Add as a preferred source on Google Gunther opened Friday’s WWE SmackDown in Bologna, Italy, and finally broke his silence following his controversial loss to Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy.
The “Ring General” opened the show by making it clear that nothing would happen until he got justice for what happened this past Sunday in Turin.
At Clash in Italy, Rhodes retained the Undisputed WWE Championship after hitting a Cross Rhodes and scoring the pinfall. However, Gunther’s leg was clearly under the bottom rope during the count, which should have stopped the result.
In the ring, Gunther called himself the greatest professional wrestler in the world and said he intentionally placed his foot under the rope because of his experience.
“I am the greatest professional wrestler in the world. I have ring awareness like nobody else, and I intentionally put my foot under that rope. My foot was under that rope. The referee knows that. Cody knows that. Cody didn’t beat me. Cody took advantage of the situation and cheated. Cody took away what was rightfully mine.”
Cody Rhodes came out shortly after and admitted Gunther was right about his foot being under the rope. However, the champion said controversial finishes are part of the game. Even so, he offered the Ring General another match on SmackDown.
Before the situation could be resolved, Sami Zayn interrupted both men. Zayn said he tried to stay backstage, but he could not listen to Gunther complain about being robbed, since, in his view, both Cody and Gunther had wronged him in recent weeks.
Gunther responded by saying the issue was about the Undisputed WWE Championship, so it had nothing to do with Sami. Zayn fired back by pointing out that while he has never won that title, he knows very well what it means to beat Gunther for a championship.
The tension escalated when Gunther shoved Zayn into Rhodes. During the brawl, Cody went for a suicide dive on Gunther but accidentally hit Sami instead.
This week’s SmackDown will air in the United States on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET, while the show is airing earlier internationally on Netflix.