Gunther Explains How WWE Hall of Famer Convinced Him To Sign After Turning Down Two Contract Offers

"He just said 'man, come over, you can make money here," Gunther recalled. "I was still kind of stubborn, I said 'no.'"

He would elaborate, saying he turned WWE down twice.

"I never saw myself there," he said. "I thought like, what I've got to offer is me. And that's all I've got. And I'm happy to work on myself. I'm happy to improve on myself. But at the core, it's always gonna be me. And I was never interested in, I don't know, portraying someone else's fantasy."

The longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history said it was ultimately Triple H (who was overseeing NXT at the time) who would be the one to convince him to make the jump, allowing him the opportunity to still live in Europe and run his wrestling school at the time.

"When there's an opportunity and everybody jumps at it at the same time... it gives me a weird feeling. I was like, 'man, maybe I sit this out first and see how it goes.' It worked out in the end, but Hunter was always the guy that said... Hey man, I see a big future here for you and if you want to do it, then I'm on board," he said.

Gunther is set to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso at WrestleMania.