Add as a preferred source on Google Nick Aldis got emotional talking about his match with Gunther on night one of WWE SummerSlam, 8/1 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Talking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, the suspended SmackDown GM said he knows what’s riding on it and called the match his one shot to show he can still go.
“I hope that I don’t let people down. It’s my one shot. I’ve been working very hard. I hope it pays off. I’m sure it will. I just hope that when it’s all said and done, the people appreciate how hard this was, and I gave everything.”
It’s Aldis’ first WWE match and his first match anywhere in 1,029 days. He last worked a five-way for ACW on 10/7/23. His last singles match was a win over Davey Boy Smith Jr. a week before that.
Aldis said the match came out of nowhere. He isn’t worried about the work itself, it’s getting his conditioning back in a few weeks. Mickie James and Randy Orton had both told him that whenever WWE decided to use him as a wrestler, he’d get almost no notice.
Taking the match meant stepping away from the GM job. The program picked up when Aldis cracked Gunther with the Undisputed WWE Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event to stop him from getting involved in Punk vs. Cody.
Aldis said he has nothing planned past SummerSlam, which points to a one-off instead of a full-time return.