After operating on a relatively exclusive singles and tag field for over a decade, factions are back in WWE. Since the proper formation of The Bloodline in early 2021, groups like The Judgement Day and Latino World Order have been birthed to go to war with each other. With eight total groups on Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown at the moment, this is the most crowded WWE’s roster has been with factions since the Attitude Era. Unlike past years when stables would only last for a couple of months, most of WWE’s units today have been going strong for close to a full calendar year.
And within that year, most have remained unchanged. The Judgement Day has had the same four members since September. The Brawling Brutes has only ever been the trio of Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch. The same can be said for Damage CTRL.
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That said, there has been rumblings recently of NXT call-ups joining active main roster stables. If Imperium leader Gunther has anything to say about it, his faction will stay the same.
“No, I think it’s perfect how it is. I’m a big believer in never change a running system. I think too much in and outs can water a group down a little bit,” Gunther told WrestlingNews.co. “I think we’re all together for a reason. Nothing’s random there. We all are tightly connected in our private life too, especially with [Ludwig] Kaiser. Our careers went the same way since we started and there’s a history of that group for a long time before WWE. It’s something that was just authentically there. As of right now, I feel like it’s good how it is.”
Gunther’s emphasis on Kaiser is due to the fact that he was a founding member of Imperium before the faction made its way to WWE. On the independent circuit, the then-Walter headed up Ringkampf which featured Marcel Barthel (Kaiser) and Alexander Wolfe. Giovanni Vinci (formerly known as Fabian Aichner) was only added to the group upon their NXT arrival.
Gunther’s comments shut down rumblings that NXT’s Ilja Dragunov could be in line to join Imperium. Dragunov famously feuded with Gunther in NXT UK and handed the longest-reigning NXT UK Champion his first singles pinfall loss in the company.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Ilja Dragunov’s WWE status.
