The Viennese Gunther is the first German-speaking wrestler to win a WWE World Title – and will most likely be coming to Berlin as champ.
The Austrian phenomenon Gunther has actually made it!
After defeating Damian Priest at SummerSlam, the “Ring General” is the first German-speaking World Champion in WWE history. Walter Hahn, the 36-year-old’s real name, crowned his historic rise from highly regarded independent star to major WWE star in the NFL Arena in Cleveland.
Known for his no-frills, but perfectly crafted and very physical style, Gunther will most likely be the title holder going into the historic German Bash in Berlin on August 31st.
Austrian star Gunther is the new World Champion
Gunther’s triumph over the “Archer of Infamy” was not without controversy: Priest was betrayed by his longtime ally Finn Balor, who averted an impending defeat of Gunther by placing his leg on the rope, thus nullifying an impending pinfall victory by Priest, according to WWE rules
When Priest turned his attention to Balor, Gunther seized the opportunity and put Priest in a sleeper hold, ultimately knocking him unconscious.
Gunther has been under WWE contract since 2019 and has gradually fought his way up the ranks: First he was champion of the European squad NXT UK, then he held the tradition-rich Intercontinental Title longer than anyone before, after losing to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania he set his sights on the bigger belt – he secured the match against Priest by winning the King of the Ring tournament in Saudi Arabia in the spring.
In the footsteps of a legend
The working-class son and former youth soccer goalkeeper from Vienna is the first German-speaking World Champ in WWE and only the second ever in a major US league: After 42 years, Gunther is following in the footsteps of catch legend “Big” Otto Wanz, who briefly held the AWA title in 1982, shortly before Hulk Hogan made his big breakthrough there.
Wanz, who died in 2017 and was once known and popular far beyond the show fight world as a flamboyant TV personality and phone book ripper in German-speaking countries, bought the title in a deal with the AWA at the time as a de facto self-promotion measure. Gunther’s hard-earned rise to the top of the world’s biggest promotion has a different significance.