Chad Gable has opened up on the creation of the El Grande Americano character.
Chad Gable has revealed that the El Grande Americano character originated from his own idea, reflecting on how the gimmick developed in unexpected ways following his injury absence. El Grande Americano has become a prominent part of WWE and AAA programming, but Gable explained that the original concept was simply intended to take an existing storyline involving several luchadors in a new direction.
Speaking with WittyWhittier, Gable admitted he had no idea how significantly the idea would eventually affect his career.
“Funny how this business works, wrestling itself, you never know what’s going to work out, what’s not going to work out, what’s going to surprise us, and what people are going to really latch on to. I think that’s been the story of the last year and a half or two years.”
Gable said putting on the mask was his attempt to add another layer to the storyline.
“The El Grande Americano thing started just as me wanting to put more into a story that I was already involved with these luchadors, and I wanted to take it to another level.”
However, the character’s direction changed when Gable was forced out of action to undergo shoulder surgery. The former Olympian required surgery to repair several issues, including a torn rotator cuff and biceps tendon.
“This was my idea of donning this mask and my way to try to elevate this story, not knowing where it was going to take me career-wise,” Gable said. “You never really can predict stuff like that.”
With Gable sidelined, Ludwig Kaiser stepped into the El Grande Americano role and continued portraying the character.
Chad Gable Believes Ludwight Kaiser Taking Over The El Grande Americano Character Benefited The Storyline
Chad Gable believes the unexpected change ultimately benefited the storyline. His eventual return created a natural rivalry between the two men over the identity, leading to a Mask vs. Mask match that Gable ultimately lost.
“Again, it’s circumstantial. Who knows where we’d be right now if all of these elements had not just turned out the way they did. Somebody else took over the El Grande Americano gimmick, and they were doing it while I was hurt. I come back.”
Since losing the mask, Gable has also attempted to repair his relationship with several of the luchadors he previously disrespected while portraying Americano.
Although injuries forced the storyline in a direction he never anticipated, Gable believes the circumstances ultimately produced something better than he could have planned himself.
“Now we’ve got a built-in story there. It is like you said, a bit of an odyssey and a journey we had to go through. I would call it valleys and peaks and lows and things like that to get here.”
Looking back at how the original idea developed, Chad Gable added:
“But now, where I’m at, it’s almost like, man, I couldn’t have written it any better than it turned out.”
