WWE's plan for Gunther at Bash in Berlin - Reports
Gunther has already made the first step towards becoming World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, after winning the 2024 King of the Ring Tournament. The Ring General will challenge for the title at SummerSlam.
It is the unexpected early return of Seth Rollins to Monday Night RAW that threw a curveball as we head into the summer. Suddenly, the question of who will walk into the major upcoming event has come up. Prior to last week's episode of the red brand, it was almost certain that Damian Priest was going to be the guy.
Nevertheless, Xero News reported that Gunther will be in a title match at Bash in Berlin on August 31. It is not clear whether he will win the belt at SummerSlam or if WWE will save the moment for a homecoming win.
The report also notes that Cody Rhodes and The Ring General are not considered as prospective rivals in the immediate future. Instead, the company hopes to explore it further down the line.
Considering Priest's status as a tweener, it is totally plausible for WWE to put the title back on Rollins so that we get a babyface vs. heel story heading into The Biggest Party of the Summer.
It's also worth noting that on the January 22 episode of WWE RAW, the creative team teased a future rivalry between the Austrian wrestler against then World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
SummerSlam is scheduled to take place at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio on August 3, 2024.
Gunther recounts wrestling Cody Rhodes at WWE Royal Rumble 2023
In the final act of the 2023 Men's Royal Rumble Match, Gunther and eventual winner Cody Rhodes wrestled a straight-up wrestling match. The two went back and forth for around 10 minutes before The American Nightmare through The Ring General over the top rope.
Speaking on My Love Letter To Wrestling last summer, Gunther claimed that he and Cody Rhodes are destined to fight "a couple of times" in the coming years:
"I think it was super cool to add a little something at the top of it at the end of that match," Gunther said. "In general, I think Cody is someone who is maybe my ideal opposite right now. Going forward, it's going to be a match that... I'm very confident we're going to do that match a couple of times in the next years."
The Austrian reiterated this sentiment many times since. However, as for Bash in Berlin, all he cares about is the fact that he will be wrestling on his home turf. The former Intercontinental Champion said that ideally a world title match should be in the cards for him, but nevertheless is excited for the show.