Gunther

Walter Hahn (born 20 August 1987) is an Austrian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Gunther and is the incumbent King of the Ring. He is also one half of the tag team Imperium alongside Ludwig Kaiser, a one-time World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, the latter of which he held for 666 days to become its longest-reigning champion (both in a single reign, and in combined days). Nicknamed Der Ringgeneral (English: "The Ring General"), Gunther's gimmick sees him follow a stiff wrestling style[3] (which had been inspired by the likes of Stan Hansen,[4][5] Big Van Vader[5] and Kenta Kobashi[4][6]) and a philosophy signified by the motto Die Matte ist Heilig (English: "The Mat is Sacred").[7] He has been consistently regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world and of all time by industry journalists[8][9][10] and fellow wrestlers[11][12][13] alike. Hahn first became known under the names Big Van Walter, Big Daddy Walter, and simply Walter (sometimes written in all caps) during his tenure in Germany with Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) and various German independent promotions. Early in his career, he competed in Japan for Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (BJW) and Pro Wrestling ZERO1 under the Big Van Walter gimmick, as well as the short-lived Gha-Cha-Ping. In wXw, he became a three-time Unified World Wrestling Champion and a four-time wXw World Tag Team Champion. He was one of the promotion's most respected figures throughout his tenure, leading him to become the head trainer of the wXw Wrestling Academy upon its opening in 2015 until 2020. He also became a popular figure on the British, Irish, and American independent circuits, competing in promotions such as Progress Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), and Over the Top Wrestling (OTT), where he held their respective world championships between 2018 and 2019. In November 2018, Hahn signed with WWE and was assigned to its NXT UK brand, the British sister brand of its American developmental brand NXT; he soon won the NXT United Kingdom Championship and held it for 870 days, the longest reign for the now-defunct title and the eighth overall longest singles title reign for any WWE championship. In January 2022, he moved to the NXT brand, where his ring name was changed to Gunther. He moved to the main roster on the SmackDown brand three months later. He won the Intercontinental Championship, holding it for 666 days to set the record for both the longest singular Intercontinental Championship reign and the most cumulative days as champion, as well as the 10th longest singles championship reign of any WWE title. After losing it at WrestleMania XL, he went on to win the King of the Ring tournament and the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam in 2024.