Tag: Gunther

Updated preview for WWE SmackDown Backlash fallout episode

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has made its first slate of announcements for tonight’s Backlash fallout edition of SmackDown.

– Gunther all but joined the SmackDown roster last week, but he’ll officially decide tonight if he’s going to be part of the brand going forward. If he does sign his SmackDown contract, Gunther challenging Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship will be confirmed for Clash in Italy on May 31.

– Tonight’s show is taking place at Colonial Life Arena on the campus of the University of South Carolina, where Trick Williams once played college football. A special homecoming celebration will be held for Williams on SmackDown. He’s coming off a successful United States Championship defense against Sami Zayn at Backlash.

– Last Friday, Jade Cargill returned for the first time since dropping the WWE Women’s Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42. She immediately set her sights back on Ripley, with Cargill, B-Fab & Michin interrupting a six-woman tag match and causing Ripley, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss to lose to Fatal Influence.

Cargill will appear on tonight’s show and address the fans following last week’s attack.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, May 15) —

  • Gunther decides whether to join SmackDown to challenge Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
  • United States Champion Trick Williams returns to the University of South Carolina for a homecoming celebration
  • Jade Cargill addresses her attack on WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley

Gunther credits Triple H for changing WWE’s European talent strategy 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Gunther enjoys being a heel and the chaos that erupts with it. He also recognizes the impact his move from the European wrestling circuit to WWE has had on his own career and the future opportunities it could create for talent from the continent. 

In an interview with Enry Lazza, Gunther talked about the fan backlash after defeating John Cena in his retirement match. He stated it was a struggle for his WWE colleagues to deal with the negative reactions from crowds, but he personally thrives on it.

“It is and I feel like it’s a struggle that a lot of my colleagues sometimes have, where they struggle to get negative reactions, because it cannot feel nice, but I enjoy it, I have to say. I like to be the one that creates chaos and stirs the pot and that worked out really well with John (Cena).”

Gunther also elaborated on WWE scouting and discovering talents from across Europe. He emphasised on his transition to mainstream wrestling audiences through WWE, noting how his success at the global stage  creates more visibility for future European wrestlers. 

“Yeah, it was definitely the case that it was hard and because WWE wasn’t quite that open yet. That really just changed with Triple H when he took over NXT where they changed the strategy and basically looked at everybody out there. And I feel like Europe was under the radar for a very long time because especially Italy, I remember that when I started like 2008 or something had years, after that, had a really good wrestling scene.” 

“I remember there was a guy called Kyle that I used to wrestle here and there and if you’re looking up you find him. They had great crowds in Italy like thousands of people and then he changed up a little bit again but that would be something where back then you didn’t have the reach yet to get the eyes of WWE on the talent over here. And then I was there at the right time when the European indies really came up again and then WWE looked at it and actually said hey there’s a lot of talent we can look at and I wasn’t the first out of that scene or bubble that made the jump but I think I was most likely the guy made the biggest impact I never made a jump from that scene and that leads to kicking the door open for other guys.”

Gunther competed in Japan and Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in Germany before WWE NXT UK. He later enjoyed a dominant reign as NXT UK Champion before the branch was eventually merged with NXT. 

Gunther’s main roster debut in 2022 was marked by his longest reign as Intercontinental Champion, a reign which spanned across 666 days. 

Since last year, he further built his reputation as ‘the career killer’ after he went on a spree of retiring wrestling veterans like Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles.

WOL: Bread Man Walking

Posted on by Jim Valley

It’s the Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

The Gingerbread Man closed the go-home Smackdown for tonight’s WWE Backlash, ending a show long angle that was short on big laughs and long on being long. If not for the aura of Trick Williams, this could have been a baking disaster. Will we see a surprise Gingerbread appearance at Backlash? It would all make sense if we did.

Between that, Pat McAfee, Gunther and Paul Heyman, among other WWE surprises haven’t been very surprising lately. Why do I hate fun and whimsy? Because I’m the gatekeeping fun police, that’s why!

Plus, thoughts on tonight’s Backlash, AEW Fairway to Hell and more. Check it out.

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Gunther joins WWE SmackDown brand, issues challenge to Cody Rhodes

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Gunther is coming for Cody Rhodes.

