10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Sept 9)

10. American Alpha Name Was Based On Real-Life Thoughts

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable would in all likelihood have become the first ever SmackDown Tag-Team Champions had the latter not suffered an injury on SmackDown. Instead, American Alpha will be on the outside looking in as new champs are crowned at Backlash, but the situation seems to be a temporary postponement rather than outright cancellation of their title aspirations.

Appearing alongside Jonathan Coachman on ESPN, the popular duo revealed the reason behind their team name. Far from just pulling a moniker out of thin air, Gable and Jordan wanted a title that reflected their own skills. Therefore, the word Alpha seemed appropriate, because both men always viewed themselves as elite performers in NXT.

Due to their collegiate amateur wrestling roots, the pair also felt that American would be suitable. Putting both together seemed like a declaration of their combined confidence, and it worked perfectly. American Alpha is pleasing to say out loud, and also has alliteration to help the name along.

Gable and Jordan will have their biggest successes in the future, but they clearly got the basics right when first teaming up.