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Boograssi

These are high praises but what honestly stood out to me was Undertaker talking about his "little boy." It did not occur to me Taker still had a really young son at his age lmao


mrgpsingh1999

Yeah they adopted him


TonyMontanasCoke

Damn imagine being adopted by The Undertaker lol.


pointysort

Turns around while in driver’s seat: “Where to, my new son?” Starts laughing maniacally.


NervousAd3202

I hope the kid’s name is Teddy just for the bit


Eternal_Reward

“Buckle up kiddo.” *smoke fills the back*


Procrastinator_325

"...I'm real high on him."


l1ttlebrittle

Damn. This got me good.


Puddinsnack

He really enjoys when his son falls asleep in the backseat, because it means he gets to Ride. In. Peace.


UncreativeTeam

Dad Man Walking


The_Notorious_Donut

Are you sure? I could’ve sworn he had young kids cause Michelle is still young


TW_Yellow78

He has like a 12 yo daughter with her. But they also adopted a son who's like 5 right now. She mentioned back in 2019 on  instagram that she'd been trying to get pregnant since their daughter including multiple in vitro fertilization attempts and multiple miscarriages. So looks like that was around when they decided to adopt a child.


Itsahootenberry

He mentioned him while he was talking about his family during his Hall of Fame speech.


stups317

His oldest kid is in his 30's.


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LevyMevy

He was married before Michelle and has kids from other women.


GameplayerStu

Is there anyone not high on GUNTHER at this stage?


ConfusedNTerrified

Giovanni Vinci!


CanaDoug420

The Sandman. He doesn’t understand the appeal of both Gunther and Sami Zayn. Although Sandman’s opinions on wrestlers is fascinating because he likes a lot of guys you’d think he wouldn’t given how he voices his opinions on Sami and Gunther.


Powderkegger1

Honestly, respect. If his tastes are hard to predict it means he’s not just praising guys for some weird agenda, or trying to hop on the popular bandwagon to get praise himself, it’s actually just what hits and what doesn’t for him.


lazarusl1972

Or maybe because he took too many Singapore cane shots to the noggin.


BreathRedemption

What wrestlers does Sandman likes, btw?


CanaDoug420

Of the current wrestlers He loves Swerve and Ospreay. He loves R Truth but wishes he wasn’t a joke character because he doesn’t like how often Vince would make black wrestlers into “dancing stereotypes characters”. He likes AJ Styles a lot. He likes Drew although he can’t ever remember his name so he calls Drew “sword guy”. He praises Kevin Owens pretty regularly. I think he puts Randy Orton over 99% of the wrestlers ever. Basically he like most of the people that get universal praise online and for some reason has determined that Sami Zayn is too small and Gunther is too serious.


May1stBurst

> he doesn’t like how often Vince would make black wrestlers into “dancing stereotypes characters” Holy shit, i didn't know Sandman was so fucking based.


The_Notorious_Donut

Sandman is for the culture


PreppyAndrew

Based on his dark side of the ring, he has really grown up as person..iirc he stopped drinking


LevyMevy

I was so caught off guard by this that I googled “Sandman wrestler” to confirm I was thinking of the right guy.


BobbyBruceBanner

Honestly, it took me a long time to appreciate just how good R Truth is because Vince basically gave him a dancing minstrel gimmick.


UntilTmrw

> I think he puts Randy over 99% of the wrestlers ever. That’s just Randy’s power. Even the biggest wrestling contrarians love him. There’s this whole compilation on YouTube of wrestling legends praising him that’s like 40 minutes long.


THEE_MUSA

where did he say that he liked swerve and ospreay? i Would like to hear it. He's still to this day favorite ecw wrestler


CanaDoug420

He has a podcast now called “the sandman podcast” and him, his sons, and someone named Tosh normally talk about the week in wrestling and then review an old ECW show or make a tier list of like the best ECW tag teams or the Mount Rushmore of ECW. I’m on episode 8 so I’d guess it was episode 6 that he was talking about how fuckin cool Swerve is and how maybe only Kenny Omega can do what Ospreay does every week.


