Is anyone else interested in (and kind of turned on by) this stoic, hard-ass European Tag Team known in NXT as “Imperium”? They never smile and they beat down all the lesser Tag Teams, quite brutally. Fabian Aichner is the meatier, balder guy and Marcel Barthel (pronounced Bar-TELL) is the more ripped, more sadistic one.
I’ve had an eye on them for a while because Aichner and Barthel look swole and dominant in their no-nonsense black trunks and tall military-style boots.
I haven’t blogged about them yet — I guess because I prefer my Tag Teams to be a little prettier and more affectionate, more queer in their delivery. But on the April 27th episode of NXT, Imperium utterly dominated Drake Maverick in a one-sided squash which definitely got my attention and now has me intrigued by these brutal studs.
Maverick’s partner is a big bearded redneck — I think they’re working a Beauty and the Beast gimmick with the big guy forever rescuing and protecting his small but pugnacious little Scrappy-Doo. In contrast to the soldiers in Imperium, these two misfits look like the Odd Couple, their denim jeans the only visual cue uniting them as members of the same species.
Little Scrappy-Drake insists on starting for his team and he enjoys a few minutes of fast-paced, running & dodging, drop-kicking Shine. I’m gonna Fast Forward to my favorite part of the match — the point where Imperium establishes their supreme authority and absolute dominium over him…
Imperium are made to look like a well-oiled jobber busting Machine using frequent Tags, very stiff slams and kicks, and some creative brutality. And poor Mav is so small and light weight, they can really whip him around using only a small fraction of their strength!
Someone has posted the match on YouTube in two parts if you want to check it out. Maverick’s Face-In-Peril stint begins at 4:36 in Part 1 and continues well into Part 2.
Maverick is quite verbal with his suffering, emitting loud groans and shouts of “AHHH!” after particularly stiff moves. This makes Imperium seem even more devastating and heartless, his cries of pain only inspiring them to enact even more sadistic abuse. It’s pretty hot!
To keep Maverick as their toy, Barthel illegally assaults his big hairy guard-dog outside the ring (love the Heel tactics!). Poor Maverick is without a friend in the world when Aichner blindsides him with a stiff Skull Kick. Dayum! Are they trying to harm the cute little guy?!
Another reason I haven’t blogged about Imperium is because I’m not sure I understand their gimmick — what they’re really trying to represent (other than two studs who wrestle beautifully.) Why do they stand in a row like soldiers? What’s with the plain black gear?
The word Imperium has its roots in ancient Rome. One online dictionary defines it as “supreme authority; absolute dominion. The domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised.” So that’s pretty hot: these guys want to rule the ring, to exercise dominion over the other wrestlers and maybe us, the fans too. I may be up for that!
But in my head, I also associate Imperium with fascism — with nationalism and the whole white supremacy BS. Are these ruthless blokes meant to be Skinheads? There was a 2016 movie that I never actually watched (barely anybody did) called Imperium where an FBI officer infiltrates an Ultra-Right militia group.
Is this Tag Team meant to represent the rising fascist and nationalist movement we’ve seen in recent years? That’s one way to get a lot of people to hate them. When they stand and pose like soldiers or move their arms in unison, are they meant to look like militia dudes practicing their drills? I’m not really into that political stuff — I just think they’re two studs who wrestle beautifully.
I did some half-assed Internet research to learn more about Imperium and why they’re so darned grouchy. I found a website that describes Imperium as more of a religious cult — a cult of wrestling (now that’s something I can co-sign!)
“Imperium’s motto is “The Mat is Sacred”… All they care about is wrestling. They adhere to the rules and the sportsmanship of wrestling because it is sacred to do so. On top of it, they also believe and often show they are superior to everyone at wrestling because they believe the mat to be sacred while their opponents do not.”
(I may join this religion — where do I sign up?!)
Regardless of their political or religious leanings, I enjoyed how Imperium humiliated Drake Maverick by ripping apart his jeans, tearing them at the seams and busting his belt (they shoulda whipped him with it!)
That’ll teach Maverick to try to wrestle in jeans rather than stretchy spandex trunks that will allow freedom of movement (and look way sexier on him too!)
Mav foolishly leaps right into Aichner’s arms! This sets him up for a killer Two-on-One Torpedo off the top rope, a popular Finisher used by many Heel tag teams in the 1980’s and 90’s.
I found myself pretty worked up by this brutal and frightening team and their one-sided domination. This is good ring psychology — the stuff pro wrestling fetishes are born from.
I think every federation needs an all-powerful and unbeatable Heel stable to threaten our beloved but out-smarted Good Guys, to try seizing power and ruling over us if they’re not stopped — that’s a turn-on!
As Imperium exits the ring in triumph, they conclude the scene with these wonderful images of a broken Drake Maverick in the foreground, roadkill left in the wake of the over-lords who have just conquered him.
In conclusion, I just want to say that I hope they’re not supposed to be neo-NAZI’s or anything because I think they’re hot, so what does that make me?? Horny for wrestling, I guess.
