Real or fake: Rare clip of an unrecognizable Gunther goes viral

On Monday Night RAW, Gunther is one of the biggest superstars WWE has. Since winning the Intercontinental Championship, the Austrian has yet to lose, and in the process has become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Records like these have further added to his popularity.

The 36-year-old's growing popularity is a major reason why so many fans share videos and images of his past. In one such post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), a user shared a video in which a young Gunther is with Colt Cabana and looks nearly unrecognizable.

This video has led many to speculate whether the video is real or fake. The answer to this question is that the video is in fact quite real. At the time of this video, the Imperium leader was a young wrestler, known as Big Van Walter. Around this period, Gunther also teamed up with Cabana for a match.

To sum up, this viral video of the Intercontinental Champion is indeed real. When compared to the wrestler he was in the past, the Imperium leader has certainly evolved and has left some of his adversaries behind. It will be interesting to see what he achieves in the coming weeks.

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Wrestling veteran suggests real-life Bloodline member could beat Gunther at WrestleMania 40

Due to the reign The Ring General is having, as the Intercontinental Champion, anyone who beats him might become as big as him, or bigger than him. This is one reason why WWE needs to think plenty before they book someone to beat the 36-year-old superstar.

While many superstars could beat him, wrestling veteran Konnan suggested the name of real-life Bloodline member, Jacob Fatu. During an episode of the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Konnan mentioned Jacob was an ideal candidate to dethrone the Intercontinental Champion.

He said:

"I wouldn't have a problem with it because Gunther is over enough. Is he going to hold the title forever or give the rub to somebody? So [Jacob] Fatu would be the perfect guy because he can talk. He's Samoan. He can go." (0:50 - 1:06)

While beating the Intercontinental Champion is something that might not be on the cards for Jacob Fatu, he can certainly be signed by WWE as he is a free agent these days. If something like this were to happen, it would be interesting to see the storylines he is involved in.

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What did you think of Gunther's retro video and who do you think can finally dethrone the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE's history? Sound off in the comments section below!