WWE fixes the biggest match so far for the exceptional Viennese wrestler Gunther: An outstanding duel can be expected in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl Stadium
The sensational career of Austrian wrestling phenomenon Gunther is heading for a new high: WWE has fixed the biggest match yet for the heavyweight from Vienna.
At the WrestleMania 40 mega-show in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl Stadium, the “Ring General” will put his Intercontinental Title – which he has held longer than anyone before him in over 40 years – on the line against Sami Zayn. Zayn earned the match on Tuesday night in the main event of the TV show Monday Night RAW.
Gunther at WrestleMania 40 against Sami Zayn
This will be the 36-year-old Gunther’s second match on WWE’s biggest show and his first singles duel: last year, he defeated former WWE Champions Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in an outstanding Big Men triple threat match.
According to media reports, Gunther was supposed to get an even bigger match in Philadelphia and take on Superstar Brock Lesnar. However, this plan fell through because WWE is quietly not currently using Lesnar due to his alleged involvement in the sex trafficking scandal surrounding former boss Vince McMahon.
In Lesnar’s place, Canadian Zayn now won a six-man bout against five other title challengers – Ricochet, JD McDonagh, Shinsuke Nakamura, “Big” Bronson Reed and former Olympic wrestler Chad Gable, who was knocked out of the field at the end.
The Gunther vs. Zayn duel doesn’t have the same star power on paper, but in terms of quality it promises just as much, possibly even more:
The often underrated Zayn – whose career reached new heights last year thanks to his epic storyline with Roman Reigns and the Bloodline – is one of the best in-ring craftsmen in the division. What’s more, his style, physique and persona also fit the concept of a David versus Goliath match, which is one of Gunther’s great strengths.
Such matches – against easier opponents such as Ilya Dragunov and Tyler Bate or earlier against Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr. – have been instrumental in establishing Gunther’s reputation. Now he has a new opportunity to reaffirm it on the biggest wrestling stage of them all, in front of more viewers than ever before.
Muhammad Ali enters the WWE Hall of Fame
This year, the attention for WrestleMania on April 6 and 7 is arguably bigger than ever, as megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be back in the ring.
In other WrestleMania celebrity news, WWE also announced on Monday that boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who made several appearances in the former WWF and other wrestling leagues (most famously, his landmark boxer-wrestler match against Antonio Inoki), will be posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the day before the show.
