WWE’s GUNTHER Says Germany’s 7-1 Win Over Brazil At 2014 FIFA World Cup Inspired His Wrestling Character, ‘They Just Beat Them & Didn’t Stop Beating Them’

Published: May 14, 2026 by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: May 14, 2026 by Jamie Toolan

Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.

WWE’s GUNTHER Says Germany’s 7-1 Win Over Brazil At 2014 FIFA World Cup Inspired His Wrestling Character, ‘They Just Beat Them & Didn’t Stop Beating Them’

WWE’s GUNTHER has opened up on how football inspired his pro wrestling character, specifically Germany’s 7-1 win over Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

In WWE, where outlandish, larger than life characters and superstar presentation has often outweighed the necessity to be technically proficient between the ropes, GUNTHER stands out as a throwback to a bygone era where the wrestling took precedent.

While “The Ring General” has undoubtedly embraced the showmanship of WWE, particularly drawing heat from the crowd, whether in the ring or on the microphone, his primary focus has always been on maintaining the honor of the sport of pro wrestling above all else.

During an interview with Enry Lazza, GUNTHER said his intimidating, no-nonsense wrestling character is not far removed from how he was growing up, and he only ever wanted to be a “dominating professional wrestler” rather than play a role far removed from his true nature.

GUNTHER said:

“When you grow up you’re (a) weird little teenager doing dumb sh*t but I feel like it’s not too far (removed from his character) because when I am in the ring, the characters, you have guys where it’s almost like two different people.

I feel like my character is not that crazy or out of pocket. I just always wanted to be character-wise, my character is basically be a professional wrestler and be a dominating professional wrestler that controls the ring and makes his own calls.

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GUNTHER continued by revealing the impact football had on his wrestling character, with the Austrian saying he drew particular inspiration from Germany’s ruthless 7-1 win over host nation Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Semi-Final:

“The only sport I grew up with was football, I played it for a long time and I always looked at who can I look at there that when he came on the field people went like, ‘Oh, that’s it, I don’t want to play against that guy.’ And I always compared what I wanted to achieve feeling wise.

“I always compared it to the game Germany had against Brazil at the World Cup where they just beat them and didn’t stop beating them. It became where it’s like uncomfortable almost watching that and I still remember it to that day.

“I look back at that so many times and it’s like if that’s something I’m able to bring to the wrestling ring, be that almost overwhelming force and opposition to my opponent, yeah then I achieved a lot and I always try to compare that in football terms.”

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After destroying Brazil in the Semi-Finals, Germany managed a 1-0 win over another South American juggernaut: Argentina in the 2014 World Cup Final, with Mario Götze scoring the winning goal in the second half of extra time.

GUNTHER recently made a splash on Friday Night SmackDown by attacking Cody Rhodes and demanding an Undisputed WWE Championship match with “The American Nightmare” at WWE Clash in Italy on May 31.