On Friday’s SmackDown, Gunther was set to discuss his actions after choking out Rhodes last week. Instead, Rhodes came out and said he wanted to face Gunther right then and there. Paul Heyman emerged and said the fight would not be in Jacksonville or even the United States. Rather, it would be in Turin, Italy on May 31, handing Rhodes a contract.

After the two traded some words, Heyman eventually left as Gunther used the distraction to run in through the crowd for the attack, attempting a sleeper. Rhodes managed to avoid it twice, causing Gunther to bail. Rhodes told Gunther that he was easy to find, but hard to beat, with announcers noting that nothing had been confirmed for Italy just yet.

It was also confirmed on Friday that Gunther had joined the SmackDown brand, jumping from Raw.

Gunther began to set his sights last week

Last week’s show had Rhodes announcing he medically cleared after injuring his orbital bone in the aftermath of his WWE title match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42. Rhodes accepted a challenge from Ricky Saints and managed to score the win, only for Gunther to jump him from behind and sink in his sleeper, quickly establishing himself as the next contender.

Shanky recalls working with Gunther in his final WWE match | Exclusive

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Shanky opened up working his last match in WWE against Gunther around three years ago in India.

In an exclusive interview with F4WON, Shanky was asked about wrestling Gunther in his last match before getting released by WWE. While still unaware then about the upcoming roster cuts, the 34-year-old recalled that he expected more cooperation from Gunther and WWE in that match.

“It was a really great experience with him. I did a show with him in Hyderabad. But at that time, I didn’t know—after that, whether they were going to release me or what they were going to do, I had no idea then. But yeah, I did have a match with Gunther. Gunther is kind of like that [hard hitter and stiff chops], you know—like, what can I even say right now, okay? I wanted them to cooperate a bit more, but that didn’t happen. The thing I was asking for at that time didn’t happen. But yeah, it’s good that I had a match with Gunther, because now he made John Cena tap out.”

Back wrestling now, Shanky wrestled his first match after WWE at the OPW Australian Stampede in 2024. He also wrestled his latest match there in a loss against Parker Boudreaux. Although he later recovered and earned his first singles win after WWE against Slade Mercer in PCW.

Speaking on his current mental and physical recovery, he stated, “I’m saying I’ve improved a lot—mentally as well as physically. When I was in the U.S., in WWE, around that time, my weight was about 120, 120 Kgs. Now I’ve gained a bit of muscle too. Back then, I looked kind of skinny; now I’ve put on some muscle. Because for a seven-foot guy, it’s really tough to gain everything, to build up muscles, right? I’ve never taken steroids. I stick to a simple diet, and I’m never going to take steroids. So whatever I’ve got, that’s what I’m working with—I just keep doing my thing.”

“I’ve earned everything through wrestling. I had nothing before. I’ve earned everything through wrestling—through WWE. I built a house for my mom and dad, and I bought a car for myself. Right?
I mean, I gave them a slightly better life. Yeah, that’s there—God’s grace is there too. It’s the same thing: I’ll keep doing wrestling, I’ll keep doing it. I’m definitely looking for opportunities—whichever company hires me, I’ll keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it,” he added.

Shanky answers possible character changes like Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre

Shanky’s character in WWE got over with the crowd very quickly. His high energy, passion, and live dance performances were well-loved by the WWE Universe. However, Shanky feels it was part of the job, and he views himself as a hardcore wrestler.

When asked about his comeback and undergoing a possible character reinvention like Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre, Shanky claimed, “No, no—look, the culture is fine, I’ll carry it on. But yeah, the dance—that’s just a character thing. This time I came out with the dhol, but I didn’t do the dance and all that. I don’t like that stuff that much. Yeah, I mean, it’s a job—if I’m told to do it, I’ll do it, no problem, it’s fine. But I want to see myself as, you know, like a hardcore wrestler—yeah, a 7-foot guy, that kind of thing. I’ll carry my culture, no doubt. But wrestling—wrestling, wrestling—that’s the thing for me.“

“Definitely, definitely [on character change]—I will, I will. I’ll work on that a bit, because you know how it is, right? Like… for example, I’ve always been a huge fan of The Undertaker in wrestling. So I want it the same way he used to play that character earlier [both The Phenom and The American Badass]—like, yeah man, it happens a bit, like, yeah, the wrestler’s walking in from there, but people still love him. Whether he’s a bit of a heel or a babyface. I want to do a mix-up kind of character,” he added.

