Plenty of WWE wrestlers have grown to fear Gunther in recent years, but fans haven’t usually had cause to cower from the Austrian.
The towering grappler has been a near unstoppable force in WWE since first signing via NXT in 2019 having already established himself as a major player on the independent wrestling scene.
Since then, he has risen to prominence, chiefly thanks to his record setting Intercontinental championship reign which lasted a phenomenal 666 days.
Having lost that gold, he went on to conquer Damien Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at last year’s SummerSlam to continue a meteoric rise in the company.
He’s sat on top of the Raw brand ever since, firmly establishing himself as a real menace to his on-screen rivals.
On Monday night’s Raw, however, he left at least one fan mortified, too, after accidently catching them good at the start of the Netflix broadcast live from Nashville.
Hero Jey Uso had been celebrating with the fans to open the show before being attacked by his rival, Gunther stripping off his jacket and launching it, he thought, straight into the face of Pat McAfee who was stood feet away behind the commentary desk.
NFL star turned broadcaster McAfee showed he still retains his swift reactions, though, ducking the jacket which promptly then caught a fan in the front row flush in the face.
Fans watching were left concerned by the impact, which clearly seemed to rock the unwitting fan, whose head snapped back before they were seen kneeling or falling to the floor while those around them checked on their welfare.
Fellow fans nearby pointed at the commotion, too, while McAfee himself could be seen turning to check on the induvial while the camera panned away.
Viewers watching couldn’t miss it either, one commenting: “I think Gunther wanted to hit pat with the jacket but it hit the kid instead,” another following up: “Pat ducked, the coward!”
One quipped: ‘Oh man, he’s getting sued,’ while another went on to observe: “Zipper to the grill!”
Another comment echoed: “If you get hit with the zip part it’s night night, while one more said: “That jacket probably gave the most devious chop to that kids chin.”
While the unfortunate moment with the fan on Raw was certainly an accidental hiccup to Gunther’s night, it didn’t get better for the towering world champ afterward.
Having recovered himself following his attack, Uso grabbed the mic and made his WrestleMania decision clear – he’d be challenging Gunther for his world title in Vegas later this year.
Uso had been choosing between the former NXT UK Champ and Cody Chodes for his Mania bout, but Monday’s dust-up has helped make up his mind.
His foe then strode back down to the ring in anger to resume the beating but ended up being taken out himself instead.
With WrestleMania approaching, perhaps the raging Gunther might just treat his unwitting front row victim to a ticket or two to the mega show to make up for it? It might just be worth avoiding the seats behind Pat McAafee just in case…
