Gunther Addresses Jey Uso Match Not Main Eventing WWE WrestleMania 41 amid Criticism
WWE world heavyweight champion Gunther isn't losing any sleep over his match against Jey Uso not being one of the two WrestleMania 41 main events.
During an appearance Wednesday on the Ariel Helwani Show (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), The Ring General made it clear that he is fine with the placement of his match, saying: "No, I'm not [disappointed]. There's two main event spots. Some people argue there's only one, which is Night 2. At the end of the day, they're big achievements, but that's nothing I want to stress about."
When John Cena won the men's Elimination Chamber match last month and subsequently turned heel on WWE champion Cody Rhodes, it was immediately obvious that they would headline Night 2 of WrestleMania.
That meant the Night 1 main event slot was still open, but it was recently filled when the Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins Triple Threat was officially tabbed for that spot.
Punk has never competed in a WrestleMania main event, and WWE made it part of the storyline with Paul Heyman working his magic to get Punk a main event match.
That left Gunther vs. Uso on the outside looking in, which angered some fans, particularly those in the hot-take world of social media.
Jey shocked the world when he beat out many of WWE's top stars to win the men's Royal Rumble match, and it wasn't long before he chose Gunther as his WrestleMania opponent.
While it is true that Rumble winners have been in the WrestleMania main event more often than not, it has not always been the case. Even so, there is a cross section of fans that continues to take the wording of the Rumble winner having a "championship match in the main event of WrestleMania" literally.
A WrestleMania main event is a goal and a dream for many pro wrestlers, but Gunther noted that it isn't something that will define him, saying:
"Because in the long term, later on when I finish my career and I'm able to be financially set up to take care of my family, I did all of this doing the thing that I always wanted to do. I don't think if I never main event WrestleMania it's gonna make a difference to how proud or happy I'll be about my career."
The rivalry between Gunther and Uso got off to something of a slow and methodical start since it was the first match announced for WrestleMania, but it has heated up considerably over the past couple of weeks.
Last week, Gunther beat Jey's twin brother, Jimmy Uso, in a match on Raw. Afterward, Gunther zip-tied Jey to the ropes and forced him to watch as he beat Jimmy to a bloody pulp.
Then, this week, Jey cut a passionate promo that got the crowd behind him and gave him the confidence and momentum needed to potentially beat Gunther for his first world title.
Gunther and Uso likely could have handled the main event spotlight and thrived, but there are several matches on the WrestleMania card that could be fitting for that spot, so some inevitably have to be left out.
The opening match can oftentimes be nearly as important as an event like WrestleMania, and if Gunther and Uso are tasked with kicking things off on Night 1, they could set a positive tone for the entire show.
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