WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER will be defending the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz at Survivor Series on Saturday, November 25. The show will take place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL, and will air live on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network in most international markets. The champ took some time to speak with Steve Fall in an exclusive interview for WrestlingNews.co. During the interview, he talked about his recent comments about The Ultimate Warrior, Roman Reigns, facing The Miz, past IC Champions and his thoughts on the Bash in Berlin PLE happening next August in Germany. The entire interview is embedded at the bottom of this article.
Gunther on the strangest place he’s ever wrestled
Gunther revealed that the strangest place he’s wrestled was at an event called Rock N’ Roll Wrestling Bash and there was a ring during the middle of a concert. He said it “wasn’t that strange” but there were really weird gimmicks.
“One of us was the butcher,” GUNTHER said. “So obviously he had to bring a lot of meat with him. So at some point, there was a battle royale and at some point in there when I was in, I even forgot what costume that was I was in when I looked at my friend that was the butcher. And he stood in front of me with a giant turkey leg and there was ground meat all over that ring.”
Gunther on facing The Miz at WWE Survivor Series
Gunther said that while he was growing up he despised watching WWE because he was focused on being a wrestler and the athleticism and WWE was too much for his personal taste at the time. Gunther said that he felt like The Miz was the embodiment of that era but admits that Miz has had one of the most successful careers in the company and he’s to be respected.
“That being said, Miz, obviously, is everything that I think a wrestler should not be. He’s a goof, he’s a clown. He gets in there and yeah, pulls off his show, and makes sure the focus is on him and on him alone. I go up there, and I think the focus should be on the ring, on the sport. That whole environment we have here it’s like, it’s the honorable thing. Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting in the ring with The Miz, and yeah. [To] make him understand and feel what it means to be in the ring with myself.”
Gunther and Roman Reigns possibly being on the horizon
There’s been a lot of talk on social media about what would happen in potential a title vs. title match with Gunther defending his Intercontinental Title against Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Gunther pointed out that he’s been asked about this before and in previous interviews, he’s been asked about Brock Lesnar but as far as a match with Reigns, he simply said, “We’ll see.”
“Do I think in the long run it will be a very interesting matchup,” Gunther said. “I think so, yeah. Because I think what Roman is to the Universal Title now is what I am to the Intercontinental Championship, I think the role or position is very similar to that. But he’s doing his thing now. I do my thing. That’s okay for me. And further down the line that’s definitely something interesting to get into.”
Gunther doesn’t believe the Intercontinental Title will main event WrestleMania Night 1
“That’s not gonna happen,” he said. Gunther said that Seth Rollins is on a very good run and the two main events are pretty much set as “it should be” and he realizes that the IC title is the number 2 belt but he tries his belt to make it feel like the number 1 title in the company. He continued, “But I think there’s a ranking system and everything for a reason. I think it’s quite obvious that I outgrew the Intercontinental Championship already, I am ready to make that next step.”
Gunther also said that it’s okay that he can’t be in the same position as Roman Reigns right now but he’s good with the fact that people leave the building talking about his matches.
Could a woman join Imperium?
When asked about the possibility about a woman joining Imperium, Gunther said that it was discussed at one time about adding Charlotte Flair or IYO SKY. He said, “We discussed that internally, once I think. Our choices would be Charlotte or IYO. That will be the ones that we could see as a good fit, especially skill-wise. I think it would be a good addition.”
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.