When Gunther began his professional wrestling journey all the way back in 2005, there wasn't a clear pathway to WWE.

Granted, there were plenty of European performers who worked for WWE or WCW during the time when Gunther was growing up, with performers like William Regal and Nikolai Volkoff coming up through the European scene on their way to the biggest stage in professional wrestling, but there was no NXT UK to serve as a developmental pipeline for the likes of Tyler Bate and Butch, with these performers having to instead take extraordinary leaps to get where they wanted to be.

Sitting down for an interview with Chris Van Vliet to discuss his journey from Vienna, Austria, to a major match at Survivor Series, Gunther explained that growing up, WWE wasn't really on his radar, partially because he was such a big fan of Japanese wrestling and partially because he simply didn't see a realistic path to The Fed.

“Yeah, always, I was sure. 2005, I had my first training, right. Then a few years in, the wrestling scene in Europe, especially the German speaking countries was so small. Nobody gave a dang about it. It wasn't on free TV, like in general, you get looked at weird when you watch wrestling. Most people didn't know what's going on, like it was not a topic in the mainstream entertainment world,” Gunther told Chris Van Vliet via Fightful.

“All of that was so far away, even like ten years ago, somebody from England — I think Sheamus and Drew [McIntyre] and Stu were one of the first exceptions for Europeans to go there and actually make it or be somebody, or Cesaro. Then, for a long time, there was nothing and it was just something that's not realistic, so don't aim for it.”

Fortunately for Gunther, as interest in wrestling began to expand in Europe, so did opportunities for performers like himself, leading to a chance to wrestle for NXT UK and eventually land on SmackDown.

“My goal was always I want to make a living off of being a professional wrestler. That was always my goal. I want to make this my profession because I know some about it now, I have a passion for it, and I don't want to work a job that bores the h*ll out of me. I always wanted to make it a profession. When I achieved that, that was already something unheard of. When I became a full time wrestler, I had to be self-employed basically. To every agency or every government body I had to go for, whatever it was pension or health insurance and all of that stuff, I got looked at like an alien. I think at that time, I was the only person in Germany that was a wrestler by profession,” Gunther added.

“That was already a big step and then everything else just fell into place over the time. The indies changed big time, it was before COVID, there was such a big boom in the indie scene in England especially, but all in the states as well. WWE decided to open the doors to the independent wrestling world and also to Europe so that brought up a lot more possibilities obviously. It was never my big dream to go there, I think I was more passionate to wrestle for All Japan at some point as like a big dream then being with WWE.”

Say what you will about Gunther, about his in-ring presentation and how his non-wrestling segments have been booked, but when it comes to actually showing up and showing out between the bells, it's the non-WWE-ness of his efforts that really make the “Ring General” special. Had Walter Hahn come up wanting to be, say, the next Brock Lesnar instead of the next Stan Hansen, maybe there wouldn't be a Gunther right now at all.

Gunther still has the same “End Boss” for his WWE journey.

Elsewhere on his promotional tour ahead of Survivor Series, which, admittedly, is a pretty big deal for the “Ring General,” Gunther was asked by Under The Ring about his goals beyond The Miz and if he still has eyes on the “Beast Incarnate” himself, Brock Lesnar.

While Gunther did get a taste of Lesnar at the 2023 Royal Rumble, if he has his way, they will get a far more expansive offering at some point in the future.

“You never really know what you get with Brock,” Gunther told Phil Strum of Under The Ring via Fightful. “It's definitely a match I want to have, and I want to do. I feel Brock is somebody, I just make it my thing, I make him my personal End Boss. That's the guy that, at one point, I have to step in the ring (with) to validate myself.”

Would it be weird to see Lesnar return to WWE in the pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship? Eh, maybe a little bit, but do you know what? After his program with Cody Rhodes, why not embrace the violence associated with a meat match of this caliber and see who really is the baddest dude in WWE in 2023… or, more realistically, 2024.