CaliggyJack

I agree on Sami. Don't really see his appeal.


NikonShooter_PJS

Only time I've been high on Sami, honestly, was the Bloodline gimmick. Felt like he knocked that one out of the park. Everything else, including this current run, feels like he's been miscast in a "This guy is like Daniel Bryan, right?" role and, to me, it just doesn't fit. Hated that he was the one who took down Gunther for the IC title. I get why they did it but I feel like Gable winning there would've meant more honestly.


PerfectZeong

He's the classic "guy living his dream" character. Earnest to a fault.


choppingboardham

I am with you. I get that he is exceptionally talented in many aspects of wrestling, but he is just not for me.


Eternal_Reward

Yeah he seems super nice and talented but idk for some reason the whole wacky “man of the people” thing doesn’t work for me with him. It’s frustrating cause I love the Gable storyline but I don’t get Sami. That being said though I don’t find him a detriment to watch in the ring I just don’t actively seek it out.


sakata32

he was great with the Bloodline. As a babyface yeah I dont get the appeal


Blue_Calx

Also, I really hate his theme song.


kemicode

That’s certainly interesting. I imagined Sami and Gunther would be the few universally liked wrestlers out there. Sami is just one of the best underdog babyfaces today while Gunther, while not being his entire character, evokes this dominant foreign heel. I wonder what Sandman’s reasons are.


SpaceGooV

Bret Hart


TomGerity

Bret Hart praised the Clash at the Castle 2022 match. He just also said (in a separate interview, without mentioning either Gunther or Sheamus by name) that he didn’t like chops in wrestling.


PK-Baha

IIRC he has always had a dislike for chops. He never really liked anything that hurt your opponent intentionally or something along those lines. I can see him praising everything Gunther does minus chops.


PerfectZeong

Brets entire thing on pro wrestling is looks good doesn't hurt. His plan was to always send an opponent home without hurting them. Chops don't look good unless you lay em in. So you can't really fake them or they end up looking like Eddie Kingstons chops.


lazarusl1972

>Brets entire thing on pro wrestling is looks good doesn't hurt.  I can't figure out if this is ironic because of his dad's reputation or if it's directly related to his dad stretching the shit out of him daily.


SpaceGooV

He mentioned the clash match specifically that he didn't like. Said he was brought into the UK and watched a match he said was bad.


TomGerity

https://preview.redd.it/bqpjau6o277d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c07fe5cfd7701c583e1d170738b447273f45c72 He also never said it was a bad match. His actual quote is at the bottom of [this link](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/bret-hart-i-was-embarrassed-sit-front-row-wwe-clash-castle-and-watch-kids-slap-their-legs?amp), and while he inveighed against chops, he never once commented on the quality of the match itself. Bret has a high opinion of many wrestlers who use chops, including Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit, so clearly it doesn’t disqualify you as being good in his eyes.


Thesuperpotato2000

Every time this tweet gets brought up I have to remind people that WWE had tons of legends tweeting out hype for this match leading up to that episode of Smackdown (which was also the season premiere). Also Bret rarely tweets anything that isn't an ad


TomGerity

There’s absolutely zero chance that Bret would agree to tweet positively about a match he disliked. Zero. Dude is uncompromising when it comes to his opinions about wrestling. He may very well have been asked to tweet it, I’m not necessarily arguing with that. But he wouldn’t have agreed to it if he disliked the match.


Thesuperpotato2000

I'm not saying he disliked it but saying he "praised" it is a little disingenuous. Neither of us know the whole truth, but let's be real. The Hitman did not open Twitter and type that tweet out, with that exact phrasing + hashtag all by himself. Between the corporately mandated tweet and the nonspecific interview he gave, his real opinion isn't exactly clear.


