"What I was taught when I was a little boy" - Imperium reveals the origin of their WWE catchphrase 

Intercontinental Champion Gunther currently leads the Imperium faction on WWE SmackDown. The Ring General, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci often use their catchphrase "the mat is sacred" to justify their actions. The group recently revealed the origin of their catchphrase to the WWE Universe.

Gunther has been dominant on SmackDown since his arrival on the main roster and the backup he has in Imperium is a huge part of his success. The faction is known to not take any nonsense and feel like they are the ones to protect the values of professional wrestling, often stating "the mat is sacred."

Imperium recently appeared on WWE's The Bump and revealed the origin of their catchphrase. Gunther praised Ludwig Kaiser's father and said that he gave the group a lot of their identity:

“I have to say, to his (Kaiser’s) dad, he inspired all of us because that’s where our identity comes from. Obviously Gio, we connected later, so it was a little bit different perhaps. But there was a heavy influence on all of us," said Gunther.

Ludwig Kaiser then disclosed that his father came up with Imperium's catchphrase and taught it to him when he was a child:

“100 percent, down to the ‘The mat is sacred’ and all that kind of stuff. My dad, I remember a very young age, whenever there were some kind of festivity or whatever, he would always raise his glass and say, ‘The mat is sacred.’ A lot of the things that we say, and to a certain extent portray on TV is what we actually think … what I was taught when I was a little boy," said Kaiser. [H/T: EWrestlingNews]

Imperium's Gunther mocks former WWE Champion

Gunther and Sheamus had an incredible battle last year at WWE Clash at the Castle.

The Ring General defeated The Celtic Warrior to retain the Intercontinental Championship, but Sheamus gained even more respect from the WWE Universe than he already had. Speaking on The Bump, the Imperium leader claimed that Sheamus seemed desperate at the moment and isn't worthy of a shot at his title at the moment.

"I've beaten him twice now. I kind of, I don't know, lost a little bit of respect for him in the last month. He seems very desperate right now. He's not on my radar, I'm obviously on his radar right now. But if he gets himself into a position again where he is a challenger again, I'll give him another beating I guess. But as of right now, it is not my main focus," said Gunther.

As of now, Gunther does not have an opponent for WrestleMania 39. It will be fascinating to see which WWE Superstar challenges The Ring General for the Intercontinental Championship in April.

Who would you like to see Gunther defend the title against at WrestleMania? Sound off in the comments section below.