On January 18, WALTER officially became Gunther as he announced the name change following his victory over Roderick Strong.
WALTER had been an established name throughout his time on the Independent scene and Europe, and was the name he used when he signed with WWE and reported to NXT UK in 2019.
The name change came out of nowhere, but Gunther didn't seem to mind.
“Not all to be honest,” Gunther told Wrestling Inc when asked if the name change bothered him. “If it would be the other way around, and it would be Gunther before and Walter now, it would have been the same uproar. A lot of people react negatively to change. Change is normal in life, and it’s part of it, and we have to go with it.”
Over the past year, Gunther has slimmed down, which he credits to his diet.
Speaking about his transformation, Gunther said, "I guess I eat less. I always worked out a lot, but for the first time, I have really focused on my nutrition. These guys really pushed me. I’ve got to say, when I was a wrestling fan, I always liked the look of the solid heavyweights in Japan who had a little bit of a gut carrying around, just brawls and stuff like that. But, at the end of the day, you’ve got to go with the times, and evolve a little bit, and that’s what I did.”
Gunther challenged Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship on Tuesday's NXT 2.0, but was unsuccessful in capturing the belt.
If you missed anything from Tuesday's NXT, check out Fightful's full report on the show by clicking here.
