WWE Intercontinental Champion was interviewed on “Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg.” Scroll down to hear the entire interview. Here are some transcribed highlights:
Gunther talking about his name change from Walter:
“Well, the thing is, like, would I have preferred to keep Walter? Yeah, of course I would have preferred that, but on the other hand, if you look at a wrestler’s career, like a name change is nothing uncommon. That happens, so I was realistic about it. For me, it was also clear it’s my real name and the WWE has obviously an interest in whoever they put on the television to put their original stamp on it, if that makes sense, so I expected it. At the end of the day, if Gunther would be my real name and they would have changed it to Walter, the reaction would have been exactly the same.”
On knowing Ludwig Kaiser:
I didn’t know Gio before WWE, but I knew Ludwig since I think 2007 or something. We’ve been on shows in Germany together since he debuted. We lived in the northern part of Germany, so very often we would drive together as well because it would just be on the way and stuff like that.”
Thoughts on his performance in the 2023 Royal Rumble:
“It was a great opportunity for me to show everybody on that big of a stage what I’m about and what I can do. I wasn’t really focused on being in the ring that long and that would be a record that might go off or something like that. I literally paid zero attention to it. I was just focused on what’s gonna happen in the ring actually. Then at the end also to have those six or seven minutes with Cody, which I think going down the line is an ideal match for me. That was great to do as well to give it a little bit of a teaser of what could happen when we have a match. So I was very pleased.”
On the possibility of having a future match with Cody Rhodes:
“I do understand why he’s the man right now. He carries himself in a great way. He’s an absolute professional, I think his backstory is phenomenal. I wish him all the best in whatever he does now, but in the end, I think we’re gonna cross paths again and I’m excited for that.”
On being a part of WrestleMania 39:
“That’s definitely exciting. I think as I said before, I never started wrestling because it was my goal like, I gotta make it to WWE or I gotta make it to WrestleMania. I always just wanted to be a wrestler and make a living off of that, but the ball got rolling and now I’m there. I can’t wait. I’m excited for it. That’s got to be the biggest opportunity for me in my career to show what I can do on that stage. I think I did my part that, also deservedly, there’s gonna be an Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania, and yeah, I’m excited. I can’t wait to put on a match that people are going to remember.”
On the possibility of wrestling Brock Lesnar:
“I think that moment that we had in the Rumble was because that was all I needed out of it. It was basically like a real life confirmation that the audience is up for that. They want to see it. When I watched him when he started with WWE, he was always the most impressive guy to me, an absolute beast. Then I saw his stuff in Japan, the UFC, and then he came back and has been on top since then. One of the best wrestlers to ever do it in my mind. Just for that reason, I want to be able to prove myself against him.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Ringer Wrestling Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
