Kevin Nash argued on his Kliq This podcast that WWE has mishandled the momentum surrounding Gunther following his role in retiring John Cena, saying the company has failed to give the moment proper follow-through on television.
The former WWF Champion acknowledged that Gunther is currently positioned as a heel but made it clear that the reaction he’s getting doesn’t amount to true heat in the traditional sense. “He doesn’t have real heat. He has manufactured heat. It’s the closest thing that there is to heat on that show, but he doesn’t have heat.”
While Nash conceded that Gunther may be drawing stronger reactions than others on the roster, he emphasized that the response lacks depth. “Yeah, but he doesn’t,” Nash said when asked if Gunther had the most heat on the show.
What frustrated Nash most was how WWE followed up after Gunther retired Cena, a moment he believes should have immediately elevated Gunther into a more meaningful position. “You can’t be the guy that retires John Cena and the next thing he does has to… it can’t be absolutely insignificant,” Nash said. He pointed to recent television segments as evidence that WWE is letting that momentum stall rather than build.
Nash cited Gunther’s recent appearances as examples of poor execution. “Last week when he came out and so his music plays, and then his graphic plays, then he goes out and cuts a promo, and then Pearce comes out and tells him to get the f**k out of the building,” Nash said. He questioned the logic behind giving Gunther a full entrance and promo only to abruptly remove him. “They played his music, played his entrance, gave him a microphone, he cut a promo, but when he got done, it was time to get the f**k out of the building.”
He said the pattern continued the following week without meaningful payoff. “At the end of the show he comes out and there’s the Punk thing, and again it just doesn’t seem… he’s going out and nothing’s happening,” Nash said. From his perspective, WWE is putting Gunther on television simply to have him there, rather than advancing a clear story. “They know to get him on TV after the Cena thing, but they put him out there for nothing.”
When the idea of Gunther’s heat being manufactured was challenged, Nash doubled down on his belief that WWE isn’t cashing in when it matters most. “What shouldn’t they be cashing in on? Whatever’s happening in that audience when he gets out there… you can call it manufacturing, whatever it is.” To Nash, the response is real enough that it demands a stronger creative direction.
Nash also addressed the argument that Gunther’s limited involvement is simply a byproduct of being a heel. “I think it’s because he’s a heel,” Nash said, explaining that WWE avoids traditional promotional packages for villains.
However, he maintained that this shouldn’t result in Gunther being rendered ineffective. “He can’t be absolutely insignificant,” Nash reiterated, returning to the idea that retiring Cena should have guaranteed sustained momentum.
On this week’s RAW, Gunther defeated R-Truth by making him tap out.