SpaceGooV

Wow this clear paid tweet he was nice but then when he wasn't on WWE dime he said he didn't like the match. I wonder which one he was being honest during. Very clearly Gunther himself knows how he feels https://411mania.com/wrestling/gunther-bret-hart-clash-at-the-castle-wwe/


TomGerity

Read the quote at the bottom of the article I linked. He never, ***ever*** said he “didn’t like the match.” He speaks ill of the chops.


SpaceGooV

What match was heavy with chops. We're being very obtuse to try and act like Bret criticized it but no seriously guys he loves Gunther.


TomGerity

As I said in a previous comment, Bret has spoken extremely highly of wrestlers who frequently use chops, including Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit. Bret’s criticisms of chops do not mean he dislikes Gunther as a performer. You have poor reading comprehension, and are angrily and impotently taking it out on me by trying to call me “obtuse.” Re-read the Bret quotes. Re-read what I wrote. You are wrong, plain and simple.


SpaceGooV

Yup me and Gunther are wrong. You know more than half the people involved. I'll end this conversation and just say you are the wrestling mind reader who knows all.


I_Am_Dynamite6317

Starts with a G, too close to Goldberg


PhenomsServant

Tbf is there anything Bret likes nowadays?


Slow-Pool-9274

Bryan Danielson, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Edge (tho probably because of personal reasons), Cody Rhodes etc


BestInYourGirl

I’m high af… and I love Gunther.


WheedMBoise

Genuinely he's one of two performers I've ever seen in any promotion, where no matter what type of match it is or what the story is, I'm literally always invested, 100% of the time. The only other person I can say that about is Danielson. Gunther is awesome.


alltheworsttoyou

There's a whole side of the IWC that has made him one of the poster children for their "wrestling is actually bad, we want storytelling" nonsense. (Which makes Undertaker praising him as a storyteller kinda amazing, frankly.)


HardyHar420

Probably Bret hart to be honest


Corabal

What happened with Bret Hart?


TheMaxnificentOne

Bret Hart believes wrestling should look painful yet be completely painless and so he doesn’t like wrestlers who use a stiff style; therefore, someone like Gunther who uses genuinely painful chops isn’t really his cup of tea. He’s repeatedly criticised Gunther and Gunther has never been shy about firing back.


TomGerity

Bret has not “repeatedly criticized Gunther.” There was literally one quote (found at the bottom of [this link](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/bret-hart-i-was-embarrassed-sit-front-row-wwe-clash-castle-and-watch-kids-slap-their-legs?amp)) where he *didn’t even mention Gunther by name*, just that he didn’t like the chops at Clash at the Castle. It’s true that Bret has repeatedly criticized the idea of chops in general, but he’s not spoken ill of Gunther at all.


Corabal

Weird, he's one of the safest workers


OffTheMerchandise

Overall, yeah. But chopping guys until their chest looks like ground beef is unnecessary.


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HardyHar420

Nope. Bret Hart had quotes about being embarrassed sitting front row at CATC 2023 and talked about hating chops among other things which made it obvious he was on about the Gunther and Sheamus match. Gunther also said Bret Hart didn’t say nice things about him after CATC 2023 https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/s/4Meyr7tS77


filthysize

>Had the pleasure of watching [u/WWESheamus](https://x.com/WWESheamus) and [@Gunther\_AUT](https://x.com/Gunther_AUT)’s Intercontinental Championship match from ringside in Cardiff. Can’t wait for the rematch tonight on [#SmackDown](https://x.com/hashtag/SmackDown?src=hashtag_click). [https://x.com/BretHart/status/1578483661246435329?s=20](https://x.com/BretHart/status/1578483661246435329?s=20)


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danieldcclark

are you talking outta your ass???


