Tag: Ludwig Kaiser

Gunther thinks ‘underratedly charismatic’ Ludwig Kaiser would be a great actor

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Gunther believes his “best friend” Ludwig Kaiser has huge potential both in and out of the ring.

The Ring General praised Kaiser on the latest episode of “What Do You Wanna Talk About?,” calling him underratedly charismatic and a very talented person. He thinks Kaiser could use those talents outside of wrestling and pursue opportunities in Hollywood.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Gunther responded when Cody Rhodes asked if he thinks Kaiser is capable of big things. “I think he’s underratedly charismatic and he’s a really good talker. Like, I always tell him, it’s like, you need to go to Hollywood at some point, because he’s got something for the whole acting thing. Like, I always tell him, I think he would have been an amazing, like, theater actor or something like that. Because he’s very talented with languages, too.

“So, yeah, very, very, very talented person. When it comes to the wrestling side, yeah, of course.”

Though Rhodes does not know Kaiser that well personally, he loves watching Kaiser perform and agreed with Gunther that he has big potential in WWE.

Gunther said Kaiser is someone who is good at keeping him grounded and putting things in perspective. Outside of his friendship with Kaiser, Paul Heyman has given Gunther good advice on the big picture of pro wrestling.

Kaiser and Gunther were formerly stablemates in Imperium. They are not aligned on-screen anymore with Kaiser playing the character El Grande Americano and feuding with the original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable). Kaiser also regularly competes in Lucha Libre AAA with his Americano gimmick.

AAA notes: Rey de Reyes qualifiers, new number one contender for Cruiserweight title

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Notes from Saturday’s AAA television show that aired immediately after WWE Elimination Chamber 2026.

The February 28 AAA show began with Ludwig Kaiser’s El Grande Americano challenging the original El Grande Americano to prove his authenticity by speaking Spanish. Taking shots at his limited Spanish vocabulary and recent AI vignettes, Kaiser’s Americano sent Pimpinela Escarlata to speak with the original Americano.

However, things soon turned haywire when the original Americano attacked Escarlata, injuring the wrestler. Escarlata was previously scheduled to be in the Rey de Reyes qualifier match with Omos, Ethan Page, and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. However, after the injury angle, Escarlata was replaced by Kaiser’s Grande Americano in the match.

The episode also featured an AAA World Cruiserweight Championship No 1 contender’s match between Dragon Lee and Jack Cartwheel. Following a heavily praised match, Lee stood tall and became the No 1 contender for the Cruiserweight title. However, he was soon interrupted by TJP before an all-out brawl broke out amongst Laredo Kid, TJP, Lee, and Cartwheel. The segment finished with Cartwheel standing tall with the title.

In the main-event of the show, Omos, Ethan Page, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., and El Grande Americano II faced off for a chance to qualify in the Rey de Reyes tournament final. In the closing moments of the match, fans saw interuptions from Rayo and Bravo Americano handcuffing Omos to the ring post, Santos Escobar interupting Dr. Wagner Jr., La Parka arriving and hitting the original Americano with chairshots, before Kaiser’s Americano hit Page with the running headbutt and secured himself a spot in the finals.

He will now join Original Grande Americano and La Parka in the four-way match at Rey de Reyes, with four other men competing for the final spot next week.

AAA on Fox lineup | March 7, 2026

Lucha Libre AAA is set to host its  Rey de Reyes show on March 14th. However, with one spot remaining, Santos Escobar will be going against Mr. Iguana, Psycho Clown, and Abismo Negro to qualify for the final position on the upcoming March 7, 2026, episode of AAA on Fox.

  • Santos Escobar vs. Mr. Iguana vs. Psycho Clown vs. Abismo Negro for the last remaining spot in the Rey de Reyes tournament final.

Gunther to face El Grande Americano at WWE house show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Former Imperium stablemates Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser are set to share the ring again — this time as opponents.

