Before he was setting records as WWE Intercontinental Champion, Gunther was dominating NXT UK. The Ring General made his WWE debut in the now-extinct NXT UK brand, confronting then-NXT UK Champion Pete Dunne in the final moments of the inaugural NXT UK Takeover. Wrestling as Walter at the time, Gunther went on to beat Dunne for the championship at NXT Takeover: New York in April 2019. He went on to have one of the longest reigns of the modern era, holding the NXT UK Championship for an unprecedented 870 days before losing it to Ilja Dragunov in August 2021.
NXT UK closed its doors in Summer 2022, unifying all of its championships with the US-based NXT brand. While NXT UK is currently abandoned, WWE has plans to relaunch it at some point down the line as NXT Europe.
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Speaking to ComicBook.com at the WWE SummerSlam press junket, Gunther praised the upcoming NXT Europe reboot, noting the overseas scene has always been much bigger than just the United Kingdom.
“I was always somebody that said it needs to be NXT Europe,” Gunther said. “It can’t be just the UK because there are so many fans all over Europe, Germany, France. These are huge markets too and there’s a lot of talent all over Europe. When I heard about the change that it’s going to be Europe, I was happy about that and I hope it all plays out how they want it to be.
“I can’t really say much about where it’s at, in terms of when it’s getting started and stuff like that. I think the idea behind NXT UK was very good at the end of the day. Obviously, with COVID and everything, it fell apart because it was hard to maintain from the distance.”
Aside from some cameos on the Florida-based NXT, Gunther spent the bulk of his first three years in WWE in the NXT UK brand. Not only did he retain his ring name from the independent circuit, but Gunther also had the opportunity to lead his indie stable Ring Kampf (rebranded as Imperium) within a WWE ring.
“For me personally, I think it was good for me because I could just go and take the ball and be myself and see what I can do,” Gunther said of his NXT UK run. “And then I outgrew it a little bit and I had to make the move before it eventually closed down.”
Regarding possibly competing in an NXT Europe ring one day, Gunther added that he’s open to the idea.
Gunther is set to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Chad Gable in the near future.
