It's hard to find true stars in the wrestling industry today. You have a handful of them in WWE, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes. But one issue WWE has always had is building up new stars. We've seen them do it very well in the past with guys like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, John Cena, and the other aforementioned wrestlers. However, WWE often fails to take advantage of the wrestlers they have on their roster and make new stars out of them. This is why they always look for guys like The Rock and Steve Austin to return for a Wrestlemania main event.

WWE hasn't been able to rely on the wrestlers they have on their roster to be in a big match or story because they aren't built up as legitimate stars. They have certainly tried building some wrestlers up as stars and failed miserably. The most recent example is Austin Theory. He's on the right track to stardom now, but under Vince McMahon's control, he was immediately set up for failure. The fans rejected him because WWE was forcing him down their throats.

WWE can make a legitimate star if they take their time building them up. Fans don't like it when someone is being shoved down their throats because they know WWE is set on making that person the next big thing, whether they like it or not. Example number one is Roman Reigns back in the mid-2010s. Fans HATED Reigns, not because of who he was, but because WWE was planning on making him the next face of the company. He's doing great now because he has a fantastic character, and his storylines make sense, but fans hated it when WWE was rushing his build.

Over the past few months, WWE has done a great job utilizing their talent and building them up through great storytelling and matches. Is it a coincidence that this started once Triple H took over creative control? Although there have been more than a handful of wrestlers who have been thriving, there is one wrestler who sticks out over the rest. And that man is Gunther.

Since entering WWE, Gunther has been unstoppable. Gunther is the longest reigning NXT UK Champion at 870 days. He is unbeaten on the main roster and has been the Intercontinental Champion for over 230 days. Not only did he have the match of the year against Sheamus at Clash at the Castle, but he also broke the Royal Rumble record for time spent in the match at 71 minutes. He even had a faceoff with Brock Lesnar during the Royal Rumble, potentially leading to a match down the line. It's clear that WWE is preparing to make Gunther the next star of the company.

Since becoming Intercontinental Champion, Gunther has had feuds and defeated Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and Rey Mysterio. The best part is that his title reign doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon. He has had matches against some of the best wrestlers on the roster, and even future Hall of Famers, and comes out looking like a bigger star after each one. And not for nothing, Gunther has single-handedly made the Intercontinental Championship feel important again. That's super impressive, considering nobody has cared about that championship in years.

WWE wants to protect Gunther and make him look as dominant as possible on the main roster. Calling up Giovanni Vinci from NXT to complete Imperium was one of the best moves WWE could have made for Gunther. Not only is Gunther arguably the most dominant Intercontinental Champion of all time, but he's the leader of what could be the next best faction in WWE. If WWE decides to throw a pair of tag team titles on Imperium, they would be one of the most dominant and legitimate groups in wrestling today.

The crazy thing is this is only the beginning for Gunther. He's been in WWE for only four years and is just getting started. He's only 35 years old, which is still on the younger side in wrestling. With Elimination Chamber coming up, I expect his road to Wrestlemania to be a big deal. I would love to see Gunther defend his title in the Elimination Chamber match, leading to a significant program at Wrestlemania. If Gunther goes up against Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, or both at Wrestlemania and walks out victorious, we'll be talking about how Gunther needs to win a world championship by the end of this year.

The future is ridiculously bright for Gunther. If Triple H continues what he's doing with Gunther, there's no doubt he'll be a world champion in no time. Not only am I confident he'll be a world champion, but I'm confident he'll be WWE's next biggest star.

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