Gunther on Timothy Thatcher: ‘I Learned A Lot from Tim’

The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion paid respect to someone who heavily influenced his career

This past Saturday at SummerSlam, Gunther used his giant-sized boot to take the next step in his career, defeating Damian Priest to win WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship.

In a career full of highlights, that victory immediately became the most prominent. A 19-year veteran of the craft, Gunther–whose real name is Walter Hahn–paid his dues on the indies across Europe and North America before thriving in WWE.

Gunther adds an authentic presence to WWE programming. He now has the chance to make a lasting impact as world champion.

And if you are a fan of Gunther, you would also be well-served to get familiarized with Timothy Thatcher.

“I learned a lot from Tim,” Gunther told Sports Illustrated. “He was very influential on me. He made me a better professional wrestler.

Gunther–then known as WALTER–and Timothy Thatcher / wXw

Thatcher wrestled in NXT throughout the majority of 2020 and 2021. Since then, he has taken a different route than Gunther in their travels–yet the two remain kindred spirits.

“I think Tim would be on a bigger stage right now if he would divert away from some of his core values and accept professional wrestling for what it is on the big stage,” said Gunther. “As much as I enjoyed that gritty, catch-as-catch can shoot-style wrestling with no smoke and mirrors, the reality is that it isn’t going to draw the attention of a lot and lot of people in 2024. At the end of the day, what we do is a business.

“But I respect that he does what makes him happy. You can have all the money in the world, but if you’re not happy, then that’s pretty useless.”

Last summer, ahead of a match in MLW, Thatcher told me, “I’m a big punk rock fan. You play the music you want to play. If the audience comes, great. If they don’t, that’s OK, too.”

Thatcher is forever true to his word. Since the end of June, he has worked in a variety of territories, from Tokyo to Toronto, with additional stops in Livonia, Michigan and Portland, Oregon.

“I just saw him a few weeks ago,” said Gunther. “You never know what’s going to happen, especially in this business.”