Gunther defeated SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis in a grudge match on Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam 2026 on Saturday.
Over the past several weeks, tensions between Gunther and Aldis reached a fever pitch due to Gunther’s belief that he wasn’t being given a fair opportunity at the WWE Championship.
After losing a title match against Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy despite his foot being underneath the bottom rope during the pinfall, Gunther pressed Aldis to give him another shot.
Aldis obliged, but the rematch had Sami Zayn as special guest referee, and after Zayn cost Gunther that match, The Ring General placed the blame firmly on Aldis’ shoulders.
Gunther got another championship opportunity in a Triple Threat against Rhodes and Zayn at Night of Champions, and Zayn shockingly won the match to become WWE champion for the first time.
After the match, Gunther and Aldis got into backstage with some pushing and shoving, resulting in Aldis temporarily being placed on administrative leave from his role as SmackDown GM.
On the heels of CM Punk beating Zayn for the WWE title, Gunther once again implored Aldis to let him compete for the title. However, Aldis instead booked Gunther and Zayn in a tag team match against Punk and Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Infuriated by Aldis’ decision, Gunther attacked him and made him pass out in a sleeper hold.
The stakes for the tag match were later raised with Gunther and Zayn gaining entry into the WWE Championship match between Punk and Rhodes at SummerSlam if they could beat them.
However, Aldis interfered in the match by hitting Gunther with the WWE Championship belt, allowing Punk and Rhodes to win and keep their SummerSlam match a one-on-one affair.
Gunther vs. Aldis was made official for SummerSlam shortly thereafter, marking the first-ever WWE match for Aldis.
Although Aldis is a former NWA and TNA world champion, he was coming off a long layoff against Gunther, and The Ring General took advantage of that by beating his rival at SummerSlam.
