February 20, 2024 • 13 mins
Battle sits down with the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion, Gunther, to dive into the world of professional wrestling and beyond. Gunther shares insights on his remarkable legacy, the impact of WWE Raw's move to Netflix on the wrestling landscape, and the opportunities and challenges this shift brings for both WWE and its wrestlers. We also explore Gunther's thoughts on potential rivalries, including his perspective on facing Chad Gable again, and his memorable encounter with rising star Bron Breaker at the Royal Rumble. Additionally, Gunther provides a glimpse into the backstage atmosphere of WWE, emphasizing the importance of maintaining positivity and support. And finally, in a lighthearted moment, Gunther tackles the age-old question: wrestling a grizzly bear or assembling IKEA furniture without instructions? Tune in for a captivating discussion with a wrestling legend.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Battle Down. Why from the partsUnknown Studios into the Double Battle Crown,
Battle Bun, the Battle Found Battle, the Battle Crowd. Welcome to the
Battleground Podcast, your place for allthings pro wrestling, The Battle Road,
(00:24):
the Battle Round now making their wayto the microphones. Give it up for
your hosts. Welcome the Battle Crown. What's up you guys? Welcome back
in to the Battleground Podcast. iHeartRadio'sofficial wrestling podcast. My name is Battle
from one hundred point seven WRDU andyou, my friends, get to be
(00:46):
a part of the road to WrestleManiaLive as WWE Raw returns to p and
z Arena March eighteenth, and ticketstarting at twenty bucks online ticketmaster dot com.
Today, we're joined by a veryfamiliar face on the show. The
longest raining Intercontinental Champion Gunter is onthe show. Sir, how are you
(01:07):
doing today? Very good? Butthen I realized I got to look at
Seamus the whole time behind you,and now I'm not so good. You
gotta you know what I'll do thatfor you. I'll do that well perfect
inmaguitar. There you go, Sonow you don't oh perfect? Now I
feel way better and you know alot of things have changed since the last
time we talked to you. It'sbeen over a year. Last time we
talked to you was heading into rubble. Now we're kind of talking to you
(01:30):
heading into the road to WrestleMania.So I want to talk about this as
the longest raining Intercontinental Champion. Whatdoes that mean for your legacy, etching
your name in that history book.Yeah, it's a great accomplishment, obviously,
I think it's a once in alifetime achievement. But I'm still in
(01:51):
the midst of it. Cannot carryit away too much with it. I'm
like, I know as everybody elsedoes, like nobody's champion for so that
they will come where I'm going tolose to someone, to lose the title.
But I'm working hard to delay itas long as possible. Absolutely,
And you know there's a lot ofpeople that you know are wanting to come
(02:13):
after that title. Currently right nowlooks like main event jay Uso is trying
to come after that title. Howdo you feel about jay Uso? This
is your time to let your feelingsout. Well, I said it in
the ring to him like very accomplishedman, and he accomplish it all doing
(02:34):
have to work and attack him.I'm somebody I did everything myself my whole
career. I think that's the differencebetween us. Besides from that, I
think he's got a little bit ofchip on his shoulder because he needs to
he's out there now to prove toeverybody and himself that he can stand his
own two feet and be a mainevent guy. If it has to be
(03:00):
in my expense, then yeah,so be it. But I'm gonna work
hard to convince everybody from the oppositeright for sure. And you know,
there's been a lot of things thatyou know, WW has been making headlines
there recently, You've got WrestleMania,You've got you know, RAW heading to
Netflix. How do you think thisplatform ship will impact the way wrestling content
(03:23):
is consumed? Like, I mean, what opportunities maybe challenge do you see
for both WW and the wrestlers themselvesin this new digital landscape. How much
it's gonna change for us. It'slike, I can't tell that because we'll
see how that's gonna look later.But I think just in general, it's
a I think it's a historical deal, to be honest, because I feel
(03:46):
like wbe when it comes to yeah, how to distribute their content. They've
always been on the forefront of technology, I would say, because if the
WB network back then, there wassomething that was way ahead of everybody.
