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For pro wrestling fans, it’s easy to criticize when things are out of place or if a story’s crescendo doesn’t live up to high expectations. Detractors are constantly online and criticism is usually louder and more exaggerated when those things happen.
It was safe to say that Saturday night’s storyline ending between El Grande Americano and El Grande Americano Original on AAA Lucha Libre Worldwide’s Noche de Los Grandes exceeded expectations and was fermented as one of the best wrestling matches of the year.
The commotion was palpable. The Great American appeared on WWE and AAA programming and became a fan favorite in Mexico. Professional wrestling fans in the country sang to him and welcomed him into the Lucha Libre culture. The original Great American was the hated villain who fans loudly booed, gave the middle finger to, and rejected any momentum he might gain.
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The Great American faces The Great American during the WWE Royal Rumble at the Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026. (Joe Maher/WWE)
It all culminated in an extraordinary Mask vs. Mask match in Monterey in front of a packed arena. In the end, El Grande Americano defeated the Original El Grande Americano in a bloody contest. The original American Great was forced to remove his mask, revealing himself to be WWE star Chad Gable.
It was a prolonged affair that saw Gable attack El Grande Americano with a guitar smash to start the match, Rayo and Bravo defeated the Creed Brothers, and El Grande Americano put Gable through a table.
Both men hit each other, trying to remove their masks before the match ended. In the end they were left bloodied, battered and beaten.
El Grande Americano enters the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, accompanied by Rayo Americano and Bravo Americano during Monday Night RAW on May 4, 2026. (Georgina Dallas/WWE)
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Professional wrestling fans universally agreed that it was one of the best matches of the year, if not the best.
“I put on this mask to go on a quest to learn the art of Lucha Libre so I can defeat all the Luchadores in the world that I hated, hated, hated,” Gable said after the match. “In that process of my trip, I learned everything there was to know about Lucha Libre, about Mexico, about AAA, the Mexican people and Mexican culture.
The original American Great makes his entrance during Monday Night RAW at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on March 16, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE)
“I am man enough to admit it, I am here in front of you, not as a mask, but as a man. And it pains me to say this, it hurts me a lot, but with all the honor in the world, I will say it tonight, I could not overcome the Mexican spirit.”
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Gable later wrote on Instagram that he was going to Italy. It’s unclear what he’ll do next, but WWE will hold the Clash in Italy in Turin on Sunday.