When asked about his fondness for hardcore matches, Shanky recalled his brutal chair shots segment with Drew McIntyre and how he wants to stay in that lane.

“I like hardcore matches because I’ve taken 34 chair shots—I’ve taken them from Drew McIntyre. And that history is there. Thirty-four chair shots—I took them from Drew McIntyre. That history is there. So now I want to stay in that lane: yeah, if I get chair shots, if I get tables, if I get ladder matches, that’s great for me—because I’m getting opportunities where I can show my aura.”

Hailing from a small town in India, Shanky struggled a lot throughout his career before getting selected by WWE. Reflecting on the creative process there, he said, “If I’m being honest, when I was in WWE, okay, I was still kind of new at that time. So whatever it was, but I was already wrestling—before that. So I didn’t really get that kind of chance in WWE, you know—because there’s this story like, ‘Yeah, people don’t even know, man, that he used to dance, that he used to be a dancer.’ People don’t realize the connection I was building with the audience there. The crowd was really connecting with me. They started chanting, ‘Go Shanky, go Shanky.’ They were bringing banners for me. I saw it myself. When you’d go to the airport or outside the arena, people would ask for autographs—they were connecting with me. So that was their motive, like, ‘First we’ll get him connected with the audience, then we’ll move forward.’ And then, like, they moved me with Jinder Mahal, and my story started. So yeah, that was a good thing for me.”

Released by WWE in 2023, Shanky now finds himself active in OPW (Oceania Pro Wrestling). “Now, sure, I’m not with WWE. But whenever I get an opportunity… like, as soon as I got released from WWE, right after that—four months later, I remember—the biggest opportunity I got was from OPW. Mr. Cam Vale—Australia, in Melbourne.”

Report: WWE’s original scrapped plans for LA Knight 

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

WWE’s plans for LA Knight post WrestleMania 42 reportedly disclosed.

According to Bodyslam.net, Knight was reportedly set to have a short program with Gunther before the plans were altered for him to target Cody Rhodes and the Undisputed WWE Championship. There is no status on WWE’s current creative direction for Knight. 

Knight’s last televised appearance was at WrestleMania Night One where he teamed up with The Usos against The Vision and IShowSpeed. Prior to the Premium Live Event, Knight was suspected to have suffered an injury which he later addressed as it sparked concern among fans. Knight was adamant that the bursa flare up would not disrupt his WrestleMania match. 

After battling Seth Rollins at the event, Gunther’s next move was to target the WWE Championship. On the May 1 edition of SmackDown, he attacked Cody Rhodes after his match against Ricky Saints. He put him in his signature sleeper hold before releasing him and picking up the WWE Title. 

Gunther attacks Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cody Rhodes’ next challenger for the WWE Championship appears to be set.

After Ricky Saints made his SmackDown debut and challenged Cody Rhodes to a match, the two faced off later in the night. Rhodes won after connecting with the crossroads. However, he had little time to celebrate as Gunther immediately came in for the attack, latching on a sleeper hold. Officials attempted to intervene, but it was of little use as The Ring General continued on until eventually letting go to grab onto Rhodes’ WWE Championship, holding it high in the air.

Gunther was last seen at WrestleMania 42, defeating Seth Rollins. It was Bron Breakker that was the deciding factor, making his return by spearing Rollins just prior to the finish. The two have continued their feud since then, setting up a match for next weekend at Backlash.

Before Saints made his arrival, Rhodes announced that despite his eye injury, he was cleared for in-ring competition. After he successfully retained the title against Randy Orton at WrestleMania, an irate Orton continued to attack Rhodes after the bell. He finished things off with his trademark punt that has rarely been used in recent years. The punt connected with Rhodes’ orbital bone, injuring it in the process.

Women’s US title match, Gunther, Gingerbread Man funeral set for next WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two matches, Gunther, and a funeral are set for the next edition of SmackDown.

Giulia confronted Tiffany Stratton backstage on Friday, wanting her rematch for the United States title. Stratton was fine with defending the title, but was more interested in defending against Kiana James. Giulia agreed, establishing Stratton’s first title defense for next week.

Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley will team up meanwhile to take on Fatal Influence. After Jacy Jayne’s teammates helped her score a huge upset win on Friday, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid went in on the attack on both Flair and Bliss. Rhea Ripley came down for the save despite frosty words between Flair and Ripley earlier in the night.

Gunther will be live after attacking Cody Rhodes following his successful victory over Ricky Saints on Friday, establishing himself as next in line for a WWE title match. 

The Gingerbread Man, who Sami Zayn and Lil Yachty brought out to embarrass Sami Zayn, was “killed” on Friday after Zayn brought him out and ripped the outfit apart. Williams came to the ring for the save, but it was too late. He held up the X sign and later in the night, it was solemnly announced that Gingerbread Man had passed away.

WWE SmackDown (May 8)

  • Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Kiana James
  • Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley vs. Fatal Influence
  • Gunther will be live
  • Funeral of The Gingerbread Man

Fight Game: Hulk Hogan Netflix docuseries review

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Tuesday edition of the Fight Game to discuss some of the most topical things going on in pro wrestling this week.

We gave out their thumbs up and thumbs down before jumping into two main topics:

  • Finding landing spots for the latest WWE releases
  • How to book the Brock Lesnar vs. Gunther storyline

We also did a full review of the new Netflix docuseries, Hulk Hogan: Real American.

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Roman Reigns has plenty of challengers post-WWE WrestleMania 42  | Opinion

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Roman Reigns did what he set out to do at WWE WrestleMania 42 Sunday — to both beat CM Punk in his first ever Mania main event and take away his World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

Following the win, there is plenty of talk on who could be next for Reigns including WWE’s interest in pitting him against Gunther after his big win on Saturday over Seth Rollins.

Two years after a dominant 1316-day reign as Universal Champion, the WWE roster has undergone an shakeup with new names and new challengers since that run.

While Jacob Fatu appears to be up first, here’s a few other contenders who could challenge Reigns for the title this year.

Oba Femi

In the WrestleMania post-show, Femi called out the new champion fresh off his own win over former Reigns rival Brock Lesnar. When Reigns made his appearance on the panel later, fans started chanting for Femi and ‘Oba’s gonna kill you’ (in addition to an anti-TKO chant). Reigns acknowledged them, claiming that Femi did a big thing at WrestleMania 42 with his performance but he had already accomplished that multiple times. 

After checking Lesnar off from his list of dominated opponents, it seems inevitable that he will challenge Reigns for the title at some point. However, WWE needs to let the feud develop gradually as a rushed match between the two, especially a premature title match, could do more harm than good.

Seth Rollins

When The Vision turned on Rollins in October, he was forced to relinquish the very title Reigns just won. Since Rollins never actually lost the title in a match, it’s a natural that he gets his shot back at some point. But, that opportunity might take a while especially after Bron Breakker’s return at WrestleMania where he cost Rollins his match against Gunther. 

Even if Rollins challenges Reigns for the title later in the year, their long and complex history ensures plenty of unfinished business. The last time they stood opposite each other in the ring in a singles match was at the Royal Rumble in 2022 and at WrestleMania 40, Rollins sided with Cody Rhodes to take on Reigns and The Rock. 

A key takeaway from their last singles match is that Rollins defeated Reigns via DQ. Rollins’ mind games – making his entrance to The Shield’s theme song, wearing the disbanded group’s signature gear and taunting their gesture of bumping fists during the bout led to Reigns snapping.

LA Knight

Knight was one of the many stars who stood up to Reigns in 2023 and challenged him for the then-Universal Title, squaring off at Crown Jewel that year.

In the buildup of their feud, Knight was unfazed by Reigns’ status with one memorable instance being Knight interrupting Reigns’ entrance for their contract signing. 

Since then, Knight has received mixed reactions from the WWE fans. While some still root for him to get his main event spotlight, a few remain hesitant on whether he should be there.

The possibility of Knight facing off against Reigns again this year carries major implications. He made it clear to Gunther on Monday’s Raw that is where he is looking.

Bron Breakker

In the aftermath of WrestleMania last year, Rollins’ new alliance with Paul Heyman led to The Vision’s origin. They were joined by Bron Breakker and a couple of months later, Bronson Reed joined the fold. 

