WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther is one of the most intimidating figures in wrestling today. The Ring General has been unstoppable on WWE’s main roster, but he was arguably even more destructive on the independent scene. Recent footage of The Austrian Bruiser wrestling against AEW daredevil Darby Allin shocked fans on social media.
Gunther (fka WALTER) and Darby Allin met at EVOLVE 106 in June 2018, roughly half a year before All Elite Wrestling was founded and the Austrian star signed with WWE. The two put on a short but blistering match in which the current Intercontinental Champion hammered the diminutive Allin and tossed him around the ring.
However, as is Darby’s style, the face-painted star refused to stay down. Highlights from the match recently made their way to X (fka Twitter), and fans reacted with awe over the David vs. Goliath-esque spectacle.
Check out some of the reactions below:
Darby Allin named Gunther as his favorite pre-AEW opponent
The battle between Darby Allin and the former Walter was a wince-inducing spectacle, but Allin seemed to revel in the punishment.
Speaking on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast in 2021, the 30-year-old admitted that he does his best work against big men like the former WALTER, as he’s able to sell more and tell a particular kind of story when facing them:
”Dude, I’m going to tell you, my favorite match before coming to AEW was against WALTER. That’s my biggest style is the David versus Goliath. I remember I went to Mexico and then I was telling the promoter, ‘hey man, this style of six-man, just ding-ding-ding, like a million spots, that’s not going to best showcase Darby Allin. I need to sell and I need to do some storytelling.’ I always felt matches against big guys like WALTER was the best thing. So, somebody along those lines, like a WALTER if someone outside of AEW it’d be like that definitely to showcase what makes me me,” said Darby Allin.
Would you like to see Darby and Gunther have a rematch at some point down the line? Let us know in the comments section below!