There’s a mild sense of frustration and outright confusion bubbling backstage in WWE over how two-time world heavyweight champion Gunther has been used on SmackDown the last few weeks. Seriously, after the run this dude had, retiring legends like Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles in 2025 and early 2026, you’d think he’d be dominating. Instead, he’s in a seriously strange spot, and creative folks are questioning if The Ring General is even being used right.
Gunther’s Losing Streak Is a Head-Scratcher
Let’s be real, Gunther was chasing the WWE Championship hard, but it just hasn’t panned out. He dropped a match to Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy, then lost in a Triple Threat for the WWE title against Rhodes and Sami Zayn at Night of Champions. Yeah, he bounced back with a win over SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis at SummerSlam, which was cool, but then the cold streak hit again. He lost a WWE Championship No. 1 contender’s match, and then even dropped a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifying match. What in the world is going on?
The most bizarre part of this whole thing? Gunther’s been messing around backstage with Danhausen, who is literally one of the top comedic wrestlers in the game. Gunther, the serious Ring General, intimidating Danhausen? It’s weird. It got even weirder last week when they were scheduled for a match. Did they have it? Nope. Gunther just straight-up decimated Danhausen before the bell even rang. It’s a shocking turn for a guy who was built as an absolute force, and his current position is a total surprise based on how he’s been booked his entire main roster run. We’re talking about a guy who seemed unstoppable, now he’s just… intimidating comedic wrestlers and losing big matches. What gives?
WrestleMania 43 Already on the Horizon
Even with all this current drama, the rumor mill is churning about WrestleMania 43, which is still about six months away. Apparently, WWE already has some huge main event ideas cooking. We’re talking Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi and CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes. Both sound absolutely massive. They’re also reportedly super keen on featuring Rhea Ripley big time, assuming she’s cleared to go after her knee injury.
Now, none of this is “set in stone” yet, but Reigns vs. Femi has been a rumor for a while, ever since Oba beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 and Reigns snagged the World Heavyweight Championship from Punk. Oba even called out Reigns after the show and won King of the Ring, but he opted to finish his rivalry with Lesnar first. It felt like WWE was just kicking the can down the road on that one, setting up a clash for a later, bigger stage. As for Punk and Rhodes, they squared off at SummerSlam with Punk winning to keep the WWE Championship. No rematch yet, but don’t be shocked if one of them snags a title before WrestleMania 43 to set up another epic showdown. And Ripley, she’s been out since early June with a torn meniscus that needed surgery. Here’s hoping she gets back in time to build up something meaningful.
It’s clear some major pieces are moving for next year’s biggest show, but for now, you gotta wonder what’s next for Gunther. Will he finally break this strange cold streak, or are we going to see The Ring General continue down this confusing path? Keep your eyes peeled, because anything can happen.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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