WWE Rumors on Gunther 'Confusion' Backstage, WrestleMania 43 Matches and Stephanie Vaquer's Injury

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Internal Outlook Regarding Gunther's Booking

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Some in WWE have reportedly been questioning the recent booking direction of two-time world heavyweight champion Gunther.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t WrestlePurists ), there is "a mild sense of frustration and confusion" over how Gunther has been utilized on SmackDown over the past few weeks.

One source told WrestleVotes that some people in creative have questioned whether The Ring General is being used properly when taking into consideration what he accomplished in 2025 and early in 2026.

On the heels of retiring Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles, Gunther heavily pursued the WWE Championship, but he has fallen short in numerous opportunities to win it.

That included a loss to Cody Rhodes at Clash in Italy, and a loss in a Triple Threat match for the WWE title against Rhodes and Sami Zayn at Night of Champions.

Gunther did bounce back to beat SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis at SummerSlam, but he subsequently lost a WWE Championship No. 1 contender's match, and later lost a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifying match.

Amid his recent cold streak, Gunther had been interacting backstage with Danhausen, leading to several instances of The Ring General intimidating him.

Gunther and Danhausen were scheduled to have a match last week, but instead, Gunther decimated Danhausen before the bell even rang.

It has been a strange spot for a serious wrestler like Gunther since Danhausen is one of the preeminent comedic wrestlers in the business.

While it may only prove to be a blip on the radar before Gunther moves on to bigger and better things, Gunther's current position is undoubtedly a bit of a surprise based on how he has been booked and presented for the entirety of his main roster run.

WWE Reportedly Planning Reigns vs. Femi, More for WrestleMania 43

WrestleMania 43 is still about six months away, but WWE reportedly already has a good idea of some of the major matches it wants to headline the show.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t WrestlePurists ), WWE has discussed Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi and CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes for the event. The company reportedly also wants to heavily feature Rhea Ripley provided she is cleared from the knee injury she is currently working her way back from.

WrestleVotes noted that while the aforementioned matches and plans have been proposed and talked about, they are not yet set in stone.

The Reigns vs. Femi idea comes as little surprise, as many have assumed it would be the WrestleMania 43 main event dating back to WrestleMania 42.

Femi beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, while Reigns won the World Heavyweight Championship from Punk. After the show, The Ruler called out Reigns.

Oba won King of the Ring and could have challenged Reigns, but he decided to conclude his rivalry with Lesnar first instead, and it was clear at that point that WWE was kicking the proverbial can down the road as it relates to Oba and Roman.

Punk and Rhodes faced off at SummerSlam with Punk beating Rhodes to retain the WWE Championship, but there has yet to be a rematch.

While neither Punk nor Rhodes hold a title right now, it won't be at all surprising if one of them wins back the WWE Championship before WrestleMania 43 to set up another clash between them.

As for Ripley, she has been on the shelf since early June due to a torn meniscus that required surgery.

Assuming Ripley is back in time to build toward a meaningful match at WrestleMania, there is little doubt that she will be put in that spot given her long history of significant WrestleMania matches against the likes of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky and other big names.

The ankle injury Stephanie Vaquer was nursing during Monday night's episode of Raw was reportedly not part of a storyline.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists ), Vaquer got legitimately injured at Money in the Bank, although it is not expected to keep her out of action for long.

At Money in the Bank, Vaquer attempted to defend the Women's World Championship against Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat match, but Morgan hit her with Oblivion to pin her and win back the women's world title.

On the subsequent episode of Raw, Vaquer was seen backstage on crutches, but she said she would be back in action soon and even teased an eventual singles match against Lynch.

La Primera previously missed an extended period of time when she was injured around the time of WrestleMania 42.

She was off WWE programming for more than three months before returning in August and targeting Morgan, who beat her for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania.

Vaquer won the title back from Morgan at a live event in her home country of Chile last month, but she dropped it back to Liv about a month later at Money in the Bank.

Now, Vaquer is fighting through another injury, but every indication is that she won't be on the shelf for long this time.