WWE likes to make a big deal of milestones and anniversaries. So here’s one I predict you’ll be hearing on commentary before long. Three years ago, a man arrived on the WWE roster who went on to reshape heavyweight wrestling in his image — and to make the mat sacred.
Wrestling aficionados may wince at the thought of treating Gunther’s “WWE SmackDown” debut — April 8, 2022 — as a year-zero moment, given that the Austrian powerhouse had already spent more than three years dominating NXT under his previous ring name, Walter. And it’s true that there are infinite reasons why his breakthrough matches with Pete Dunne, Ilja Dragunov and Tyler Bate are still spoken about in hushed tones by those who witnessed them at the time. But it was when Walter received his promotion to “WWE SmackDown” that he truly embarked on his journey to stardom.
To fully appreciate Gunther’s impact on the professional wrestling landscape, it’s worth recapping how the WWE roster looked at the time. While the upper card was in safe hands with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, the weekly shows were on shakier ground. Regulars on the blue brand at the time included Madcap Moss, Rick Boogs, Drew Gulak and the stoner era Matt Riddle. Not terrible wrestlers by any means, but all massively hampered by the unserious comedy tone of the latter Vince McMahon era.
If you were looking to design a talent to smash that mold and reset things, you’d struggle to come up with a better candidate than Gunther. With his high-top laced boots and red speedo-style trunks, he was the first competitor in a while to look like an actual wrestler. If he’d walked onto the set of a hypothetical George Hackenschmidt biopic, the director would have jumped over their desk to cast him on the spot.
Luckily, the powers that be had the good sense to put the former NXT star on the fast track. After a few weeks brutalizing local jobbers, Gunther was given a title shot against Ricochet, the WWE’s then Intercontinental Champion. It proved to be the beginning of a record-breaking Intercontinental title run.
WWE hasn’t been shy when it comes to pushing Gunther’s 666-day reign. But in retrospect, the more impressive achievement was how “The Ring General” elevated the Intercontinental Championship back to its former glory. After some spirited defenses on “WWE SmackDown,” he became the first Intercontinental champion in two years to put his gold on the line at a premium live event (PLE) — a decision that culminated in a standing ovation for him and Sheamus at Clash at the Castle.