JBL says Gunther is the wrestler who could carry on what he did as JBL, and he doesn’t understand why WWE isn’t using him more. He also said Baron Corbin could be wrestling’s next great heel.
A listener asked JBL on Something to Wrestle whether any current talent could be the future JBL.
“Gunther. I think Gunther would be the guy. I think Gunther is a really good heel, and I think he understands being a heel,” JBL said. “You know, guys can get it anywhere. Maybe coming up in the European system, those guys are terrific wrestlers over there. Maybe that’s part of it. I don’t know whatever it is about Gunther. Gunther, I think that guy’s world class.”
When co-host Conrad Thompson asked whether fans will see Gunther on TV again, JBL said he didn’t know.
“That I don’t know. What the hell? He’s a great deal. I mean, use him. I don’t understand,” JBL said. “You know, he’s retiring all these guys.”
Thompson noted that Gunther has wrestled mostly at non-televised events lately, with one match so far in October, at a house show in Winnipeg, and two in September, only one of them on TV.
Gunther’s last televised match was on the September 25 SmackDown, when CM Punk pinned him in a triple threat that also included Finn Bálor to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Gunther ended the in-ring careers of Goldberg and John Cena in 2025, and AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble in January.
A poster for Gunther vs. Bálor was spotted at Riyadh Season Stadium ahead of Crown Jewel on November 7, but WWE has not announced the match. Gunther said in a WWE digital exclusive that he will be at tonight’s SmackDown in Charleston, West Virginia.
JBL: Baron Corbin ‘Could Be The Next Great Heel’
Thompson suggested Corbin could lean into being a modern version of JBL, pointing to the way Corbin used to troll critics on social media. Earlier in the episode, when Thompson asked whether anyone in wrestling has more people blocked on social media than JBL, who said his count is 16,785, JBL said, “I heard Baron Corbin has a lot, but I don’t know if he’s reached that level yet.”
JBL agreed that Corbin has what it takes to be a top heel.
“Yeah, I think Baron. Baron’s a smart guy, and Baron gets wrestling, and so I think yeah, Baron could be. I didn’t think about Baron for some reason, but yeah, Baron could be the next great heel,” JBL said. “I’m not gonna say JBL. Next great heel because Baron gets it.”
JBL said very few wrestlers are willing to be hated around the clock.
“[Roddy] Piper used to always tell me, very few guys in any generation really want to be a heel because very few guys really actually want to be hated. People don’t want to be hated. They want to go out there and play a character,” JBL said. “This is nothing new. This happened in the ’80s and ’60s and everything. They want to go out there and play a character, but then leave and people think, oh, that’s just acting. That’s just part of the show.”
“You know, very few guys would be heels 24/7 because they want to draw money, and that goes any generation. Baron’s a guy that would do that,” he added.
JBL managed Corbin on Raw beginning in October 2022, and he has praised Corbin before.
Corbin returned to WWE on the July 10 SmackDown and won the United States Championship from Trick Williams at SummerSlam in August, then lost it back to Williams at Sunday Night’s Main Event on September 6. Cody Rhodes punt kicked Corbin on the October 16 SmackDown, and WWE said on television the following week that Corbin is out indefinitely.
JBL, a WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE Champion, co-hosts Something to Wrestle with Thompson.
