GUNTHER cut what WWE framed as a heel promo as he and Cody Rhodes finally entered the ring opposite one another for a talking segment. Of course, the issue with WWE framing it as a heel promo is that he didn’t utter a word of untruth and left Rhodes with his red, white, and blue tail tucked between his legs.

GUNTHER went through Rhodes’ career and how, on paper, it may seem as though they are comparable. But Rhodes always had that extra step-up, just one phone call to begin training, another to land his first WWE contract, and presumably another single phone call to secure his return from the land that shall not be named.

They’re not comparable. GUNTHER cut his teeth on the independent circuit around the world before he ever hit international TV. He shed an entire half of him to prove himself worthy of the WWE, even after carving a record-breaking run with the United Kingdom Championship.

Rhodes had always been the unicorn on the independent circuit, the rogue prince exiled from the kingdom that was always going to be his. Even when he didn’t have the name, he was still always Cody Rhodes, and that story was enough to sustain him before getting back to the promised land.

GUNTHER continued to say that Rhodes was not the hero he portrayed himself to be, he was self-absorbed and couldn’t resist the urge to feed his ego. Obviously this is as up to debate as the story allows it to be, but Rhodes has been called egotistical and selfish by Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Gunther, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton, just to name a few.

That’s a lengthy list, and while it added to the promo in itself, it also represents a sore missed opportunity to reveal Rhodes as the villain in this all. Part of what drew me to the promo was both the fact that GUNTHER is a credible prize-fighting challenger with all of the talk to match, legitimately threatening and oozing with the confidence of a proven dynasty, and the potential to explore the content of what was said. Long has there been a call for Rhodes to turn, quashed somewhat by his cementing as the company’s top babyface. But it’s been a while now, and it would be cool to have something different, especially when everything that’s being said lends to it.

All in all, GUNTHER did what you would want a final promo to do. He verbally dressed the champion down in the way a challenger should, and it went a little way to diminishing the nonsensical build to this point.

Written by Max Everett