WWE has come under fire over the presentation of its newest character El Grande Americano.
Following multiple run-ins featuring the character on WWE TV over the past couple of weeks, the masked wrestler made his in-ring debut on the March 24th episode of Raw in Glasgow, Scotland against Dragon Lee. Ahead of the match, Lee’s original opponent Chad Gable told General Manager Adam Pearce that he was too sick to compete but pitched Grande Americano as the replacement, which Lee later agreed to.
Prior to the match, a video package aired to tell the alleged backstory of the new character, who was billed as from The Gulf of America, also known as The Gulf of Mexico but was infamously renamed by Donald Trump. The video itself received a mixed reception from wrestling fans for a number of reasons. While some found the tongue-in-cheek references to be funny, others have criticised the promotion as being insulting to the rich heritage of Mexican wrestling. Additionally, many have pointed out multiple uses of AI as some hands in the graphics have more than 5 fingers along with other uses of the technology, especially as WWE is more profitable than ever before and are usually praised for their video packages.
Ernesto Ocampo of Super Luchas said the following about the video on social media:
This is an insult on many levels, both to Mexican wrestling and to Mexico. They could have left out the “Gulf of America” part and tried to write the character’s name in proper Spanish.
Grande Americano defeated Lee on Raw after the debuting wrestler ripped off Lee’s mask and used the Ankle Lock finisher.
Who Is El Grande Americano?
With similar offence along with an American-branded mask, commentary and fans have pointed out that El Grande Americano is Chad Gable. However, in a backstage segment a couple of weeks ago, Gable was seen talking to Jackie Redmond while the masked wrestler was escorted out of the arena.
Featured image: WWE
