The U.S. and Mexico have had a long political and economic relationship. At the same time, relations between the two countries have been fairly strained throughout their history. From the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of building a border wall and making Mexico pay for it during his first administration, there have been many difficult and volatile issues to deal with.

The latter controversy, in particular, led many individuals and corporations to walk on eggshells when it came to Mexico-U.S. relations. There was little reason or need to disrupt what remained of the apple cart that had already been turn to shreds. It was easier to lightly mention the subject and move on to other topics.

And while this may seem like an unusual segue, it’s actually worth noting that pro wrestling didn’t really delve into this contentious debate.

The world of sports entertainment has often enjoyed over-emphasizing and poking fun at major controversies. Many wrestlers have portrayed a litany of stereotypical gimmicks to rile up audiences and sell tickets and merchandise. This includes evil Russians and the Soviet menace, vile Nazis, Middle Eastern and Asian villains, American patriots, wealthy snobs, evil bosses, hillbillies, blue-collar heroes – and more.

Mexico-U.S. relations during the first Trump presidential administration was largely avoided by pro wrestling promotions. The WWE’s disinterest was understandable, considering the long personal history between the President and Vince McMahon and his family. Most North American and international promotions followed suit, likely recognizing it could hurt their businesses in the long run. Some of them did get involved in a lighter fashion. The Mexican promotion CMLL dabbled a bit with the controversy, and Lucha Libre USA had a small storyline about building a border fence in Arizona. Those moments were few and far between, however.

Which is what makes a current wrestling storyline so fascinating. It started off as a short-term gimmick involving Mexico and the U.S. that virtually no promotion would have considered even 2-3 years ago. It expanded in the most unexpected manner and helped change the career trajectory of two pro wrestlers in the process.

This is the tale of El Grande Americano.

We begin with Chad Gable. He’s a talented pro wrestler with an amateur wrestling background who has been with WWE since 2013. He’s won world tag titles with Jason Jordan, Otis and Bobby Roode, but rarely achieved anything more than mid-card status as a singles wrestler. There have been moments of near-greatness, including his series of acclaimed matches against then-WWE Intercontinental champion Gunther, but nothing ever seemed to go his way. He wasn’t regarded as a top star in WWE.

Gable was now in a storyline where he lost several matches to Mexican wrestlers, also known as luchadors. He embarked on a “quest” in January 2025 to learn more about the intricacies of Mexican wrestling, or lucha libre. He returned under an American-style luchador mask (without revealing his true identity) and attacked two old foes, Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio. His name was revealed to be El Grande Americano.

This was clearly a pro wrestling gimmick to mock luchadors and lucha libre. Gable’s character was largely named after a type of coffee drink. He was given a wrestling backstory and legendary status that simply didn’t exist. He couldn’t speak Spanish. The American wrestler was obviously under the mask, but no-one could prove it. The Mexican wrestlers were furious at him, too.

El Grande Americano won the WWE Speed Championship over Ivar in May 2025. It looked like Gable’s villainous character would have small degrees of success, but was unlikely to progress much further.

Until he suffered a rotator cuff injury the following month, that is.

WWE made the decision to replace Gable with Ludwig Kaiser. The talented German wrestler had been successful in Europe, winning singles and tag titles in Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). He was part of the Imperium stable with Giovanni Vinci, Alexander Wolfe and, as it happens, Gunther as its leader. Kaiser, like Gable, was a mid-card level singles wrestler and not seen as a top star in WWE. He continued the Speed title reign and lost it to Jasper Troy in November 2025.

It didn’t matter, as it turned out. Kaiser was already on a different path – and it would change his wrestling career forever.

WWE purchased the Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide in April 2025, which was finalized in August 2025. Kaiser brought his character to Mexico, which was a logical decision. Something unusual began to happen. While he was still despised in North America, his popularity exploded south of the border. This was aided by the fact that Kaiser could speak Spanish fluently, along with his real-life relationship with AAA ring announcer Andrea Bazarte. He formed a stable, Los Americanos (which are two well-known British wrestlers, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate, behind masks), and became the promotion’s most popular performer.

Hence, the gimmicky masked character who mocked lucha libre had been replaced by another gimmicky masked wrestler who championed lucha libre. What an incredible role reversal – and we’re not even done yet!

Kaiser’s version entered this year’s WWE Royal Rumble in January. He would be confronted and eliminated by Gable’s original version. With both wrestlers now healthy, the two El Grande Americanos attacked one another and argued over who is real – and who is the imposter.

This led to a Máscara contra Máscara (mask vs. mask) match at AAA’s Noche de Los Grandes in May. Kaiser defeated Gable in what has been universally praised as one of the best wrestling matches of 2026. Gable unmasked in front of the thunderous crowd. He shook Kaiser’s hand and said that while he was “the original,” Kaiser would be “the only” El Grande Americano going forward.

Gable’s performance in that match helped change his career trajectory. He returned to WWE, apologized to the Mexican wrestlers he had mocked and insulted – and earned their respect and trust. He would defeat the legendary luchador Penta for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam in August in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was his first singles title in the promotion, and his work has been stellar ever since. The sky’s the limit for his career.

Kaiser’s performance as El Grande Americano, combined with his massive popularity in Mexico, has also helped change his career trajectory. He won his first world title, the AAA Mega Championship, by pinning Dominik Mysterio at Triplemania 34 in September in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico. The crowd’s response after he won was as enthusiastic as anything ever seen before at Arena CDMX. He’s reached the pinnacle of his career in the most unexpected fashion imaginable.

Who would have believed that a story about the U.S., Mexico and pro wrestling would have turned out so well in this day and age? Anything is possible, it seems. All you needed was the faux character of El Grande Americano under not one, but two masks.

Michael Taube, a longtime newspaper columnist and political commentator, was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.