WWE SmackDown star and the current WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther who is also the longest reigning WWE NXT UK champion recently talked about his rating in WWE 2K23 video game and explained why it got changed to 89 from 88.
Throughout his WWE career, Gunther and the Imperium had been compared to the German Nazi party. When he was in the NXT UK and he was working under the ring name of Walter, the fans kept on linking him and his faction with the German Nazi party because of the similarities in the characters.
Gunther Explains Why His WWE 2K23 Rating Was Changed
When it was revealed that the Austrian professional wrestler is going to have a rating of 88. The fans compared the figure of 88 with HH which is also referred to Heil Hitler. There had been a lot of backlash after these links and 2K was forced to change the rating of the wrestler to 89.
When WWE decided to change the ring name of Walter, at first it was planned that his name would be Gunther Stark. But there was a German U-Boat commander in World War 2 by the same name. To avoid the controversies, WWE decided to cut off the Stark out of his name.
Gunther who is also the longest reigning WWE NXT UK champion recently spoke to The Ringer’s “Cheap Heat” podcast where he talked about his rating in WWE 2K23 video game and explained why it got changed to 89 from being 88. He said;
“Obviously, like you mention it, that’s the history of the two countries. That’s something we can never change. We have to live with it. But obviously, that’s something that got thrown at us before and still gets thrown at us. We don’t really acknowledge it because it’s so far away from what the truth is, and often, I also blame it on people … see[ing] the first, obvious thing and jump[ing] on it. It doesn’t represent the culture in our countries, either. Austria and Germany have made huge efforts to be hard on themselves when it comes to their history and keep themselves in check.
“It’s something I think everyone from there, and when I talk with [Ludwig] Kaiser that’s one of the things we’re most proud about when it comes to our cultures. There’s no nice talking about stuff like that, and people who try? They get run over right away. There’s no way to justify any of that. I think we shouldn’t mix up ideologies and stylistics if that makes sense. Everything we want to be is far away from that.
“We did before, in different places, not that big of a stage obviously, and if it comes natural, it’s definitely possible,” GUNTHER responded. “I think a lot of people can relate to us and can connect to us. [For our entrance,] it’s usually the blackout, the music hits, people get excited, and they cheer for a second. But then the light goes on and then everybody goes, ‘Aww.’ I think that’s a great sign that also shows that deep down. they must respect us and appreciate what we do in the ring.”
h/t to WrestlingInc for the quotes