Gunther is one of the most dominant wrestlers out there in the WWE right now. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion was one of the biggest highlights on the road to WrestleMania 40. But his success is largely due to the fact that he lost weight to please the company’s then-owner, Vince McMahon. While part of NXT UK (WWE’s developmental territory in the United Kingdom), Gunther, who at the time was called Walter, was a super heavyweight wrestler. He did not have marked muscles, but the meaning of his character went beyond his physique.

The main point he had with his faction, IMPERIUM, is that wrestling gets the respect it deserves around the world. In fact, Gunther had a five-star rating in four different matches. This is something that very few superstars around the world achieve. An example of this is John Cena. The 16x World Champion has only one five-star match in his career. The one against CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011. However, once he got on the main roster, Vince McMahon asked him to lose weight.

Gunther was not the only one who received this request; Keith Lee was also obliged to do so. Something that the latter objected to. So despite having charisma on the microphone and being the main face of NXT in the United States, one of the promising superstars of the company was fired. Well, it was no surprise that Gunther didn’t think twice, and within a year, he was a completely different fighter. Much thinner, but without losing strength or presence in the ring. Thanks to this, the Austrian had an incredible run as the intercontinental champion for 666 days, leaving behind legends such as The Honky Tonk Man, who had the belt for 454 days.

But how did Gunther lose so much weight? Well, according to the WWE superstar, it was a combination of dieting and exercise. However, he was also helped by his Imperium partners, Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. On Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast, he revealed, “Everybody knows how I looked before, so everybody knows I really liked to eat before that! I had to make a cut to that. To limit food intake is a little bit tricky. I love to cook, and I like food.”

He added, “But at the end of the day, I’ve got to give credit to [Ludwig] Kaiser and [Giovanni Vinci], because they’ve been in incredible shape already. I just jumped on board with them, and they kicked my butt to pull through even when it’s difficult [he smiled]. Like I said, it always comes back to the support system, and that’s from many areas in your life.” This weight loss hasn’t just helped Gunther physically, though, as he revealed in another interview how he feels different after losing all that fat.

Gunther reveals the differences he feels inside the ring after losing weight

During a conversation with Corey Graves on the After The Bell podcast, Gunther shared that he never had any stamina issues in his matches. However, since losing weight, it is easier for him to endure high-intensity fights. Such as the ‘Royal Rumble Match’ in which he participated. “I always used to be; even when I was heaviest, I got to say, I never got an issue with stamina.” Gunther said. “I had really long matches before. But, I got to say, it is still a lot easier now than it used to be. Going into the Rumble, if you start at #1, you have, you know, you have to struggle through all of it if you want to make it. But I like those situations, if that makes sense. Let’s call it a high-pressure situation.”

Since his promotion to WWE’s main roster, Gunther has had a really successful stint. First, he broke records as the Intercontinental Champion. Now he is set to dethrone Damian Priest and take away his WWE Heavyweight Championship belt at SummerSlam after earning the title shot by becoming the winner of the King of the Ring tournament. What do you think? Will the Emperor be able to dethrone Priest? Let us know in the comments.