As you may or may not know, WWE wasn't the number one goal for Gunther when he started out his professional wrestling career.

Sure, the man known affectionately as the “Ring General” wanted to make a living as a professional wrestler and did everything in his power to make that happen, but after coming up as a student of the King's Road, idolizing the legends of All Japan, Gunther wasn't exactly looking to become the next great Sports Entertainer, with a three-letter abbreviation for his finisher and all of the goofiness associated with it.

A big reason why Gunther wasn't too keen on what WWE brought to the proverbial table? Well, that would be performers like his Survivor Series foe, The Miz, who, as the “Ring General” explained to Chris Van Vliet in the lead-up to the show, pretty much embodied everything the promotion he didn't like.

“I don't remember any specific in Miz's career, I can promise you that. I forget the years, I don't know, maybe it was 2010 to 2012 or something like that, I don't know. There was a time when I came up as a wrestler that I didn't bother watching WWE because it was really not my thing. I like Japanese wrestling, I loved some of the indie stuff and that's where my focus was that I watched for personal entertainment, but also like the Japanese matches, how could I use it [myself]. The Miz, for me, was always the embodiment of that era when I didn't like to watch WWE at all.”

Asked how it feels to now, after almost 20 years in the ring, actually get a shot at the “A-Lister,” Gunther noted that he was actually excited, as the difference in style should make for a fantastic fight.

“So getting in the ring with him now is fantastic, especially in WWE, and it's about the Intercontinental Championship and it's basically the match of who is really the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. I'm really excited for the match, honestly, because when I joined the main roster, it was clear for me that I needed to make a statement. I'm not a guy out of that system, I've been in NXT UK, I've been a little bit in NXT,, but all of my development and character building and figuring myself out, all of that happened way before WWE, so I'm not the typical guy. Miz on the other hand, is a prime example of how good their development system is because he started with them and he's one of the most decorated names they have. I feel like especially in the presentation of the company in the general media world, just a very few have done better than him. I wanted a challenge. It's like okay, I need to, I'm still a little bit of a new guy here. I'm definitely still in WWE, I'm a little bit of an outsider if that makes sense, that's at least how I feel when I watch it. I'm not the typical WWE wrestler, so I always wanted to be in the ring with the Miz because first of all, he has that background with the Intercontinental Championship, and secondly, that's the great measuring stick for me because it's the clash of two different worlds.”

Is there any world where The Miz actually defeats Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series? No, probably not; while the finish would be surprising, the results would likely generate the sort of boos and bad publicity that WWE has largely been able to avoid under Paul “Triple H” Levesque and lead to the sort of negative publicity that follows along the midcard belt indefinitely. Still, that doesn't mean the match couldn't be entertaining, as it will likely end up being one of the top matches on the entire card.

Gunther explains his success in WWE.

Elsewhere on his promotional tour ahead of Survivor Series, Gunther was asked on The Masked Men Show what it was like to have found so much success so quickly in WWE and how he plans to continue to progress in the sport.

While Gunther didn't get too in-the-weeds on the subject, he did acknowledge his willingness to work as hard as possible to succeed.

“I think what I do on camera is not as different from who I really am. I think, in real life, a lot of my decisions are based just on logic. I don't really try to make decisions on emotions. I try to judge situations objectively and not from a side already, if that makes sense. And I think that converts over to what I do in the ring,” Gunther said via Wrestling Inc. “In general, everybody that has been successful in this business, I think most of them found something in their own personality that they could just take and make it work in the ring. Because if you're not acting something and it's just you, nobody will ever beat the authenticity that comes with it. That's just nothing you can copy. It doesn't matter on what basis you relate to someone. As soon as you can relate somehow, you're going to have some sort of emotional connection.”

Say what you will about Gunther, about his efforts, his in-ring abilities, and his presentation, but you can't say he hasn't taken advantage of every opportunity presented to him, as few have run through WWE the right way as quickly and commandingly as the “Ring General.”