Rising WWE talent claims to be the female Gunther

Gunther has made a name for himself as one of WWE's hardest-hitting superstars since debuting with the company in 2019. Penina Tuilaepa, a WWE developmental talent, views herself as the female version of The Ring General.

Tuilaepa is one of many Performance Center trainees set to appear in the upcoming WWE LFG series on A&E on February 16. The show will also feature Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and mentors Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, Mickie James, and The Undertaker.

In a WWE LFG preview video, Tuilaepa explained why Gunther inspires her:

"I see myself the most like Gunther. Same stature, big fella. I'm a big girl. I think his technique is top tier. He does all the little things right, and in the end that's all that matters. People can have the glitz and glam, the body, and whatnot, but if you can't wrestle in the ring, if you can't do all the little things right, then what are you really here for?" [35:32 – 35:53]

On the February 10 episode of RAW, another WWE LFG teaser clip showed Gunther giving stern advice to the Performance Center rookies.

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Gunther is not Penina Tuilaepa's only inspiration

Over the last four-and-a-half years, Roman Reigns' association with The Bloodline has been one of WWE's most prominent stories. Another former Bloodline member Jey Uso won the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble Match, while Jacob Fatu has recently emerged as a top Samoan star.

Penina Tuilaepa is a proud Samoan and hopes to build on The Bloodline's achievements in the coming years:

"I love seeing the success of The Bloodline. If you imagine, Samoa is just a little island in the South Pacific, so to see them on the big stage, people who I look up to every single day, it's the energy that we just naturally have. It's the tenacity that we naturally have." [35:07 – 35:27]

WWE LFG will feature Maxxine Dupri's real-life fiancé Anthony Luke. In the same video, the former football player recalled how two legends encouraged him to become a wrestler.

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Please credit WWE LFG and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.