WWE star Gunther reveals he nearly quit wrestling
Gunther has been one of WWE's most successful superstars since moving to the main roster from NXT in 2022. In a recent interview, The Ring General opened up about a difficult decision he faced earlier in his pro wrestling career.
Before joining WWE in 2019, Gunther mostly wrestled in Europe under the name WALTER. The Austrian always wanted to earn a full-time income as a wrestler. However, he questioned whether that dream would ever become a reality when he struggled to make ends meet in 2013 and 2014.
During an appearance on SHAK Wrestling, Gunther recalled how he worked night shifts during the week and wrestled at weekends:
"That just took a toll on me that was hard to sustain, and my goal was always to make a living off professional wrestling and that was not really in sight, so I was like, you know what, maybe call it quits and just focus on the career in your real job." [12:58 – 13:19]
The 36-year-old won the WWE King of the Ring tournament on May 25. He also held the Intercontinental Championship for a record 666 days before losing to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania XL.
Why Gunther decided not to quit wrestling
After establishing himself as one of Europe's top in-ring competitors, the RAW star gained enough experience to teach up-and-comers how to wrestle.
Gunther added that he began earning a full-time living in the wrestling business after agreeing to become a trainer for the German promotion wXw:
"But then I spoke to basically wXw and I said, 'Hey, guys, either we run a wrestling school now, or I run that wrestling school for you and that's my job, or I think I call it quits,' and they were happy to do that. They wanted to do a wrestling school. They employed me, basically, and since then professional wrestling is my main profession." [13:22 – 13:48]
On August 3, the King of the Ring winner will challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.
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Please credit SHAK Wrestling and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.