Ludwig Kaiser Arrested For Battery, $1,000 Bond Set For 'El Grande Americano' (WWE News)

WWE superstar Ludwig Kaiser was arrested in Orange County, Florida yesterday.

by Andrew Pollard
Marcel Barthel Ludwig Kaiser Mugshot El Grande Americano II
Recently Booked/AAA

WWE star Ludwig Kaiser has been arrested in Orange County, Florida.

Real name Marcel Barthel, the 35-year-old was arrested yesterday on a charge of battery. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp has since reported that this battery charge was against a male after an altercation and not a domestic incident, and the wrestler has since been bonded out of Orange County Corrections on a $1,000 bail.

As of this writing, there are no further details known about this situation.

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For Ludwig Kaiser, as El Grande Americano II, he's on the cusp of one of the biggest matches of his career, as he takes on Original El Grande Americano in a Mask vs. Mask match at AAA Noche de los Grandes on Saturday, May 30th. While the Kaiser character has been a little stop-start during the German grappler's time with WWE, the switch to El Grande Americano II has worked wonders for him, making the former Imperium man the biggest babyface in AAA these days, and that rivalry with Original El Grande Americano is a deeply heated one that's become must-see in AAA.

Having spent nine years on the European wrestling scene as Axel Dieter Jr., most notably in wXw, Marcel Barthel signed with WWE in 2017, initially performing under his real name and bouncing between NXT and NXT UK. Taking on the Ludwig Kaiser moniker, Barthel would move to the main roster in 2022, aligning with Gunther and later Giovanni Vinci to reform Imperium. Since June of last year, the two-time NXT Tag Team Champion has performed as El Grande Americano II.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.