WWE’s WALTER Officially Undergoes Name Change To Gunther
The longest-reigning NXT UK Champion, WALTER, has officially undergone a name change and will now be known as Gunther.
The first hint that WWE was looking to change WALTER’s name came when the company made a trademark filing for ‘Gunther Stark.’ Controversy over the name quickly erupted as it is the same name as a German U-Boat Commander who fought for the Nazis in World War II.
On the January 19th edition of NXT 2.0, the Imperium leader took on and defeated Roderick Strong. Following the win, he took to the mic, declaring that “the winner of this match is Gunther!”, revealing his new name in WWE.
Now the change has been made official by the company, as the Austrian star’s profile on wwe.com now shows him listed as Gunther. His bio has also been changed to reflect the new moniker, although his history with the company remains intact.
WWE regularly changes the names of wrestlers they sign from outside the company. Notably, they acknowledged Finn Balor and Hideo Itami’s previous identities of Prince Devitt and KENTA respectively before announcing new names for the stars.
Gunther’s name change has garnered more attention than most, though, as he has already established himself in WWE through his record title run in NXT UK and appearances at NXT TakeOvers as well as Survivor Series 2019.