And I think having the Netflix dealnow is in sports in general, we're
like ahead of everybody. I thinkit's going to be trendsetting when it comes
(04:12):
to that, and I'm yeah,very excited for it. And I think
just in general, I think thecompany since Triple H Too Go is yeah,
firing out of all cylinders. Yeah, And I think we are experiencing
like a boom period that has neverbeen there before. And I think everybody
like us the performance, but alsothe fans need to be able to realize
(04:38):
or need to realize that. Yeah, Like in I don't know, ten
twenty years back, people got totalk about it, Oh my god,
can you remember back then? Andwe're in the midst of it now and
we're part of it and that's veryexciting. So everybody needs to enjoy the
ride absolutely for sure. Of course, ww rawl is returning to P and
C Arena March eighteen. You cangrab tickets now, take them out.
(05:00):
They're starting at twenty bucks online.You mentioned Triple A and Triple h and
how he is, you know,taking the reins of everything currently and there's
a boom and wrestling. How hasthe morale been backstage with him kind of
spearheading everything now? I would saymorale is very good. But also I
gotta be honest, even like before, I was never I don't know,
(05:23):
I don't let anybody else's mood ormorale effect myself. Like I'm I've always
been my own person and always havemy own goals and my own motivations,
and I don't really let myself effectfrom the surroundings. That being said,
obviously, a very motivated and avery high moral in the work environment is
(05:46):
obviously something that still boots my ownmotivation to a degree as well. I
think everybody's aware of the situation thatI describe right now, and everybody wants
to be a part of it inone way or the other. And yeah,
I think it's Yeah, it's agreat time though, and I'm glad
(06:08):
to be part of that, absolutelyfor sure. And of course, you
know, right now, the bigstory is finishing the story. I know
Ard he wants to finish his story. But recently I had the chance to
talk and sit down with Chad Gableand he talks about finishing his story,
and his story that he wants tofinish is against you. In the ring.
(06:30):
He said, y'all kind of hada little bit of a thing going
on and then it kind of wentaway. But he says he wants to
finish his story with you and takethat intercondinental title from you. How do
you feel about this? And youknow, is that something you want to
you know, close the story thechapter with Chad Gable, I honestly gotta
(06:51):
say he's not the only one.I guess that's just the life of a
champion that a bunch of guys wanta piece of that. That being said,
I think he's a phenomenal athlete.He's a great technician, and the
matches we add, I think we'rephenomenal and the audience enjoyed them a lot.
So if it should come to thatfor WrestleMania, then yeah, I'm
(07:14):
here for it. But we havewe have to see. I think there's
some there are few options in thepipeline, Like I don't know what,
yeah, what's in store for Mania. I'm defending my title against Jay Huso
on Monday, and I think afterthat's yeah, after that's done, then
we'll have a clearer picture what's instore for me at WrestleMania. How is
(07:35):
it gonna pad out? But yeah, like I said, I think there
are a bunch of guys that's justthe life of a champion that you were
chased by some people that wanted thatwant that price, and it keeps me
an edge absolutely, And you knowwe are currently on that road to WrestleMania.
Like you said, you don't reallyhave a telltale sign of who you're
(07:57):
going to be facing off a WrestleMania, but something that you know, as
as wrestling fans, kind of sawa glimpse of a possible future storyline.
You recently went toe to toe withbron Breaker right there in the middle of
the ring of the Royal Rumble,and a lot of people are touting as
bron Breakers very bright future in thew W. Uh what were your thoughts
on him coming into the Royal Rumbleand him taking that chop to you?
(08:20):
But then you know, kind ofnot backing down. I mean, good
on him, Like I would havedone the same. That's like it's first
of all, like that's that washis big first appearance on the main roster
and as he should. He madethe most out of that, and he
went in there with all his energyand all the all the power he has,
(08:43):
and I think just athletically is somebodythat is like superior. Oh a
lot of the guys on the mainroster, but that was the royal rumble.
