GUNTHER

At NXT TakeOver: New York, he defeated Pete Dunne to win the United Kingdom Championship. He successfully defended the title against Dunne in a rematch on May 22, 2019. Around this time, he also reunited with Ringkampf under the new name Imperium.

He retained his title against Travis Banks in a match on June 26 and then at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, he successfully defended his title against Tyler Bate. At NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, Walter also defended his title against Joe Coffey.

Walter Moves to NXT & Becomes Gunther

At New Year’s Evil on January 4 2022, Walter teamed up with Imperium stable mates Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel. Together, they faced Riddle and MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) in a six-man tag team match which they lost. After having his final match on NXT UK on January 13, Walter defeated Nathan Frazer, and was transferred to the NXT brand.

 On the January 18 episode of NXT 2.0, Walter defeated Roderick Strong in the main event. After the match, he announced his new ring name as Gunther. In mid March, Gunther began feuding with LA Knight when he took offense at the latter getting an NXT Championship match by calling out Dolph Ziggler. The next week, after Gunther defeated Duke Hudson, Knight challenged him to a match at NXT Stand & Deliver, which Gunther won.

Gunther Moves to WWE’s Main Roster

Gunther made his SmackDown debut and successfully defeated Joe Alonzo on April 8 2022. On June 10’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Gunther defeated Ricochet to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Gunther successfully defended the title against Ricochet in a rematch and Shinsuke Nakamura. Prior to Gunther’s title defense at Clash at the Castle on September 3rd, Ludwig Kaiser announced the reformation of Imperium by reintroducing Fabian Aichner, now known as Giovanni Vinci. Gunther then defeated Sheamus to retain the title in a critically acclaimed match, with many deeming it the best match of the event. Gunther then beat Sheamus in a rematch on the October 7th episode of SmackDown.

On the November 4th episode of SmackDown, Gunther successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Rey Mysterio in the show’s main event. Gunther followed this up with another successful title defense against Ricochet on the December 16th episode of SmackDown. On the January 13th 2023 episode of SmackDown, Gunther successfully defended the title against Braun Strowman.

Gunther Sets Royal Rumble Record

At the Royal Rumble on January 28th 2023, Gunther was the first entrant and the last person eliminated from the match. He was eliminated by the match’s winner Cody Rhodes, who entered as the thirtieth and final participant. His 71 minute and 25 second performance was the longest in the history of the event, excluding Daniel Bryan’s 76-minute stint in the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble.

On February 9th, Gunther reached 245 days as Intercontinental champion, surpassing Shelton Benjamin’s reign of 244 days. On March 18th, Gunther successfully defended the title against Madcap Moss and subsequently reached 281 days as Intercontinental Champion. This surpassed WWE Hall of Famer Greg Valentine’s reign of 280 days, giving him the longest reign as Intercontinental Champion in 34 years.

On Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 on April 2nd, Gunther retained the title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre in a critically acclaimed triple threat match. Gunther and his Imperium teammates Kaiser and Vinci were drafted to RAW in the 2023 WWE Draft. Gunther successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Mustafa Ali in May at Night of Champions, Matt Riddle in July at Money In The Bank, and Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam in August.

Gunther’s Record Breaking Reign

After defeating Chad Gable in a rematch on the September 4th episode of RAW, Gunther became the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion later that week, breaking The Honky Tonk Man’s record of 454 days. Gunther went on to retain his title against Tommaso Ciampa and Bronson Reed in October. On November 25th, at Survivor Series: WarGames, Gunther successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz.

At the 2024 Royal Rumble, Gunther entered the Royal Rumble match at number 18, eliminating Jey Uso, Kofi Kingston and The Miz before being eliminated by the winner, Cody Rhodes. On the following RAW, he successfully defended his title against Kofi Kingston. On February 20th, Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship reign set another record for the title, this time for most cumulative days as champion, surpassing Pedro Morales, who held the title for 619 days across two reigns. Morales had held this record for 41 years.

King Gunther & Heavyweight Championship

At Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Gunther was defeated by Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship, ending his historic reign at 666 days and marking his first pinfall loss in the main roster. Gunther then participated in and won the 2024 King of the Ring tournament, earning him a title match for the WWE Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. At the event, Gunther defeated Damian Priest to win the WWE Heavyweight Championship. On the August 5th episode of RAW, Randy Orton challenged Gunther to a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship. Orton claimed that he never lost the final match of the 2024 King of the Ring, and it was confirmed for Bash in Berlin on August 31st.

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