Mike Rallis Recalls Facing Gunther As Madcap Moss, Says It Was ‘Very Unexpected’

Mike Rallis battled Gunther at WWE Elimination Chamber as Madcap Moss, and he looked back on the bout in a new interview. Rallis faced Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at the February 2023 PPV, and he recently spoke with Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert & Joel Pearl on In The Weeds about his memories of the bout. You can see the highlights below:

On the match: “I really enjoyed that match. It was very unexpected. To be honest, I don’t really know where that came from. I have some theories. I had hardly been on TV. I hadn’t picked up a win in ages. I won the fatal-four match the week before where I pinned Rey Mysterio. Even that was confusing. I was supposed to ‘steal it,’ but when I suggested stealing it with a roll up, they said, ‘You can’t steal it that much. Steal it with an elbow drop.’ ‘Is that really stealing it? Okay, whatever you guys say.’ That set me up to wrestle Gunther. The Montreal crowd certainly took more to him. I can’t remember where we were next week, but it was a classic wrestling town where they cheered the babyfaces and booed the heels. I remember talking to Gunther and being like, ‘If we did it this week, the crowd would have been better for what we were trying to do.’ As long as the crowd is making noise, which they were, that’s all you can really ask for.”

On Gunther: “What I love about Gunther is, he doesn’t think in a typical format. He’s not going to go out there and go, ‘this goes first. Then this and this.’ He’s going to think, ‘How do we get these people into the match?’ Something simple like, I took a shoulder tackle, and instead of selling it, I sold a little, then slapped the mat like I was pissed and shot in for a double leg. Little things like that, that he helps put together. In those kind of intense moments, I thrive. He does a great job knowing himself, knowing his opponent, and understanding what the crowd wants to see and feel for that match. That was a cool opportunity to wrestle one of the best pure wrestlers of the last 20 years, maybe ever, in a really fun environment. It was a weird time for my character in WWE, but I had a lot of fun with that match.”