Real Reason Behind Gunther Replacing Bron Breakker as Seth Rollins’ WrestleMania 42 Opponent

Gunther went after Seth Rollins in a surprise return to this week's Raw. They're now set to battle it out at WrestleMania 42.

Real Reason Behind Gunther Replacing Bron Breakker as Seth Rollins’ WrestleMania 42 Opponent

Gunther is facing Seth Rollins at WrestleMania [via- WWE]

In Short
  • Gunther replaced Bron Breakker as Seth Rollins' WrestleMania 42 opponent after a planned storyline shift.
  • Bron Breakker is cleared for action but WWE wants to build his feud with Rollins properly before the match.
  • Gunther's ambush of Rollins may be linked to a favor for Paul Heyman, potentially setting up a future match with Brock Lesnar.

Gunther made his return to WWE television on this week’s Raw after a month-long absence. ‘The Ring General’ pulled Seth Rollins out of the ring when the latter was about to stomp Paul Heyman on a steel chair. The erstwhile Walter locked Rollins in a sleeper hold and ultimately choked him out. The Vienna-born wrestler then pointed to the WrestleMania sign and forced an unconscious Rollins to look at it.

Raw GM Adam Pearce later confirmed that the match will indeed happen at The Grandest Stage of Them All. Did WWE make a pivot to it, as it was rumored that Bron Breakker was on his way back to take on ‘The Visionary’ in a major grudge match at WrestleMania?

In fact, Breakker was even backstage for Raw this week, making it even more confusing why WWE didn’t pull the trigger on his anticipated showdown with Rollins and instead threw Gunther in the mix.

As per Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Gunther vs. Rollins was planned for weeks. The recent interactions between ‘The Architect’ and Paul Heyman on previous editions of Raw were always intended to culminate in the former Shield member getting blindsided by ‘The Career Killer’ at Madison Square Garden this past Monday.

It was also stated in the report that Bron Breakker has been cleared for in-ring action after recovering from laparoscopic surgery for a hiatal hernia. However, the company didn’t want to rush his comeback and that inevitable clash with Rollins either.

The idea of pitting these former Vision stablemates is still alive, but WWE allegedly wants this feud to have a proper build before doing the match. And that’s why the decision to not do it at WrestleMania was made.

If the aforementioned report is to be believed, Gunther was penciled in as Rollins’ WrestleMania opponent after Bronson Reed suffered a distal biceps tear on the 2/23 edition of Raw. Initially, The Vision and The Usos were slated for a celebrity match at Mania with IShowSpeed‘s and Logan Paul‘s involvement. But with Paul and Reed taken out as potential challengers for Rollins, the latter needed someone else to tango with.

What could be a possible reason for Gunther taking out Seth Rollins for Paul Heyman?

Ever since Gunther ambushed Seth Rollins on Raw, there’s been a vocal minority of fans deeming the attack senseless and questioning the need for it. They should definitely expect ‘The Ring General’ to reveal his motivations behind taking out a 6-time world champion soon enough. One has to also factor in the Paul Heyman angle as to why the former Imperium leader decided to save him from getting obliterated on Raw.

Gunther sneak-attacked Seth Rollins on WWE Raw
Gunther sneak-attacked Seth Rollins on WWE Raw [via- WWE]

The fans are speculating that Gunther might’ve done Heyman a favor to demand something in return. Even though it’s merely fan theories and fantasy booking at this point, Heyman could’ve possibly requested Gunther to handle Rollins for him in exchange for bestowing a Brock Lesnar match on him at this year’s SummerSlam.

It’s heavily rumored that Lesnar will have his last WWE match at The Biggest Party of the Summer since it’s slated to emanate from his adopted home town of Minneapolis. ‘The Beast’ also confirmed in a recent interview that he came back to WWE only for a short period of time.

While he’s currently involved in a blockbuster feud with Oba Femi en route to WrestleMania 42, Lesnar, in all likelihood, might end up facing Gunther in his farewell match. It’d also fall in line with the ‘Career Killer’ gimmick that Gunther’s been on by virtue of retiring Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles in a span of just over 6 months. Adding Brock Lesnar to that already rich haul of legends would be a chef’s kiss to his repertoire.

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