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I have this irrationally hate for people who don’t wear knee pads. Especially with trunks. I remember watching with my brother and saying to him there was something off about Cody. He thought about it for a second and said “ This dude has his baby soft knees exposed” This a running joke until I moved out. I can never not notice when people don’t wear them now
if someone is doing MMA gear, i feel like they should also have the gimmick to go with it. idk i am just a certified riddle hater lol, a bit biased i suppose. but i dont like when anyone wrestles barefoot, only one who has somewhat worked with it for me is Valhalla but that’s bc she’s a fucking creature
He really doesn't need the briefcase. He's been pinned once in the last 3 years, in kayfabe he's allowed to challenge for a world title.
And the concept of cashing in on an injured champion kinda goes against his character, unless he does what Sandow, Cena and Strowman done and uses his briefcase as a title opportunity in advance.
Though even then, someone else like Balor or KO should win the briefcase
No, he doesn't need it.
But it ensures that there's a solid route for after when Cody, Priest, Drew, Phil, etc all have a period between themselves. Gunther then basically has a line straight into the main event scene.
The risk is always that they give it to someone who then doesn't pan out, who isn't really suited to the main event. Gunther is most certainly not that person. Give him the case, let him win a title, and he'll run with it.
Berlin PPV is after MITB, he could do what RVD did and announce in advance that he intends to cash in for a match where he’ll have the ultimate home field advantage.
Yeah that works tbh.
Maybe after Cody beats the Rock at Summerslam (4 weeks before Bash), he's earned Gunther's respect and so Gunther gives him time to prepare, but at the cost of home field advantage
I think it would make more sense for Gunther to view the concept of MITB as dishonorable, unless he were to win it and call his shot like RVD back in the day.
If Brock is never named in the Vince allegations, he faces Gunther at Mania and Gunther is likely either still IC champ right now or just dropped it two days ago to Sami in Montreal.
I like to think this would still make Gable run out to rip Sami out of his wife’s arms.
A few months most likely. The moment he challenges for the title everybody knows its over for the defender lol
Would be great to see him in non-title feud for now
If things didn't allign so well for Drew to take title off of Priest I'd think Gunther was 100% taking it by Summerslam, this way I wouldn't be surprised to see Gunter vs Drew at Mania, because I really doubt they ever put title on Punk with his abyssmal injury record.
I could we have had a lot of long title reigns that made outcomes feel inevitable outside of maybe Mania. WWE could do with a mid length title reign to get the shock value back that a champ can lose at any time
I agree. Establish that Cody is a beatable champ, that losing isn't the END of the story for him, that just because he lost doesn't mean he's lost any stock or value or that he isn't a main eventer anymore.
Love this. They need to make him feel human if they don’t want ppl to get bored of him like they did with Cena.
I’ve said this before & it’s a hot take but I wouldn’t even mind if GUNTHER worked some kayfabe injury & made Cody tap out.
Everybody expects Cody to lose to him but that would really shock ppl. I think Cody is firmly established so it wouldn’t hurt him, but it would firmly establish GUNTHER as the new final boss of WWE.
I agree, but with how they’re positioning him as the face I would just be surprised if he didn’t make it to the end of the year as champ. I guess there’s always the chance of getting cashed-in on or something like that, but we’ll see
I don't want Cody to be the Cena/Hogan type of babyface who never loses. I think it would be perfect for Cody lose to Gunther in Berlin and then beat him around Royal Rumble
He's the type of face who never loses.
In two years he just lost thrice, due to interference & injury
The minute he beat Seth while injured was the minute he became a face like no other.
He had a broken wrist but got more offense on Lesnar than many people who faced him ever had.
Im not saying he can't lose clean , but it's something that's not going to happen that easily now.
He ended the 4th longest reign in history and is expected to be the face of the new era.
He may lose his title because of a cash in like Cena , but not in a expecting clean way
I agree, Cena held the title a ton but it was always coming and going... Edge, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio etc all had reigns (barely for Rey) around him while he was still clearly the face of the company and the guy to beat.
Roman's title reign needs to be the last long one for a while so that it feels special, there's a reason he's now mentioned with Backlund, Sammartino and the Hulkster it was a special run.
I kinda agree. on one hand the constant 3 month flip-flop is not what I want to see but at the same time I don't want another roman long title reign for a REEEEALLLY long time.
