A graphic of Gunther, one of the greatest WWE Renaissance era heels.
A graphic of Gunther, one of the greatest WWE Renaissance era heels.
Danhausen and Gunther are two complete opposites of each other, with their interactions leading to tension very quickly. Danhausen has had a great run in WWE ever since his debut at February’s Elimination Chamber. He has gone viral on many occasions, including over the summer when he un-cursed the New York Knicks.
On night two of SummerSlam, he defeated Dominik Mysterio in a Human Monies on a Pole match, ending a long saga with the Judgment Day. But lately, he has gotten on the bad side of Gunther, leading to him getting beaten up and yelled at.
After beating Friday Night SmackDown’s General Manager Nick Aldis on night one of SummerSlam, Gunther has been wanting championship gold. He hasn’t been successful in many qualifying opportunities, leading him to take it out on anyone nearby, which has been Danhausen for several weeks.
A match was made between them on the October 9, 2026 episode of SmackDown. Will Gunther be victorious or will Danhausen continue to delay his title pursuits?
Danhausen vs. Gunther Gets Interrupted by Finn Balor
Gunther thought beating Aldis would end his frustration, but that was just the start of his emotional last few months. The following night, he lost the number one contender’s match for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Two weeks later, he confronted Aldis for adding the winner Kevin Owens to the match before beating Matt Cardona. After that, he lost another number one contender’s match for the same title and the Money in the Bank qualifying match, so he decided to take things into his own hands.
After half of the Men’s MITB field confronted Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn, Gunther arrived to attack him. He succeeded, but Finn Balor attacked both men. In addition to his championship and Danhausen problems, he has to watch out for Balor. Would he play a role in the night’s events?
As referee Darryl Sharma signaled for the bell to begin the match, Danhausen grabbed his arm. He backed up and did the cursing motion. The fans started saying “YOU ARE” before Gunther hit him with a boot to the face. Gunther ripped his cape off and tossed it out of the ring. He grabbed him and threw him down with a powerbomb.
Then he yelled at him and Sharma as he got him up for a chop. Danhausen got grabbed by his hair before getting chopped against the ropes and hit with another powerbomb. Sharma continued to argue with Gunther as he chopped him against the turnbuckle. He then placed him on top of it and chopped him some more before stomping on him.
That was when Balor’s music played as he ran to the ring. He got Gunther to the floor and started to punch him as Danhausen collapsed to the ground. Gunther got up and hoisted Balor up for the powerbomb, but he got out of it and gave him chops and kicks. He gave Gunther a reverse DDT and a slingblade before the latter retreated.
A WWE SmackDown graphic of Danhausen.
Danhausen on WWE SmackDown. (Photo Credit: WWE)
Balor then went over to Danhausen to check on him, but Gunther grabbed his leg to get him out of the ring before slamming him into the barrier.
He went for the powerbomb, but Balor got out of it again and started stomping on his chest. Gunther tripped him before slamming his face into the ring post and onto the barricade. He dropped him on the ring apron before powerbombing him on the announcer’s table. As officials gathered around, he yelled at him before walking away.
A photo of WWE star, "The Demon" Finn Balor.
A photo of new WWE SmackDown star Finn Balor. (Photo Credit: By Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/711005859893718804/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127866880)
Gunther was tired of the disrespect from Danhausen, so he decided to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, the bell didn’t ring, and Balor interrupted him for the second week in a row. Now he has a feud with Balor as he tries to get back into the championship picture.
The Last Word on the Issues of Gunther
WWE SmackDown 2026 updated graphic of Gunther.
A WWE SmackDown graphic featuring Gunther. (Photo Credit: WWE)
Gunther has had a rough past few months. He took care of his issue with Aldis, but that has since created even more issues. He hasn’t been successful in qualifying for a championship match and completely missed wrestling at Money in the Bank.
By trying to attack Zayn, he himself got attacked by Balor. When he beat up Danhausen, Balor disrupted his beatdown yet again. It seems like he’ll have to put his championship aspirations on hold, leading to more frustration from the Ring General.