WWE superstar and former NXT U.K. champion Gunther (Walter) recently joined Sport1 for an interview, where the Ring General spoke on a number of different topics, including why he dropped weight for the main roster, and why he wanted to step his game up now that he’s on a global stage. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says he dropped weight on his own initiative:
“It was completely my own initiative. For me, it was quite clear — if I want to take the next big step, I have to present more for the general public. Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of old-school Japanese wrestlers who still had a belly and looked like you’d imagine a butcher. Emulating such idols worked for me also because up to now, I’ve been there for the, let’s call it, hardcore wrestling audience.”
Why he wants to step his game up now that he’s on a global stage:
“In the WWE main roster, however, the conditions are different. You are on a global stage, in the mainstream. From my point of view, you have to present yourself differently. And I prepared well for that in the months leading up to my move to the USA. […] Honestly, no one can tell me that anyone who happens to turn on the TV wouldn’t think I was better and more believable the way I looked before than I do now.”
On Marcel Barthel’s name change for the main roster:
“Marcel has Gustl Kaiser in mind, a legendary and very influential German promoter from the time when his father, Axel Dieter, was still a professional wrestler. Marcel was given a few names to choose from and he chose that one because it sounds good and it embodies history. That suits us.”