AAA has canceled the “Serenata para El Grande Americano” event that was scheduled for tonight in Mexico City, the promotion announced on its Instagram Story account. No reason was given for the cancellation.
The announcement came one day after Ludwig Kaiser, who portrays El Grande Americano in WWE and AAA, was arrested on a battery charge in Orange County, Florida. Kaiser was booked on May 20 and bonded out on $1,000 bail later that evening. Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp confirmed the arrest involved an altercation with another male and was not a domestic situation. Neither WWE nor AAA has issued a public statement connecting the arrest to the Mexico City cancellation.
The cancellation adds significant uncertainty to Kaiser’s availability for the much larger event on the horizon. Kaiser is scheduled to headline AAA Noche de los Grandes on Saturday, May 30 at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, where he is set to face The Original El Grande Americano, Chad Gable, in a mask versus mask match. The match is the culmination of a major storyline spanning both WWE and AAA in which Gable, who originated the El Grande Americano character, returned from injury on January 31 and demanded the mask back from Kaiser. A mask versus mask match in lucha libre tradition requires the loser to unmask permanently.
The mask versus mask main event was one of the most anticipated matches for next week’s show, and Kaiser’s arrest has placed a cloud over whether he will be able to travel to Mexico. A recent battery arrest could complicate international travel depending on the conditions of his release.
The rest of the Noche de los Grandes card features Bayley, La Catalina, and Lola Vice versus Las Toxicas, the AAA World Tag Team Championship on the line as Pagano and Psycho Clown defend against the War Raiders, plus Dominik Mysterio, Penta Zero Miedo, Mr. Iguana, and others. The event airs on Fox and Fox One at 8 PM and takes place Saturday, May 30 at Arena Monterrey.
WWE and AAA have not commented on either the Mexico City cancellation or the status of Kaiser’s involvement at Noche de los Grandes.
