Gunther arrived on SmackDown on Friday as he made his debut on the blue brand but now more information has come to light on his opponent and their AEW connections.
Joe Alonzo was the man tasked with facing off against The Ring General on Friday Night SmackDown and it’s fair to say the 25-year-old has had better nights. Gunther was accompanied by Marcel Barthel – now known as Ludwig Kaiser – for the match and he let the SmackDown locker room know what’s in store when they step in the ring with him as he decimated Alonzo in just over two minutes.
Long-time AEW and Sammy Guevara fans may well have recognised Joe Alonzo as he used to be the man who held the camera for Guevara’s YouTube Vlogs. Alonzo also interrupted an AEW panel during the Fan Fest at All Out 2021 as he confronted Vlog regular and now-AEW star, Fuego Del Sol.
Joe Alonzo has also competed in a handful of matches on AEW Dark, all in losing efforts. In 2020 Alonzo shared the ring with the likes of The Dark Order, Jake Hager, The Lucha Brothers, and Cody Rhodes. More recently Alonzo also appeared on WWE Main Event, losing to Raw star, Veer Mahan.
Gunther was not the only NXT star who made his debut on SmackDown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a former NXT Women’s Champion also did the same.