Gunther has been one of the most talked about stars in all of wrestling over the last few weeks as he made John Cena tap out in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event last month.
WWE debuted a new nickname for Gunther on Raw this week as he was referred to as The Career Killer due to the fact that he retired both Goldberg and John Cena in 2025.
Monday Night Raw aired live from Dusseldorf, Germany, and Gunther stepped into the ring when he faced off against AJ Styles in the main event. Gunther got a big reaction from the fans and there were dueling chants for Gunther and Styles throughout the match.
Styles targeted Gunther’s leg and The Career Killer sold the attack as he started limping near the end of the match. The Phenomenal One locked in the Calf Crusher several times as he tried to wear Gunther down.
Near the end of the match AJ released the hold because he thought Gunther had tapped out. He argued with the referee who explained that Gunther didn’t tap out, so the ref looked to the timekeeper as he declared that the match would continue. As the referee was turned around Gunther hit AJ Styles with a low blow then followed up with a powerbomb as he pinned AJ to win the match.
After the match a different camera angle was shown which confirmed that Gunther did tap out, but he tapped out on AJ’s leg in a spot where the referee couldn’t see it. As the show was coming to an end Gunther laughed as he made his way to the back.
AJ Styles made Gunther tap out but the referee didn’t see it. Gunther picks up the win with a low blow followed by a powerbomb. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/Oe9EyS02GE
— Still Real To Us (@stillreal2us) January 12, 2026
OH NO 😩@AJStylesOrg was arguing with the ref allowing @Gunther_AUT to take advantage and pick up the WIN! pic.twitter.com/3X80o7Uh0B
— WWE (@WWE) January 12, 2026