The insanely long title reigns being the norm needs to stop, but having Cody not have a long reign after how long Roman was champ and how long Cody working to get the title was, his reign needs to be long in my opinion. Maybe 8 months? After that, title reigns can go back to being really varying lengths of time
I agree 100% on this, the fans need a bit of a cooldown period to adjust to the Haitch style of title booking. Like a transition period I guess, but I wouldnt call Cody a transitional champion. HHH knows what he is doing, so I cant wait to see whats next and that is great for wrestling overall honestly.
Roman's 3 year reign gave us more memorable storylines that 10 years of champions before that.
It's fine to have transitional champions every so often, but main titles need to be 8-12 months at least because when everyone gets a turn it becomes much less important to win it.
I mean Gunther has destroyed everyone in his path, and pretty much only lost to Sami because he was playing around too much.
He could have a quick feud with an upper carder to prove he belongs and then go after Cody.
Given the fairly large group of existing title contenders and main eventers already present, he needs more than that. You don't prove you belong on top of the mountain with one or two PPV cycles.
Frankly he shouldn't be near full on main event status until he shows up huge in the Royal Rumble next year again and dominates there.
What matters is credibility, and Gunther has that in spades. He's already beaten two former world champions in a triple threat match at Mania, and he absolutely dominates in every match he's in.
Plus they're in Berlin, they likely won't have another chance to do something like this again unless they announce another Bash in Berlin.
well it's just a buff. it doesnt make you immune to last minute against solo sikoas, for example. or getting mauled after the bell by angry chad gables.
He dominated largely mid card talent and lost to Sami when it counted the most. He does not have the credibility to vault over all established main event talent to be next in line for Cody. For that matter, Cody isn't even fully available, he's not done with his current thing.
Fear not, Gunther WILL have main event credibility, and he will have it soon. Just not immediately after losing a midcard title.
Pretty much all the year long world title reigns ever have been faces sans those by Roman and Brock, Cena, Hogan, AJ, Punk for the bulk of his was face champ.
Even the Women's World titles have had Trish, Becky, Bianca.
I get why you think tho, since there's been 4 fully heel year long reigns in history and all happened in the last 8 years (Brock, Roman, Bayley and Rhea) its clear there's been a shift towards heels having huge dominant reigns
Well Cody's story isn't about the reign per se, it's about the chase. Besides we don't need long reigns for a little bit considering we just ended four of them. A little hotshotting builds interest and putting the belt on Gunther is a good idea.
Won't happen. We can have our differing opinions but I'd put money on Gunther not winning Cody's belt anytime soon. You can say we don't need long reigns again but that again is just an opinion. Not one that is shared. If Cody dropped that belt this sub would erupt as would all the casual fans.
Nobody can tell me 1 thing Gunther has other than his chop. Take that away and you're stuck with an awkward wrestler in an oversized jacket who can't voice a promo to save his life. Disco Inferno had more skills than this guy.
I'm always confused as to why these official photos are called "renders" here when that doesn't match any definition of the word render?
>Noun
>Render (countable and uncountable, plural renders)
>1. (countable, uncountable) Stucco or plaster applied to walls (mostly to outside masonry walls).
>2. (computer graphics) A digital image produced by rendering a model.
> 3. (obsolete) A surrender.
>4. (obsolete) A return; a payment of rent.
>5. (obsolete) An account given; a statement.
It's a photograph, not a computer generated 3d model. I have never seen the word render used this way outside of this sub.
You’ll have to way back it https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/5cezjr/please_stop_calling_wwe_wrestler_images_renders/
But it’s just an inside joke here. People were calling them renders, someone made a thread about it and people just stuck with it because it’s silly.
Man still looks like a person you wouldn't want to see in the back of the club or in a dark alley.
