Imperium (professional wrestling)

Imperium is a professional wrestling stable performing in WWE's NXT and NXT UK brands, consisting of Walter, Marcel Barthel, Fabian Aichner and Alexander Wolfe, with Walter being the current and longest-reigning NXT United Kingdom Champion in his first reign.

Imperium
Stable
MembersWalter (leader)
Alexander Wolfe
Fabian Aichner
Marcel Barthel
Name(s)Imperium
Combined
billed weight		995 lb (451 kg)
Debut22 May 2019
Years active2019–present

Previously working for several European promotions, Walter and Barthel signed with the WWE in 2019, having being assigned to the NXT UK brand and were paired with Aichner and Wolfe; the stable started to use the name Imperium with the motto "The mat is sacred" (German: Die Matte ist heilig). During the stable's time in WWE, Walter became NXT United Kingdom Champion, while Barthel and Aichner became NXT Tag Team Champions.

Background

From 2016 to 2019, Walter and Barthel (then known as Axel Dieter Jr.) were members of a stable called Ringkampf alongside Timothy Thatcher and Christian Michael Jakobi, in which they worked on several European promotions.

Ringkampf's first match occurred on 23 September 2016 when Axel Dieter Jr. teamed up with Walter and Thatcher to defeat Da Mack, Francis Kaspin and John Klinger in a tag team match at the wXw Shotgun Live Tour in Ludwigshafen.[1] Ringkampf also wrestled for Progress Wrestling. At Chapter 47, Ringkampf (Walter, Dieter and Thatcher) challenged British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) for all of their championships, in a six-man tag team match, unsuccessfully challenging all of them.[2][3] In October 2020, Walter announced he would close Ringkampf since he, Wolfe and Barthel wouldn't work for wXw.[4]

History

NXT UK (2019–present)

On the 22 May 2019 episode of NXT UK, Walter won a rematch for the United Kingdom Championship against Dunne, after interference by the European Union (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel), thus establishing himself as a heel.[5] They would form a faction under the name Imperium.[6] The faction would later be joined by Alexander Wolfe, after he interfered in a match pitting Imperium against British Strong Style (the team of Dunne, Bate, and Seven). On the June 26 episode of NXT UK, Walter retained his title against Travis Banks. On the July 3 episode of NXT UK, Imperium interfered in Moustache Mountain's title match against Grizzled Young Veterans therefore making Grizzled Young Veterans retain their titles. After the match, they injured Tyler Bate. On August 31 at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, Walter retained his title against Tyler Bate. The match was highly acclaimed, earning a 5.25 star rating from Dave Meltzer, making it the third match in WWE history to break the 5 star rating system.[7]

In the build-up for the NXT UK and NXT co-branded pay-per-view, Worlds Collide, Imperium began feuding with The Undisputed Era (NXT Champion Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, and NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly), which was further intensified during the closing moments of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II on January 12, 2020, when the group attacked Imperium following Walter's successful title defense against Joe Coffey.[8][9] During Walter's reign the following week, the WWE United Kingdom Championship was renamed to NXT United Kingdom Championship and he was presented with a slightly updated belt design, replacing the WWE logo at the center with the NXT UK logo.[10] On May 13, 2020, Barthel and Aichner defeated Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher (a substitute for Pete Dunne) to win the NXT Tag team Championship after Thatcher walked out on Riddle.[11] The duo retained with success the titles against Fandango and Tyler Breeze.

Championships and accomplishments

Notes
  1. Walter won the title as the WWE United Kingdom Championship, but during his reign in January 2020, it was renamed to NXT United Kingdom Championship.

References
  1. https://www.cagematch.net/?id=28&nr=8075&page=2
  2. Boon, Alan (27 April 2017). "The Week In British Wrestling: The reign of BSS continues". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. Bentley, Martin (24 April 2017). "Tyler Bate, Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, Timothy Thatcher & more: 4/23 Progress Wrestling Chapter 47: Complicated Simplicity report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. https://411mania.com/wrestling/walter-alexander-wolfe-marcel-barthel-closing-ringkampf-no-longer-working-with-wxw/
  5. "WWE NXT UK: May 22, 2019". WWE. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. "New NXT UK Faction Debuts Featuring WWE Main Roster Star". WhatCulture. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  7. "Best NXT Matches of 2019 According to Star Ratings - Page 5 of 5". 21 February 2019.
  8. https://www.f4wonline.com/nxt-news/undisputed-era-appear-nxt-uk-takeover-blackpool-ii-301501
  9. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/undisputed-era-crashes-nxt-uk-takeover-blackpool-ii-attacks-imperium
  11. https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=136393
  12. "PROGRESS Chapter 55 results: Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  13. "United Kingdom Championship". WWE. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  14. "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  15. "BONUS SHOW: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Post Wrestling. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  16. Meltzer, Dave (March 5, 2020). "March 13, 2020 Observer Newsletter: 40th Annual Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
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