Subhojeet Mukherjee on March 26, 2025
The March 24 episode of WWE RAW featured the debut of El Grande Americano, which was just Chad Gable’s alter ego. The company provided some backstory for Americano by giving him an AI-generated vignette, and he was billed as reigning from the Gulf of America. With that said, it appears that WWE has now received heat from the lucha community in Mexico due to the character.
While speaking during Sportskeeda WrestleBinge’s Live Q&A, WrestleVotes talked about how people reacted to the El Grande Americano character. While WWE officials liked the match, many fans in Mexico were unhappy with it.
It was noted that some lucha fans felt WWE was making fun of their tradition. In Mexico, lucha libre is very important, almost like a religion. People were also upset that the commentators didn’t react strongly when Dragon Lee lost his mask. In the past, unmasking moments were treated as a big deal. Even though WWE built up the story well, old-school lucha fans were still very upset.
“They may have shown praise backstage, but the Lucha community in Mexico is p***** off. I spoke to people. If you really think that making what they called a mockery of true Luchadors, you know, that’s like a religion in Mexico. It’s not like, you know, like a funny thing, it’s like a religion. It’s like mocking their religion.
Also, when Dragon Lee was unmasked, they just let him lie there. The broadcasters were not as outraged as people would have been back in the WCW days, ‘Oh my god, This is a tradition in Mexico.’ They built it up very, very well. But from what I understand, as I said, the traditional old school luchadors and the fans that follow that tradition like a religion in Mexico were very upset.”
El Grande Americano squared off against Dragon Lee on Raw and pulled off Lee’s mask, before tapping him out with an ankle lock. It is also to be noted that quite a few fans weren’t necessarily happy about the El Grande Americano character, especially due to him hailing from “Gulf of America.”
As WWE is all in on the El Grande Americano character, it’s unclear how they will respond to the concerns from the lucha libre community. Regardless, we will have to wait and see how WWE continues to book El Grande Americano as we move toward WrestleMania 41.
What are your thoughts on WWE’s portrayal of El Grande Americano and their handling of Dragon Lee’s unmasking? Do you think the backlash is justified, or is it being blown out of proportion? Share your opinions in the comments below!
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
March 26, 2025 8:22 am
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