The match between Chad Gable and Ludwig Kaiser at Noche de los Grandes has received acclaim from all sides. Fans, reviewers, and former wrestlers all praised the build, presentation, drama, work and post-match angle where Gable unmasked.
The praise is mostly directed towards Gable. This match is yet another occasion for the likes of Jeff Jarrett to say Gable is being underutilised in WWE and that he should be way higher on the card than he currently is.
But what about Kaiser? What justifies that most of the flowers are being thrown at Gable instead of the German wrestler?
El Grande Americano started as a joke. Right after WWE purchased AAA, Gable was in a program where he feuded with luchaodres. He faced El Hijo Del Vikingo in Worlds Collide, faced Rey Fenix at WrestleMania, and butted heads with Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio on Raw.
That was until Gable got injured. He was written off TV when Penta broke his arm backstage. In typical Paul Levesque fashion, Kaiser was walking in the background when it happened. That’s when even more people were roaming, claiming to be El Grande Americano.
With Kaiser, the gimmick changed its meaning. First, he’s not American. Gable chose this moniker to stay faithful to his all-American, Olympic athlete image. The fact that a German, along with two lads from England were called Americano added another layer to the gimmick.
Second, Kaiser made the gimmick more entertaining. Gable was his usual loud, in-your-face self with a mask on. Kaiser took it further by embracing the lucha libre style. He was revealed to be surprisingly fluent in Spanish and went out of his way to act like the cultural icon he pretended to be.
He thus became the main babyface in AAA, the huge pops he was getting forcing WWE to change their plans and make Gable the heel Americano.
This dynamic made the match work due to the intensity in the ring propagating to the crowd, which was firmly behind Kaiser.
The Angle did not translate well on the main roster
As much as WWE tried, the angles featuring either Americano did not go past a certain level in crowd reactions. The matches and segments were serviceable midcard acts, but failed to reach the same intensity it did down in Mexico.
It is disingenuous to say that WWE never tried to capitalise on Gable. Whether it’s with the Americano storyline, his split with Alpha Academy or his feud with Gunther, he was put in positions to get over, but never reached those heights. Aged 40, Gable seems to have reached a ceiling as an entertaining midcard act, and there are worse positions to be in in wrestling.
While it is tempting to say he deserves more, one has to remember he was given the chance multiple times. One must also look further than his current momentum. Gable does not have the more marketable look and is limited on the mic. Yelling “Thank You” is not the kind of catch phrase that gets one over.
This being said, there’s no need to put a ceiling on Kaiser yet. The German is outstanding in the ring and has a distinct voice in the mic. More importantly, he has shown himself to be reliable, given how he overdelivered in what was initially a comedy gimmick.
Unlike Gable, who is the kind of wrestler who does well from time to time depending on the storylines he’s in.
Should Kaiser behave himself out of the ring, he has all it takes to be a huge asset for WWE on both sides of the southern border.