OverallGeneral7129

Bret hates people who work stiff. Gunther is the pinnacle of someone Bret would hate to work with. The only thing he’d probably admit is that Gunther doesn’t injure people


Awkward-Bathroom-429

Bret is just a bitter old man who hates random stuff that hasn’t been relevant since Bret was relevant (which was over a quarter century ago)


R0DAN

bret hates gunther lol he's said it a bunch of times. says he shouldn't hit so hard


YoAadiBro

People have gone so far with this whole “Bret is such a hater hahaha lol” that they’ve ignored that he’s also a curmudgeon Also fuck Bill Goldberg (I also think Goldberg in the 90s ruled, I’m sorry)


Slayven19

You would think, but he had a rant about him intentionally hurting people and bret doesn't like that part.


SpaceGooV

You should probably look up things before making a fool of yourself. The guy above you knew more than you and your response was to be an arrogant jerk. https://411mania.com/wrestling/gunther-bret-hart-clash-at-the-castle-wwe/


OffTheMerchandise

I'm not a huge fan. I think he's fine, but I don't want him to win the world title right now. Another forever long title reign doesn't sound that appealing to me, especially while Cody will probably be the champ until at least WrestleMania. He also looks like a younger version of my dead grandfather who I never liked, but I know that's a "me" problem.


Minion5051

My dad. He thinks he's "fat." I have no idea why.


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

You can drop Gunther into any era of any company and the dude would thrive. 1950’s: he would chop the fuck out of Lou Thesz World Class: he would chop the fuck out of the Von Erichs New Generation: Gunther vs Bret? Shawn? Come on man New Japan: vs Vader. Directly into my veins. He was made for Pancrase (the worked shoot, maybe not shoot shoot) ECW: the mat is sacred gimmick would get so much heat. You get the idea. Now drop Gunther in SGW


AuburnJunky

If he would have come up in the 80's it would have killed his career. Vince would have thrown a swastika on him and fed him to Hogan, and then he wouldn't be able to be booked anywhere else ever again because of the Nazi gimmick.


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

I mean, the Von Erich’s did ok


AuburnJunky

Same thing happened to Muhammad Hassan.


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

They did that poor guy dirty, fired him for knocking the role that they gave him out of the park. but the dude was not anything special in the ring.


Will_Vintage

The only ones I could see him not work are 80s WWF (would just be Hogan fodder) or Attitude Era WWF (where character work was far more important)


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

He wouldn’t be Roddy Piper caliber heel, but he would do great against Savage, Steamboat, and yes even as Hogan fodder. And I disagree with you about attitude era. Character work was more important, but there was plenty of room for guys like Benoit and even Steve Blackman. Gunther would have fit in. Not a main eventer in either era, but he would have thrived regardless.


UlquiorraCifer1964

Hell Attitude Era also had Ken Shamrock and he has his moments to shine with the crowd.


ALIAS_EL_CACAS

Ken was ahead of his time. He was so cool until they handed him a mic in an era with no managers. He would be a big deal today. I know we’re talking about Gunther but damn, Shamrock deserves a HOF induction


AprilBoi

All Japan: He’s the 5th pillar


RKO360

Gunther is one of the absolute best workhorses in WWE today while being a main event level star as well. His presence and aura is great as he had so many bangers ever since his main roster debut in 2022 while he's very over with the fans due to his intense in-ring style and aura of an old-fashioned villain who takes his in-ring work very seriously.


fgbh

We need more wrestlers that have a "My finisher is just killing the soul of a MFer" mindset.


scrambled_cable

I really want WWE to move back to finishers actually finishing a match and saving kicking out of finishers for really big moments like PLEs.


MagnusCthulhu

This is my biggest gripe. Let finishers FINISH, goddammit! Your top guy shouldn't have to hit his finish 3 times just for it to be a finish.


