At the King and Queen of the Ring PLE in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Randy Orton and Gunther squared off in a match which ended with the latter named King of the Ring...after a botched pinfall by the former longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion.
The Viper's shoulder wasn't on the mat and, rather than ignore the mistake, WWE chose to embrace it. Now, months later, Orton is being given a shot at Gunther's newly won World Heavyweight Championship at Bash in Berlin as a means of making things right.
Hyping up the match in an interview with Mail Online, Orton shared high praise for his opponent and acknowledged that fans in Berlin probably won't be rooting for him.
"He’s a special talent. There’s no one else like him. He’s as unique as they get. And he was very seasoned," the 14-time WWE Champion said. "He’s, not a young pup, he’s 36 but that’s not a bad thing."
"I think that he’s right smack dab in the middle of his prime. He’s been able to wrestle so many different places, different styles, different talent. And if you look, you talk about his body at work, but look at his physical body. He’s also really busted his ass to get into good shape."
"He moved so well in there for a big man, but at the same time he might as well be 300 pounds and six foot 10, because he the way he moves, the way he is able to work in there with with another human being, he can really torture them and punish them and get that crowd to feel sorry for that other person. He’s an amazing bad guy."
Orton added. "But I think what’s going to be really interesting about this match Berlin is the crowd is probably going to be a little bit on his side...I think it might be split. You know, he’s a big Austrian boy. Austria is right next to Germany, man, and those German fans are going to love them some Gunther."
Sharing his belief that he and Gunther will have "great chemistry" when they step into the ring together for a second time, Orton went on to make a case for why their World Heavyweight title match should be Bash in Berlin's main event.
"I’m always out there feeling like I have something to prove. I haven’t had a Main Event PLE match at almost four years," he said. "I didn’t realize it had been that long, plenty of PLE since then, but not one of this caliber. So yeah, the crowd is going to be hot and this is going to be a big night. I would love to see us main event this show."
"But I know Cody and Kevin, that’s a big, big match too, but you've got a couple good guys in there beating the sh** out of each other. I think me and Gunther should close the night," Orton added. "And I think that it’s going to go down in history is, whether or not I win or lose. People will be talking about this match for a long time, and I know that, because Gunther is such an amazing talent."
Bash in Berlin takes place on August 31. As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.