Gunther Addresses Controversial Booking Decision From Old WWE Regime

WWE

A WWE star has addressed a controversial booking from the old regime.

Since being called up from NXT following WrestleMania 38 in April, Gunther has been on a tear on the SmackDown brand. He is the current Intercontinental Champion and leader of Imperium.

However, this wasn’t his first experience on the WWE main roster.

At Survivor Series 2019, the then-WALTER was part of Team NXT in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match where he was eliminated in just three minutes by Drew McIntyre.

In a new interview with Steve Fall’s Ten Count, Gunther says that he believes the quick elimination only added to his popularity.

He said:

“That’s just how things go sometimes. There is not much you can say. There was a decision that was made, and you go along with it and try to make the best of it.”

“But I don’t know, I don’t think it was negative. Just hearing the crowd reactions when I came in the match, and then getting eliminated early, I think that did something to me.”

The Intercontinental Champion continued on to explain why he thinks it helped him in the long run, saying:

“I think when you have a fanbase or something like that, and something, especially in wrestling, something happens to you that they think is not right for you, they’re gonna be very vocal about it, and they’re gonna be very loud about it.”

Gunther concluded that he believed that no real harm was done to him with the elimination, saying:

“So I think it added to my popularity in that sense, I would say, because a lot of people spoke about it.”

“So I think no harm was done, and everybody needs to be able to take a humbling experience here and there, so I’m totally fine with it.”

Gunther went on to continue his run as NXT UK Champion and held the title for a record 870 days before losing to Ilja Dragunov at NXT TakeOver 36.

The Imperium leader transitioned to the NXT brand in 2021 before being called up to SmackDown in April 2022. He defeated Ricochet to win the Intercontinental Championship in June.

Gunther last defeated Rey Mysterio to retain his title on the November 4 edition of WWE SmackDown.

Transcription via Fightful

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• booking decision
• GUNTHER
• Smackdown
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