Last night’s Intercontinental championship matchup between Sheamus and Gunther on the season premiere of SmackDown saw some controversy, as many fans believed that Gunther tapped out to Sheamus while he was trapped in a Cloverleaf submission. WWE official Jessica Carr claimed that Gunther did not fully submit, which led to the Ring General eventually winning the match thanks to the use of a foreign object.
The narrative online is that Gunther did a “Brazilian tap,” which is two, not three, taps to make your opponent think you have submitted. While WWE has not explicitly explained this a minimum of three taps to indicate a submission has been a common trait in wrestling.
Carr has since taken to Twitter to confirm that Gunther did not officially submit, and that she had the best view of make the right call. Her tweet reads, “Nope and I had the best view.”
Whether this leads to a third matchup between Gunther and Sheamus remains to be seen. The two will clash again tonight as Imperium battles Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. See Carr’s tweet below.