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GUNTHER’s Championship Crisis: Why The Ring General Gunther Can’t Finish

ByGaurav Sharma

Jun 30, 2026
GUNTHER stands with the World Heavyweight Championship as the thumbnail highlights his WWE championship crisis and inability to finish opponents.
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GUNTHER stands at a major crossroads in his WWE career. There was a time when the entire SmackDown roster feared The Ring General, but now he has failed to win the Undisputed Championship in three straight attempts. It all started at Clash in Italy, continued on SmackDown, and reached its climax at Night of Champions in Riyadh. For the man who brutally retired AJ Styles and forced John Cena to tap out in what many fans consider one of the greatest retirement matches in wrestling history, this losing streak is nothing short of shocking.

However, the story has now taken another turn. At Night of Champions, Sami Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes in the Triple Threat Match, defeating both Cody and GUNTHER to capture the Undisputed Championship. But this article isn’t about Sami Zayn’s title victory. It’s about GUNTHER—a superstar who once retired legends like John Cena and AJ Styles, yet now finds himself struggling to win the biggest championship in WWE.

The Weight of Three Losses

When GUNTHER challenged Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed Championship for the first time, very few people believed he could actually lose. For months, The Ring General had been dismantling every opponent who stepped in front of him. He wasn’t just winning matches—he was ending legendary careers. His brutal chops weren’t just another move; they had become psychological weapons that broke his opponents long before the final bell. GUNTHER didn’t simply wrestle. He ruled over his competition.

That’s why his first loss at Clash in Italy was so shocking. Even I couldn’t believe this was the same man who had recently retired two WWE legends. Fans never expected that result. But the match made one thing clear—Cody Rhodes wasn’t just another opponent. He possessed something GUNTHER didn’t have at that moment: the ability to evolve and perform even better under pressure.

The second loss on SmackDown made the situation even more serious. You can explain away one defeat. But losing twice in a row to the same opponent isn’t just bad luck—it suggests that your opponent has figured you out. It also raised questions about WWE’s booking, with many fans wondering if the company was making GUNTHER look weaker than he should. GUNTHER’s greatest strength had always been his aura of invincibility. After one loss, he was still viewed as a dangerous force. But after the second defeat, fans began questioning whether that aura was starting to fade.

Then came Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia—the biggest stage and GUNTHER’s best chance to erase the previous two losses and finally capture the Undisputed Championship. But once again, things didn’t go his way. In the Triple Threat Match, Sami Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes to win the championship, leaving GUNTHER empty-handed once again. Three opportunities. Three failures. A championship that seemed destined to be his just a few months ago now feels farther away than ever.

GUNTHER’s Real Problem: Can’t Close the Deal

Three championship opportunities. Three failures. For a superstar whose entire identity was built on unstoppable dominance, this is about much more than simply losing matches. It feels like the slow collapse of the aura GUNTHER spent years creating.

GUNTHER arrived fully prepared at Clash in Italy. He stepped into SmackDown determined to win the title. Then, at Night of Champions in Riyadh, The Ring General once again entered the biggest stage ready to prove he belonged at the top. But every single time, he walked away empty-handed. At that point, it no longer feels like bad luck. When the same outcome keeps repeating, it becomes a pattern.

The most surprising part is that GUNTHER never looked weak in defeat. He landed his signature offense, executed his game plan, and pushed Cody Rhodes to the absolute limit in every encounter. But taking someone to their limit and actually finishing the job are two very different things. GUNTHER has always been a master at punishing his opponents, yet when it comes to closing out the biggest matches, that’s where he has continued to struggle.

This isn’t a problem that suddenly appeared, but it’s becoming impossible to ignore. A superstar who recently retired legends like AJ Styles and John Cena should never find himself unable to capture the championship in back-to-back opportunities against the same opponent. Then came the third chance at Night of Champions, where Sami Zayn defeated both GUNTHER and Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed Championship. Once again, GUNTHER left disappointed, with nothing to show for another title opportunity.

This is why it genuinely feels like GUNTHER has entered the most difficult phase of his WWE career. Calling it a “downfall” still feels strange because we’re talking about the same man who retired two legends not long ago. How does someone go from ending the careers of icons like John Cena and AJ Styles to struggling to win the biggest championship in WWE? It almost doesn’t make sense.

The real issue isn’t that GUNTHER has become weak. The problem is that when the biggest matches and the biggest opportunities arrive, he hasn’t been able to deliver the result. In professional wrestling, looking dominant is never enough. History remembers champions, not close calls. And if the victories stop coming, even the most intimidating aura can begin to fade.

The Cost of Retiring Legends

gunther the career killer of legends

Just six months ago, GUNTHER retired the legendary AJ Styles. Before that, he made John Cena tap out in what was billed as Cena’s farewell match. These weren’t just two major victories—they were career-defining moments that elevated GUNTHER’s legacy to another level. When you end the career of a legend like AJ Styles and force an icon like John Cena to submit in his final match, you don’t just become another champion—you become the most feared superstar in WWE.

But perhaps that’s exactly where GUNTHER’s biggest challenge began.

After those victories, GUNTHER was presented as WWE’s final boss—a superstar who looked almost impossible to beat.

This is also where I believe WWE made a questionable booking decision. On one side, you had Cody Rhodes, the face of the company. On the other, you had GUNTHER, a superstar who was arguably at the absolute peak of his career. Putting those two against each other was already a huge gamble, but having GUNTHER lose twice to Cody and then watching Sami Zayn leave Night of Champions as the Undisputed Champion after defeating both GUNTHER and Cody Rhodes is a storyline that’s difficult for me to fully understand.

At this point, my biggest takeaway is simple: it feels like GUNTHER is paying the price for retiring John Cena and AJ Styles. After being booked as the man who ended the careers of two legendary superstars, seeing him struggle to win the biggest championship in WWE feels incredibly strange. It’s almost as if his greatest victories have been followed by the most unexpected downturn of his career.

What Three Losses Mean Going Forward

The biggest thing is that GUNTHER isn’t in immediate danger. He is still The Ring General. If he picks up one dominant and memorable victory over a credible challenger, the entire narrative can change again. GUNTHER isn’t finished, nor has he fallen out of WWE’s main event scene.

However, this losing streak has done something far more damaging than simply adding losses to his record. It has introduced doubt into a character that was built on certainty and dominance. There was a time when any superstar stepping into the ring with GUNTHER was expected to lose before the match even began. But that has changed. Now, whoever faces GUNTHER knows that he has already been beaten before.

That changes the psychology of every match. It changes how the crowd reacts. It changes expectations. Slowly, the image of an unbeatable monster begins to fade into that of just another top superstar.

In my opinion, WWE shouldn’t put GUNTHER back against Cody Rhodes or into the Undisputed Championship picture right away. Instead, they should build him back up against a new and dangerous opponent—someone hungry enough to help GUNTHER rediscover the ruthless version of himself. He needs to remind fans that Clash in Italy, SmackDown, and Night of Champions were exceptions in his career, not the standard.

Can GUNTHER make a comeback? Absolutely. He has the talent, the experience, and the aura to return to the top whenever the opportunity comes. But the question has changed. It used to be, “When will GUNTHER become champion?” Now it’s, “Can GUNTHER climb back to the level where he can win the Undisputed Championship again?” Until he answers that question inside the ring, his journey back to the top will be far more difficult than anyone expected.

What do you think? Has GUNTHER’s loss of momentum hurt him permanently, or does the Ring General still terrify you when his music hits? Drop your thoughts in the comments—wrestling debates are only good when everyone weighs in.

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