell rand and both men took in the historic moment. Orton and Gunther circled one another before engaging in a collar-and-elbow. Both men tussled into a corner before Orton retreated. Orton and Gunther each exchange side-headlock takedowns and kick outs, once again coming to their feet in a stalemate.

Even with a somewhat slow start, the main event felt exactly like that, drawing "this is awesome" chants less than five minutes into the contest.

Gunther was first to gain a true upper hand, taking down Orton and snuffing out any momentum the Viper attempted to build with his vicious chops. Gunther began to focus on the neck of Orton, twisting his head with his feet and then locking Orton's head against the ring post. In similar fashion, when Orton managed to mount offensive he focused on Gunther's right shoulder/arm, sending him into the steel steps twice.

Orton continued to dish out punishment outside the ring, slamming Gunther four times onto the announce table. Orton sent Gunther back into the ring and the champion hit the challenger with a chop. Selling the arm injury, Gunther's chop did not knock Orton down like it did previously in the match. Orton attempted an RKO, but Gunther countered into a sleeper hold.

The sleeper was short-lived as Gunther couldn't lock it in properly due to his arm injury, allowing Orton to stay on top and continue to focus on the champion's limb. Orton's offense didn't do much toward ending the match because each pin he went for early only resulted in a one count. The first true near-fall came after Orton landed his patented scoop powerslam on Gunther.

As Orton went for his draped DDT, Gunther countered and switched to his left hand for a chop. He also continued to target Orton's neck with a neckbreaker on the ropes. Gunter and Orton then made their way to the top rope and Orton hit a superplex on Gunther, resulting in another near-fall.

From there, the two brutes exchanged blows in the center of the ring and the champion continued to drastically sell his right arm injury. As Gunther gained momentum, Orton raked the champion's eyes and the referee allowed it. Orton then capitalized with a draped DDT and played to the Berlin crowd as he set up the RKO. Gunther countered the RKO into a German suplex and then a dropkick to take Orton down. Gunther followed up with a top-rope splash and pin, but Orton kicked out at two.

With Orton struggling, Gunther went for his powerbomb finisher but was unable to lift Orton due to his right arm on three different attempts. Orton nearly reversed the hold into a back-body drop before Gunther was finally able to hit the powerbomb on the fourth attempt. Orton kicked out of the subsequent pin at two.

Gunther, believing he was near a victory, went for a second powerbomb but Orton reversed into an RKO for a near-fall. Orton went outside the ring and stripped the German announce table and set up steel steps next to them. Orton slammed Gunther onto the steel steps before building them even higher next to the table. Orton bounced Gunther's head against the steps several times before slamming Gunther through the announce table.

Orton dragged Gunther back into the ring, unable to win the championship off a count out. As Orton set up the RKO, Gunther shoved him and then pounced, locking in a sleeper in the middle of the ring. A desperate Orton attempted to break the hold, but he maintained the choke. It appeared as if Orton was going to break it and hit an RKO, but Gunther reapplied. Another counter was unsuccessful as Gunther immediately rallied to lock in the sleeper a third time and win the match.

Gunther submits Randy Orton in 34:34 to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio entered to the Judgment Day music and exclusive boos from the Berlin crowd. Dominik has had the most heat of any wrestler in recent memory for a while now but his act with Morgan has raised it to a nuclear level.

For the babyfaces, Damian Priest entered first but Rhea Ripley got the majority of the spotlight as the Terror Twins made their way to the ring.

Priest and Mysterio started the action off, with Mysterio running from the former World Heavyweight Champion. Any early offense from Mysterio was shrugged off by the physically dominant Priest, who delivered aggressive blows to the Judgment Day member. As the crowd chanted "we want mami," Priest delivered a big boot and went to tag in Ripley. Mysterio tagged Morgan in first, which achieved the same result.

Once the women were in the ring, the match formula remained largely the same, with Ripley showcasing her physical dominance. Morgan retreated to the corner and tagged in Mysterio, which brought Priest back into the action per the mixed-tag match rules.

Priest's offense was interrupted by Morgan and the brief distraction was enough for Mysterio to send Priest crashing into the announce table and steel steps outside the ring. The first near-fall of the match came shortly after, with the heels maintaining the upper hand. Mysterio hit a tornado DDT and pinned Priest for a one count. With the referee distracted, Morgan again attacked Priest.

