In the latest episode of NXT 2.0, we saw in the main event WALTER challenge one of the veterans of the company, Roderick Strong, in a match that many fans were eager to see after the announcement made on social media. WALTER has interrupted the ring announcer by declaring his name is Gunther and no longer WALTER as we have all been accustomed to knowing the master wrestler of chop for some time. WWE filed a "Gunther Stark" trademark on January 13th.
The description of use filed with the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) was for general use in the world of pro wrestling and sports entertainment, the same description of use that they often present with brands related to ring names.
New details on WALTER
In a decision that has left fans dumbstruck, WWE changed WALTER's name to Gunther on tonight's episode of NXT. WALTER is one of the most dominant athletes of the modern era, and many believe that he has a bright future ahead of him in WWE. The Austrian superstar is known for his historic 870-day reign as NXT UK Champion. The apparent name change is receiving a lot of criticism on social media because "Günther Stark" was also the name of a U-Boat commander who served in WWII in the Kriegsmarine, Nazi Germany's navy. Kapitänleutnant Stark died at the age of 27 on June 8, 1944, while at war on the English Channel. There has also been some speculation that "Gunther Stark" was the name of a new NXT Superstar, probably related to the injured Zoey Stark, but now it looks like this may be the new ring name for the leader of the Imperium. Among the criticisms that have come into the spotlight, there is that of a former WWE superstar, or Keith Lee, who with a tweet wanted to underline his disappointment at this change of name: "Damn ... if what I heard it is true…. Poor Walter."
But he was not the only one to have said something negative about this choice, in fact, many fans have lashed out against the company, which obviously is not new to these name changes, but WALTER was now WALTER for everyone and it is difficult to get used to it, even if Gunther isn't all that strange, certainly less strange than saying Piper Niven and then finding himself with Doudrop. Recently, the company filed to trademark the term "Gunther Stark" and the news took Wrestling Twitter by storm. It was quickly pointed out that Gunther Stark was a captain lieutenant who served in the navy for Nazi Germany during World War II.