8 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About American Alpha
2. They Turned Face Naturally
For someone who hasn’t been following American Alpha’s career since their inception, it might come as a surprise to learn that they debuted as a heel tag team. Jordan’s turn on Dillinger was supposed to cement him as one of NXT’s most dominant bad guys, and Gable, theoretically, was set to develop as an annoyingly smarmy villain with a cheesy catchphrase (“ready, willing, and Gable”).
Things didn’t work-out as originally intended. Gable and Jordan’s athleticism, in-ring ability, and entertaining “odd couple” act made them impossible to dislike. Fans started cheering for them, and with little to no change of character, WWE slowly turned American Alpha face as an organic reaction to their increased crowd support: the old-fashioned way.
Turning face has allowed Gable and Jordan to show a natural range of emotions that wouldn’t have been possible had they remained heel. Watching both men tear-up in their post-match interview after winning the belts at TakeOver: Dallas, it was impossible not to get behind them. Their on-screen chemistry is so strong that they come-off like two real-life best friends who genuinely care about each other’s well-being, and that’s what makes them so likeable.
You only need to take a quick glance at Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns to see how bad WWE can be at gauging fan opinion and miscasting their wrestlers as a result. American Alpha are the polar opposite: a unit who were allowed to get over on their own merit, without being shoehorned into a company-forged ideal of what their role should be.