Nick Aldis: World's Champion, Gunther's Nightmare (Exclusive)

Nick Aldis hasn't quite adjusted to the title "Former SmackDown General Manager" yet, and when I introduce him as such during our conversation, he recoils a bit, but not because I said something wrong.

"It's the first time I've been introduced that way," Aldis says, his reality snapping into focus a bit. "It was surreal to hear it that way, but it's not inaccurate. It's not inaccurate. You're right. That's a condition of the match was giving up my executive role."

Aldis says when he first connected with Triple H about joining WWE, he told him he wanted to be utilized however they saw fit. Since 2023, he has been the SmackDown General Manager, overseeing the final months of Roman Reigns' historic WWE Championship run, the rise of Cody Rhodes as WWE Champion, and everything in between on Friday nights.

Aldis reflected on multiple moments during his tenure, which he officially resigned from as of last week's Friday Night SmackDown during his contract signing with Gunther, effectively placing him back into active competition. As a 90's kid heavily influenced by Triple H's feud with The Rock in 2000, a feud that directly led to him joining the business, he calls his introduction by Triple H a major career milestone.

Aldis says he focused hard on making the role different than it had been before, and that it was an important feat to accomplish.

"I felt like there was a new spin on that character that was available. Overall? Well, let's just put it like this without sounding too cocky. I must have done something right given the fact that the GM is having a match at SummerSlam. So I guess it means I must have made somewhat of an impact and been somewhat of a significant General Manager."

After weeks of back and forth animosity, Aldis struck Gunther with the WWE Undisputed Championship belt during Saturday Night's Main Event at Madison Square Garden, costing him and Sami Zayn the match and their main event opportunities at SummerSlam. Aldis knew what the attack would cost him, but getting praise from Legends and Hall of Famers about his major Garden Moment was worth it.

"If that turns out to be the last thing I ever did as GM, it was a good one to have a moment like that at Madison Square Garden."

Nick Aldis Loves The Professional Wrestling Business

Nick Aldis knows what it means to make something out of nothing. The first British-born TNA Champion, he found himself at a crossroads after leaving the promotion in 2017. During a time he found himself in the "wilderness" as he referred to it, and choosing to leave a turbulent time in TNA, he was faced with two options: quit the business entirely or keep looking for the spark.

Under the tutelage and backing of Billy Corgan, he found that spark with the newly revitalized NWA, and after defeating Tim Storm at NWA Cage of Death 19 to become the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, he went on to hold the 10 Pounds of Gold for 1,043 days, the sixth-longest reign in the title's storied history. Aldis calls the accomplishment and the opportunity to carry the torch of a company monumental in his career.

"That was the first time I was able to fully point at something and say the work that I did, along with others and, obviously, with someone committing their capital and faith in Billy, was to create another place where guys could make money, and a place for me to make money. In a lot of ways, it was extremely fulfilling because I could look at the industry and go, there's another place for people to work, and a lot of that is thanks to me."

Aldis says that although he's never wrestled at WrestleMania or been in the Royal Rumble, he's got something that can't be valued: the acknowledgment of those who came before him.

"I have great respect and admiration for the history and the tradition of the business, and through those years, that's where I was endorsed by Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., Jerry Jarrett, Bret Hart. You can't put a price tag on that. I come into SummerSlam, I came into WWE, with all that behind me, and that's something that no one can take away from me."

One of the most important moments of his career was his main event match at All In against Cody Rhodes. Aldis says that he and Rhodes have a mutual respect and admiration for one another, with the full knowledge that they together, along with the other competitors on the All In card, shifted the paradigm in the industry, opening up an avenue for alternative promotions like AEW to exist in the wrestling stratosphere.

"In that moment, I was the perfect antagonist for his protagonist. I provided the moment that he needed to show WWE; this is the Cody Rhodes that you need. Like we showed the world in Chicago a match that was every bit really a WWE kind of main event type of match on television. From the presentation, the packages, the moment at the beginning at the bell, the pace, the involvement with DDP and Daivari and Brandi, and the referee and the blood and the drama and then the finish. It was our way of saying, 'Look what we could do.'"

Nick Aldis Warns Gunther Not To Underestimate Him In Their SummerSlam Match

Gunther has made a name for himself over the past few years on the WWE main roster. A decorated multi-time World Heavyweight Champion and the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in the company's history, he's become the new Legend Killer, ending the careers of Bill Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles.

For as many successes as The Ring General has had, he's failed repeatedly in both beating Cody Rhodes and attaining the WWE Undisputed Championship, and began to blame Aldis for his shortcomings.. After weeks of animosity, things came to a head at Saturday Night's Main Event when Aldis struck Gunther with the title, setting in motion their match at SummerSlam.

Gunther has repeatedly called Aldis jealous of his accomplishments and his ability to attain a level that he wished he could in WWE. Aldis says the best story lines in wrestling are rooted in reality, and he admits that he is jealous of Gunther, but it's not because he thinks Gunther is better. He believes if he'd been given the same opportunities Gunther had been, and had the same people behind him, he could be in Gunther's position now.

"I think the reason that he keeps saying all this stuff to me is because, deep down, he knows that too. I think the reason that people are getting behind it is [that] there's a larger number of people than maybe even WWE are willing to admit who understand that as well. I always believe that the amount of people in the WWE bubble who are unaware of anything outside WWE is much smaller than many in the company might realize, but that's kind of irrelevant at this point, because, ultimately, it all boils down to the same thing, which is, I have to deliver at SummerSlam."

Aldis reiterates that he never asked for this match, and he never lobbied for it. It happened because Triple H looked at the WWE roster and knew he was the right choice to face Gunther at SummerSlam, something that brings him an immense amount of additional credibility to his name even before he enters the ring.

Aldis concurs with me that he's more dangerous than Goldberg, Cena, Styles, or anyone else who's come in the path of Gunther. Aldis says he's got nothing to lose, and warns Gunther not to underestimate him in the ring, doing so being at his own peril and risk.

"If you're someone who is in the WWE bubble and is largely unaware of my career prior to being here, then you don't have any expectations. You're expecting Gunther to win easily. That's fine with me because now the pressure is on him. Yeah, he beat Goldberg and beat Cena and beat AJ, but I don't think he actually really wanted this to happen. I think he thought that this would just go away. Now he's faced with an opponent who he's expected to dominate, but he knows deep down that he won't."

Nick Aldis faces Gunther on Night 1 of SummerSlam, taking place live from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, August 1st. Both nights of SummerSlam can be streamed live on the ESPN app domestically or Netflix internationally. Check your local listings for start times in your area.