WWE has announced that Gunther vs. El Grande Americano will take place at the company’s house show in Mannheim, Germany on Tuesday, January 13. The event is taking place on WWE’s Road to Royal Rumble tour, which includes a trip to Europe for a slate of house shows and some TV dates. Germany will be hosting SmackDown on January 9 and Raw on January 12, with those respective shows happening in Berlin and Dusseldorf.

Kaiser has been portraying the El Grande Americano character ever since Chad Gable was forced out of action with an injury over the summer. Since then, two more Americanos have been added with Pete Dunne playing Rayo Americano and Tyler Bate playing Bravo Americano.

The last time Gunther and Kaiser were involved in the same match was when they were tag team partners on an October 2024 episode of SmackDown.

Gunther is coming off a huge moment where he submitted John Cena in Cena’s retirement match. The Ring General looks to be a player in the World Heavyweight Championship scene heading into the new year.

The trip to Germany will be a homecoming for Kaiser, and Gunther also has considerable history in the country from his indie days.

In total, there are 12 dates set for WWE’s January European tour. Here is the complete list:

  • Thursday, January 8: House show in Leipzig, Germany 
  • Friday, January 9: SmackDown in Berlin, Germany 
  • Saturday, January 10: House show in Glasgow, Scotland
  • Sunday, January 11: House show in Copenhagen, Denmark 
  • Monday, January 12: Raw in Dusseldorf, Germany
  • Tuesday, January 13: House show in Mannheim, Germany 
  • Thursday, January 15: House show in Newcastle, England
  • Friday, January 16: SmackDown in London, England
  • Saturday, January 17: House show in Gdansk, Poland
  • Sunday, January 18: House show in Nottingham, England
  • Monday, January 19: Raw in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Tuesday, January 20: House show in Brussels, Belgium

Ludwig Kaiser reveals what led to breakup of WWE faction Imperium

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ludwig Kaiser has shared details on what led to the end of his pairing with Gunther on WWE programming.

Kaiser and Gunther had been teaming together since their days as members of Ringkampf on the European independent scene. The pair quietly disbanded late last year, no longer appearing together on WWE programming but never officially broken up either.

Kaiser recently spoke with Kennt jeder about the end of his pairing with Gunther and Imperium, noting that it was his and Gunther’s idea and that the structure of the faction had changed over time and across promotions.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said this anywhere but that was also wanted by me and also by Gunther,” Kaiser said (translated from German) about the breakup of the group.

“Imperium actually originally comes from wXw, back then it was Ringkampf. And that was structured differently. I would say everyone was more on the same level, because everyone had different roles. Back then, it was with Timothy Thatcher, he was the bruiser type, responsible for the dirty work. I was the arrogant snob, the young kid. And WALTER was the enforcer, the guy who comes in and wipes everybody out. But when WWE did Imperium again, me and my former partner were the tag team, and he was the main guy out in front. That just created a different dynamic. So Ringkampf, or even Imperium, my side of Imperium was always different from Gunther’s.“

Kaiser and Gunther were both members of the Ringkampf faction from 2016 to 2019 alongside Timothy Thatcher and Christian Michael Jakobi, wrestling for promotions such as Germany’s wXw and Progress Wrestling out of London. Along with Alexander Wolfe and Giovanni Vinci, they debuted as Imperium in NXT UK in May 2019.

Kaiser’s full interview is available below. His comments about the breakup of Imperium begin around the 32-minute and 30-second mark. English translations are available in the video’s Closed Captions settings.

AAA reveals opponent for El Grande Americano debut

Posted on by Joseph Currier

El Grande Americano now has an opponent for his Lucha Libre AAA debut.

AAA has announced that Americano vs. Octagon Jr. will take place at the promotion’s event in Mexico City on Friday, July 25. The show is being held at Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium and is a taping for future episodes of AAA television that will be broadcast in Mexico.

Though the Americano character was originally introduced by WWE as another persona for Chad Gable, it is now Ludwig Kaiser who is performing under the mask. The switch was made after Gable suffered a shoulder injury and needed to undergo surgery. Kaiser has wrestled one match as Americano, defeating Dragon Lee on the July 7 episode of Raw.

