Gunther wants to restore the Intercontinental Championship's prestige.
Gunther, formerly WALTER, is currently thriving on the SmackDown roster as the Intercontinental Champion. At one point, Gunther was opposed to moving to the United States but now, he has embraced the change and tells Sports Illustrated that he's looking forward to enhancing his career in this next phase.
“Living in America was never something I pursued,” Gunther says. “I really like the way of life in Europe. But in the back of my head, I knew it was time to move to make the next big step in wrestling. In order to do that, you need to be in the United States, and the timing was right for me over the past year.
“So the change from Walter to Gunther, it’s part of the process in this business. Look at wrestlers who made it to the top, they almost all went through some changes. I’m confident in what I do in the ring, and I kind of expected the name change. There’s no reason for the uproar. Gunther gives the same vibes that Walter did. When I walk to the ring, there is a certain atmosphere. That’s what I represent. It’s still me.”
As for who he wants to fight moving forward, he singled out John Cena and everyone else as “elite.”
“I am going to give this title the prestige it needs and make it the greatest prize in wrestling,” Gunther says. “I would like to wrestle John Cena and anyone else who is considered elite. I didn’t come here to be mediocre. I came here to be in the ring with the best. I’m just getting started. I’m very excited for this journey.”
Gunther can be seen every Friday night on SmackDown. Before he moved up to the main roster, he had his last interview as a member of Imperium with Sean Ross Sapp. You can check out that full interview here.
