Former two-time World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER is reportedly set to make his return to WWE programming in the near future. According to a report from Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, “Gunther is expected back very soon”.
The top WWE star has been sidelined since early August after WWE announced he would be out indefinitely due to suffering multiple injuries following his title loss at SummerSlam. GUNTHER had an eventful and dominant summer before his injury. He captured his second World Heavyweight Championship on the June 9 episode of Raw, defeating Jey Uso via technical submission. His reign included a title defense on July 12 at Saturday Night’s Main Event XL, where he defeated Goldberg in what was billed as Goldberg’s retirement match.
“The Ring General’s” second reign as champion came to an end at 54 days when CM Punk defeated him on Night 1 of SummerSlam on August 2. Two days later, the company wrote him off television with the injury announcement. His first World Heavyweight Championship reign began at SummerSlam in 2024, where he defeated Seth Rollins. He held the title for an impressive 273 days, successfully defending it against wrestlers such as Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and Damian Priest, before ultimately losing the championship back to Rollins at WrestleMania 41.
Before ever winning a world title, GUNTHER had a historic reign as the WWE Intercontinental Champion. He held the title for a record-breaking 666 days, shattering The Honky Tonk Man’s 35-year-old record to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in company history. During this time, he worked matches against opponents like Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, and Chad Gable.
