As the Wrestling Observer pointed out, just a number of days ago WWE filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name “Gunther Stark.” They also point out that was the name of a Nazi military commander back in World War 2, so we’ll see if that affects anything WWE does going forward.
I mention that because GUNTHER now appears to be the new name for WALTER, as he revealed following his win over Roderick Strong in the main event of NXT 2.0 this week:
The ring isn't big enough to hold a brawl of this magnitude!! #Imperium #DiamondMine#WWENXT @WalterAUT @Marcel_B_WWE @FabianAichner @roderickstrong @JuliusCreedWWE @BrutusCreedwwe pic.twitter.com/FLEQUtLsY5
— WWE (@WWE) January 19, 2022
“The winner of this match is GUNTHER.”
The name change is already being panned by fans and fellow wrestlers alike. That includes Keith Lee, himself no stranger to WWE giving someone a new name when it’s unnecessary:
Man....if what I'm hearing is real....
— Selective Lee (@RealKeithLee) January 19, 2022
Poor Walter.
Of course, Rex Steiner became Bron Breakker, a dumb and bad name, especially with that extra “k” thrown in there, but it hasn’t really changed much of anything about his career. He’s still tied heavily to the Steiner name, but he’s doing his own thing with his own branding. He’s also the current NXT champion and someone who clearly has a bright future ahead of him in the company.
Is GUNTHER as good as WALTER? That’s for you to decide, but the wrestler is still the same and he just tore the house down on USA Network.
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