That was Uh. He was inthere for a few minutes and it's
gonna it's gonna show if you canto uphold it in a one on one
a situation. If I would facehim at WrestleMania, I would be confident
(09:07):
because what I have. Yeah,my my advantage towards him is, yeah,
is like almost almost twenty year careerand he's still very young and inexperienced
in debt. But I think hehas all the potentially in the world.
But if he's the one for WrestleMania, I'm here to take on the challenge,
and I think it's going to bea very exciting match. Yeah,
(09:28):
absolutely for sure. Another one thatwe we kind of hope for as as
wrestling fans, and it kind ofstinks because it's at your expense. But
as I walk up for a secondreal quick, because I got to bring
the room, Shamus up. Heis one title away from being a Grand
Slam champion currently you have that title. We all kind of thought maybe last
(09:50):
year was gonna happen at WrestleMania,maybe he was going to beat you for
that title. You know, Seamushas kind of been away for a little
bit, and you know, ifhe steps back and says he wants you,
are you ready for Seamus? I'mdefinitely ready. But where he is
right now, that's where I likehim the most away, That's it's a
(10:11):
good place where he is. Sobut we'll see what happens. It'll definitely
be a fun match to see youtwo going at it, because I mean
last year it was it was akiller match with you and Drew and Seamus
at Mania and I was like,there's no way that anybody gets top this
match, Like this was match ofthe year in my books and my opinion.
So hell of a job for thatlast year. Looking forward to see
(10:33):
what's gonna happen this year. Youknow, right now, there's a lot
of things going on with WWE.I want to know, and I think
we talked about this last time,but things have changed. Is there any
thought about maybe adding a female toImperium? And if so, is there
anybody that's kind of caught your eye. There's no plan so that No,
(10:56):
it's not a it's a it's nota group where it's like we gotta fill
those spots. Who do we takeit's a it's either naturally it comes together
or it doesn't come together. AndI know both of them for a long
time now, and especially Kaiser,I've been I think we know each other
since like two nine or two tenand traveled everywhere together in Germany and now
(11:18):
we're doing it again up here.There's a connection behind it, and that's
why we're doing it. I don'tthink I could not be in a situation
like that with somebody that I haveno real connection with on the personal level
as well. So there's not reallyany plan to that. Gotcha completely understand
(11:39):
that one. I mean, ifit's not broke, why try to fix
it? Right? Who there isour guests on the show right now.
So here's the fun part where weget to, you know, let down
your guard, not really talk somuch about what's going on in the wrestling
world, but have some fun.And we always turn to chat GPT for
this question because everybody like that havethe robots ask a question and well,
(12:01):
the robot decided they wanted to askyou if you had to choose between wrestling
a grizzly bear or trying to assembleIkea furniture without the instructions, which one
would you pick? It's both verygruesome. I've been there with the Ikea
furniture, even with instructors. Ireally it's not my thing. I'm not
a handyman. That's that's one ofmy weak points. But then I also
(12:26):
like a grizzly bear is a Idon't know, I don't know how much.
I know how heavy day are,like eight hundred pounds or I'm fair,
or seven hundred pounds. I thinkit would still take the Ikea furniture,
to be honest. I mean,just sit here and think about it.
A grizzly bear taking a chot fromyou probably is all it's going to
need to do, and it's justgoing to turn the other way. No,
I think he's going to ignore itand like my rip the head off
(12:50):
my shoulders. I think that's therealistic scenario. Well, we don't.
We want to make sure that you'renot in anywhere vicinity of a grizzly bear
then, because we don't need thatto happen because you got a very long
career ahead of you, and youknow, I just want to say thank
you for taking the time out ofyour busy schedule. I know you're the
champ and you don't really have todo these kind of things, but it's
an honor to have you back onthe show. Great success seeing everything that
(13:13):
you've done. And you know,it's also really cool to scroll through social
media and I know you've seen yourtransformation over the years and everybody sees the
photos from where you started it nowand I got to applaud you on that
one. Oh, thank you verymuch. I appreciate that, and yeah,
thanks for having me, and Iguess I'll be back again. We
hope you enjoyed today's episode of theBattleground Podcast. Make sure you give it
(13:35):
five stars and a nice review.To stay up to date with the show,
follow them at Battleground Podcast on Instagram.
