Following his world title match loss at Night of Champions 2026, an irate GUNTHER confronted “WWE SmackDown” General Manager Nick Aldis backstage, which led to “The Ring General” getting shoved. According to Aldis, it was during this same weekend that he learned the two would then face off in the ring at WWE SummerSlam.
“To find out, quite out of the blue, you can have a match with one of the top guys in the world, top guy in the company. SummerSlam in a stadium, amazing,” Aldis said on “WWE Now.” “But then when [WWE executive Ed Koskey] told me I was, that was in Saudi Arabia, I went, ‘When is SummerSlam?’ He’d say, ‘August 1st.’ Today’s June the 30 or June the 29, and I was like, ‘That’s a month. Ed, there’s a big difference between physique shape and ring shape. I am not in ring shape. You have an awful lot of faith in me to [wrestle].'”
After informing Aldis of WWE’s plans for him to take on GUNTHER at “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” Koskey did note that, as always, the premium live event card, including Aldis’ match, was subject to change. Regardless, Aldis moved forward under the assumption that he would indeed wrestle GUNTHER.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll just work on the basis that it is happening, and then if it isn’t, at least I’ll be in better shape,'” Aldis recalled telling Koskey. Aldis’ WWE in-ring debut later came on night one of SummerSlam in Minneapolis, with GUNTHER ultimately forcing him to tap out to the sleeper hold. Follow-up reports indicate that Aldis’ performance was so well-received that he’s expected to wrestle again for the company in the future.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “WWE Now” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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