By July 2025, during the budding rivalry between Jey Uso and Reigns against Rollins, Breakker and Reed, Reigns warned them about confiding in Rollins which Breakker took issue with and called him the “old dog” in the yard, mocking his relevancy dating back five years ago. At SummerSlam last year, Uso and Reigns defeated The Vision.

Breakker has already announced his thirst for winning a World title. Challenging Reigns for the title would capitalize on his momentum and give him a chance to prove himself against an established, dominant competitor. Win or lose, Breakker squaring off against Reigns would signal him as a top tier talent on the WWE roster. He just needs to get past Rollins first.

Update on future plans for Roman Reigns vs. Gunther match

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE believes they have a big-time match in Roman Reigns vs. Gunther.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed WWE’s potential plans for the match on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.

“The plan is Roman Reigns as champion against Gunther,” Meltzer said on the show. “That was as of a week ago, midweek even.”

“I don’t think it’s for Backlash, maybe SummerSlam, maybe something else.”

“The only thing I was told, which I did know, is that Roman Reigns and Gunther was, as of like a week ago, a big direction that they thought was a big time major match.”

Reigns challenges CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 42 night two on Sunday. It’s been two years since Reigns was a world champion, having lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

Gunther defeated Seth Rollins in the fifth match of WrestleMania 42 night one on Saturday. He hasn’t lost a singles match since losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Punk at SummerSlam 2025.

The full episode of Wrestling Observer Radio is available for subscribers here.

Bron Breakker returns at WWE WrestleMania 42

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An injury disrupted his WrestleMania plans, but Bron Breakker still ended up playing a big role on Saturday night.

The returning Breakker interfered in Seth Rollins vs. Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 42 night one, costing Rollins the match as the two resumed their rivalry. Breakker laid out Rollins with a spear before Gunther used a sleeper to pick up the victory.

Rollins had momentum on his side after giving Gunther a Pedigree onto the announce table and delivering a stomp. But Breakker then ran down and laid out Rollins. After the match, Breakker sprinted down the entrance ramp so he could give Rollins another spear. Breakker then posed with Paul Heyman on the stage.

In February, Breakker was forced out of action due to hernia surgery. He was cleared in time for WrestleMania, but WWE decided to hold off his return until tonight. Breakker vs. Rollins was considered as a potential WrestleMania match at one point as the card took shape over the past few months.

Both Rollins and Breakker suffered injuries on the road to WrestleMania. Tonight was Rollins’ first match since October 2025, when he was sidelined due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. At that time, WWE wrote Rollins off television in an angle where Breakker turned against him and kicked him out of The Vision.

Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast ahead of WrestleMania, WWE President Nick Khan named Breakker as one of WWE’s biggest stars for the future. Khan said everyone in WWE is on the same page about Breakker’s path, saying they can’t rush him and need to let him develop at his own pace.

Gunther: Retiring AJ Styles ‘felt almost more important’ than John Cena

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Gunther put an end to three wrestling veterans’ careers within the past year. From Goldberg in July to John Cena in December and AJ Styles in January. 

Gunther revealed on WWE Retrospective that retiring Styles was a priority over Cena because he idolized his run before joining the company. He cited comparisons with Styles and himself in his early career and respected him.

“Everybody kind of knew backstage, it was an open secret that AJ was going to hang up his boots at some point, that’s what I wanted to do next.”

“AJ’s kind of different where it’s like; you have the WCW legend Goldberg, then you have the guy that stands for WWE, then you have AJ who’s somewhat more similar to me because he had a great run here but a lot of the stuff the people love him for happened before WWE.”

“He’s one of those guys that, the generation of wrestling I came up with, we looked up to guys like AJ Styles. I remember that when he was in New Japan and we always watched his big matches there, they were fantastic. There was the time where I was really grinding and developing, there was stuff I would watch.” 

“I always had so much respect for AJ’s work. It almost kind of felt like, from the wrestler purist heart, that felt almost more important for me than the Cena match. But on screen being able to rub it in and try and ruin that last run he has was so much fun.”

He also added Goldberg and Cena’s retirement timeline was made public leaving an uncertainty around Styles’ match. The anticipation was heightened for the match given the stipulation that Styles’ loss would be the end of his WWE career.