Battle Down. Why from the partsUnknown Studios into the Double Battle Crown,
Battle Bun, the Battle Found Battle, the Battle Crowd. Welcome to the
Battleground Podcast, your place for allthings pro wrestling, The Battle Road,
(00:24):
the Battle Round now making their wayto the microphones. Give it up for
your hosts. Welcome the Battle Crown. What's up you guys? Welcome back
in to the Battleground Podcast. iHeartRadio'sofficial wrestling podcast. My name is Battle
from one hundred point seven WRDU andyou, my friends, get to be
(00:46):
a part of the road to WrestleManiaLive as WWE Raw returns to p and
z Arena March eighteenth, and ticketstarting at twenty bucks online ticketmaster dot com.
Today, we're joined by a veryfamiliar face on the show. The
longest raining Intercontinental Champion Gunter is onthe show. Sir, how are you
(01:07):
doing today? Very good? Butthen I realized I got to look at
Seamus the whole time behind you,and now I'm not so good. You
gotta you know what I'll do thatfor you. I'll do that well perfect
inmaguitar. There you go, Sonow you don't oh perfect? Now I
feel way better and you know alot of things have changed since the last
time we talked to you. It'sbeen over a year. Last time we
talked to you was heading into rubble. Now we're kind of talking to you
(01:30):
heading into the road to WrestleMania.So I want to talk about this as
the longest raining Intercontinental Champion. Whatdoes that mean for your legacy, etching
your name in that history book.Yeah, it's a great accomplishment, obviously,
I think it's a once in alifetime achievement. But I'm still in
(01:51):
the midst of it. Cannot carryit away too much with it. I'm
like, I know as everybody elsedoes, like nobody's champion for so that
they will come where I'm going tolose to someone, to lose the title.
But I'm working hard to delay itas long as possible. Absolutely,
And you know there's a lot ofpeople that you know are wanting to come
(02:13):
after that title. Currently right nowlooks like main event jay Uso is trying
to come after that title. Howdo you feel about jay Uso? This
is your time to let your feelingsout. Well, I said it in
the ring to him like very accomplishedman, and he accomplish it all doing
(02:34):
have to work and attack him.I'm somebody I did everything myself my whole
career. I think that's the differencebetween us. Besides from that, I
think he's got a little bit ofchip on his shoulder because he needs to
he's out there now to prove toeverybody and himself that he can stand his
own two feet and be a mainevent guy. If it has to be
(03:00):
in my expense, then yeah,so be it. But I'm gonna work
hard to convince everybody from the oppositeright for sure. And you know,
there's been a lot of things thatyou know, WW has been making headlines
there recently, You've got WrestleMania,You've got you know, RAW heading to
Netflix. How do you think thisplatform ship will impact the way wrestling content
(03:23):
is consumed? Like, I mean, what opportunities maybe challenge do you see
for both WW and the wrestlers themselvesin this new digital landscape. How much
it's gonna change for us. It'slike, I can't tell that because we'll
see how that's gonna look later.But I think just in general, it's
a I think it's a historical deal, to be honest, because I feel
(03:46):
like wbe when it comes to yeah, how to distribute their content. They've
always been on the forefront of technology, I would say, because if the
WB network back then, there wassomething that was way ahead of everybody.
