History YMMV / Walter

** Both Ludwig Kaiser's ''and'' [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] ring announcer Samantha Irvin's pronunciations of the GUNTHER name. You can't go wrong with either one, really.

** Both Lugwig Kaiser's ''and'' [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] ring announcer Samantha Irvin's pronunciations of the GUNTHER name. You can't go wrong with either one, really.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: When WWE trademarked the name "Gunther Stark" they received ''immediate'' backlash when a simple 5-second Google searched revealed this was the name of a ''Nazi U-Boat commander in WWII,'' something WWE had either been too lazy to do themselves, [[InsaneTrollLogic or had done but had simply assumed either nobody else would do it, or that nobody would be bothered by it]]. By the time it was revealed to be WALTER's new name, they'd trimmed it back to just "Gunther", dropping the "Stark", and abandoned the trademark on the name. Ultimately, it did precious little to minimise the ''withering scorn'' they received for both the initial filing, and for deciding they needed to rename ''WALTER'' of all people, but still, still better than actually name him after a Nazi.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Not him as a person, but the "Gunther" name. It's an understatement that Gunther's name was not received well at first, both due to the unfortunate name and it being seen by fans as another casualty of Vince's desire to take any NXT star he can and change them for the worse by molding them in-line with his tastes. (Indeed, shortly before Vince's forced TenMinuteRetirement, reports indicate he'd gotten irrationally angry at Gunther for no apparent reason and was planning to have him squashed and buried.) Gunther's time as an Intercontinental champion made fans reconsider their stance however, with many fans now accepting the Gunther name after his impressive debut year in the main roster that produced ''plenty'' of positive highlights.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite the initial name debacle, GUNTHER has won the fans' opinions due to his commanding presence in the ring, being a very believable monster heel, and his capability to make a great match with just about anyone in the roster. It helps that he was booked really strong: His Intercontinental championship reign, which is prominently featured in the main event of [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]]'s programming after Wrestling/TripleH became the head of the creative, is seen as the most dominant in ''decades''. Fans now feel that Walter's evolution to GUNTHER has allowed him to make the big leap forward he needed to be part of WWE's main event in the future.

* MusicToInvadePolandTo: Or at least, to invade the ring to. His theme music (Dvorak's Symphony no. 9) is very martial-sounding.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Not him as a person, but the "Gunther" name. It's an understatement that Gunther's name was not received well at first, both due to the unfortunate name and it being seen by fans as another casualty of Vince's desire to take any NXT star he can and change them for the worse. Gunther's time as an Intercontinental champion made fans reconsider their stance however, with many fans now accepting the Gunther name after his impressive debut year in the main roster that produced ''plenty'' of positive highlights.

** Both Lugwig Kaiser's ''and'' [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]] ring announcer Samantha Irvin's pronunciations of the GUNTHER name. You can't go wrong with either one, really.

** [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]]'s ring announcer Samantha Irvin's pronunciation of the GUNTHER name.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Not him as a person, but the "Gunther" name. It's an understatement that Gunther's name was not well received well at first, both due to the unfortunate name and it being seen by fans as another casualty of Vince's desire to take any NXT star he can and change them for the worse. Gunther's time as an Intercontinental champion made fans reconsider their stance however, with many fans now accepting the Gunther name after his impressive debut year in the main roster that produced ''plenty'' of positive highlights.

* BrokenBase: The entire Gunther name. While the many, ''many'' online detractors have cited the obvious issue with the trademarked name to the point of even labeling Wrestling/VinceMcMahon as a racist because of it, those who either favor the name change by itself or at least hold less scathing views on the matter have pointed out that Lieutenant Gunther Stark's tenure was short and had very little historical significance; perhaps even less so than an officer of the Third Reich awarded with several medals who also shares the name of Walter Hahn.[[note]]There's also the matter of a favored painter and designated art curator of Hitler's by the name of Adolph Ziegler, raising the question of whether [[Wrestling/DolphZiggler Nick Nemeth]] would've gotten away with the ''Film/BoogieNights'' explanation if the name had been given to him in 2022 instead of 2008.[[/note]] Given how leaving the Stark surname on the cutting room floor[[note]]for Gunther, anyway; ''Zoey'' Stark already exists on the ''NXT 2.0'' roster[[/note]] did little to mollify the complaints, and the IWC's subsequent mostly-negative reactions to the news of other ''NXT'' talents getting repackaged from their real-life or independent names to WWE IP ring names, proponents have claimed that the Nazi element was intentionally researched to create outrage and the "real" issue seems to be the act of repackaging talent after years of allowing them to use their own names on the ''NXT'' brands, likely a result of legal issues involving royalties for mid-pandemic released wrestlers. They instead choose to focus on the quality of the names in a vacuum, feeling that "Gunther" sounds more emphatic than "Walter" (especially after he and Ludwig Kaiser, the renamed Marcel Barthel, debuted on ''[=SmackDown=]'' with Kaiser announcing Gunther to the ring with pure European gusto), and that by embracing the name and subtle packaging changes as well as getting himself in leaner shape, the man himself has marked the Gunther identity as a new chapter in his career and ensured himself at least a flourishing start on the WWE main roster stage.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: That chop, when done upon a hated heel.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Receiving the name "Gunther" in ''NXT 2.0'', big time. Not just because "WALTER" was iconic, but also because it stands as an {{Unfortunate Name|s}}: WWE's original plan was to call him "Gunther Stark", which also happens to be the name of a Nazi U-Boat commander.

