Since moving to the main roster in April 2022, Gunther has emerged as one of the most dominant stars in WWE.
The giant Austrian has proved to be a formidable force in NXT UK, NXT, and now Friday Night SmackDown, as he remains undefeated in singles action on the main roster. Shortly after moving to the blue brand the star picked up the Intercontinental Title, reunited Imperium, and hasn’t looked back.
Gunther Makes History
In the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match Gunther entered at number one and was immediately met with his long-time rival Sheamus who entered second. Their brawl started a remarkable run for Gunther which saw him last all of the way to the end of the match and a showdown with number 30 Cody Rhodes.
The Intercontinental Champion was in dominant form eliminating a number of Superstars along the way as well as having a spine-tingling staredown with Brock Lesnar.
As the match came to a conclusion Gunther was surrounded by much fresher men but he remained unphased. Through sheer power and will and sporting the very visible scars of battle the star went toe-to-toe with Rhodes coming within touching distance of victory on more than one occasion.
However, when push came to shove, literally, it was Rhodes who launched his rival over the top rope to score a memorable win.
Despite missing out on victory, Gunther’s performance earned huge praise from fans on social media and set a piece of Royal Rumble history in the process. After lasting more than 70 minutes in the ring, the former United Kingdom Champion set a new record for time spent in the match. The star passed the previous record of 62 minutes and 15 seconds set by Rey Mysterio back in 2006 on his way to victory.