Gunther is a classic villain

Gunther is something plucked straight out of the classic pre-90’s era of wrestling, and his entrance tonight couldn’t spell it out any better.

Watching a 6 ‘4 290 lb technician who proclaims himself as “The Ring General” walk out with a royal Ric Flair-esque robe amid classical music helps to build his allure. The man who has now retired beloved legends Goldberg and John Cena comes out to a rain of boo’s.

Progressing with a slow walk, he performs animated laughs at fans as they do John Cena’s iconic “You can’t see me” to him. The walk is purposefully unhurried, dragging it out to let fans boo him for a few more seconds as he soaks in the heel heat.

Gunther is called The Ring General, but his understanding of crowd psychology and character work extends beyond just the ring. His in-ring character would be nowhere near as effective if he didn’t perform actions like this. The underdog story he crafts for his opponents — like Goldberg, Cena, and CM Punk — would not resonate as well emotionally without this towering wrestler wanting us to hate him.

Gunther’s attention to micro-details is in all aspects of his character work. I will admit, his micro-interactions with fans are scumbaggish, but also amusing and funny. He got a chuckle out of me as he laughed and insulted a fan who asked for a first bump.

As he finishes his entrance before the ad break, the camera is positioned downward and aimed up at him; a common technique in filmmaking to make a character seem more intimidating. Gunther rode it out, posing like a villain with an aristocratic laugh, seeming something akin to The Penguin.

R-Truth would become Gunther’s latest victim, as he awaits a new storyline placement. With AJ Styles losing the World Tag Team Championship to The Usos tonight, one has to wonder if this is the genesis to a teased feud between the two. If so, there are few babyfaces like AJ that’ll get a rise out of the crowd when challenging a villain like Gunther, who continues to build his heel legacy.