Gunther's WWE Title Pursuit Hits Roadblock After SmackDown Feud

AJ Styles recently opened up about Gunther, the man who retired him from wrestling. The Ring General made Styles pass out to his deadly sleeper hold, earning a new nickname, the "Career Killer," as he had already retired two other legends, John Cena and Bill Goldberg, in 2025.

What happened?

However, the gimmick didn't last long, and Gunther was soon drafted to SmackDown, where he began feuding with Cody Rhodes for the WWE title. Styles recently said on the Phenomenally Retro Podcast that he believes WWE dropped the ball with Gunther after the great run he had of retiring three legendary superstars by beating them clean.

Why it matters for Gunther

"It's fair to say that," Styles said. "The more I think about it, I'm like, 'Oh, freak. Okay. Yeah, I guess.' Kind of a big deal getting rid of John Cena so the fact that…I don't know, I don't write the stories," said Styles. Styles did, however, say that he gives props to the WWE creative team, explaining how difficult it is to come up with storylines and develop character arcs week after week.

What comes next?

The Phenomenal One said that he would rather wrestle than attempt to do what they do. "Listen, again I've said this, and I'll say it again, I would rather beat myself to death in that ring than be a writer for a show because you've got to be smarter than everybody else, and it's very hard to do week after week. So I give all the praise to those freakin' guys who are able to do that and work with each other. Not as easy as you think," said Styles.

Gunther has had a couple of failed attempts at the WWE Title when Cody Rhodes held it, the latest one being at Night of Champions when Sami Zayn defeated Gunther and Cody Rhodes in a Triple threat match. A livid Gunther has since blamed SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis for his losses, citing jealousy as a failed wrestler himself.

The SummerSlam Showdown

Aldis, who used to wrestle under the ring name Magnus in TNA, was put in a sleeper hold by Gunther multiple times over on SmackDown last week when he didn't give the Ring General another shot at the WWE Title. Gunther got his receipt when Aldis cost him a spot at SummerSlam to have him and Sami Zayn added to the current WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes' currently confirmed WWE Title match to make it a fatal four-way.

It looks like Aldis and Gunther may have a match at SummerSlam as tensions continue to boil, and it would be interesting to see how it goes, as it would be Aldis' first time wrestling in WWE if it happens.