"Carries himself like he’s a one-man machine" - Wrestling veteran compares WWE star Gunther to a late legend (Exclusive)
WWE veteran and former on-screen manager Dutch Mantell praised Gunther for how he carries himself.
Since moving up to the main roster, Gunther has been highly dominant, especially with Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci in his corner. The trio, known as Imperium, reunited at the Clash at the Castle show. The Ring General's next defense of the WWE Intercontinental Championship will be against Ricochet, who recently won the SmackDown World Cup.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Mantell claimed that the reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion is like a one-man machine.
He compared him to the late great Johnny Valentine, whose career span was almost three decades in the professional wrestling industry.
“The thing about Gunther is he carries himself like he’s a one-man machine. You guys ever see Johnny Valentine work? [...] Johnny Valentine, he just start getting warmed up after 20-25 minutes. That’s how long he’d go. Him and Wahoo [McDaniel] had such matches that people actually thought that Wahoo was going to have to go to the hospital, because they’d beat the living cr*p out of each other," the veteran said.
Mantell added that WWE would rely much more on Gunther if he continues to work the way he currently does.
"Sometimes this was seven days a week and a doubleheader on Sunday, like it’s talked about in Mid-South. Because they believed Johnny Valentine as they will believe Gunther if he continues the way he is working. And they believed Wahoo. So when you put, and they are still looking for the guy for Gunther," said Mantell. [7:09-8:20]
Watch Dutch Mantell speak about the Intercontinental Championship scene on Smack Talk:
Dutch Mantell briefly spoke about WWE star Gunther's matches with Sheamus
Gunther and Sheamus had two incredible matches in 2022. Their Intercontinental Championship bout at WWE Clash at the Castle remains one of the best matches of 2022 and was highly praised by Dutch Mantell as well.
The match is regarded as one of the hardest-hitting WWE bouts in recent memory, as both the champion and the challenger took each other to the limit for almost 20 minutes.
During the same conversation, the wrestling veteran briefly spoke about the match, explaining how fans took an interest in a particular style of professional wrestling.
"Him and Sheamus, they had those matches, like at the Castle… brutal! And the people see it back and say, 'Wow!' See, that’s what attracts you to wrestling. Two guys going out there, and instead of 42 high spots a minute, they are actually taking one part and making the other guy sell it and taking their time doing it, of course. But now the crowd has time to get into it," added Mantell. [8:21-8:51]
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Mantell also added that there has to be a clear-cut babyface and heel so that the fans can pick the sides, getting into the rivalry even more.
Will Ricochet win the IC Championship in his third bout against Gunther? Sound off in the comment section below.
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