Gunther is just 48 days away from being the longest-tenured Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.

Since winning the strap on June 10th, 2022, Gunther has successfully defended his title on 12 occasions, put down some of the best performers the WWE roster has to offer, and has established Imperium as one of the most imposing factions in all of WWE, even as the group has jumped from SmackDown to RAW as part of the 2023 WWE Draft.

Discussing the totality of his run in an interview with Joel Torres of Contralona, Gunther noted that his run with the IC Title has been mutually beneficial to both himself and the strap, as both have elevated their statuses in the company considerably since last summer.

“It is very important, obviously. I take great pride in doing it. It might be to the title legacy but also building my own legacy. It's been a big responsibility so far but also a great experience; I am really enjoying it, and I put all my effort into that, all the energy that I have. So far, like I said, it's been a great ride; let's see how far we can go with it”.

Asked if he has a message to the rest of the roster regarding his current title run, maybe to a certain “Scottish Warrior” who wants to take his belt, Gunther remained as stoic as ever, suggesting that he is one of the standard bearers of the WWE Universe.

“I don't specific as the Intercontinental Champion, just in general, I want to be the guy that raises the bar of how serious our sports gets taken to a highest possible level and I think that with Intercontinental Championship I will be able to raise the bar again, as it was down for a while, but I've always done that with title runs outside WWE or even in NXT UK. I care about this sport a lot, I think I care about it more than most of the colleagues out there, and that's what I want to deliver in the ring. I would say that I am almost a very selfless guy because all my energy goes into keeping the standards of this sport up, and everybody benefits from them”.

Eventually, Gunther is going to drop his strap and move on to bigger and better things, like a run at either the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. But before that happens, it would appear the 35-year-old Superstar has plenty more top-tier matches before his current run is done.

Gunther reflects on his “good heavyweight fight” at WrestleMania 39.

Turning his attention to his match at WrestleMania 39, Gunther was asked to reflect on his match against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus; a match considered by many to be one of the best matches of Day 2. For Gunther, the contest was a perfect representation of a heavyweight fight and a real milestone of his WWE run thus far.

“It was very well received. I think in general a good heavyweight fight with guys of certain heights and weight when that gets mixed with a lot of agility and a lot of physicality and high heights in the match… I think that's one of the most exciting scenarios you can have for any match at any sport,” Gunther said. ”

“Obviously, I benefited at the end when Drew and Sheamus got really stuck in the personal issue that they have, which I didn't mind; I think it exposed them a little bit but my mind was focus on the gold as it was supposed to be. I was able to take the win, and in general, WrestleMania for myself was a big happening in my career and definitely wasn't the last one I've ever competed in so… I am already focus on what's next for me, more or less, when it comes to that almost those big milestones in my career, also at the Royal Rumble… I'm focused on doing the best I can on that day, and when it's done my focused is already on the next challenge, so I think once my career is over I can look back on all those things and re-enjoy them, if that makes sense, but right now I am more in the tunnel, don't look back, not left, not right… I'm focused in one direction, and that is where my efforts goes to.”

Though Gunther appears to be done with Sheamus for now, as the “Celtic Warrior” appears to be working tag matches with Ridge Holland as Butch gets some play as a singles star – come back, the “Bruiserweight” – it looks like he won't be so lucky when it comes to McIntyre, as the former “Chosen One” may be looking for a rematch at SummerSlam on the first Saturday in August.