Remember in March 2025, when most of us were still reeling from the John Cena heel turn? Among the more interesting stuff on the road to WrestleMania, WWE decided to debut a new angle that would be instantly panned as one of its silliest and perhaps most tasteless in years: A hokey, fake luchador called El Grande Americano.
In any other year, the gimmick might have provoked no more than an eye roll. Not the least of which is because Chad Gable — the former Olympian behind the lucha masks — had long been known for comedy gimmicks. But to make matters worse, the El Grande gimmick contained two features that massively riled parts of the online fanbase.
First, the MAGA-esque trolling of having El Grande hail from “the Gulf of America” — a bit weird for an angle unveiled in Scotland — and, second, the use of obvious AI-generated content in his introductory package. “Surely a company that is making money hand over fist on ticket prices can afford to hire professional designers,” was the gist of the blowback on social media.
I mention that not to relitigate the past, but purely to point out just how unlikely it would have seemed back then that the whole El Grande storyline would go on to be one of the most successful and lively in pro wrestling. And yet, that’s exactly what has happened.
Sure, it took a while to get there. It also took the addition of Ludwig Kaiser as the second main character, playing a rival heir to the whole El Grande shtick. More importantly, it also had to be sent down to AAA, the Mexican promotion bought by WWE last year, where it moved on from the hokeyness to give rise to probably the most anticipated mask vs. mask match in years.
What’s so great about the El Grande angle? My colleague Kel Dansby has done a great job of capturing that. Not only has the feud become absolute box-office gold in AAA, but it has also achieved some viral success north of the border. Clips of the insane crowd reactions to the various El Grande face-offs have gathered millions of views, making American viewers curious as to what they’re missing.
On the face of it, it looks like a huge vindication for WWE’s new “extended universe” model. Under Triple H’s regime, WWE has shown an enthusiasm for partnering with other promotions — something that would have been blasphemous to Vince McMahon — including TNA, AAA and even Josh Barnett’s MMA-inspired Bloodsport. (In the case of AAA, WWE bought the promotion altogether, though maintains it as its own brand).
One of my big hopes for the whole extended universe model was that it would open up better opportunities for promising mid-carders to strut their stuff outside of the constraints of “Raw” and “SmackDown.” Given the absolute star booking given to Chad Gable and Ludwig Kaiser going into this weekend’s Noche de Los Grandes, it certainly looks to have worked on this occasion.
At the same time, though, El Grande’s success also shows some of the problems with the model. For all the traction they’ve had with online fans, the El Grandes have each received pretty muted reactions when they’ve shown up in front of live WWE crowds on “Raw”. Any AAA fans watching from Mexico must wonder what’s wrong with these people.
That isn’t ideal if you’re Kaiser or Gable. Having a star run in AAA is great, but if it’s not going to translate into a tangible promotion (in terms of crowd reaction at least) back in the big leagues, you start to wonder what the point is. No wrestler wants to end up as the equivalent of those obscure indie bands who would be “big in Japan.”
There are also questions as to what it means for WWE’s overall programming. The fact it’s played a hand in creating this nuclear feud is one thing. But it isn’t like its own shows have been stacked with great storylines. The MFTs and the Wyatt Sicks; Nattie vs Maxxine; the Gingerbread Man – all of those angles have had abundant TV time while Gable and Kaiser have been doing their thing elsewhere.
That’s why I think we should be careful about giving WWE too much credit for this one. Sure, sending these two mid-carders to Mexico might look like a masterstroke in retrospect, but we also know there have been far more names who have been essentially sent down there for lack of anything else to do. Nor has it typically worked out: Santos Escobar was working in AAA before his release earlier this year.
None of this is meant to detract from Kaiser and Gable, who deserve all the praise for this most successful of angles. I’m just more suspicious of any claims that WWE should get credit for something that looks more like a happy accident — at least when it comes to its input. It’s a standing ovation for AAA, Kaiser and Gable — and a small pat on the back for Triple H and his team.
Though if WWE can just find one of its partner promotions to turn the Gingerbread Man into a must-see attraction? Well, then I might just be persuaded by its creative genius.
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