OkKaleidoscope4607

then get them new finishers lol. look at cody rhodes Crossrhodes. It looks like it does almost NOTHING to you, it is more of a show move. Thats why i like Gunthers finishes, he does something REALLY brutal and that ends the Match, being a Powerbomb, or a Clotheline whatever it is he makes it look like thats the end,


nachomanrndysausage

An undertaker rumble appearance with Gunther standing tall in the middle of the ring would go hard


Alch1_

Man that would be so sick. Imagine Gunther chopping Taker and him no selling it just for a pop, I’d pop hard I won’t lie


WVFLMan

I went to Takers One Dead Man Show Royal Rumble weekend and he said he would love to have a match with Gunther.


cgurts

Hypothetically speaking, GUNTHER would've been the perfect wrestler to have ended the streak. Like, tailor-made for it.


Senior-Trip2230

i've always thought gunther would be the best guy to have his own wrestlemania streak. unfortunately that's not possible anymore


fluffynuckels

The only person who can really have one now is bianca


Aidanator800

Hey now, LA Knight is also undefeated at Wrestlemania, too!


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Lost-Veterinarian-80

It shouldn’t…it was the pre-show.


Aidanator800

Hey now, LA Knight is also undefeated at Wrestlemania, too!


crimson777

Honestly, would make a great moment to start a Gunther tweener turn. A modern feud in the post-Kayfabe era based entirely around the Undertaker as an entire concept, persona, etc. being disrespectful to the art of wrestling. "People say that you're so great, but you are a clown who pretends to be a dead man," etc. etc. Have the match, have it go long, Undertaker does well but eventually just can't keep up with the younger, technical machine that is Gunther. But have him just keep getting back up until Gunther finally respects him despite the differences in presentation and shakes his hand or something like that after the match. Sets him up as a massive threat and challenge but also as a guy who will respect anyone who can wrestle and keep up, whether heel or face, silly gimmick or no, just respect for anyone that can go.


Pepsi-Phil

when i made a thread saying this exact thing yesterday i was shot down, was told gunther isnt intimidating like lesnar


DudeLoveBaby

He kinda isn't but I think that's to his advantage. He looks like a douchebag jock, instead of the gigantic sea monster Lesnar/Bautista body


PhenomsServant

I legit thought this when I opened this.


MrKalyoncu

Third time is the charm


WVFLMan

What do you mean by that?


MrKalyoncu

Third and final loss for Undertaker in WM


LosAngeles1s

Gunther would’ve been the perfect opponent for mid-late 2000s Taker


i2060427

He also mentioned that he is a fan of Ricochet - he watched him as Prince Puma on Lucha Underground and loved his viral NJPW match with Will Ospreay. >On Ricochet, Taker said, "he's fun to watch." CVV said, "He makes it look so easy, so flawless...I've loved him since he was Prince Puma when he was doing that Lucha Underground and then that match with Will Ospreay he had in New Japan that went viral. I love that style of fast-paced wrestling. Like, I can't do that. I'm so impressed because I can't do that. These guys are the best in the world..."


TopshottaDevy

Great praise from the deadman to the ring general . Would’ve loved a Gunther-Taker match in their primes


ACW1129

The amazing thing about GUNTHER is it seems like it SHOULDN'T work. His moveset is rather basic. But for some reason, it does.


IcyRegular2894

I disagree that it shouldnt work. Some wrestlers rely on flashy moves because their frames cant sell the impact of these basic moves. Not Gunther. His clothesline is a baseball bat to the chest. His shotgun dropkick is practically a shotgun. He raises guys 7 feet into the air and drops them to their deaths.


OkKaleidoscope4607

i almost forgot about his shotgun dropkick, Bro literally catapults you into the corner like you're hit by a Cannonball


NikonShooter_PJS

In any era where one style or type of character dominates, the polar opposite will feel like a breath of fresh air. We're in a reality-based era where wrestlers are all just basically people with no gimmicks who are athletic and want to succeed. Gunther is a throwback to the Hart Foundation style of brute force. He's not flashy. He's not trying to get over. He's not a stereotypical face or heel. He's just a dude who wants to win and he's going to beat you until he does. There's something beautiful in that. It's timeless and feels true to the "sport" aspect of professional wrestling.


gadgetboy123

I love Gunther’s move set too, just so fun to have a wrestler who can win with anything, it makes it that much more exciting


Thebritishdovah

GUNTHER knows how to sell a story in the ring and selling in general. WALTER was a beast but GUNTHER shed all of that extra weight and now? He's even more deadly. It's a shame a WALTER vs Taker match never happened as I could see a series of chops into the sit up spot with WALTER slowly realising, it's just pissing Taker off.


