Gunther takes credit for major WWE change in 2024

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther has taken credit for a massive upcoming WWE event. The Ring General has been among the most dominant in-ring performers since he joined WWE.

The 36-year-old defeated Damian Priest at SummerSlam to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. He is all set for his first title defense against Randy Orton, scheduled for Bash in Berlin later this month. It will be the first-ever premium live event to air from Germany.

During a recent interview with CBS Sports, Gunther opened up about the hard work he, alongside Ludwig Kaiser, put in to raise the level of professional wrestling in Germany. The Imperium leader stated that although he is not the only reason behind the country receiving its first-ever premium live event, his being in the wrestling promotion played a major factor.

"When [Ludwig] Kaiser and I were in wXw, we were trying to commit to that and set everything else in life aside to make that big and get it going," he said. "We ran 60 or 70 shows a month. After every show, the big speech was that we worked hard so professional wrestling in Germany would become accessible again and to make a scene that people could enjoy and reliably be entertained. I'm obviously not the only reason this event is happening, but I want to claim that my being in WWE right now is a factor for why they wanted to do a PLE there. I think it's a very nice accomplishment."

Gunther added that a lot changed after the global juggernaut opened itself up for the independent circuit. He further stated he has had a long journey to reach this point in his career, so now he is ready to enjoy all of it.

"It was highly unrealistic. The chances weren't that high, and they weren't for most of my career because WWE didn't open up the way they have to the independent circuit. It changed a lot when they started signing guys from the indies and being open to the worldwide wrestling scene. It's been a long ride to get here, so now I'm ready to enjoy it." [H/T: CBS Sports]

Randy Orton confronted Gunther on WWE RAW

Ludwig Kaiser opened last week's edition of Monday Night RAW by welcoming the newly crowned champion. As The Ring General was addressing the crowd, Randy Orton made a surprise appearance and issued a challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin.

The longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion defeated the Apex Predator earlier this year under controversial circumstances to win the King of The Ring tournament. The win also booked Gunther's spot in a title match at SummerSlam, where he became the new champion.

With Gunther having just recently won the title, it remains to be seen if he will lose it in his first-ever title defense.