Chris Van Vliet recently interviewed WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther, who will be defending the title this Saturday against The Miz at Survivor Series.
Gunther on when he realized this Intercontinental run was becoming historic:
“That’s something I could kind of tell almost from the get-go, I would say the latest from Clash at the Castle match where I felt like, okay, people are looking at his title or whenever the title is on the line in a different way now. That’s what I’m aiming for. Having a title, obviously, that title can elevate a wrestler, but in the end, it’s always the champion himself who makes the title. When I try to do something in life, but especially professionally, I go full in or I don’t bother doing it at all. So ever since I became the Intercontinental Champion, the only thing I’m doing is focusing on how to be the best Intercontinental Champion possible. What do I have to do? How do I have to carry myself? How do I have to act in the ring to give it that recognition? It all worked out very well so far.”
On his upcoming match with The Miz at Survivor Series:
“Getting in the ring with him now is fantastic, especially in WWE, and it’s about the Intercontinental Championship, and it’s basically the matchup of who really is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. I’m really excited for the match, honestly, because I think when I joined the main roster, it was clear to me that I need to make a statement. I’m not a guy out of that system. I have been in NXT UK, I’ve been a little bit in NXT, but all my development, all my whatever, like character building, figuring myself out and all of that, happened way before WWE. So I’m not the typical. The Miz on the other hand, is a prime example of how good their development system is because he started with them and he’s one of the most decorated names they have. I feel like especially in the presentation of the company in the general media world, just a very few have done better than him. So I wanted the challenge, like, okay, I’m still a little bit of a new guy here. I’m definitely, in WWE, I’m a little bit of an outsider, if that makes sense. That’s at least how I feel when I watch it. I’m not the typical WWE wrestler. So I always wanted to be in the ring with The Miz because first of all, he has that background with the Intercontinental Championship, and secondly, that’s a great measuring stick for me if that makes sense, because it’s a little bit of a clash of two worlds.”
On losing 65 pounds:
“The first step was like, during COVID, we have a friend that is a bodybuilder and he’s coaching people. I think he owns a gym now and runs it and stuff. He started to help Kaiser and Gio with their diet a little bit and they were following a diet and they got in incredible shape. So we had that guy around and I was never really, that’s the one thing I have to say. Usually, I was always on top of things in my adult life, but the diet is always something I kind of like neglected because I was good the way I was, but when I signed for the main roster and I knew, okay, moving over now I know I’m gonna be on national TV I thought okay, let’s bring the best version of yourself you can. You’re going to be in front of millions of people every week. I think that step is necessary now. I’m glad I did it. I feel like the independent wrestler Walter that was a little bit bigger and looked like a butcher from the next-door shop, that was cool. I think that was fine for then and I feel like for the wrestling enthusiasts on the independent market, like when you think back like Stan Hansen or Terry Gordy, like the bigger guys, I think it has its place in wrestling a little bit, but I felt like it was time to make a step and progress.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
