Gunther says his long reign as the NXT UK Champion isn't comparable to Roman Reigns' run with the WWE Universal Champion.
The former Walter held the NXT UK Championship for 870 days; he won the gold at NXT TakeOver: New York in 2019 and dropped it to Ilja Dragunov at NXT TakeOver 36 in 2021. Reigns, on the other hand, recently completed 800 days as the WWE Universal Champion. He has been the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion since he beat Brock Lesnar to unify the world titles at WrestleMania 38.
Speaking with Steve Fall on Ten Count, the two lengthy reigns came up in the conversation, and Gunther explained why they're not comparable. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted his title run, as he had fewer title defenses. The SmackDown star also pointed out tha the level of competition is greater on the main roster.
"Obviously I see that comparison a lot. I think it’s not comparable. I think it’s a very different situation. NXT UK compared to the main roster, obviously the competition is not on the same level. The frequency of shows is by far not on the same level, and I held it during the pandemic time. I would say I had a title reign where it was quality over quantity. I didn’t have that many matches, but the matches I had were entertaining and good, while Roman, he’s not there that often at the moment anymore, but before he was always present, traveling up and down the country, doing all those live events as the champion. So I think those two title reigns are not really comparable and I don’t compare [them]," Gunther said.
The reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion also commented on a potential match against "The Tribal Chief" by emphasize that he is focused on his own title for now. But he teased that, once he is dethroned, he could look Reigns' way.
"Sooner or later, we don’t know, right. But I gotta be honest, right now I’m the intercontinental champion, and I couldn’t care less about anything else. He can do what he does, and whenever I fall, I can see what’s up [laughs]," he said.
Gunther recently retained his title against Rey Mysterio on the November 4 episode od WWE SmackDown. The next day, Reigns defended the title against Logan Paul at WWE Crown Jewel.
Paul subsequently reflected on the match; check out his comments here.
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