On the June 16 episode of WWE Raw in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gunther’s celebrations after defeating Jey Uso on the previous week’s Raw were very short-lived, interrupted by Hall of Famer Goldberg.
A potential Goldberg vs. Gunther clash had been feared by WWE fans for quite some time, and Triple H and TKO have indeed pulled the trigger on bringing back the controversial old-timer into a feud with a top wrestler they have been disrespecting for months.
Gunther’s world title triumph over Jey was seen by many fans as a form of justice, as many were upset with how Uso defeated Gunther at the Show of Shows, tapping out one of the most hard-nosed technical wrestlers in the business. And their anger was vindicated by Jey’s poor run with the title.
A program between Gunther and Goldberg feels beneath the former. Gunther is one of the best pure wrestlers in WWE today, whereas Goldberg is the opposite of a technical wrestler; he’s good for athletic feats of strength and car crash-type matches.
Gunther vs. Goldberg needs someone else
Another WWE legend, Bret Hart, has plenty of history and no love lost between himself and Goldberg, and he’s always quick to point out that Bill Goldberg isn’t exactly a true wrestler.
And so the only real way to salvage Gunther vs. Goldberg as a world title match, whether it’s at Night of Champions or another Premium Live Event (or extended into a series of two or three matches), is to bring in Hart as the great equalizer who costs Goldberg as a means of revenge, perhaps even burying the hatchet in real life (finally) after years of real-life bitterness following the career-ending injury he suffered at Goldberg’s hands.
There’s no way Goldberg and Gunther can sustain a compelling match without the interference from Hart, and most wrestling fans will be hoping for – and maybe even expecting – Hart to come in.
Remember, it was Gunther who once told Hart on an episode of Raw that he was only his second favorite wrestler of all time, behind none other than Goldberg. It’s a quote that has to come with some sort of a payoff, and that payoff could be Hart interfering to become Gunther’s favorite, which he very likely is among his favorites in real life (though he’s not in his Mount Rushmore of favorites).
Hart can interfere before the finish of the match, helping the heel Gunther just enough to keep the champion looking strong and superior to Goldberg while still getting that bit of satisfaction over his real-life rival.
Considering this match between Gunther and Goldberg could potentially be the latter’s final feud in WWE, it would only be fitting for Hart to have a chapter in that, especially if it leads to a legitimate reconciliation between the two, as bitter and grudge-holding as the iconic Hitman can be.
Joe helped manage the pro wrestling site Daily DDT from 2017 to 2019. He has appeared in many wrestling podcasts and has had his work featured by mainstream media sites and professional wrestlers themselves. Joe also covers soccer, writing about Tottenham for Hotspur HQ, Real Madrid for A Trip to Cibeles, and general world football for The Trivela Effect.