* OlderThanYouThink: The Nazi allusion in Walter's gimmick didn't start with Gunther Stark. Long before his time in WWE, he wore a long coal-black officer's coat and jackboots as integral parts of his customary ring gear in addition to his distinctly WW2-era hairstyle, Imperium went by ''Ringkampf'', and of course his traditional entry theme was the incredibly militaristic Symphony No. 9.

* OlderThanYouThink: The Nazi-esque allusion in Walter's gimmick didn't start with Gunther Stark, but with Ring'''kampf''' being the original name of Imperium.

* HilariousInHindsight: Long before the backdraft-inducing trademark and ring name change, WWE was already calling him GUNTHER, via Wrestling/KyleOReilly of Wrestling/TheUndisputedEra's nickname for him and his team, "GUNTHER and the Imperial Oompa-Loompas". Fittingly, he first announced himself under the name after defeating former Undisputed Era member and [[StartMyOwn Diamond Mine leader]] Wrestling/RoderickStrong.

* HilariousInHindsight: Long before the backdraft-inducing trademark and ring name change, WWE was already calling him GUNTHER, via Wrestling/KyleOReilly of Wrestling/TheUndisputedEra's nickname for him and his team, "GUNTHER and the Imperial Oompa-Loompas". Fittingly, he introduced the new name after defeating former Undisputed Era member and [[StartMyOwn Diamond Mine leader]] Wrestling/RoderickStrong.

* HilariousInHindsight: Long before the backdraft-inducing trademark and ring name change, WWE was already calling him GUNTHER, via Wrestling/KyleOReilly of Wrestling/TheUndisputedEra's nickname for him and his team, "GUNTHER and the Imperial Oompa-Loompas".

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: He comes to the fourth step of Music/AntoninDvorak's Symphony No. 9. Every version of it, it's awesome on its own right.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: When WWE trademarked the name "Gunther Stark" they received ''immediate'' backlash when a simple 5-second Google searched revealed this was the name of a ''Nazi U-Boat commander in WWII,'' something WWE had either been too lazy to do themselves, [[InsaneTrollLogic or had done but had simply assumed either nobody else would do it, or that nobody would be bothered by it]]. By the time it was revealed to be WALTER's new name, they'd trimmed it back to just "Gunther", dropping the "Stark", and abandoned the trademark on the name. Ultimately it did precious little to minimise the ''withering scorn'' they received for both the initial filing, and for deciding they needed to rename ''WALTER'' of all people...

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Receiving the name "Gunther" in ''NXT 2.0'', big time. Not just because "WALTER" was iconic, but also because it stands as an [[UnfortunateNames Unfortunate Name]]: WWE's original plan was to call him "Gunther Stark", which also happens to be the name of a Nazi U-Boat commander.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: That chop, when done upon a hated heel.

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: That chop, when done upon a hated heel.
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* UnfortunateImplications: His presence and appearance, coupled with his theme song, the fact that he integrated a stable named "Ringkampf", and that he comes from Austria, will make you think that he was a [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi general]] transplanted into TheNewTens. This implication somehow became even stronger upon WALTER's WWE debut, where he traded his usual entrance gear for a long black officer's coat that looked remarkably ''Schutzstaffel.''

* UnfortunateImplications: His presence and appearance, coupled with his theme song, the fact that he integrated a stable named "Ringkampf", and that he comes from Austria, will make you think that he was a [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi general]] transplanted into TheNewTens. One wonders how well he may fare in the WWE with all of this.

* MostWonderfulSound: That chop, when done upon a hated heel.
* UnfortunateImplications: When coupling his presence with his theme song and the fact that he comes from Austria, you can be pardoned if you think they transplanted a Nazi general into TheNewTens.