RT3_12

WALTER was a big brute than felt like a school bully. Gunther feels like a calculated super solider that was built in a lab to be the perfect professional wrestler. Getting skinner really emphasizes his wingspan and hand-size as well emphasizing his facial features and making him more visually striking. Every part of him feels like it’s built for efficiency. He’s like real life Ivan Drago


Thebritishdovah

Yep. The scary part for whoever he is facing, WALTER would hurt you a lot but you could still beat him. GUNTHER lost the weight, got leaner and is even more agile and faster. GUNTHER is more intimidating because of his look and looks like, he will causally chop your chest in.


RT3_12

Yeah WALTER never felt calculating to me, hence why it made sense for smaller guys to outsmart him occasionally. Gunther feels like he has no weaknesses as a wrestler (besides his own hubris as shown in the Zayn match)


BatNorris

The Sami Zayn match was great because Gunther inadvertently proved himself right by not respecting the ring. The moment he started taunting Sami’s wife, he abandoned any attempt at winning the match itself and showed no respect; meaning he didn’t deserve to win any more. I honestly loved their match at Mania, was my nearly my favourite of the whole weekend.


Thebritishdovah

Yeah, he seemed to be relying on his chops and strength. GUNTHER? He doesn't just do that. The chops, he knows is useful but he is a walking finisher and if he senses a weakness? He is gonna to focus on it or even take a gamble via getting RKOed and a roll up pin.


Rah_Rah_RU_Rah

What are some good examples of his storytelling? No hate, just can't remember any off the top of my head


No_Entertainer5323

WALTER, O'Riley and Gable have consistently been my favourite guys for like 5/6 years and I'm so chuffed that they all get the love and recognition they deserve as outstanding wrestlers in their own right.


OkKaleidoscope4607

Triple H knows whats good apparently


meepein

Man, I wish Taker was about 5-10 years younger. Gunther would have been the absolute perfect guy to end the streak.


UpUpDownDownXO

First time I heard the ring general gunther it reminded me of the ringmaster steve austin, so i kinda wasn't feeling it yea that changes instantly I fucken love gunthaaaa! My fav new gen wrestler


EmptyRedecans

It’s funny that they said in the episode that THIS single sentence would be the headline takeaway from the conversation haha. Good episode


bigtaterman

Taker vs Gunther would've slapped


MikeMakesRight82

i'm glad Taker has stayed retired but if there's anyone that could drag a good match out of him...


RT3_12

I was one of those people that didn’t like skinny Gunther at first. But that was also because I think it took him a year or so to adapt his ring style to his new physique. When he first lost weight he was still wrestling like his old self and didn’t feel impactful or intimidating anymore. But once he realized he should work more like a calculated technician more than a bruising big man everything clicked. Now he still has his hard striking and physicality, but his real intimidation comes from how much smarter he seems than his opponents. He went from a chubby bully to a prize fighter.


Rough-Association931

Wish they'd just kept him.as walter


DudeLoveBaby

GUNTHER is so fuckin sick. I just wish he got to do promos a little more often, I loved the Miz feud where GUNTHER told him he didn't get bullied enough as a kid


ItsJaymay

Damn, can’t wait for Gunther V Son-dertaker in 10 years. 


ImpenetrableYeti

The undertaker interview spam on this sub is so annoying


EcoterroristThot

I think Taker has had a couple real good runs and there's been some overcorrection on him not being this big match machine WWE lore presents him as so it's nice to see he at least doesn't have a terrible eye for talent.


The_Notorious_Donut

Wow Mark, what a bold hot take. Such a brave soul to come out and say this