"Gunther is a perfect opponent" - Top star breaks character to praise his WWE rival

The current Intercontinental Champion Gunther received words of appreciation from a top WWE star who also happens to be his current rival.

The star in question is Chad Gable, and in his current stint, the star is playing a babyface role next to The Ring General's heel persona.

The two men currently share a feud over the Intercontinental Championship. Last week on Monday Night RAW, the Alpha Academy member took on The Imperium member in an IC title bout.

Despite brave efforts by Chad Gable inside the ring, Gunther defeated his opponent and cemented his legacy as the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion.

However, on this week's WWE RAW, the 37-year-old star has stated that he was not done with The Ring General and soon will capture the IC title from him.

While speaking on the latest edition of After The Bell podcast, Gable was asked to share his experience about the all-time classic bout with the Imperium leader. The star broke character to praise his current WWE rival.

"I was going into it with the mindset that we're going to and he's like Gunther is a perfect opponent for me in a sense that it's always like the size difference is there, That's the obvious one. But I think there's a level of like professional competition between me and him where I do respect him as a competitor, but he's the type of guy that's like set this bar so high," Gable said. [35:41 - 36:06]

Check out the podcast below:

Gunther is still reportedly favored to win the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

As per reports, The Ring General is the number one candidate considered to win next year's Royal Rumble show. After the champion, LA Knight and Cody Rhodes are the two stars who might win the 30-man rumble match.

Since the 2024 Royal Rumble's venue and date have been revealed by the company, fans expected there might be a change in plans.

The WWE Universe heavily demands LA Knight to win next year's multi-man extravaganza, but the creative team has not changed their mind.

The latest reports indicate that the 40-year-old star is not winning the Royal Rumble. Instead, The Ring General is still favored to win the event.

It remains to be seen if WWE will change plans ahead of the premium live event only four months away.

Do you think Gunther will win the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use the quotes from this article, please credit the After The Bell podcast and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.