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Gunther has come a long way since his indie wrestling days. The Ring General is the reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion. He’s the leading man of Imperium. The RAW faction also includes Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
Gunther and Kaiser (formerly Marcel Barthel) go back together a long way. The two have known each other for almost 15 years now. They have fought against each other, and side by side. One of their earliest matches against each other took place for Catch Wrestling Norddeutschland (CWN) in 2012.
As fans can see in the video, the match starts off with traditional lock-up but quickly changes pace into restholds, Irish whips and lariats. Kaiser (here he’s Axel Dieter Jr.) uses his speed and agility to wear down the much bigger and bulkier Walter who has yet to develop his signature stiff strikes.
The ending to the match, however, appears kind of rushed. It is worth mentioning that both Walter and Axel were still newcomers to the business in 2012, and it took several years to polish their skills, and become the excellent workers they are today.
The duo now form 2/3 of one of the most dominant factions in WWE today. Imperium were the top guys in NXT UK. They were formidable on NXT 2.0, even without Giovanni Vinci, who reunited with them at Clash at the Castle 2022.
Gunther and the rest of Imperium are advertised for WWE RAW tonight
WWE will present the go-home edition of RAW for Payback 2023 tonight. This week’s edition of the red brand will go down at the FedExForum in Memphis, TN. Gunther and his teammates have already been announced for the show.
The Intercontinental Champion doesn’t have a match announced thus far. Gunther and Giovanni Vinci will be at ringside to watch Ludwig Kaiser take on Chad Gable, of Alpha Academy, in singles action on the upcoming edition of WWE RAW.
The outcome of the match could have repurcussions to the Intercontinental title, leading to a rematch between the Ring General and Master Gable at Payback this Saturday.
What’s your take on this story? Let us know in the comments section below!
