Gunther recently surpassed The Honky Tonk Man's 454-day record to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history. According to former WWE star Al Snow, the creative team should stop booking the Austrian against the likes of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
On June 12, Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser unsuccessfully challenged Owens and Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on RAW. The Ring General has also faced both men in singles competition in 2023.
Snow, best known for his WWE run between 1995 and 2008, appeared on the latest episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell. The former ECW talent explained why Owens and Zayn are the wrong opponents for Gunther:
"I agree with you [Gunther is a big star], but they're cutting the legs out from underneath him [due to] the way they book certain matches," Snow said. "That guy Gunther has the size and was getting over in a way, you'll understand this, to where he could work programs with guys like Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns. That's what they need. You can't have him work with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and go 50-50 with a guy like him." [1:17:23 – 1:17:52]
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Lesnar and Reigns are widely regarded as two of WWE's top stars of the last decade. Gunther has briefly crossed paths with both men, but he has not yet faced them in one-on-one matches.
How Al Snow would make Gunther a threat in WWE
Although the imposing Gunther usually picks up victories, his opponents often look like they could cause an upset at any moment. The Miz, for example, looked set to beat the Imperium leader at one stage during their Survivor Series: WarGames bout.
Al Snow believes Gunther needs to be even more dominant to be viewed as a serious opponent for Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns one day:
"You've gotta have Gunther take 70 [percent], they [opponents] get 30, or 80 and they get 20. You want to push him to where he needs to be a threat for Brock Lesnar. Well, if it's 50-50 with Sami Zayn, how is he gonna be [in a position] where for the audience they're gonna believe that he's gonna be a threat for Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns?" [1:17:53 – 1:18:12]
The storyline between Gunther and The Miz looks set to continue in the coming weeks. On the November 27 episode of RAW, The A-Lister declared in a backstage segment that he wants another shot at the Intercontinental Championship.
What do you make of Gunther's booking? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.