Gunther successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton at WWE Bash in Berlin.

However, The Ring General broke character backstage after the match to sing praises for his opponent.

After their hard-hitting match ended, the 37-year-old superstar offered a handshake to Orton, showing signs of respect.

Gunther had a home-field advantage given that the premium live event was held in Germany, wherein he first made his name for himself.

In a post-show interview with the Gorilla Position podcast backstage, the reigning World Heavyweight Champ broke character once again to praise The Viper. He had nothing but respect for Orton and thought that the win established his reign.

“Two heavyweights leaving it all in the ring. For myself, a big challenge and a very personal way leading up to that match. But in reality, Randy is the man. He’s one of the greatest of all time. Absolute legend in our business and to be out there with him and to be able to beat him at that stage, it’s a bit of a stamp of approval for myself, for my championship reign. I think I’m well prepared for all the challenges to come,” Gunther said. [From 00:26 to 00:56]

Check out the entire video below:

Randy Orton pushed Gunther to the limit but The Ring General managed to outlast the 14-time WWE World Champion via an old-school sleeper hold.

Gunther thinks WWE will be back in Germany soon

In addition to being the first-ever premium live event in Germany, WWE Bash in Berlin broke the record for the highest-grossing arena event in company history. Speaking at the post-show press conference, The Ring General does not doubt the possibility of another PLE happening in the country again.

“I was very excited going out there and I was able to lose myself in the atmosphere and celebrate professional wrestling and WWE here in Germany. When it comes to WWE and Germany, I haven’t heard anything, but I would be surprised if it ends here. It was a very strong statement and I’m more than positive we will be back here,” The Ring General said. [H/T: Fightful]

For the next PLE WWE will return to the United States with Bad Blood being held at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on October 5th.