In the early lead-up to WrestleMania 39 there was one person and one person only who Gunther wanted to wrestle at “The Showcase of the Immortals:” Brock Lesnar. Gunther called him his “End Boss,” declared his long-time fandom of “The Beast Incarnate,” and basically attempted to crowd-fund a featured match at Mania against his preferred opponent.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen; Gunther ended up settling into a feud with both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, while Lesnar somehow found himself in a feud with MVP and Omos – a feud that might just be the most polarizing on the WrestleMania 39 card. Though the duo were able to at least tease a potential feud, with Gunther and Lesnar exchanging blows in the Royal Rumble as the crowd went bananas, it would appear the feud is done… at least for now. That's right, speaking with WWE's favorite outside reporter, Aeriel Helwani, for BT Sport, Gunther acknowledged that while he wanted to wrestle Lesnar very badly, he's happy to put it off until next year.
“I'm hoping for that match but to be honest, I think it's better that it's not happening now. I think that moment we had in the Royal Rumble was at least everything I needed out of it right now,” said Gunther via Fightful. “On the internet, they always see things pop up, but often they don't translate in real life, but just the reaction we got for that moment we had there was like a real live confirmation for me that, ‘Okay, people, they want to see this.' I got my stuff to do now, he does what he does, and then let's see what happens next year.”
Speaking of next year, Gunther was asked about his plans for WrestleMania 40, even though 39 hasn't even happened yet. Boldy declaring that he intends to headline the show, which is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia, Helwani asked if Gunther had an opponent in mind for the show, “The Ring General” delivered an answer that needs to be read to appreciate the nuance fully.
“I’ll leave that up to everybody else. I don’t care,” Gunther said SE Scoops. “There are obviously (dream opponents he has) in this company, there are so many great guys I would really like to get in the ring with, but whatever the challenge is, I’m going to take it head on and make the most out of that.”
Welp, that certainly sounds like Lesnar to me. Whether he retains the Intercontinental Championship, loses it but wins the Universal Championship, or simply wants to test his mettle Omos-style against one of the biggest, baddest dudes in the WWE, it sure sounds like a Lesnar-Gunther feud could be in store at some point in the future, with the real winner of the contest being the fans who get to witness it.
Gunther earns some serious praise from his WWE peers.
With their shared Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship rapidly approaching, Drew McIntyre was asked about the prospects of wrestling “The Ring General” by Wrestling News, “The Scottish Warrior” put over his opponent for restoring the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship, even if he plans to take it at WrestleMania 39.
“Gunther has done a good job of restoring prestige to that title. It's been a while since the IC title has been in such a prominent position. Just look at WrestleMania [and] the level of match…I would love to take it to the next level. I have plenty of plans for it, and that includes defending it in Puerto Rico…”
McIntyre wasn't the only WWE Superstar to throw some shine Gunther's way, as Cody Rhodes also complemented his match with Sheamus while appearing on the latter's Celtic Warrior Workouts, calling it better than his match at Hell in a Cell.
“I do want to go on record, I know there was this big discussion over Gunther vs. Sheamus and me vs. Seth. Listen, I'll tell you right here, the better match was their match,” Rhodes said via Fightful. “I appreciate that people appreciated what I was going through and what I did, but I'm the worst when it comes to talking about the ‘pec match' because you're supposed to make this big, Curt Schilling bloody sock moment. To me, it was what I was always going to do. They would have had to legit tase me and handcuff me for me to not go out there.”
Are folks being nice to Gunther on his way out, celebrating his reign as it's about to end, or are these genuine compliments for a performer who has arguably been the biggest workhorse on SmackDown over the past calendar year? Fans will find out this weekend at WrestleMania.
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