Gunther Names Surprising WWE Rivalry That Was Important For Him
Gunther has an interesting choice for a WWE rivalry that meant a lot for his career.
For nearly two years, Gunther was a dominant force as the Intercontinental Champion. He would go on to have memorable matches with big names in the company like Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, and many others.
At WrestleMania 40, Gunther lost the Intercontinental Title to Sami Zayn after a memorable 666-day record reign as the champion.
The Miz is a former 8-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, which means he’s held the IC Title the second most of all time behind Chris Jericho’s nine reigns. During Gunther’s IC Title reign, The Miz challenged Gunther multiple times in a rivalry that ended up turning The Miz into a babyface even though he has spent most of his career as a heel.
That rivalry between Gunther and Miz produced several outstanding matches on Raw and while Miz came close to winning, he couldn’t get one more reign as the Intercontinental Champion.
While discussing his career with The Ringer, Gunther brought up his rivalry with The Miz as an important rivalry in his career.
“I would say the matches I had with Miz were something that was very important for me. Miz is the total opposite of me. It’s 100 percent the other side of professional wrestling than I am. I was really proud of the matches we had to get to those really competitive, dramatic matches. … The people ate it up. They were there for it.”
“Miz was a fantastic counterpart because he’s one of the best in doing that ever on the microphone. He’s maybe the most versatile talent the company has. That was a big challenge for me.”
Gunther Challenging For World Heavyweight Title at WWE SummerSlam
Some wrestlers may stumble after losing a major championship, but Gunther picked himself back up and became the King of the Ring by beating Randy Orton in the finals at the King & Queen of the Ring PLE in May.
By winning King of the Ring, “The Ring General” earned himself a shot at the World Heavyweight Title held by Damian Priest in a match that will take place on August 3rd at SummerSlam. The feud has become personal because Gunther has called Priest “street trash” repeatedly, which has led to multiple brawls between the two big men.
The next WWE PLE is SummerSlam in Cleveland on Saturday, August 3rd. Here’s the lineup.
* Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa
* CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (Seth “Freakin Rollins is the special guest referee)
* World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. GUNTHER
* Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
* WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax
* United States Championship: Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight
* Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker
You can watch WWE SummerSlam, streaming live on Saturday, August 3, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.