Gunther ‘hated’ John Cena when watching WWE as a fan
At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event this weekend, Gunther has the chance to retire someone he once “hated” watching as a fan.
Gunther stopped by ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday for a media appearance to promote John Cena’s final match. When asked how the WWE locker room views Cena, Gunther said he has not had many interactions with Cena personally. Gunther claimed that he did not like watching Cena as a fan, framing their matchup as one between a pure wrestler and a sports entertainer.
“I mean, I can only speak for myself. And I haven’t really — I shook hands twice with him, I didn’t really have any interactions with him otherwise,” Gunther said. “I just remember when I started wrestling, like 20 years ago now, I remember that I hated that guy in jorts on that TV week by week. And I always thought it doesn’t belong in the ring.
“So I’m a big purist, I’m a big traditionalist. And I said it on Monday, John Cena’s definitely the greatest sports entertainer of all time. But I’m the greatest professional wrestler there is right now, so that’s going to be the conflict.”
Gunther already defeated Goldberg in his retirement match this year and now has the chance to do the same to Cena. He was confirmed as Cena’s last opponent by defeating LA Knight in the Last Time is Now Tournament finals last week on SmackDown.
During the First Take interview, Gunther was asked if there are any names from the past that he wishes could compete in today’s WWE. He named Kurt Angle and the late Eddie Guerrero as legends he’d love to have around.
“I think Kurt Angle would be great if he would still be here, always somebody that I really enjoyed watching,” Gunther said. “Or somebody like Eddie Guerrero. I think those would be guys that come to mind that would be great to have around right now.”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.