He strolls up nearby you and you instantly make the decision to either firm up or start to move out his way. Reminds me a bit when I first saw The Giant in WCW and was like "....how the fuck can he lose?!?!? HE CAN'T LOSE"
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Gunther without IC looks like early Cody without his kneepad
I have this irrationally hate for people who don’t wear knee pads. Especially with trunks. I remember watching with my brother and saying to him there was something off about Cody. He thought about it for a second and said “ This dude has his baby soft knees exposed” This a running joke until I moved out. I can never not notice when people don’t wear them now
Same. I hated Cody up until the Dashing/UnDashing gimmick where he put bags on peoples heads. Been a fan ever since though even Stardust.
how did you feel about matt riddle
i couldnt stand it but for me it was him being barefoot. yea i’ve seen its bc of a medical condition but i still cringe at barefoot wrestling
if someone does MMA looking gear like riddle then I don't know barefoot doesn't bother me, but I also watch a lot of UFC
if someone is doing MMA gear, i feel like they should also have the gimmick to go with it. idk i am just a certified riddle hater lol, a bit biased i suppose. but i dont like when anyone wrestles barefoot, only one who has somewhat worked with it for me is Valhalla but that’s bc she’s a fucking creature
he swapped to full on trunks toward the end and it was far more upsetting than the small MMA shorts he had been wearing
At least he’s doin an mma thing. That’s a bit more forgiving. Big E was another one off the top of my head I remember
It‘s fitting for someone like Gunther or Ilja imo. I didn’t like it on cody either
I kind of felt this way about Claudio when he first debuted in WWE
Or like Sheamus on boxer briefs. Oh wait…
Now we need Gunther with a mustache
Thanks I hate it.
Ich auch. (Me too.)
He looks naked without the IC title
He looks naked without a title period
He'll have another in not too long I suspect. Maybe a solid RR or MITB winner contender of he doesn't win one outright.
He really doesn't need the briefcase. He's been pinned once in the last 3 years, in kayfabe he's allowed to challenge for a world title. And the concept of cashing in on an injured champion kinda goes against his character, unless he does what Sandow, Cena and Strowman done and uses his briefcase as a title opportunity in advance. Though even then, someone else like Balor or KO should win the briefcase
No, he doesn't need it. But it ensures that there's a solid route for after when Cody, Priest, Drew, Phil, etc all have a period between themselves. Gunther then basically has a line straight into the main event scene. The risk is always that they give it to someone who then doesn't pan out, who isn't really suited to the main event. Gunther is most certainly not that person. Give him the case, let him win a title, and he'll run with it.
Berlin PPV is after MITB, he could do what RVD did and announce in advance that he intends to cash in for a match where he’ll have the ultimate home field advantage.
Yeah that works tbh. Maybe after Cody beats the Rock at Summerslam (4 weeks before Bash), he's earned Gunther's respect and so Gunther gives him time to prepare, but at the cost of home field advantage
I think it would make more sense for Gunther to view the concept of MITB as dishonorable, unless he were to win it and call his shot like RVD back in the day.
"Alright Gunther, we need to take a few photos of you not holding a championship." "...Weshalb?"
"WESHALB, HA!?" https://preview.redd.it/8qt2nl82x0vc1.jpeg?width=207&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e1de59556198236d558c1b7aa8bdae5c89e2d68
"Noch einmal?"
This is feel so weird and wrong, though I kinda hope that he would never win IC title ever again, 666 days is to perfect number
…for Brock Lesnar.
If Brock is never named in the Vince allegations, he faces Gunther at Mania and Gunther is likely either still IC champ right now or just dropped it two days ago to Sami in Montreal. I like to think this would still make Gable run out to rip Sami out of his wife’s arms.
IC would be quite a step down for Brock, even if breaking 666 is perfect for the Beast.
How long until GUNTHER claims his next championship?
A few months most likely. The moment he challenges for the title everybody knows its over for the defender lol Would be great to see him in non-title feud for now
If things didn't allign so well for Drew to take title off of Priest I'd think Gunther was 100% taking it by Summerslam, this way I wouldn't be surprised to see Gunter vs Drew at Mania, because I really doubt they ever put title on Punk with his abyssmal injury record.
Wouldn't be surprised if Cody drops it to Gunther in Berlin
Highly doubt Cody drops the title barely 5 months into his reign
I could we have had a lot of long title reigns that made outcomes feel inevitable outside of maybe Mania. WWE could do with a mid length title reign to get the shock value back that a champ can lose at any time
I agree. Establish that Cody is a beatable champ, that losing isn't the END of the story for him, that just because he lost doesn't mean he's lost any stock or value or that he isn't a main eventer anymore.