Octagon Jr. wrestled at WWE & AAA’s Worlds Collide event last month and then made his official WWE debut at Money in the Bank later that night, losing to Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio.

WWE’s acquisition of AAA is in the process of being finalized with the deal expected to be completed at some point between now and the end of September.

El Grande Americano announced for Lucha Libre AAA event

Posted on by Joseph Currier

El Grande Americano is heading down to Mexico to make his Lucha Libre AAA debut later this month.

AAA announced today that Americano, who is now being played by Ludwig Kaiser, will appear at the promotion’s TV taping in Mexico City on Friday, July 25. An opponent for him has not been named.

A supposedly prolific luchador with a rich history of success in Mexico, the Americano character was introduced into WWE storylines earlier this year as part of an angle where Chad Gable was attempting to conquer lucha libre. Though Gable was recently forced out of action with a shoulder injury that required surgery, Americano is sticking around with Kaiser donning the mask.

WWE revealed in April that it is in the process of acquiring Lucha Libre AAA. That deal is expected to be completed soon, with July-September given as the anticipated range of when it would be finalized.

This AAA TV taping is being held at Mexico City’s Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium. The event was originally scheduled for July 19 before AAA announced that it was being pushed back to July 25.

El Grande Americano to compete on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though Chad Gable is out of action with an injury, El Grande Americano is still set to compete on WWE Raw tonight.

WWE has announced that Americano will wrestle on Raw against an unnamed opponent. Last week, Ludwig Kaiser briefly portrayed the character in a backstage segment — so it looks like that could continue on tonight’s show.

Gable underwent surgery last week to repair a shoulder injury. A timeline for his return to the ring has not been established, but Gable wrote that he’ll be back ““quicker than you can say GRACIAS!”

Americano is the current WWE Speed Champion. The character continuing despite Gable’s injury would appear to indicate that the Speed title will not be vacated.

Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island is the venue for Raw tonight. Here is everything that’s been announced:

WWE Raw (Monday, July 7) —

  • Seth Rollins vs. Penta
  • Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch appears
  • Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane
  • Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker
  • Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed
  • El Grande Americano in action

Ludwig Kaiser credits Triple H, William Regal for making WWE career possible

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When he was starting out in pro wrestling, Ludwig Kaiser never thought a WWE career would be possible for him.

Kaiser signed with WWE in 2017 and has gained momentum as a singles competitor on the Raw roster over the past year. While appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kaiser explained how he ended up being offered a WWE contract. He credited William Regal for helping to make it happen.

“The story that I’ve heard is that WWE was looking for a German wrestler, and they scheduled a tour through Germany to look at talent and go through all the different wrestling schools and stuff,” Kaiser said. “Apparently, Mr. William Regal — who I’m always going to be grateful for that — saw my name on the list and he knew my dad [the late Axel Dieter]. And they saw my picture, they saw everything, and he pointed on me and said like, ‘Cancel the tour, we’ll take him.’ I was one of the guys actually that never had to do a tryout. Because I was supposed to do one, but two weeks, three weeks before — I blew my knee out. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say that, I’m not sure if I ever said that [laughs]. But, yeah, I got injured and I had to cancel the tryout. So, obviously, right in the match already I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is over.’

“Because when I first started this I never thought I would go to WWE. It was not like my big goal to be like, ‘Gotta go to WWE or otherwise this is all for nothing.’ No, I wanted to do my dad proud. I wanted to be a professional wrestler. I wanted to see the world. I wanted to do all of that, you know? But now when you’ve got the chance, you want to do it.”

Kaiser said WWE wasn’t his goal because he never saw it as a realistic possibility, but Paul “Triple H” Levesque has opened the door for Kaiser and other wrestlers like him to succeed in the company.

