6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 22 Jan)
2. A Heel With Honor?
Gunther is a different breed of heel in WWE. He’s a monster without weighing 350 pounds. He’s menacing without being crazed or screaming constantly. He’s foreign without leaning heavily on anti-American sentiment constantly. He’s dominant without cheating nonstop to win.
Monday night, fans got to see a heel Gunther heaping praise on babyface World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, calling him “a great champion” and lamenting the Visionary’s knee injury, saying it “pulls on my heartstrings.” He wasn’t sarcastic or demeaning, and yet he still was a perfect heel throughout, putting himself over more, and then pledging to win the Royal Rumble, choose Seth and target his knee, back and every other injured part of the champ’s body.
It was such a different approach for a villain to rile up a crowd. He just stood there proud – or smug, depending on your view – and made sure to put himself over as he talked up Rollins. Then he promised he would use the champ’s injuries to his advantage – a legit tactic, but one that befits an underhanded heel.
For a couple minutes, thoughts of CM Punk challenging Rollins flittered away, replaced by the reigning Intercontinental Champion pulling a WrestleMania 6 and challenging the World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther/Rollins would certainly be a must-see main event, and this promo made it feel more real than it has at any time prior.
That is a powerful promo.