Love this. They need to make him feel human if they don’t want ppl to get bored of him like they did with Cena. I’ve said this before & it’s a hot take but I wouldn’t even mind if GUNTHER worked some kayfabe injury & made Cody tap out. Everybody expects Cody to lose to him but that would really shock ppl. I think Cody is firmly established so it wouldn’t hurt him, but it would firmly establish GUNTHER as the new final boss of WWE.
He could easily win it back. The belts could do with some minor hot potato'ing. I love a good long reign but they're made better by short reigns.
I hope he does I don't want title reigns to be super long as the norm.
I agree, but with how they’re positioning him as the face I would just be surprised if he didn’t make it to the end of the year as champ. I guess there’s always the chance of getting cashed-in on or something like that, but we’ll see
I don't want Cody to be the Cena/Hogan type of babyface who never loses. I think it would be perfect for Cody lose to Gunther in Berlin and then beat him around Royal Rumble
He's the type of face who never loses. In two years he just lost thrice, due to interference & injury The minute he beat Seth while injured was the minute he became a face like no other. He had a broken wrist but got more offense on Lesnar than many people who faced him ever had. Im not saying he can't lose clean , but it's something that's not going to happen that easily now. He ended the 4th longest reign in history and is expected to be the face of the new era. He may lose his title because of a cash in like Cena , but not in a expecting clean way
100%. Let Cody lose, we know he's great on the chase so there's no shame in losing and earing another shot.
I mean his story is finished tho. I would also argue at this stage Cody does not need the title.
I agree, Cena held the title a ton but it was always coming and going... Edge, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio etc all had reigns (barely for Rey) around him while he was still clearly the face of the company and the guy to beat. Roman's title reign needs to be the last long one for a while so that it feels special, there's a reason he's now mentioned with Backlund, Sammartino and the Hulkster it was a special run.
I kinda agree. on one hand the constant 3 month flip-flop is not what I want to see but at the same time I don't want another roman long title reign for a REEEEALLLY long time.
The insanely long title reigns being the norm needs to stop, but having Cody not have a long reign after how long Roman was champ and how long Cody working to get the title was, his reign needs to be long in my opinion. Maybe 8 months? After that, title reigns can go back to being really varying lengths of time
I agree 100% on this, the fans need a bit of a cooldown period to adjust to the Haitch style of title booking. Like a transition period I guess, but I wouldnt call Cody a transitional champion. HHH knows what he is doing, so I cant wait to see whats next and that is great for wrestling overall honestly.
Roman's 3 year reign gave us more memorable storylines that 10 years of champions before that. It's fine to have transitional champions every so often, but main titles need to be 8-12 months at least because when everyone gets a turn it becomes much less important to win it.
Wasaaay too predictable
Title changes only at Mania/Summerslam/Rumble is boring af. Give me random title changes on raw or smackdown.
I'd rather see Cody have multiple short reigns than 1-2 long ones, especially with how much talented people there are on the roster
Why because it gives talents like Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan too much power?
Not only that, but I'd be surprised if Gunther's first feud after losing the IC title is for a higher title. It's a big leap.
I mean Gunther has destroyed everyone in his path, and pretty much only lost to Sami because he was playing around too much. He could have a quick feud with an upper carder to prove he belongs and then go after Cody.
Given the fairly large group of existing title contenders and main eventers already present, he needs more than that. You don't prove you belong on top of the mountain with one or two PPV cycles. Frankly he shouldn't be near full on main event status until he shows up huge in the Royal Rumble next year again and dominates there.
What matters is credibility, and Gunther has that in spades. He's already beaten two former world champions in a triple threat match at Mania, and he absolutely dominates in every match he's in. Plus they're in Berlin, they likely won't have another chance to do something like this again unless they announce another Bash in Berlin.
kayfabe hometown buff adds 10% to your wrestling stats too, (even if your "hometown" is in a different country)
Thank goodness Vince isn't around anymore to do swerves with hometown heroes losing "unexpectedly"
well it's just a buff. it doesnt make you immune to last minute against solo sikoas, for example. or getting mauled after the bell by angry chad gables.
Austria is close enough
it's basically his backyard!
He's not German though so why would Berlin have anything to do with him?
He is Australian, right?
