For the first time since his title loss at WrestleMania 40, Gunther returned on WWE Raw flanked by the rest of Imperium to discuss his huge loss to Sami Zayn. Gunther was the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion at 666 days. But while he may have lost the title, he’s looking at it as a positive because the hunted has now become known as the hunter.ย
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He explains he’s throwing his name in for this year’s King of the Ring and that’s when The New Day interrupt things. While Xavier agrees to handle things with Gunther at KOTR, they face off against Imperium, again, on Raw. There has been some dissension for a number of months within the group as Giovanni has cost the a number of matches, which clearly agitates the former Intercontinental Champion in particular.
After the match, Ludwig tries to comfort Giovanni the best he can, but as they get out of the ring, Kaiser turns on him, slamming his head into the LED screen on the side of the ring. It takes Giovanni off guard as Kaiser throws him around. WWE security and officials rush to the ring to split things up and it works momentarily, until Kaiser runs past them, throwing Giovanni into the steel steps. He finally storms off backstage where he’s met with Gunther.ย
He stares the former champion in the face, reminding him that he said he’d “handle it.” Gunther looks at him proudly, smugly smiling and nodding in acknowledgement. Imperium has had a rough start to 2024 overall, between Gunther losing the title while Vinci and Kaiser suffer a string of losses against New Day, DIY, New Catch Republic, as well as Chad Gable and Zayn.
Vinci has been with WWE for a number of years and he joined Gunther and Kaiser on the main roster in 2022 at Clash at the Castle. As founding members of the stable that has dominated WWE over the last few years, Vinci and Kaiser are former two-time NXT Tag Team Champions.
Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for further updates on Imperium and WWE Raw.