Mysterio appeared to be going for Eddy Guerrero's Three Amigos suplexes, but Preist countered and tagged in Ripley, who picked up the pace and offensive against Morgan. Ripley then turned her attention to Mysterio, who attempted to distract her and let Morgan recover. Ripley began to manhandle Mysterio, locking him in a leg choke in the corner.

Morgan's first offense came as she rescued Mysterio from Ripley's Riptide finisher. Morgan landed a near-fall on an impressive crucifix driver. After a swift kick from Ripley, the men returned to the ring and Priest immediately launched an offensive sequence. After a big clothesline, Morgan broke up Priest's pin and the Terror Twins pulled out a double Razor's Edge on Morgan and Mysterio.

After Ripley sent Morgan crashing to the floor, she instructed Priest to destroy Mysterio and then the rest of the Judgment Day interfered. Morgan took out Ripley with a sunset flip powerbomb, Finn Balor took out Priest with a slingblade and then Mysterio hit a 619 and frog splash, but Priest kicked out.

The match quickly got out of hand, with Morgan hitting several high-impact moves on Ripley inside the ring and Priest battling the rest of the Judgment Day outside it. After Priest dispatched the entire faction, including a huge clothesline on top of the announce table, Ripley recovered to land a headbutt and Riptide on Morgan for the win.

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley defeat Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio in 14:19.

Drew McIntyre was first to enter, drawing a smattering of boos from the Berlin crowd. The four turnbuckles were adorned with red and green lights (red for McIntyre, green for CM Punk). To win the strap match, one of the men must hit all four corners uninterrupted.

Punk was the overwhelming fan favorite, with the crowd singing along to his entrance music — "Cult of Personality" — and shouting "it's clobbering time" alongside him.

As Punk made his entrance, McIntyre went for a cheap shot and began to batter his rival outside the ring. McIntyre slammed Punk on the announce table and whipped him with the strap twice before the match began. McIntyre secured the strap to his wrist and Punk's allowing the match to begin.

The early offense consisted of McIntyre whipping Punk and chopping him back down to the mat as he struggled to get to his feet. Punk finally recovered enough to land a sudden GTS finisher on McIntyre and begin punishing McIntyre with the strap himself.

Both men made their way outside the ring and Punk sauntered to the ring apron to look for more weapons, allowing McIntyre to regain himself briefly and attempt a Future Shock DDT on the announce table. Punk was able to counter into a back-body drop onto the announce table and finally was able to retrieve a folding table from under the ring.

Continuing the back-and-forth nature of the match, McIntyre rallied and went back on the offensive, even introducing a steel chair into the equation. Somehow during the extended sequence outside the ring, Punk got busted open. As McIntyre set the chair up in one of the turnbuckles, Punk attacked and used the strap to pull McIntyre into the ring post as the action briefly shifted back outside the ring.

As the match returned inside the ropes, McIntyre landed a Claymore Kick and touched three of the four turnbuckles. Punk, in desperation, leaped outside the ring and pulled McIntyre head-first into the chair he set up earlier. Punk was able to hit three turnbuckles of his own before McIntyre broke his momentum and sent Punk crashing through a folding table outside the ring.

McIntyre dragged Punk back into the ring and carried him around the ring, touching each turnbuckle in the process. Unbeknownst to McIntyre, after he touched each one, Punk followed suit, setting up a 3-3 tie between both men. With momentum stopped and the turnbuckle lights reset, Punk and McIntyre took each other out with a pair of kicks. Punk was able to recover first and locked McIntyre in a Sharpshooter submission.

As McIntyre appeared to pass out, Punk turned his attention toward winning the match, hitting two turnbuckles before a neckbreaker interrupted him. McIntyre leaped to his feet and pulled out Punk's bracelet that has been at the crux of this feud. McIntyre landed a massive Claymore Kick and began to touch the turnbuckles. Before McIntyre was able to hit the fourth and final turnbuckle, Punk yanked McIntyre toward him and landed a GTS.

Punk would land another GTS on McIntyre after noticing he was wearing the bracelet with Punk's wife's and dog's names on it. Punk collected two turnbuckles, hit another GTS on McIntyre, touched the third turnbuckle, landed another GTS, removed the bracelet and hit the fourth turnbuckle to win the match.

