Gunther breaks character to pay tribute to WWE management ahead of SmackDown
Gunther had to break character when talking about how WWE management has handled the promotion recently. The Ring General is set to challenge Damian Priest at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The 36-year-old WWE Superstar earned the opportunity against The Archer of Infamy after winning the King of the Ring Tournament, earlier this year. However, some fans do not like the Gunther-Priest matchup because they feel the World Heavyweight Champion lacks star power.
In an interview on the Gorilla Position podcast, the former Intercontinental Champion discussed his matchup against The Punisher at SummerSlam. He understands how fans see Seth Rollins, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre as bigger stars, but he also likes how WWE management has tried its best to elevate new stars.
Having risen through the developmental ranks himself, the former record Intercontinental Champion understood why it was important for talents coming through the ranks to also be given their time to shine. Needless to say, the King of the Ring is eagerly anticipating his World Title clash with El Campeón at the Biggest Event of the Summer.
"People were like, 'Why is Seth not involved? Why is Drew not involved? Why is Punk not involved?' On the other hand, it's the same people that would complain that there are no new stars built, there's no opportunities for other people than the usual ones. And I feel going into a match with Priest, at second or third biggest PLE in the company, it's just a testament for management right now how it's important to them to feature new faces in those big roles and situations. And now it's up to both of us to step up to it and fulfill the expectations or even over fulfill them, exceed them," he said. [4:23 - 5:12]
Damian Priest's run has not been popular with some part of the fanbase, but things are getting interesting with Rhea Ripley's return and Finn Balor seemingly ready to turn his back on his fellow Judgment Day member.
Why is Gunther sporadically on WWE television?
In the same interview with the Gorilla Position podcast, Gunther explained why he's been missing a lot of shows since winning the King of the Ring Tournament, earlier in May.
The 36-year-old said he was a fan of "less is more," and now that he's already penciled to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, he had time to take things slow and watch everything unfold on RAW, without needing to get involved.
"Overall, I'm a big fan of 'less is more.' I think it's a rule that applies in most occasions in life. I think in general, it makes sense right now because after I won King of the Ring, it was clear I will be challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. To be fair, there wasn't much need for me to be heavily involved before Money in the Bank. I had the luxury of leaning back for a few weeks and just looking at all the things that happened and looking at all the drama with the Judgment Day, Seth's being back then all the chaos with Punk and Drew. It was quite amusing, I have to say, and I enjoyed it," Gunther said. [2:06 - 2:56]
Gunther is set to return to WWE RAW this Monday in Dayton, Ohio, and will have a face-to-face interaction in a segment with Damian Priest, ahead of their mega SummerSlam showdown.