Imperium (professional wrestling)

Imperium are a European villainous professional wrestling stable consisting of leader Gunther of Austria, Ludwig Kaiser of Germany, and Giovanni Vinci of Italy. They are all currently signed to WWE, where they perform on the Raw brand.

Previously working for several European promotions, including together as part of the stable Ringkampf, Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser, then known as Walter and Marcel Barthel, respectively, signed with the WWE in 2019, having been assigned to the NXT UK brand and were paired with Giovanni Vinci, then known as Fabian Aichner, and Alexander Wolfe; the stable started to use the name Imperium, with the motto of "The mat is sacred" (German: Die Matte ist heilig) imported from Ringkampf. During the stable's time in NXT, Walter became the longest-reigning NXT United Kingdom Champion, while Barthel and Aichner became two-time NXT Tag Team Champions. In May 2021, Wolfe was kicked out of Imperium, and Aichner departed the group in April the following year. In April 2022, Gunther and Kaiser debuted on the SmackDown brand as a duo, dropping the Imperium name, with Gunther winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship in June. Three months later, Vinci was reintroduced and reunited Imperium as a trio.