Internal Frustration & Confusion Over WWE's Booking Of Gunther

Gunther's booking by WWE has been a curiosity in 2026 and the company's utilisation of the 39-year-old has been criticised by fans, particularly as Gunther had been built up so strongly between June 2025 and January 2026 as he had a second reign as World Heavyweight Champion and retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select, there has been a "mild sense of frustration and confusion" within WWE over Gunther's recent booking on Friday Night SmackDown. Some in the company have even questioned whether WWE actually had a plan for what to do with Gunther after he retired John Cena in December 2025.

After retiring AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2026, original plans called for Gunther to feud with Rey Mysterio, which would have led to a match at WrestleMania 42. The angle began on WWE Raw when Gunther unmasked Dragon Lee on March 2 but an injury to Mysterio sustained at the Royal Rumble resulted in that plan being scrapped and Gunther disappearing from WWE TV for a month, ultimately returning on March 30 to begin a thrown-together feud with Seth Rollins. Mysterio ended up wrestling at WrestleMania 42 anyway in the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, while Gunther defeated Seth Rollins at the pay-per-view following interference from the returning Bron Breakker.

Coming out of WrestleMania, Gunther had yet more scrapped plans as he was originally planned for a short feud with LA Knight, but he was instead moved to SmackDown to feud with Cody Rhodes. Gunther has remained in and around the WWE Title picture ever since, although he has yet to win the belt and his usage on last week's SmackDown saw Gunther lay out Danhausen and Finn Balor before he cut a promo on WWE Main Event, which until recently had very much been a C show.