Thekla proud of she & Gunther representing Austria in wrestling
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla recently noted how happy she is to see herself and WWE’s Gunther represent Austria in pro wrestling.
While Europe has a big indie pro-wrestling scene, Austria is not one of the names that come to mind first. Despite the challenges, AEW’s Thekla and WWE’s Gunther have emerged from the European nation to become some of the biggest names in the industry.
While Gunther is WWE’s longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion and a former World Champion, Thekla currently serves as AEW’s Women’s World Champion. Recently speaking to TMZ Sports, she opened up about Austria’s thriving pro-wrestling industry because of them.
“I think that within Austria the scene has been thriving, from what I’ve heard. Probably due to people like myself and also another gentleman over in WWE called Walter/Gunther. I think, personally, it is remarkable that two of wrestling’s biggest stars come from the same town – small town, two million people, where not much is going on, or was going on at least when I was wrestling there and coming up,” Thekla said.
She further expressed her pride in her and Gunther representing Vienna, Austria, at such a big pro-wrestling platform.
“I’m happy to represent the little place I’m from. It’s cool to have people see that there is talent in Vienna.”
When asked if Gunther is a competition to her, Thekla brushed aside the notice and heaped praise on the 38-year-old.
“I don’t think we’re in competition at all. He is so, so, so much better at some stuff than I am. And he’s very real about his style too. There’s really nothing bad I could say about what he’s doing. He’s very outstanding. I’m just playing a game that’s very different from anybody’s game. I don’t know who you could actually compare me to. Not Gunther, that’s for sure,” Thekla finished.
Thekla is next scheduled to defend her AEW Women’s World Championship against Starlight Kid at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, while Gunther will face Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE title at Night of Champions.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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