“Back in the day when I first grew up in wrestling, it was very, very tough. Honestly, before Hunter had that vision and opened up that door for us, none of us — not Gunther, not myself, not Pete Dunne, all those guys, Finn Balor, I don’t think we would be here today,” Kaiser said. “So without Hunter, without men like William Regal, men like Dave Taylor, Robbie Brookside, Fit Finlay, all those guys who paved that way for us European talent. I’ll always be grateful for that, definitely. Because without them, I don’t think we would be here.”

The 34-year-old Kaiser is currently feuding with Penta and Pete Dunne as his singles push continues. Last night, Penta defeated Dunne in a singles match where Kaiser attempted to interfere. A brawl between the three then took place with Penta standing tall.

The full episode of Insight can be watched below:



CM Punk vs. Ludwig Kaiser announced for WWE MSG house show

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE has announced a match for its annual December 26 event at Madison Square Garden.

CM Punk vs. Ludwig Kaiser is now advertised for the show. MSG announced the news on Saturday.

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins are also advertised for the show. 

Last month, a steel cage match between Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed was announced for the MSG card. However, Reed suffered a broken foot jumping off the cage in the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series and is not expected back until at least after WrestleMania 41. 

The match against Kaiser will be the second straight year Punk has wrestled on the show. Last year, he defeated Dominik Mysterio in his first WWE match since the 2014 Royal Rumble. 

With five days remaining before the show, WrestleTix reports that 10,189 tickets have been distributed. The get-in price is currently $63 USD. 

Ludwig Kaiser makes surprise appearance at wXw event

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ludwig Kaiser appeared today at Westside Xtreme Wrestling’s Broken Rules in Hamburg, Germany.

He confronted wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion Peter Tihanyi on the show. The two came face to face after Tihanyi successfully defended his title against Bobby Gunns.

Kaiser, the son of Axel Dieter, previously won the wXw Unified title in 2016. He wrestled for the promotion as Axel Dieter Jr. from 2012 until signing with WWE in 2017. Kaiser has returned to wXw for occasional appearances since, including in 2018 for the company’s 18th anniversary when he teamed with Timothy Thatcher and Gunther in a win over British Strong Styles’ Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Trent Seven. He also returned the following year for the 16 Carat Gold tournament.

Kaiser is scheduled to be back in the United States for Monday’s Raw in Glendale, Arizona. He’s advertised to face Bron Breakker on the show.

Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A new match has been added to the Monday, November 25 WWE Raw.

After he interfered in a Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus matchup on last week’s episode, Ludwig Kaiser will go one-on-one with Breakker on Monday’s Raw.

Kaiser has been in and around the Intercontinental title picture since September when he took part in the IC title contendership tournament on the brand. Breakker currently holds the IC title, but Monday’s bout will be non-title.

Two more matches have already been announced for Monday’s Raw.

Bianca Belair will face Nia Jax in a bout where the winner’s WarGames team will receive the order of entry advantage in the women’s WarGames match at Survivor Series next Saturday.

Also set for Raw, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods will square off with Akira Tozawa & Otis in tag team action.

The updated lineup for the Monday, November 25 WWE Raw:

  • WarGames advantage match: Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax
  • Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Otis & Akira Tozawa

Two matches added to WWE Raw lineup for next week

Posted on by Ian Carey

Following the conclusion of last night’s WWE Raw, two matches were added to the lineup for next week’s episode.

Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser is now scheduled for the show. The match will be their third singles bout dating back to June. Kaiser defeated Sheamus on the June 3 Raw, while Sheamus avenged the loss two months later on the August 5 episode.

“After engaging in a fierce battle over the summer, the two Superstars are one win apiece and will seek to settle the score in this grudge match,” WWE.com wrote of the match.

Also announced for next week is the LWO’s Zelina Vega vs. American Made’s Ivy Nile. This match was made after Nile attempted to interfere in Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee’s match against The Creed Brothers last night but was thwarted by Vega. The LWO won the match and advanced to the tag team contenders tournament finals next week.

“After Zelina Vega and Ivy Nile tussled during The LWO’s match against American Made, the two Superstars will meet one-on-one for the first time ever,” wrote WWE.com.

