Gunther came close in 2023 to get a match with Brock Lesnar, and he came even closer this year before plans were nixed.
The top WWE star has talked in past interviews about wanting the match because he feels that a match with Lesnar would present the biggest possible challenge for him. He has also spoken highly of Lesnar’s mind for business.
As exclusively reported by WrestlingNews.co in December 2023, WWE had been internally planning for the match to happen at WrestleMania 39. That changed when Lesnar worked a match with Omos, an idea from Vince McMahon.
Gunther defended the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat match. Earlier this year, WWE dropped Lesnar from its plans, including matches at the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania XL.
The reason for that is due to the company distancing itself from Lesnar following the sex trafficking lawsuit that was filed against McMahon, John Laurnatis, and WWE, with a former WWE/UFC Heavyweight Champion being named in the filing. On the same day that the suit became public, the Wall Street Journal identified Lesnar as that former champion.
Speaking with Alex McCarthy of the Daily Mail, Gunther was asked if he was supposed to face Lesnar at the event.
Gunther stated, “Of course, I heard something about it,’ he said. ‘I always saw Brock as my final boss. I always get portrayed as that; as the NXT UK Champion, the Intercontinental Champion, I was like the final boss of that division. And Brock, for a long time, was the final boss of the whole company. So I always saw myself in my future to be in a similar position to him, and to be that you’ve got to get in the ring with that guy. We’ll see if there’s a chance for it to happen again. I’m more than up for it. How the situation is exactly right now, I’m really not that informed about it, to be honest. I think we had that one face-off in the Royal Rumble, the reaction that was there, and that was a confirmation for me.’
Gunther, who lost the Intercontinental Title to Sami Zayn at Mania, is slated to meet Jey Uso on next week’s episode of Raw, with the winner advancing to the King of the Ring Tournament Finals at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE next Saturday.
