5 Gunther facts you probably didn't know
In addition to being the leader of Imperium, Gunther is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion. He is one of WWE's most popular performers today and was recently drafted to RAW.
Similar to how he was in NXT, The Ring General has been portrayed as a wrecking ball on the main roster. He perfectly fits the mold of a dominant powerhouse that the company is working hard to promote. The Austrian star has impressed in his recent in-ring outings, featuring in well-received feuds against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.
The WWE Universe constantly talks about his brilliance and wants to know more about the star. On that note, here are five things about the Imperium leader that you probably didn't know.
#5 Vince McMahon didn't know who Gunther was
When Vince McMahon first met The Ring General, the former had no idea who the 35-year-old was. Gunther approached McMahon for a handshake, which caught the latter off guard. The RAW Superstar was known as Walter then and was a mainstay on WWE's NXT UK brand.
Although McMahon didn't watch NXT UK, he was aware of the show's trajectory. Road Dogg claimed on his Oh... You Didn't Know podcast that when Vince McMahon first met Gunther, he had no idea about the latter's contributions to the now-defunct brand.
“Well, so look, Vince didn’t watch the program. Vince heard the social media reports about the program, he read the emails about the ratings. He got the information, but he didn’t know who he was. He didn’t know what Gunther [then Walter] brought to the table." [H/T SportzWiki]
#4 Gunther played football in his youth and wanted to be a goalkeeper
At the age of six or seven, The Ring General started to play football. He even considered pursuing it as a full-time career.
He was a goalkeeper, which was expected given his impressive stature. His goals changed in his teens as he wanted to be a professional wrestler. The demanding lifestyle of a footballer was seemingly too much for him, which led the RAW Superstar to make a name for himself in wrestling.
#3 He used to work at a meat factory
Many wrestlers have utilized additional employment to supplement their income while working on the independent circuit. Like several others, Gunther worked various jobs before becoming a wrestler.
He made five euros per hour working at a meat factory in Germany, besides being the manager of a company that handled food logistics. The Imperium leader left that position as he ascended the pro wrestling ladder.
In an interview with TalkSport, Gunther had this to say about his employment history:
"I had some ridiculous jobs [laughs]. I was once when I first came to Germany, I was working in a meat factory for like five euros an hour. I had to put frozen meat blocks in the meat grinder."
#2 Brock Lesnar is one of his dream opponents
On the main roster, Gunther has a lot of possible dream matchups that fans would love to witness. One among them is a one-on-one bout against Brock Lesnar.
With him joining the red brand and Brock Lesnar being a free agent, the stars may align for these two titans to square off. Their potential bout could be one of the most eagerly anticipated matches in recent WWE history. The Ring General could even be a perfect candidate to retire Lesnar.
In a conversation with WMBD News, the Imperium leader admitted wanting to face Brock Lesnar.
"If I had to pin it down to one name, I’d say it’s Brock Lesnar. When I was young and watching WWE, I enjoyed watching his matches. When I was young and watching WWE, I enjoyed watching his matches." [H/T Yahoo]
#1 He was the longest-reigning champion in WWE since Hulk Hogan
The Austrian star has been unstoppable since joining WWE. Gunther (fka Walter) was the longest-reigning NXT UK Champion before dropping the title to Ilja Dragunov in August 2021.
The star held the now-defunct title for 870 days, making him the longest-reigning champion of the past 30 years. However, Roman Reigns broke the record as he is about to reach 1000 days as Universal Champion later this month.