This WWE analyst believes Gunther has the potential to retire top stars, but cautions against making that his defining role in storyline.
“The Ring General” has recently built a reputation as a career-ender of sorts. He retired Goldberg in July 2025, while John Cena also saw his legendary career come to an end at the hands of the two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
At Royal Rumble 2026, Gunther brought down the curtain on AJ Styles’ Hall of Fame-worthy run. While the former WALTER is quickly earning a reputation as a “career killer,” a WWE personality has pointed out a potential issue with this direction.
Appearing on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Sam Roberts was asked whether he could see Gunther retiring Brock Lesnar. Roberts acknowledged that while the idea would be impactful, it shouldn’t become a repetitive booking pattern where every veteran’s final match is positioned against Gunther.
“Here’s my thing about Gunther. He could. I mean, I think it’d be great. Again, I think there’s more to Gunther than what’s cut and dry. I think he could retire Brock Lesnar. But I think the idea should be that Gunther has the ability to retire people,” he said.
Gunther’s career-ending reputation hinges on unpredictable storytelling
Roberts emphasized that Gunther should be presented as someone who can end careers, but not someone who does it routinely. The effectiveness of that role, he said, depends on strong storytelling that keeps audiences uncertain about the outcome.
“Number one, he doesn’t retire everybody. And number two, he does more than just retire people, you know, because I think if you go, okay, everybody’s retirement match is against Gunther, it becomes ok, we know what happens here. We’re doing the same thing over and over again,” he explained.
Roberts also noted that announcing a retirement year or framing a match too early can diminish its impact. In his view, a potential Gunther vs. Lesnar bout should feel unpredictable rather than ceremonial, otherwise it risks becoming a predictable “final stop” for legends rather than a high-stakes contest.
“You can’t just announce it and go, Okay, Gunther is going to face Brock Lesnar, and then it starts to feel almost ceremonial, that this is what you do on your way out, you lose to Gunther. Because then it loses that thing that makes it, that makes Gunther a bigger villain, and makes that story.”
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