"They call him The Ring General for a reason" - Former WWE Universal Champion breaks character to heap praise on Gunther

Gunther has been WWE Intercontinental Champion for 214 days and counting. However, his spectacular reign may soon come to an end at the hands of a former Universal Champion.

The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman is scheduled to face The Ring General in a title bout on the January 13, 2023 episode of SmackDown. The two wrestlers have been feuding for some time now and this will be their first singles contest.

Speaking on WWE's The Bump, Strowman broke character to single out the Intercontinental Champion for his talent and showed respect to the latter, even addressing that he was humbled by The Ring General's attack on the December 30, 2022 episode of SmackDown.

"I got a formidable foe coming in this Friday with Gunther, you know, we've mixed it up a little bit here and there and, he's done a pretty good job eluding me, which I don't blame him because not too many people want these arms." [36:57-37:07]

Strowman further went on to praise Gunther's body transformation, saying that the latter is called The Ring General 'for a reason.'

"He's done an unbelievable transformation with his body, I mean, they call him The Ring General for a reason.He knows his way around the ring.He damn near dislocated my shoulder the other week on SmackDown." [37:13-37:24]

You can read more about Gunther's dream opponent in 2023 here.

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Gunther may be heading towards a showdown with WWE's resident Beast Incarnate Cowboy

Exactly a month ago, it was reported that a blockbuster Mania bout was scheduled between Gunther and Brock Lesnar. Whilst it remains to be seen whether the duo will face each other at the Showcase of the Immortals in April, The Ring General name-dropped The Beast as his dream opponent. Gunther stated:

“If I had to pin it down to one name, I’d say it’s Brock Lesnar at the moment. When I was young and watching WWE, I enjoyed watching his matches. Later on when I progressed in my career, I was able to watch wrestling and analyze how people work. He’s always been somebody I was impressed with. He’s one of the best to ever do it. I think that’s the biggest possible challenge for me at the moment.” [H/T - WrestleTalk]

It would be an insanely high-octane action-packed contest between the two behemoths of WWE, if the company heads in this direction en route to WrestleMania 39. However, with Bobby Lashley still having unfinished business with the 10-time World Champion, the bout between Gunther and Lesnar may not necessarily happen at The Show of Shows.

If that is the case, then one can't rule out the possibility of Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar taking place at a later date.