This time last week, Gunther and Finn Balor appeared to be on a collision course to wrestle. Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabiaa. Instead, the meeting did not take place, and on Monday. Dave Meltzer said the meeting was postponed after Gunther refused to travel to Riyadh.. Hours later “Wrestling Observer Radio”, Meltzer confirmed the details of his report and also revealed that Gunther had lost a dark match to Trick Williams that night before the Rav. It was a loss that raised eyebrows from both Meltzer and co-host Brian Alvarez, who wondered if this was punishment for Guenther’s departure from Crown Jewel.
“I mean, it’s possible that this is all a coincidence,” Meltzer said. “It’s possible… it’s absolutely possible. Because in a dark match, the babyface really comes through. It’s a rule. I mean, usually with a guy on GUNTHER’s level, they’ll go for a run and a DQ… because they protect the top guys in these types of matches. So there’s probably something to it.”
Meltzer pointed out that while WWE was initially ambivalent about talent choosing not to travel to past shows in Saudi Arabia, that has changed over the past few years.
“From the beginning, if you said no, you said no, and everything was understood,” Meltzer said. “And then it got to the point where if you say no to going, well you can say no, but we’re going to have to readjust your drive. Or if you’re the champion, it’s like, “You don’t have to go, but you have to drop the belt before the show.” That’s what’s happened over the last few years.”
While neither Meltzer nor Alvarez could confirm that Gunter was punished, Alvarez noted that Gunter had never lost a dark match in WWE prior to this loss to Williams, and had mostly been protected in non-televised events, losing them by DQ or countout until recently.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling Observer Radio and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