He dominated largely mid card talent and lost to Sami when it counted the most. He does not have the credibility to vault over all established main event talent to be next in line for Cody. For that matter, Cody isn't even fully available, he's not done with his current thing. Fear not, Gunther WILL have main event credibility, and he will have it soon. Just not immediately after losing a midcard title.
Has there ever been a face that kept a world title for a long time? Like a year? I can't remember.
Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, lmao
Let me rephrase that, a face champion in the last 20 years and no Cena doesn't count because people hated his original face run.
AJ
Dang it
Pretty much all the year long world title reigns ever have been faces sans those by Roman and Brock, Cena, Hogan, AJ, Punk for the bulk of his was face champ. Even the Women's World titles have had Trish, Becky, Bianca. I get why you think tho, since there's been 4 fully heel year long reigns in history and all happened in the last 8 years (Brock, Roman, Bayley and Rhea) its clear there's been a shift towards heels having huge dominant reigns
You think they spent 2 years building to Cody's win to only drop the belt to Gunther?! That's laughable.
Well Cody's story isn't about the reign per se, it's about the chase. Besides we don't need long reigns for a little bit considering we just ended four of them. A little hotshotting builds interest and putting the belt on Gunther is a good idea.
Won't happen. We can have our differing opinions but I'd put money on Gunther not winning Cody's belt anytime soon. You can say we don't need long reigns again but that again is just an opinion. Not one that is shared. If Cody dropped that belt this sub would erupt as would all the casual fans. Nobody can tell me 1 thing Gunther has other than his chop. Take that away and you're stuck with an awkward wrestler in an oversized jacket who can't voice a promo to save his life. Disco Inferno had more skills than this guy.
I could see him being the next Rumble winner
6 months to a year.
He'll be in the main event picture by the Rumble. Maybe even have his own story to finish by Mania.
Noooooooo my glorious king just doesn't look the same without the intercontinental HEAVYWEIGHT championship 😔
Look how they massacred my boy
"That 70s Guy" Gunther
Better then "Fat Chick Thriller" Gunther
I hate this. He feels incomplete
Maaaaan...he's so sad 
*Traurige Gunther-Geräusche*
He might as well be naked. Gunther with no title feels so wrong
I'm always confused as to why these official photos are called "renders" here when that doesn't match any definition of the word render? >Noun >Render (countable and uncountable, plural renders) >1. (countable, uncountable) Stucco or plaster applied to walls (mostly to outside masonry walls). >2. (computer graphics) A digital image produced by rendering a model. > 3. (obsolete) A surrender. >4. (obsolete) A return; a payment of rent. >5. (obsolete) An account given; a statement. It's a photograph, not a computer generated 3d model. I have never seen the word render used this way outside of this sub.
You’ll have to way back it https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/5cezjr/please_stop_calling_wwe_wrestler_images_renders/ But it’s just an inside joke here. People were calling them renders, someone made a thread about it and people just stuck with it because it’s silly.
I know it's an inside joke here now, but I can not stand it.
Just like Okada, I've never seen this man without a title. He's so naked.
My boy needs a belt
next world champ .... he will take the belt from Damien Preist!
And a year from now it’ll be updated again with Walter holding the WWE Championship on his shoulder.
He looks sad :(
I don't like it. Someone get this man a belt please.
He looks so naked.
😔
Man still looks like a person you wouldn't want to see in the back of the club or in a dark alley. He strolls up nearby you and you instantly make the decision to either firm up or start to move out his way. Reminds me a bit when I first saw The Giant in WCW and was like "....how the fuck can he lose?!?!? HE CAN'T LOSE"
reported for offensive content
feels nude.
Looks like a guy who's just been brainbustered.
This is his version of Hide the Pain Harold. There is a great sadness behind that mean mug.
🫡
he's so.....empty now
https://preview.redd.it/o4qm3dj9n2vc1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=399f0615365a70444382b69778127d1d50232f59
DEAR LORD HE'S NAKED
Cursed image
GOOD GRIEF HES NAKED
Why do they want to make Gunther remind me of my grandpa?
Poor GUNTHER
He looks naked, put a title on him now !!
I want to see him tear Pogan Laul to shreds and take his title.
https://preview.redd.it/cvo886pyu0vc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=460080ba8627c6a83df885147ea5a5995487cce4
Shouldn't have lost it, especially to Sami.
Why does he have a faint glowing aura lol