And I think having the Netflix dealnow is in sports in general, we're
like ahead of everybody. I thinkit's going to be trendsetting when it comes
(04:12):
to that, and I'm yeah,very excited for it. And I think
just in general, I think thecompany since Triple H Too Go is yeah,
firing out of all cylinders. Yeah, And I think we are experiencing
like a boom period that has neverbeen there before. And I think everybody
like us the performance, but alsothe fans need to be able to realize
(04:38):
or need to realize that. Yeah, Like in I don't know, ten
twenty years back, people got totalk about it, Oh my god,
can you remember back then? Andwe're in the midst of it now and
we're part of it and that's veryexciting. So everybody needs to enjoy the
ride absolutely for sure. Of course, ww rawl is returning to P and
C Arena March eighteen. You cangrab tickets now, take them out.
(05:00):
They're starting at twenty bucks online.You mentioned Triple A and Triple h and
how he is, you know,taking the reins of everything currently and there's
a boom and wrestling. How hasthe morale been backstage with him kind of
spearheading everything now? I would saymorale is very good. But also I
gotta be honest, even like before, I was never I don't know,
(05:23):
I don't let anybody else's mood ormorale effect myself. Like I'm I've always
been my own person and always havemy own goals and my own motivations,
and I don't really let myself effectfrom the surroundings. That being said,
obviously, a very motivated and avery high moral in the work environment is
(05:46):
obviously something that still boots my ownmotivation to a degree as well. I
think everybody's aware of the situation thatI describe right now, and everybody wants
to be a part of it inone way or the other. And yeah,
I think it's Yeah, it's agreat time though, and I'm glad
(06:08):
to be part of that, absolutelyfor sure. And of course, you
know, right now, the bigstory is finishing the story. I know
Ard he wants to finish his story. But recently I had the chance to
talk and sit down with Chad Gableand he talks about finishing his story,
and his story that he wants tofinish is against you. In the ring.
(06:30):
He said, y'all kind of hada little bit of a thing going
on and then it kind of wentaway. But he says he wants to
finish his story with you and takethat intercondinental title from you. How do
you feel about this? And youknow, is that something you want to
you know, close the story thechapter with Chad Gable, I honestly gotta
(06:51):
say he's not the only one.I guess that's just the life of a
champion that a bunch of guys wanta piece of that. That being said,
I think he's a phenomenal athlete.He's a great technician, and the
matches we add, I think we'rephenomenal and the audience enjoyed them a lot.
So if it should come to thatfor WrestleMania, then yeah, I'm
(07:14):
here for it. But we havewe have to see. I think there's
some there are few options in thepipeline, Like I don't know what,
yeah, what's in store for Mania. I'm defending my title against Jay Huso
on Monday, and I think afterthat's yeah, after that's done, then
we'll have a clearer picture what's instore for me at WrestleMania. How is
(07:35):
it gonna pad out? But yeah, like I said, I think there
are a bunch of guys that's justthe life of a champion that you were
chased by some people that wanted thatwant that price, and it keeps me
an edge absolutely, And you knowwe are currently on that road to WrestleMania.
Like you said, you don't reallyhave a telltale sign of who you're
(07:57):
going to be facing off a WrestleMania, but something that you know, as
as wrestling fans, kind of sawa glimpse of a possible future storyline.
You recently went toe to toe withbron Breaker right there in the middle of
the ring of the Royal Rumble,and a lot of people are touting as
bron Breakers very bright future in thew W. Uh what were your thoughts
on him coming into the Royal Rumbleand him taking that chop to you?
(08:20):
But then you know, kind ofnot backing down. I mean, good
on him, Like I would havedone the same. That's like it's first
of all, like that's that washis big first appearance on the main roster
and as he should. He madethe most out of that, and he
went in there with all his energyand all the all the power he has,
(08:43):
and I think just athletically is somebodythat is like superior. Oh a
lot of the guys on the mainroster, but that was the royal rumble.
That was Uh. He was inthere for a few minutes and it's
gonna it's gonna show if you canto uphold it in a one on one
a situation. If I would facehim at WrestleMania, I would be confident
(09:07):
because what I have. Yeah,my my advantage towards him is, yeah,
is like almost almost twenty year careerand he's still very young and inexperienced
in debt. But I think hehas all the potentially in the world.
