As a seasoned veteran who honed his craft for nearly two decades in the dojos of Europe and Japan, GUNTHER has a unique perspective on the new generation of talent coming through the WWE developmental system. He recently discussed the challenges younger superstars face in the modern WWE and praised the new breed of “world-class elite athletes” who are changing the game.
The WWE Performance Center and the NXT brand have become the primary pipeline for main roster talent, a system that differs greatly from the old territory and independent wrestling circuits where wrestlers of GUNTHER’s generation learned their craft.
The Lack of Live Events
On the Six Feet Under with The Undertaker podcast, GUNTHER explained that one of the biggest challenges for today’s up-and-coming talent is the lack of non-televised live events, which were once the primary place for wrestlers to get their “reps” and perfect their skills in front of a live audience.
“Right now, we’re in a spot where it’s maybe a little bit tricky for like, the younger guys that just came to the main roster, and maybe they did a year or two in NXT, and then, yeah, we didn’t really do much live events anymore, so I feel like it’s like, hard for them to get like reps in, because that’s like, also, the thing is, like training in the ring is like one thing, but having a match is like the best exercise you can really do. That’s why you usually before, when you start, you try to wrestle wherever you can.”
A New Breed of Athlete
Despite that challenge, GUNTHER had high praise for the new generation of athletes being recruited by WWE. He pointed to stars like Bron Breakker and The Creed Brothers as “crazy athletes” who are able to transition to professional wrestling much faster than was typical in the past.
“If you look at some of the guys we have that are still, like, newer or fresher, like, like Bron, The Creeds, for example, those were like, the same generation, NXT, like, crazy athletes… they come in with the raw material of, like, being world class elite athletes. And they transition so much to a lot of things that I think would have taken me five, six years at the beginning to get to it… I feel like Bron is a good example of like, the younger generation that has that mindset of, like, that’s serious, like, he takes it fully serious. Is no ha, no boo boo about it. Like, here to work, here to deliver.”
GUNTHER himself is a product of the old system, a testament to its effectiveness in building world-class performers. His appreciation for the new system and the talent it produces shows that both paths can lead to main-event success in WWE.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Six Feet Under with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
