Chad Gable says AAA fans were ‘scary at times’ during El Grande Americano rivalry
Chad Gable looks back fondly on his AAA rivalry with El Grande Americano and recalled the hostile environment from fans.
Gable reflected on his feud with El Grande Americano and competing on AAA while speaking with Maxx Fuller on KFAN. He stated that fans were hostile towards him whenever he entered the arena and verbal expressions from fans present. Despite this he is appreciative of the opportunity to wrestle and be involved in the mask vs. mask match in AAA.
“Yeah it was (emotional). I think I was taken aback by the passion that that audience has for wrestling specifically down there. They just treat it with such respect and hold it all in such high regard. It blew me away. The level of hate they had for me, it was a little scary at times. You hear guys tell stories about the old territory days where like, ‘Oh no we had real heat, they wanted to kill us.’ Man, there was times where it felt dangerous down there. Also like I had little kids shouting things at me that I’m like ‘you should not be saying that.’”
“They would have me go out and shoot arrival shots of us arriving to the building, and I’d walk through the crowds not planned or anything, they would just send me out through them, and people were putting hands on me, pushing me, grabbing me and I’m like, I loved it because this is as real as it gets with us, nowadays.”
“So going in that building for that mask match that night, I felt very alone. Like it was me against an entire country, it really felt that way. And it was just a credit to them and the Mexican people because the passion they bring it’s next level.”
During AAA’s Noche de Los Grandes from May 30 to June 6, Gable and Americano squared off in a mask vs. mask match which ultimately ended their rivalry. Following the bout, Gable unmasked himself as the original El Grande Americano.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.