CM Punk defeats Drew McIntyre in 19:17.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair were first to enter the ring, albeit separately. It was an interesting wrinkle as we predicted that a loss in this match could result in a split between the former tag team champions.

Dawn and Fyre followed, but drew a relatively muted reception from the crowd. Dawn and Fyre have been champions since winning a triple-threat match at Clash at the Castle in Scotland earlier this year.

The match began with all four women in the ring before Cargill landed a massive backbreaker to send Dawn outside the ring and allowed Belair and Fyre to officially start the match. Belair and Cargill maintained the majority of the early offense, showcasing their chemistry, power and athleticism.

The champions gained the upper hand as Dawn distracted Belair and the action briefly moved outside the ring. Fyre and Dawn then isolated Belair in their corner, punishing the EST of WWE, slowing down the match pacing and landing a couple of near-falls. Belair came close to making a tag twice, but the champions used Belair's hair and a well-timed kick to take out Cargill.

When Belair was finally able to land the hot tag to Cargill she took out both Fyre and Dawn, landing a series of major moves, including a spinebuster, fallaway slam and what looked like a Jackhammer for a near-fall. As Cargill and Belair went for their tandem offense, the champions countered to land a massive finisher on Belair and the match appeared over, but Cargill broke up the pin.

A chaotic final sequence saw a near-fall by the challengers and several counters before Cargill was able to pull Belair out of harm's way by her signature ponytail. Fyre's top-rope maneuver inadvertently hit Dawn and the team of Cargill and Belair was finally able to land a tandem finisher and win back the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair defeat Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre in 12:04 to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

The international crowds are usually electric, and that was no different as Kevin Owens' entrance opened the show. Owens showcased his signature intensity, a bit of a callback from the more friendly version of the prizefighter that we have seen during this build with Cody Rhodes.

Rhodes, as usual, drew a massive pop from the Berlin crowd. Unlike his SummerSlam entrance, Rhodes opted to not wear the American Nightmare skull helmet. WWE flashed a decibel meter during the champion's entrance to illustrate the sound level as the crowd sang "Kingdom."

As the match begin, Owens remained perched atop the turnbuckle before cautiously descending and staring down Rhodes in the center of the ring, drawing a massive ovation from the crowd. The two men shook hands before engaging in a collar-and-elbow tie up. Owens powered Rhodes into the ropes before breaking the hold and both competitors exchanging headlocks resulting in a pair of big shoulder blocks from Owens.

Owens illustrated his scouting of Rhodes by countering an attempted Cody Cutter and Disaster Kick. Owens kept momentum by evading a CrossRhodes, but Rhodes himself managed to escape a Stunner from Owens and both men came nose-to-nose as the intensity picked up.

Rhodes went for a suicide dive but Owens was able to catch him and send him into the ring apron. Rhodes scrambled back into the ring and was able to hit a Disaster Kick, sending Owens back down to the floor. A successful suicide dive allowed Rhodes to finally gain the upper hand and score the first two near-falls of the match.

The match slowed down a bit afterwards, with Rhodes locking in two submission moves, including a Figure Four, but Owens was able to get both holds broken by grabbing the bottom rope. Owens rallied after the submissions, countering an attempted shoulder through the ropes to send Rhodes from the ring apron to the barricade. Owens stayed on the offensive with a frog splash and began to focus on Rhodes' midsection.

Owens' offense was halted shortly after and both men landed clotheslines on each other, knocking each other down. Rhodes was able to rally after this sequence, landing a scoop powerslam and Disaster Kick for another near-fall. Rhodes' next attempt at a signature move was countered by Owens into a release German suplex. Despite this, Rhodes immediately regained momentum by landing a Cody Cutter on his third attempt of the match.

After a brief sequence of trading blows, Owens landed what appeared to be a modified gut-wrench brainbuster onto his knee for his most significant move of the match and a near-fall. Owens climbed to the top rope but was met by Rhodes. Owens was able to come out on top here, landing a massive avalanche rolling senton for another near-fall and drew "this is awesome" chants from the crowd.

