For years, the WWE's “Ring General” Gunther was tied to the hip with his Imperium stablemate, Ludwig Kaiser, but the two have since split.
During an interview with Kennt jeder – Der Podcast mit Hamad Firdousi (translated by Daniel Schachtmeier, via WrestleTalk), Kaiser revealed he and Gunther came up with the idea. Imperium began with all of the members being “on the same level” despite being “different characters.” That did not appear to be the case in WWE.
“You see, Imperium originated in wXw as Ringkampf, even though it was set up differently,” Kaiser recalled. “We were all on the same level, but with different characters. Timothy Thatcher was the toughneck for the dirty work. I was the arrogant young boy. Walter (aka Gunther) was the slaughterer to kill everyone. Imperium was a different dynamic. Gunther was the main guy, and I was part of the tag team.”
Kaiser knows that Gunther was the superstar of the group. His job was to “make his act better and not take anything away.” However, eventually, Kaiser knew he had to be able to grow. “We realized something needs to change, so we did,” Kaiser revealed.
It was a risky move, and Kaiser acknowledged that. “But in America, you need to bank on yourself and on your skills,” he explained. “You need to have the balls to do that. You will get that chance; you need to use it. I would say for myself, I did just that.”
Ludwig Kaiser and Gunther's careers since their WWE split
The split between Kaiser and Gunther was teased for months. Gunther was growing tired of Kaiser's shortcomings after they kicked Giovanni Vinci out of the group.
Kaiser lost a match against Penta in March 2025 before going on an extended hiatus. Imperium was then disbanded, and Kaiser returned as El Grande Americano in June. He assumed the mantle from Chad Gable, who got injured.
He has continued playing the role in the months since. Kaiser has been competing against Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide stars, competing at events like Triplemania 33.
