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WWE star Gunther has reflected on his record-breaking Intercontinental title reign and named the bout which he considers to be "the most important".
The Ring General enjoyed a history-making stint with the iconic championship, bring a new level of prestige to it after a period in which it became meaningless.
He beat Ricochet on a June 2022 episode of Smackdown to claim the strap and embarked on a remarkable run that lasted 666 days.
Sami Zayn was the man to dethrone Gunther in a huge upset on night one of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
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And though he does not have gold around his waist at present, Gunther remains "very proud" of what he was able to achieve.
"I think I got the ball handed and I had the freedom to do it my way and it worked out," he told SPORTbible.
“I think it was a little bit of an experiment because how I am, I'm not the typical WWE superstar in that sense – I’m more of a throwback.
“People love good professional wrestling and that’s what I'm doing.
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“Looking back now at WrestleMania, I think it was a great moment and of course happy that I could end it in a big way on the biggest stage possible.
“When I was with NXT UK [champion] it was already the case and with the Intercontinental championship, I wanted to make it as good as possible – lift the prestige and elevate the standing of the title because it was a little bit of a meaningless title for a while.”
The title has always been referred to as "the workhorse championship", often being involved in the best match on the card.
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In his generational run, the Austrian powerhouse consistently put on classics that captured the imagination of fans.
His brutal, hard-hitting style led to bangers galore. But according to the man himself, it was his program with former champion The Miz which was the most important in the reign.
“I think you cannot really compare it because every opponent is different," he added.
"That's the challenge; to get the best out of every opponent and adapt to that a little bit.
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“I think obviously, the magic at Clash at the Castle with Sheamus is one of them.
"The match at Mania with Drew [McIntyre] and Sheamus, the three way. The matches with Chad Gable. Personally, I think the most important matches I had were with The Miz, I think because of the whole build up and also the promo work I had to do to create a buzz around.
“It was a good challenge for me. And Miz was somebody that was a great guy to do it with because he has so much experience in that field.”
While being Intercontinental champion, Gunther has been in the final three of the Royal Rumble on the last two occasions.
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In the Triple H era, it's clear that the 36-year-old is seen as one of the top guys in the company.
He has confirmed his participation the upcoming King of the Ring tournament and Gunther will surely be a big part of the 'Bash in Berlin' event taking place in August at the Uber Arena.
At a recent live event in his hometown of Vienna, Gunther vowed to return as world champion.
And asked if he feels as though it is time for him to compete for the top titles, he replied: “Definitely. I think I established myself when it comes to what we do in the ring.
"We have a fantastic roster, but I consider myself as one of the best wrestlers in the company right now. So it's definitely the way to go.
“Obviously Berlin, it means a lot to me. Going years back in WXW in Germany, our goal was always to make professional wrestling a big deal in Germany and Austria again for the German-speaking fans.
“I think me being in WWE is one of the big reasons why we go to Germany now. "That means a lot but on the way there’s a lot of stuff happening.
“I want to be a big part of that - I want to contribute to that and really expand WWE to the world outside of the United States.
“There's a lot of things happening in a short amount of time in the next weeks and months and I’m trying to be a major part of it.”
Backlash: France airs Saturday 4 May on WWE Network and TNT Sports Box Office.
Topics: WWE
Josh Lawless