After kicking out, Rhodes went for a Disaster Kick, which Owens countered into a Stunner attempt. Rhodes was able to counter the Stunner into a CrossRhodes for a near-fall. The major moments did not slow as Rhodes' attempt at a Superplex was countered into an avalanche brainbuster by Owens. Rhodes kicked out of the subsequent pin and set up a slugfest between the two in the center of the ring.

As Rhodes went for a Cody Cutter off the top turnbuckle, Rhodes sold a knee injury that had been referenced by Owens as a weak spot for the champion. Owens, conflicted by exploiting the injury, refused to hit a powerbomb on Rhodes onto the ring apron, instead sending the champion back into the ring. Rhodes went for a quick roll-up pin, which Owens kicked out of and landed a Stunner for yet another near-fall.

Owens taunted Rhodes, saying "you asked for this" before the champion capitalized and went for the triple CrossRhodes. Before Rhodes landed the third finisher, Owens countered and hit a Stunner, but Rhodes again kicked out of the pin.

As Owens went for a Swanton Bomb off the top rope Rhodes was able to get his knees up and hit a CrossRhodes to win the match.

Cody Rhodes pins Kevin Owens in 23:20 to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

After the match, Owens looked distraught as Rhodes pleaded with him. The two men embraced and Owens raised Rhodes' hand in victory. It was notable that Owens shoved the cameraman out of his face during his hug with Rhodes and refused to let Rhodes raise his hand.

Randy Orton has had an illustrious WWE career. If he is able to dethrone Gunther on Saturday he will break a tie with Paul "Triple H" Levesque and move into 2nd place all time with a 15th world championship. Orton and Levesque currently trail just John Cena and Ric Flair, who each have 16 world championship reigns.

The first match on Saturday's card will be Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Clearing the way for Gunther vs. Randy Orton to close the show.

There are five total matches on Saturday's card, including three championship contests. Here's the rundown with WWE's promotional graphics.

Here's how we see the five matches on Saturday's card playing out. A title change would be truly unexpected, while the two non-title matches are unlikely to bring an end to two of the more enthralling storylines in WWE today.

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c.) vs. Randy Orton – Similar to what we saw with Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle in Scotland earlier this year, Gunther vs. Orton will almost certainly be the main event for Bash in Berlin. I’m expecting the crowd to be red-hot for this match and it to be a showcase of the two heavyweights, much like the match we saw between these two in the King of the Ring final. Gunther’s reign isn’t going to end so quickly and he’s the perfect World Heavyweight Champion on Raw across from Cody Rhodes on SmackDown. Prediction: Gunter retains the World Heavyweight Championship.

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c.) vs. Kevin Owens – Although the Bloodline and Roman Reigns still remain the biggest threats to Rhodes, this match should provide another refreshing break in what has become a two-year feud between the champion and the Bloodline faction. What will be most interesting is how the finish is handled here. With Rhodes likely to retain, will we see Owens begin to turn heel and perhaps run it back at Bad Blood? Rhodes may be the champion — and his run has been filled with excellent matches — but Owens’ angle is going to be what I’m watching for in particular. Prediction: Cody Rhodes retains the Undisputed WWE Championship.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (c.) vs. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair – Cargill and Belair are absolute stars, yet it seems as if them being paired together in the tag division is burying them a bit, especially without the championships. Keeping the championships on Fyre and Dawn can continue to help build their stars and another loss could perhaps propel Cargill and Belair to a split, feud and more prominent singles runs. Prediction: Fyre and Dawn retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Strap Match: Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk – Arguably the best feud of 2024 continues with a rarely seen strap match, which is a logical step up from Punk and McIntyre’s SummerSlam contest. If McIntyre wins, the feud ends at Bash in Berlin. If Punk wins, we’re going to get a third showdown between the two before the year is up, with an even more drastic stipulation tied to it. My money is on the latter happening. Prediction: CM Punk wins.

Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan – Ripley and Priest should win here after both were screwed over by the Judgment Day at SummerSlam. BUT, if we’re looking in the not-so-distant future at War Games in November, a Priest/Ripley faction going up against the Judgment Day could be a really unique end to this ongoing feud. The babyface pair winning here would certainly garner a big pop, but I believe there is a more rewarding payoff down the line. We’ve seen WWE practice plenty of patience with storylines like this and it would be prudent to do it again. Prediction: Mysterio and Morgan win.