Gunther calls CM Punk ‘one of the most unique performers’ ever in wrestling

  • Ian Carey
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Gunther had a lot of praise for his upcoming SummerSlam opponent during a recent interview.

CM Punk will challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship on Saturday. Gunther told RadioTimes.com that being in a position to wrestle a top guy like Punk on a big stage like SummerSlam is why he joined WWE.

“I’m looking forward to getting in the ring with [Punk] on a big stage like SummerSlam in a prominent spot like that,” he said. “That’s why I joined the company, I wanted to be in the ring with the top, top guys and him coming back was a big deal, he’s one of the most unique performers that the business has ever had. That’s what I’m here for. I’m all ready for it and I’m prepared and I’m excited.”

“I’ve always operated better when I’ve had responsibility [placed] on me and that’s the case here. I embrace it and I enjoy it, and SummerSlam is the next big one. I did ‘Mania with Jey [Uso] but I feel like SummerSlam with Punk from an overall perspective is the one that I’m most excited for so far,” Gunther continued.

Similarly, Punk stated in an interview earlier this month that being able to wrestle someone like Gunther is something he’s grateful for at this stage of his career as well.

During an appearance on Comicbook Nation’s podcast, Punk said, “Just getting able to lace up my boots and lock up with Gunther at this stage in my career is more important to me than anything.”

“I’m surrounded every day by such talented people, and I don’t think I have the time to be able to work with all of them, especially at the extent that I want to. So, I’m not trying to do a speedrun and just share a ring with everybody, but Gunther’s at the top of the list of people that I look at as not only the present, they’re definitely the future of the business.”

Gunther and Punk have worked together a few times previously. They headlined a WWE Holiday Tour house show at Allstate Arena in a steel cage match on December 29 and also wrestled several matches against each other in March during WWE’s European tour.