If you haven’t had the chance yet, I’d highly recommend searching out the Mask vs. Mask match that AAA produced last Saturday night. The match was filled with just about everything you could ask for in a wrestling match. It had run-ins without being too overbooked. It had blood without it becoming too gratuitous. It had a love story without it overshadowing the story being told in the ring. It had genuine buy-in from the audience who had become increasingly invested in the match and both characters
in it during the months of buildup. When the bell rang, the end result was the original El Grande Americano losing and revealing himself to be none other than Chad Gable.
Gable almost immediately dropped the heel antagonist persona that had been treated largely like a comedy character in the United States, but made a perfect foil for one of the most “over” babyfaces Mexico has seen in years. The former Olympian followed lucha libre tradition by revealing his real (or in Gable’s case, his other work name), his hometown, and how many years he’s wrestled. With his wife and kids at his side, Gable spoke to his journey under the mask, explaining that while his initial aim was to infiltrate the world of lucha libre from within, he ended up gaining a genuine respect for the traditions and significance of the lucha culture. With the respect that Gable showed for not only his opponent, but the crowd, the country and the culture, it was no surprise to see the paying audience giving him a standing ovation and chanting his name in return.
What’s Next?
After the emotions of Noche de Los Grandes subsided, the focus of a lot of us in the IWC was to wonder what would be next for Chad Gable. Part of his heartfelt speech after his unmasking included Gable vowing that he would return to AAA at some point, but an immediate stint as his unmasked self didn’t seem to be in the cards. Earlier this week, after it was reported that Chad was flying to Europe to meet up with the main roster crew in the middle of their 2 week tour, my colleague Sean Rueter wrote about how it would be borderline booking malpractice if creative didn’t give Chad Gable something interesting to do. Raw came and went without an appearance, but the same can’t be said for Smackdown from Bologna, Italy last night:
Having Gable return in a segment with Sami Zayn is a really logical choice. Not only are the two men heading in opposite directions on the babyface-heel spectrum, there is history there.
It was just over two years ago at WrestleMania 40 when Sami dethroned then Intercontinental Champion, GUNTHER, ending Der Ring General’s 666 day title reign. A sometimes forgotten detail of the build to that match, though, is that for quite a while, Chad Gable seemed to be the opponent being lined up to face GUNTHER on that night in Philadelphia. After coming close to beating the big Austrian himself several times in the weeks prior, Gable lost the #1 contenders match in the leadup to ‘Mania that allowed Zayn to put an end to the longest Intercontinental Title reign in history. Gable would end up being left off that show completely.
Tying up some loose ends between the two of them, this time with Zayn leaning heel and Gable emerging as the babyface could be an intriguing way for the latter to reestablish himself on the main roster. And, that Gable and Zayn had that moment last night while Sami is in the WWE Title orbit bodes well for Gable, and those worried that WWE will squander Chad’s current momentum. Whether or not this will lead to Gable being in the mix to face Cody for the top prize in the industry remains to be seen, but it’s possible that that’s where this could be headed.
Making Amends with the Luchadors
Later in the show, Gable walked up to the new AAA Cruiserweight Champion, Rey Fenix, hoping to have a man-to-man conversation. Gable apologized to Fenix for making a mockery of lucha traditions in recent months, and Rey, believing that Chad was genuinely looking to make amends, accepted the apology, but then reminded him that there are other people in the locker room that he might have to apologize to.
Another question about Chad Gable returning to the WWE’s main roster was whether he would go back to the faux-motivational, semi-cartoonish Alpha Academy/American Made character that he had ran with before donning the El Grande mask. This segment with Fenix, right after the brief run-in with Sami earlier, seemed to signal that Gable will be taking on a more serious, respectful character moving forward. Going on a mission to make things right with the other luchadors he offended, just about all of which are babyfaces right now, could be laying out a path of redemption for Gable that could lead to him being a big-time protagonist as we get closer to the second half of 2026. There always remains the possibility that this could be a big ruse on Gable’s part, but after his post-match promo last Saturday and these two segments on Smackdown, I’d be surprised if that was the direction they took this.
Gable’s Trajectory
WWE has a decent recent track record in striking when the iron is hot with characters whose popularity with the crowd skyrockets. Jey Uso won a Royal Rumble and then the World Title at WrestleMania 41. Stephanie Vaquer breezed through a stint on NXT and became Women’s World Champion just a few months after debuting on Raw. More recently, Oba Femi was launched into the stratosphere and was rewarded with a huge marquee match (and win) with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42. At the same event, Trick Williams was coronated as the United States Champion.
While Gable will likely be consumed with making things right with the WWE’s luchadors in the coming months, that path should lead to him being rewarded with a big championship moment. If it’s a run with one of the secondary titles, the Intercontinental Championship would be more likely. If this is a ruse and Gable ends up turning heel in the near future, dethroning Penta would be a logical end goal.
But after somehow parlaying his El Grande Americano run into the leading candidate for 2026 match of the year, the WWE creative team should be aiming higher with Chad Gable. He’s got all the tools to be a main event caliber player and there’s never been a better time then now to give the man a run. Immediately putting him into top-title contention might not serve him best, but there is an event on the WWE schedule exactly three months from today that could be the perfect place to elevate Gable to the top of the card.
What do you think Cagesiders? Should Chad Gable climb the ladder and win Money in the Bank later this summer? Is that too long to wait? Or are you still not convinced that Gable is top-title worthy? Let us know in the comments below!