But if he's the one for WrestleMania, I'm here to take on the challenge,
and I think it's going to bea very exciting match. Yeah,
(09:28):
absolutely for sure. Another one thatwe we kind of hope for as as
wrestling fans, and it kind ofstinks because it's at your expense. But
as I walk up for a secondreal quick, because I got to bring
the room, Shamus up. Heis one title away from being a Grand
Slam champion currently you have that title. We all kind of thought maybe last
(09:50):
year was gonna happen at WrestleMania,maybe he was going to beat you for
that title. You know, Seamushas kind of been away for a little
bit, and you know, ifhe steps back and says he wants you,
are you ready for Seamus? I'mdefinitely ready. But where he is
right now, that's where I likehim the most away, That's it's a
(10:11):
good place where he is. Sobut we'll see what happens. It'll definitely
be a fun match to see youtwo going at it, because I mean
last year it was it was akiller match with you and Drew and Seamus
at Mania and I was like,there's no way that anybody gets top this
match, Like this was match ofthe year in my books and my opinion.
So hell of a job for thatlast year. Looking forward to see
(10:33):
what's gonna happen this year. Youknow, right now, there's a lot
of things going on with WWE.I want to know, and I think
we talked about this last time,but things have changed. Is there any
thought about maybe adding a female toImperium? And if so, is there
anybody that's kind of caught your eye. There's no plan so that No,
(10:56):
it's not a it's a it's nota group where it's like we gotta fill
those spots. Who do we takeit's a it's either naturally it comes together
or it doesn't come together. AndI know both of them for a long
time now, and especially Kaiser,I've been I think we know each other
since like two nine or two tenand traveled everywhere together in Germany and now
(11:18):
we're doing it again up here.There's a connection behind it, and that's
why we're doing it. I don'tthink I could not be in a situation
like that with somebody that I haveno real connection with on the personal level
as well. So there's not reallyany plan to that. Gotcha completely understand
(11:39):
that one. I mean, ifit's not broke, why try to fix
it? Right? Who there isour guests on the show right now.
So here's the fun part where weget to, you know, let down
your guard, not really talk somuch about what's going on in the wrestling
world, but have some fun.And we always turn to chat GPT for
this question because everybody like that havethe robots ask a question and well,
(12:01):
the robot decided they wanted to askyou if you had to choose between wrestling
a grizzly bear or trying to assembleIkea furniture without the instructions, which one
would you pick? It's both verygruesome. I've been there with the Ikea
furniture, even with instructors. Ireally it's not my thing. I'm not
a handyman. That's that's one ofmy weak points. But then I also
(12:26):
like a grizzly bear is a Idon't know, I don't know how much.
I know how heavy day are,like eight hundred pounds or I'm fair,
or seven hundred pounds. I thinkit would still take the Ikea furniture,
to be honest. I mean,just sit here and think about it.
A grizzly bear taking a chot fromyou probably is all it's going to
need to do, and it's justgoing to turn the other way. No,
I think he's going to ignore itand like my rip the head off
(12:50):
my shoulders. I think that's therealistic scenario. Well, we don't.
We want to make sure that you'renot in anywhere vicinity of a grizzly bear
then, because we don't need thatto happen because you got a very long
career ahead of you, and youknow, I just want to say thank
you for taking the time out ofyour busy schedule. I know you're the
champ and you don't really have todo these kind of things, but it's
an honor to have you back onthe show. Great success seeing everything that
(13:13):
you've done. And you know,it's also really cool to scroll through social
media and I know you've seen yourtransformation over the years and everybody sees the
photos from where you started it nowand I got to applaud you on that
one. Oh, thank you verymuch. I appreciate that, and yeah,
thanks for having me, and Iguess I'll be back again. We
hope you enjoyed today's episode of theBattleground Podcast. Make sure you give it
(13:35):
five stars and a nice review.To stay up to date with the show,
follow them at Battleground Podcast on Instagram.
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