Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther recently expressed his opinion on Sami Zayn ending his record-setting reign. Gunther, who held the Intercontinental Championship for 666 days, set a record for the longest reign in WWE history. The Ring General faced Sami Zayn during WWE WrestleMania 40 this year. Zayn managed to do the unthinkable by defeating Gunther and ending his record-setting reign.
During a recent interview with Gorilla Position, Gunther was asked whether Sami Zayn was the right person to end his reign. He stated, “I don’t think there was one right person. I think there would have been a few options. Chad is the other one that would have made a lot of sense. Sami is definitely one of those where it was ‘he’s the right guy to do it.’ He’s absolutely a fantastic professional wrestler. He has the natural connection with the audience. He’s really the underdog that people can connect with and understand the struggle. “
He continued, “It’s naturally the personality he is. He doesn’t look like the perfect athlete. That’s not who he is or ever was. That also adds to the people having a connection because basically nobody in our audience is a perfect person. It’s a very human thing to not be perfect. It’s very easy to connect with it and to go through those struggles with that person. On top of that, he’s fantastic in the ring and has been for years. To do the match with him at the biggest stage possible and go out in the biggest way possible, I was very happy with that.”
Gunther teases a match with his NXT rival
Gunther recently announced his participation in the King of the Ring tournament. However, he will not back down from facing his former NXT rival Ilja Draganov despite losing his Intercontinental Championship.
In the same interview, Gunther was asked whether he wanted Ilja Draganov to join his faction, Imperium. He stated, “I think Ilja is definitely a better enemy than a friend. And yeah, it has to come down to that. Ilja is one of us in the terms of like – (Ludwig) Kaiser, Ilja, and I, we all wrestled each other years back. So I naturally want him to be where I am. And I think he’s somebody that brings out the best in me and I’m someone that brings out the best in him. But I think before that can happen, he has his own way to go, wherever he ends up.”
It will be exciting to see what happens in the draft, as Draganov is also eligible in the pool. Fans of NXT are very familiar with Gunther and Ilja Draganov’s infamous rivalry.