4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (24 Mar - Results & Review)
3. A Grande Debut
Chad Gable is such an incredibly gifted wrestler and character that he can take a goofy gimmick like “American luchador whose identity is known to everyone” and make it work.
El Grande Americano “debuted” on Raw on Monday night after Gable pulled out of his match against Dragon Lee due to illness. The doctor’s note stuff was a bit trite, but everyone going along to get to the point of unmasking Gable and ending the charade worked well enough.
The problem was that Gable – er, El Grande – was able to hang with Dragon in a fun, competitive match that saw the American luchador mix in some Gable-like offense before resorting to snatching Lee’s mask and hooking the anklelock for the tap-out win.
This gimmick probably doesn’t have a long shelf life – probably until WrestleMania 41 – but it will do as a lighthearted deal that hopefully will produce a really good match.
One quick note about the “Gulf of America”. Yes, the reference was bound to stir up controversy, with WWE’s reputation and willingness to associate with certain viewpoints being pulled into this. However, Gable as the heel using this was a decent way to generate a buzz without resorting to blatantly offensive tropes (think JBL in his feud against Eddie Guerrero). Provided that WWE doesn’t overplay this “joke,” and El Grande is ultimately defeated, the gag will have served its purpose.
Of course, this is giving WWE a lot of credit that it doesn’t really have in the bank on topics such as this.