The mystery of El Grande Americano continued on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, with Ludwig Kaiser once again appearing under the luchador mask. The storyline, which now involves multiple layers of misdirection, has become a talking point for fans as WWE deliberately plays with audience expectations.
A Tale of Two Luchadors
The El Grande Americano character was originally portrayed by Chad Gable. However, after Gable suffered a legitimate shoulder injury that required surgery, WWE made a surprising creative choice. Instead of retiring the character, the role was passed to former Imperium member Ludwig Kaiser, who is noticeably taller than Gable, creating an intentional, almost comical discrepancy.
This has created a unique dynamic on commentary. During the character’s match on Raw, announcer Michael Cole repeatedly pointed out that the man under the mask is clearly not a real luchador and questioned who it could be, while his broadcast partner Corey Graves, playing the heel, feigned ignorance.
An Imposter’s Tactics
During his match on Raw, the new El Grande Americano secured a victory after a diving headbutt. However, it was shown that he loaded his mask with a foreign object just before executing the move, a classic villainous tactic that further separates this version of the character from the more heroic original. The commentary team sold the story, with Michael Cole exclaiming he wanted to see who was under the mask, while seemingly not knowing it was Kaiser, even though many fans in the arena and at home are aware of the switch.
This storyline is expected to continue until the original El Grande Americano, Chad Gable, is cleared to return from his surgery. Gable provided an update to fans from his hospital bed last week, confirming the procedure was a success and promising to be back “quicker than you can say GRACIAS!”.
