Ahead of tonight’s WWE SummerSlam PLE, SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay spoke with Gunther, who will challenge Damian Priest for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. During the interview, ‘The Ring General’ discussed his past jobs, rivalries, possible matches in the future, and more.
Gunther did very odd jobs in the past. One of them was a meatpacking job. It’s quite ironic now because ‘big meaty men slap’ and meet on Monday Night Raw every single week. When asked who is the ‘meatiest man” in the locker room, other than himself, Gunther replied:
“I don’t know, Sheamus, I guess.”
‘The Ring General’ also revealed what jobs he did before he decided to lace up his boots. He said:
“Call Center, obviously. Unloading containers with Sunflower seeds… store them..jobs like that. They’re a bunch of more. Yeah, it’s hard work. It’s good to do that and have appreciation for it because a lot of people do it every day and it’s unseen.”
Winning King of The Ring against Randy Orton
‘The Ring General’ earned a World Heavyweight Title shot after winning this year’s King Of The Ring Tournament by defeating Randy Orton. It was a dream match for a lot of people and WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H said they might once again share the ring in the future. When asked if he has an interest in facing Randy Orton in the future, Gunther said: “Yeah, for sure.”
He added:
“That’s how I enjoy professional wrestling most, if that makes sense. Randy is obviously one of the best to ever do it. And I think the setting was very nice too. Saudis are always very welcoming to us and the crowd over there really good. Yeah, felt like a great moment and that will forever remember.”
Possibly rekindling feud with Ilja Dragunov
Fans have been expecting Gunther and Ilja Dragunov to reignite their iconic rivalry and he was asked how far his relationship knowing Ilja goes back. He said:
“To 2011, 2012 something around that time, I think he started and he got booked by WXW a lot when I was always there. So since then, we know each other basically.”
Sami Zayn also had a match with Gunther back in WXW. Gunther recalled those matches with Zayn when he worked under El Generico moniker:
“Oh, yeah, I remember that. I have wrestled him more often before. But that’s the wrestling business itself. Sometimes. I mean, sometimes you see someone very intensively for a while and then that is disappear for years and then it all comes back around so”
Gunther praises Sami Zayn’s Intercontinental run
Gunther’s record-breaking WWE Intercontinental title reign of 666 days came to an end when Sami Zayn dethroned him at WrestleMania XL. ‘The Ring General’ praised Sami Zayn’s run as the Intercontinental Champion as he said:
“Oh, quite objectively has stepped up obviously. Big time. I think he’s done a very good job and I think yeah, he has a lot going on anyway with the whole Judgment Day thing as well. And yeah, I think he’s done really good but yeah, till tomorrow.”
Favorite rivalry
Gunther has faced a plethora of talents since joining WWE and has been involved in memorable rivalries. When asked what has been his favorite rivalry, he named The Miz.
“I think the one that would with The Miz. That was a very, very important one for me. And yeah, I really enjoyed that. And it was so important program I had in my career.”
WWE SummerSlam: Cleveland is stacked with some exciting matches. While Gunther is focussed on his own title match, he said that he is looking forward to the match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre with Seth Rollins as the Special Guest Referee. He said:
“I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought about any other match yet. I know which ones are there but maybe Drew and Punk.”
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