The lineup for the Monday, October 28 WWE Raw: 

  • World Tag Team Championship contender’s tournament finals: The New Day vs. The War Raiders vs. Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee
  • Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • Zelina Vega vs. Ivy Nile
  • Dominik Mysterio vs. a former World Champion

Ludwig Kaiser answers LA Knight’s US title open challenge on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In his home country of Germany on Friday, Ludwig Kaiser was featured in a championship match.

This week’s SmackDown from Berlin opened with Kaiser answering LA Knight’s open challenge for the United States title. The German crowd was on Kaiser’s side, but the U.S. title did not change hands. Knight pinned Kaiser after hitting the BFT.

Though Kaiser is on the Raw roster, he made a surprise SmackDown appearance for this match. The German fans gave Kaiser a big reaction when he entered. Before the match, Kaiser cut a promo claiming that he was going to change the U.S. title into his own personal European Championship if he won.

Kaiser was a top star for German indie promotion wXw prior to his WWE career, wrestling as Axel Dieter Jr.

This was Knight’s second defense of the U.S. title. He won the belt from Logan Paul at SummerSlam earlier this month and retained against Santos Escobar last week on SmackDown.

Before this SmackDown, WWE had not held a televised show in Germany in 27 years. The episode was taped earlier in the day before airing in the United States.

Germany is hosting its first-ever WWE PPV/PLE — Bash in Berlin — this Saturday. Kaiser does not have a match at the event, but his Imperium friend Gunther is set to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton.

Undertaker thinks Ludwig Kaiser will be special, had ‘nice long talk’ with him at WWE Raw

Posted on by Ian Carey

Undertaker is a fan of Ludwig Kaiser.

Taker praised the 34-year-old during a recent episode of his Six Feet Under podcast, saying he had a long talk with him when Raw was in Austin, Texas last week.

“I’m high on (Kaiser) too. Obviously, Gunther is a little bit farther along but keep an eye on Kaiser. I think he’s going to be special. He’s easy to hate,” Taker said.

“What was really refreshing to me was I was giving him my perspective on what he should be doing, and he was like, ‘That’s what I’ve been feeling, I’ve been feeling all of this.’ And he’s just been waiting for his opportunity because he’s been in the shadow of Gunther.”

During a backstage segment on last week’s WWE Raw, Kaiser told Sheamus that things weren’t finished between the two of them. Sheamus was then attacked by Pete Dunne during the same segment. Sheamus vs. Dunne is scheduled for tonight’s Raw.

Taker also praised Kaiser’s Imperium teammate Gunther during the podcast.

“Gunther, he’s the real deal. He’s a throwback. I thought (his winning the title at SummerSlam) was a good move. Damian was protected in it. The finish got a little bit screwed up but Damian was protected, got the title on Gunther and now the table is being set.”

The full episode of the podcast is available below.

New matches & appearances set for WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Fallout from Saturday’s SummerSlam will take place on Raw.

At the end of the SummerSlam 2024 post-show, it was announced that Gunther, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre would all be appearing on Monday’s show in Baltimore, Maryland. Gunther defeated Damian Priest at SummerSlam to become the new World Heavyweight Champion while Drew McIntyre defeated CM Punk in a match filled with drama surrounding McIntyre, Punk, and special guest referee Seth Rollins.

Three new matches were also announced. Ludwig Kaiser will be making his return, resuming his feud with Sheamus. Kofi Kingston will also be making a return, teaming with Xavier Woods to battle AOP. Following a confrontation during SummerSlam, Awesome Truth will face SmackDown’s Grayson Waller and Austin Theory.

Here is the updated card for Raw:

  • Gunther to appear
  • CM Punk will appear live
  • Drew McIntyre will appear live
  • Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • The New Day vs. AOP
  • Awesome Truth vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
  • Wyatt Sicks (Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy & Dexter Lumis) vs. Chad Gable, Julius Creed & Brutus Creed
  • Sonya Deville vs. Dakota Kai