Gunther didn't think he was going to get his big break in wrestling.
Since arriving in WWE, 'The Ring General' has been one of the most successful stars in the entire industry. After notching a 870 day reign as the NXT United Kingdom Champion, Gunther went on and quickly captured the Intercontinental Championship. As of publish time, Gunther still holds this title, and is the longest reigning champion in the history of the prestigious belt.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet for a new interview, Gunther said that he was sure that he wasn't going to end up in a major company, as he had been grinding on the independent scene for 13+ years before signing with WWE.
“Yeah, always, I was sure. 2005, I had my first training, right. Then a few years in, the wrestling scene in Europe, especially the German speaking countries was so small. Nobody gave a dang about it. It wasn’t on free TV, like in general, you get looked at weird when you watch wrestling. Most people didn’t know what’s going on, like it was not a topic in the mainstream entertainment world. All of that was so far away, even like ten years ago, somebody from England — I think Sheamus and Drew [McIntyre] and Stu were one of the first exceptions for Europeans to go there and actually make it or be somebody, or Cesaro. Then, for a long time, there was nothing and it was just something that’s not realistic, so don’t aim for it. My goal was always I want to make a living off of being a professional wrestler. That was always my goal. I want to make this my profession because I know some about it now, I have a passion for it, and I don’t want to work a job that bores the hell out of me. I always wanted to make it a profession. When I achieved that, that was already something unheard of. When I became a full time wrestler, I had to be self-employed basically. To every agency or every government body I had to go for, whatever it was pension or health insurance and all of that stuff, I got looked at like an alien. I think at that time, I was the only person in Germany that was a wrestler by profession. That was already a big step and then everything else just fell into place over the time. The indies changed big time, it was before COVID, there was such a big boom in the indie scene in England especially, but all in the states as well. WWE decided to open the doors to the independent wrestling world and also to Europe so that brought up a lot more possibilities obviously. It was never my big dream to go there, I think I was more passionate to wrestle for All Japan at some point as like a big dream then being with WWE.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Gunther said that The Miz was the embodiment of an era where he didn't like to watch WWE. Fans can learn more by clicking here.
Fans can see the current lineup for the Survivor Series premium live event by clicking here. The event will feature a bout between Gunther and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Fightful will have full coverage of the show as it airs.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
