GUNTHER has become one of the most dominant and respected champions in recent WWE history, thanks in large part to his old-school, no-nonsense, hard-hitting style. In a recent interview, the “Ring General” explained his unique career philosophy, revealing that he never chased WWE and found success by intentionally going against the grain of modern professional wrestling.
His approach is a throwback to a different era, prioritizing realism, grit, and storytelling over the high-flying, “spectacular” style that has become popular on the independent circuit and in mainstream wrestling.
“I Never Chased This Place”
Unlike many of his contemporaries, GUNTHER’s primary goal was not always to make it to WWE. Speaking on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker, he explained that his focus was always on perfecting his craft and being true to his own identity as a performer.
“I never, might sound a bit arrogant, but I never chased this place. I never chased WWE it was never my I got to work out because I want to get there right. My only focus on that’s what I want to be, and try to be as good as possible at that. And kind of like, stuck to that. And for a long time, I didn’t see myself succeed here or never… But I feel like it really helped me that, yeah, I didn’t chase it, and when I was here, I was just myself, and that’s what they wanted.”
Going the Other Direction
GUNTHER recalled the boom period on the European independent scene, where he felt many wrestlers began to copy the same flashy, high-spot-heavy style to get noticed. He and his group, Imperium, made a conscious decision to do the exact opposite.
“The competition started of like, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that clip in PWG. They all do that. I should do that too.’ And it was like, How can I do more? And how can I get, how can I squeeze as much as possible in my match? So sell shirts afterwards and stuff like that. And I was always like, ‘You know what? Everybody’s going that way. I’m gonna go the other direction. If you want to stand out, you’re just gonna go the other direction.’ And there was like, especially, like, we had, like a group was called Ringkampf, which was, like the original Imperium, basically, right?… Everybody was colorful, and a lot of action we were, like, none of that, just black outfits. Talk about the sport, talk about the craft. That’s what matters… Be the party pooper of that organization, wherever we were. And, yeah, that worked out very well, because I feel like, often it’s like, being a good heel is like, also, I feel like a commitment, because you lose out on some of the stuff, like, there’s a bit bigger money in for a baby face merchandise and everything, so it’s a bit of a commitment. But also, I feel like, if you’re good at that, you can have a very long career.”
GUNTHER’s unique and disciplined approach has certainly paid off. His historic 666-day reign as the WWE Intercontinental Champion is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and memorable championship runs of the modern era.
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.
