I’m the WWE star whose phenomenal body transformation helped me smash food battle and break records in the ring
Few wrestling stars have undergone a transformation like WWE’s Gunther in recent years, and yet so much is the same for The Ring General.
The phenomenal performer is one of the company’s top talents and is hotly tipped to become King of the Ring this coming weekend.
He heads to Saudi Arabia for the King and Queen of the Ring Premium Live Event where he’ll meet either Randy Orton or Tama Tonga in the final of the men’s tournament.
Tonga and Orton meet in the final bout on the SmackDown side of the bracket, but it will be hard to hard look past Gunther as favourite come Saturday, with the grappler just off the back of a record-setting reign with the Intercontinental championship.
His loss to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania last month ended his tenure with the gold at a whopping 666 days – the longest of any ‘IC’ champ in history.
The Austrian has benefitted tremendously from working under Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque in WWE – first as part of NXT UK, then NXT and latterly the company’s main roster.
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While The Game’s leadership has afforded Gunther some real continuity, it is impossible to ignore the incredible work the athlete himself has put into changing his physical appearance.
“To limit food intake is a little bit tricky. I love to cook, and I like food, but at the end of the day. I’ve got to give credit to Kaiser and Vinci, because they’ve been in incredible shape already.
“I just jumped on board with them, and they kicked my butt to pull through even when it’s difficult."
Gunther isn’t a star made in the WWE mould. Known for far longer as WALTER, the star grappled for the better part of 15 years across the globe, establish a fierce reputation on the independent scene.
His imposing figure and hard-hitting style of wrestling made him one of the most noted names in the industry, so WWE landed something of a coup in bringing him under their umbrella through the NXT UK brand.
He set records there, too, with an unrivalled stretch as NXT UK Champion, before switching to NXT – the US sister show of sorts to the now disbanded NXT UK – to continue dominating there.
“It’s just a different way of living in America, I still don’t think it’s really for me but I have a good life here so I can’t complain but it was never my first choice.â€
He added: “In the back of my head it was always kind of clear to me that I have to come [to America] because that’s the thing in this profession, it’s not like any other where you just stay at one point where you’re comfortable and you’re just going to stay there for the rest of your career.
“As a wrestler, your career, there’s either the way up or the way down and you can’t be stagnant. You either develop or you drop.â€
Gunther remains a hard hitter, famed for his brutal chops that leave huge hand prints across the back and chest of his opponents.
His repertoire of submission moves remains in place, as does his menacing swagger – but the change in his appearance since his NXT UK pomp can’t be understated.
“I have to do my part,†he said of the transformation that saw him drop around 65 pounds.
“I have to show that I’m adapting, and I have to show that I put the work in for change.
"I think that was the most obvious choice and also going forward I knew I would be on the main roster, it’s a national television show that’s seen not just by wrestling hardcore fans, that’s seen by everybody, regular people, and looking like I look now I will be more appealing and standing out more than looking like I looked the way before.â€
“If you’re in the top league on national television every week and you want to represent the top-tier athletes, you have to be in shape to do so.â€
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With a major supporter in Triple H at the helm and a crown on the line this weekend, the future is undoubtedly bright for The Ring General.
He even told talkSPORT earlier this year that a bout with Logan Paul could sit on the road ahead - the Maverick set for a huge weekend of his own in Saudi as he meets Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE title.