“That’s the beauty of it because with Goldberg and Cena everyone knew it was their last match, and I think with AJ people weren’t too sure it was going to be his last match. A good chunk of them expected AJ to win and carry on with his career, but he went out on his own terms, that’s something a lot of wrestlers can’t manage, it’s always best to go at a point where people are still going to miss you, not at a point where people are like ‘ah it was time’.'”

“So hat off to AJ, great career, fantastic wrestler, but I took it away, what can I do.”

After December, Gunther bragged about making Cena tap out especially with his motto to ‘never give up’. An infuriated Styles confronted him leading to their match at Royal Rumble.

Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this weekend, and Cena will host WrestleMania 42. 

Gunther was scarcely seen on WWE TV in the aftermath of his attack on Dragon Lee in February. Last month he ambushed Seth Rollins during his confrontation with Paul Heyman. Ultimately, a match between the two was set for WrestleMania. 

This week on Raw, Gunther revealed that his rivalry with Rollins was personal because he was determined to prove he was the better of the two. 

Gunther wanted to give Goldberg one of the best matches of his career

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Gunther wanted to give Goldberg one of the best matches of his career.

Earlier last year at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Hall of Famer Goldberg faced off against Gunther in his WWE retirement match. Recently speaking on WWE Retrospective, Gunther reflected on that moment and his thoughts about giving the veteran his career’s best match.

“When I came up in wrestling and watched Goldberg matches, the most exciting part was always that something catastrophic could happen at any time. I think that was kind of the appeal too, it looked dangerous because it was. I remember Hunter asked me about it almost like a year before, where it’s ‘do you want to do that?’ Yeah, I want to wrestle Bill Goldberg, and I want to have the best match he maybe ever had.

“In that situation the only thing I can do is just give it my best and make sure it’s the best match possible. I mean on the one hand it was also kind of like a surreal moment because wrestling Goldberg was never my agenda or anything, it’s like sure I’ll wrestle Goldberg if it happens, I used to play that guy on the N64 with my friends. It’s funny to catch yourself in a situation like that,” Gunther continued.

Speaking highly of the feud and their match’s setup, the former champion commented, “He was doing so many things intentionally right that impressed me and I was like ‘that’s really cool’. I also liked the setting of it because we were early at bringing back Saturday Night’s Main Event again, the old school setting and stuff, that was really fitting.“

“At the end of the day it’s all about big characters, that’s the thing, everyone knows Goldberg. When we got to the place where it was time for him to hit his signature things, in that building, everyone was for Bill Goldberg, they wanted to see Goldberg win that night,” he further added.

Believing that retiring Goldberg helped him in his career, Gunther continued, “I think that match did a lot for me and my career, and I hope he can look back at it and be happy with the performance he put on that night, because I was very happy with that match and it definitely exceeded expectations I would say.“

Later that year, he would go onto face John Cena in December 2025 and retire him as well before facing AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2026 and retiring him too.

Cody Rhodes names WWE WrestleMania 42 match he’s most looking forward to

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Outside of his own match, Cody Rhodes is most looking forward to seeing Gunther and Seth Rollins clash at WrestleMania 42.

Rhodes stopped by ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday morning to help promote WrestleMania. During the interview, he was asked to name which match he’s most excited to experience as a viewer.

“There’s always a little bit of that split between the sports entertainment and the wrestling. The sports and the entertainment,” Rhodes said. “And the one that’s old-school sports style that I really like, just good, old-fashioned wrestling: Gunther vs. Seth Rollins. I’m all about that. That’s a wrestlers’ wrestling match.”

The Gunther vs. Rollins bout is happening at night one of WrestleMania 42 this Saturday, which will be headlined by Rhodes defending his Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton. ESPN personality Pat McAfee has become a big part of that build and will be in Orton’s corner for the match. On Get Up, Rhodes described McAfee as a “rat” who is surrounded by people who don’t tell him “no” enough.

WrestleMania is Rollins’ first time competing in the ring since he suffered a shoulder injury while facing Rhodes at WWE Crown Jewel in October 2025. WWE ultimately landed on Gunther as his return opponent after multiple other ideas were considered.