The mat is sacred for Imperium, but Gunther is open to a possible babyface turn.
Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, & Giovanni Vinci) are presented a serious group on WWE television, putting wrestling first and attempting to destroy those who do not adhere to the same principles.
"We mean it. We build our livlihood around it, why should we not take it serious? There is no playing a character or anything like that, that's just what we are and we express it in a more extravagant way in the ring. That's why it works. We thought about it years ago when we took that as our identity. That's who we are, we let it all out in the ring and it's going to be authentic," Gunther told Peter Rosenberg on Cheap Heat.
Rosenberg shared a backstage story about Imperium, saying how he saw the group share handshakes with the Steet Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) as they goofed around.
When asked if Imperium would be open to showing a lighter and more humorous side on television, Gunther said, "We did it before in different places, not on that big of a stage, obviously, and if it comes natural, it's definitely possible. A lot of people can relate to us and can connect to us. I see it when we walk out anywhere, it's usually the blackout, the music hits, and people get excited and cheer for a second, but then the light goes on and everybody goes, 'ah.' I think it's a great sign and shows that deep down they must respect and appreciated what we do in the ring, but then we get them back to be like, 'they don't look like the guys who would shake hands.' It's a good situation."
Gunther is the reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion, and has been called out recently by Drew McIntyre.
Fightful will have live coverage of WWE SmackDown beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.