8 Ups & 2 Downs From NXT Stand & Deliver 2022

3. Physical As F*ck

Gunther LA Knight
WWE.com

Former NXT UK brute WALTER didn't just lose his moniker, apparently. The big man has slimmed down so severely that he's like a completely different worker. Honestly, Gunther is in the shape of his life, but he hasn't lost that willingness to paste the ever-living crap out of himself or his peers.

Credit to LA Knight for meeting him halfway.

Gunther vs. Knight was the card's unexpected gem. Going in, this writer believed it'd be a snoozer that nobody would be talking about afterwards. More fool him, because this was 10 minutes of super-stiff ring work that fans inside the American Airlines Center really got a kick out of.

It's a strong statement from WWE to give Gunther the win. LA Knight once seemed like a stick on to start wrestling for NXT's top prizes, and yet it's the ex-WALTER who seems destined for that eventually. Can you imagine the physicality if Gunther got in there with Bron Breakker, for example?

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.