{"id":149009,"date":"2025-12-19T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=149009"},"modified":"2025-12-19T03:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T08:55:12","slug":"from-ring-general-to-career-killer-gunther-is-the-ultimate-wwe-heel-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/19\/from-ring-general-to-career-killer-gunther-is-the-ultimate-wwe-heel-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"From Ring General to Career Killer: Gunther is the Ultimate WWE Heel of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every generation in WWE has always had its ultimate \u201cbad guy\u201d. While fans love to cheer the faces on the roster, the heels often earn the loudest reactions in the building. In the early 2000s, Triple H\u2019s \u201cReign of Terror\u201d was front and center. By the mid-to-late 2000s, Edge\u2019s \u201cRated R Superstar\u201d persona and Randy Orton as the \u201cLegend Killer\u201d took over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, most notably, that mantle belongs to Roman Reigns. As \u201cThe Tribal Chief,\u201d he has been the undisputed top villain since 2020, maintaining this position despite making only sporadic appearances since 2022. Recently, however, the lines between hero and villain have begun to blur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since that time, WWE has been searching for its next ultimate heel for fans to despise. If recent events are any indication, they may have found their next supervillain in Gunther. While Marvel has Thanos, who collects infinity stones, 2025 saw Gunther start to collect his own version of trophies with retiring wrestlers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Monstrous Beginnings<\/h2>\n

Using the ring name WALTER, he burst onto the WWE scene in 2018, signing with the NXT UK brand. He quickly rose through the ranks, winning the NXT UK Championship less than six months later, and holds the record as the longest reigning title holder at 870 days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In early 2022, he moved to the main NXT roster, adopting the name Gunther. He quickly transitioned to the WWE main roster three months later. Gunther began racking up an impressive number of accolades in short order: he won the Intercontinental Championship two months after his SmackDown debut, holding the title for 666 days, the longest in the title\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He also holds the record for the longest time in a Royal Rumble match, remaining in the ring for 71 minutes and 40 seconds in the 2023 bout, and is a two-time World Heavyweight champion. To date, WWE has done a fantastic job of solidifying Gunther as a dominant powerhouse, known for his brutal chops to his opponents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Run of Dominance<\/h2>\n

Despite Gunther experiencing some down moments in 2025 (most notably tapping out to Jey Uso and losing the World Heavyweight Championship), he has also had some of the most iconic heel moments to date.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The March 31, 2025, Monday Night Raw episode highlighted Gunther at his \u201cbad guy\u201d best. During the lead-up to the match between Gunther and Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41, Gunther attacked the Usos, zip-tying Jey to the ring ropes, forcing him to watch while he levied a brutal beating on Jimmy, drawing blood. <\/span><\/p>\n

The savage assault, however, was not what was remembered most. It was the images of Gunther, covered in Jimmy\u2019s blood, wiping it all over himself and licking it from his fingers. Classic heel moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2025 also saw the building and cementing of Gunther as the \u201cCareer Killer.\u201d Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event on July 12, 2025, saw Gunther face Goldberg, defeating him in the final match of his career by way of a sleeper hold. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fans were also witnesses to perhaps his most memorable bout of the year, the repercussions of which still echo throughout the WWE universe, as he retired John Cena this past weekend by defeating him by submission.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Future “Biggest” Bad<\/h2>\n

It only makes sense for WWE to promote Gunther into the role as the \u201cbiggest bad guy\u201d currently in WWE. Rumors have been circulating about possible superstars nearing the end of their careers who could allow Gunther to capitalize and build momentum. <\/span><\/p>\n

AJ Styles has already announced his retirement set for 2026, and this week\u2019s Monday Night Raw saw an electric backstage scene with the two, when Gunther taunted Styles before driving off in a car. Seeds planted. Gunther should be at the top of the list as an opponent for any retiring superstar’s final bout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gunther has proven he can be just as despised during promos as he is during matches. His mic moments have become legendary, cutting down rivals such as Jey Uso, The Miz, and John Cena, with his cold and arrogant demeanor, demanding fans’ attention with the verbal assault of his opponent. He embraces and feeds on the boos from the crowd, as he said in a recent interview, <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy getting under people\u2019s skin and riling them up. I\u2019m not a very big people’s guy. I like to rile them up a little bit, and that\u2019s when I thrive.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Gunther\u2019s rise has been building for years, but 2026 will be the year he truly defines himself as the perfect heel.\u00a0 With Cody Rhodes inheriting the crown as the top face of the company, Gunther has stepped from the shadows to become its new ultimate villain.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Photo Credit: By Carter Sterling<\/a> – https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/188354731@N05\/53690306604\/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=148318186<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heading into the new year, WWE has the perfect foundation to transform Gunther into the most hated heel the industry has seen in a generation. With Gunther\u2019s legendary defeat of Cena now in the books, the \u201cRing General\u201d enters the new year with more momentum and fan hatred than ever before. The era of the \u201cCareer Killer” has officially begun.<\/span><\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0for more on Gunther and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every generation in WWE has always had its ultimate \u201cbad guy\u201d. While fans love to cheer the faces on the roster, the heels often earn the loudest reactions in the building. In the early 2000s, Triple H\u2019s \u201cReign of Terror\u201d was front and center. By the mid-to-late 2000s, Edge\u2019s \u201cRated R Superstar\u201d persona and Randy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5699,"featured_media":148092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[8238,165],"class_list":["post-149009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-gunther","tag-john-cena"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149009"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149021,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149009\/revisions\/149021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}