Gunther has gotten a lot of heat for making John Cena tap out like a little bitch. As with most heated moments in WWE, the follow-up leaves a lot to be desired. Gunther soaking in boos from the crowd the Raw after, albeit predictable, was efficient at placing Gunther as a top heel. After cutting a promo where he disrespected the fallen hero, he met some heat backstage from General Manager Adam Pearce and from some wrestlers, most notably, AJ Styles, who is planning to retire in 2026. It was reminiscent of Triple H confronting Shawn Michaels, the Big Show and John Cena after he turned on Ric Flair. The head booker has to take inspiration from the best.
The week after, Gunther cut a shorter version of the same promo before being interrupted by CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. As he took his car, he met AJ Styles again. These encounters could be interpreted as a sign that Gunther is going to “retire” AJ Styles next year. After “retiring” John Cena and Bill Goldberg in 2025, it is believed that Gunther is gonna do the same to AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar, possibly at Summerslam, which will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Besides taking place on a Saturday Night’s Main Event, there are three things in common between the retirements of Cena and Goldberg:
- They lost to Gunther
- They were part-timers and effectively retired
- They were gonna retire no matter the result of the match
The third point is especially important. Unlike Ric Flair or Shawn Michaels, who had to retire following their loss to Michaels and The Undertaker, respectively, Gunther merely wrestled one last match against wrestlers who would have retired regardless of the match’s outcome.
Being the one to retire the legends of the previous era should be used as a stepping stone for Main Event feuds against stars of the current era. With his presence and work rate, Gunther could be an unstoppable foe for current babyfaces like Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns and CM Punk.
Gunther has felt like a jobber to the stars following his losses to Jey Uso at WrestleMania and CM Punk at SummerSlam. He is booked as practically invincible until he meets those who are placed higher on the card.
WWE has made a good effort to undo it by having him beat Jey Uso in a rematch and then making him retire Goldberg and Cena.
WWE does not seem too keen on having their biggest stars feud with each other these days. Every star and every big match-up has to be protected to an obsessive point.
Instead of striking while the iron is hot, he will spend a good part of next year on his misnamed career-killer run while the main event spots are filled with stars of yesteryear.
