WWE likes to make a big deal of milestones and anniversaries. So here’s one I predict you’ll be hearing on commentary before long. Three years ago, a man arrived on the WWE roster who went on to reshape heavyweight wrestling in his image — and to make the mat sacred.
Wrestling aficionados may wince at the thought of treating Gunther’s “WWE SmackDown” debut — April 8, 2022 — as a year-zero moment, given that the Austrian powerhouse had already spent more than three years dominating NXT under his previous ring name, Walter. And it’s true that there are infinite reasons why his breakthrough matches with Pete Dunne, Ilja Dragunov and Tyler Bate are still spoken about in hushed tones by those who witnessed them at the time.