Born in Vienna and raised with a love of football and wrestling, Walter Hahn debuted in 2005 and spent over a decade carving out a fearsome reputation across Europe’s independent circuit. Under the name WALTER, he became the defining figure of Westside Xtreme Wrestling in Germany, a three-time wXw Unified World Champion and the driving force behind Ringkampf — a faction built entirely around the philosophy that wrestling is a serious, physical sport that demands respect above all else. His motto, Die Matte ist Heilig — “The Mat is Sacred” — isn’t just a catchphrase. It is a genuine philosophy that shapes every match he wrestles. WWE signed him in 2018 and assigned him to NXT UK, where he promptly became the most dominant champion in the brand’s history. He is the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental and NXT United Kingdom champion in company history. Rebranded as Gunther on the main roster in 2022, he defended the Intercontinental Championship for a record-breaking 666 days before going on to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in 2024. His chops are the stuff of legend — leaving welts, reddening chests and producing a sound like a gunshot that regularly goes viral — and his deliberate, old-school style makes him feel genuinely different to everyone else on the roster. The Ring General is a throwback to a different era of professional wrestling, and in an industry that often rewards flash over substance, he has proven that hard-hitting authenticity never goes out of style.