With the WWE Universe rapidly approaching Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 2nd, in Saudi Arabia, SmackDown fans watching along on the USA Network were afforded a chance to watch Gunther and Cody Rhodes square up face-to-face in the ring in what might go down as their final interaction before next Saturday’s main event.
And needless to say, Gunther was ready for the moment. Throwing Cody’s “What do you wanna talk about” catchphrase back in his face to assert dominance, the “Ring General” thrashed Rhodes for his dramatic nature, mocking him for making things a bit too seriously.
“Let’s talk a little about you first. First of all, I would like to say it was totally unnecessary to mention your daughter last week; this has nothing to do with your daughter; this has everything to do with a champion versus champion match for the Crown Jewel Championship. So let’s find out who the better champion out of the two of us is,” Gunther declared.
“Cody, do you know what I don’t understand? You drag the people closest to you into your business. Look at the things you’ve done. At WrestleMania, you fulfilled your story and it’s all for the legacy of Dusty Rhodes. You want to be the quarterback of this operation. You keep asking, ‘Give me the John Cena schedule!’ Just to live up to somebody else’s standards. You wanna know what I think, Cody? I think you are doing all of this to make things a little bit more dramatic than they really are. I’m going to be honest with you, though; it’s myself. I am the greatest professional wrestler in this company right now.”
Whoa, interesting stuff, right? Well wait, it gets even better, as after Rhodes’ response, Gunther put the nail in the “American Nightmare’s” coffin.
Gunther calls Cody Rhodes a “gutless” WWE Champion
After listening to Rhodes describe everything he does to be the face of WWE, Gunther laughed it all off, noting that his Crown Jewel foe cares more about the crowd and charity work than being the best professional wrestler in the world.
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“Don’t you think I get the same request you do? The difference is, I just tell them no. Because I’ve got the guts to say no. I’ve got the guts to say no to the boss. I’ve got the guts to say no to any media request, to any charity. I’ve especially got the guts to say no to all of them,” Gunther declared. “And do you know what Cody? The reason you don’t say no, the reason why you don’t put yourself first is if you stop being the servant of everybody else, your little story is over. And do you know what that makes you? That makes you a gutless Champion. And a gutless Champion will always be secondary to me!”
To paraphrase the great Bobby Fish, where is the lie? Rhodes really is the kind of performer who politicks and showboats for the cameras instead of focusing on putting in the best matches imaginable and that has made him into a heel in the eyes of many fans around the IWC. Gunther, by contrast, is frequently lauded for his incredible efforts as both a wrestler and a heel, as he does what he needs to do in order to inflict pain on his opponent, whereas others may prioritize fitness in their sports entertainment. Who has the right approach? Well, fans will see next week.