Gunther says WWE before Triple H was ‘not what I enjoyed’

The Ring General was not a fan of the company’s previous regime.

Since making his WWE debut in 2019, Gunther has been a dominant force, consistently reigning as a champion. His impressive tenure includes a remarkable 870-day reign as NXT United Kingdom Champion, followed by a staggering 666-day reign as Intercontinental Champion, setting records for both titles.

Despite his current success and potential to become a future world champion, it almost didn’t happen, all thanks to one person: Vince McMahon.

Though Gunther captured the Intercontinental title under McMahon’s watch, he wasn’t a fan of the product before coming to WWE’s NXT UK in 2019. As he told the Gorilla Position podcast, The Ring General said the presence of the old regime deterred him from coming aboard sooner.

“One of the reasons I didn’t want to go to the U.S. for a long time was because the product was not what I enjoyed before Triple H. I just didn’t want to be part of that,” said Gunther.

According to the former I.C. Champ, for him to be the best meant being who he is, which includes having time to work in the ring. Gunther didn’t think that would be possible under McMahon, who favored gimmicks and personalities more than old-fashioned pro wrestlers. But with Triple H, also known as Paul Levesque, leading WWE’s creative direction, Gunther feels fortunate to have someone in charge who believes in him.

“With Triple H, he always saw it in me, and I think he always had that vision for me. I got lucky that a lot of things in my career just fell into place at the right time, and it was a little bit of a leap of faith when I first made the move over. But yeah, everything worked out,” said Gunther.

Besides luck, the man formerly known as Walter also made a dedicated effort to increase his chances for success. The previously bear-like Gunther lost weight and agreed to change his name to suit his new direction. That direction led to him becoming the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, shattering the previous mark set by the Honky Tonk Man in 1988 by more than 200 days.

After losing the title to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania, Gunther is focused on winning the upcoming King of the Ring tournament. In the 2024 WWE Draft, Gunther and Imperium mate Ludwig Kaiser were retained by Raw, where Gunther defeated previous King of the Ring winner Xavier Woods. Gunther is also eyeing Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as a potential rival in the future.

“I think Cody and I are kind of made to be enemies. I think it makes sense just visually… And I could see that happening in the next years,” said Gunther.