‘It Was A Little Scary At Times’ – Chad Gable Opens Up About Fan Reaction During WWE AAA Heel Run

WWE

Chad Gable has reflected on the atmosphere in AAA during his time as El Grande Americano, which saw the WWE star play a despised heel.

AAA Noche de Los Grandes in May of this year brought an end to the feud between both iterations of El Grande Americano, with Chad Gable being on the losing side.

With Gable no longer portraying El Grande Americano, he has recently returned to WWE television, attempting to atone for his past conduct, and was recently rebuffed by Maxxine Dupri as he attempted to appeal to Otis.

Having described how The Undertaker helped him have a breakthrough moment where ‘it clicked‘ ahead of the mask vs. mask match, Gable would also comment on the passion that AAA fans had for his run as El Grande Americano.

Speaking on KFAN, Gable reflected on the atmosphere at Arena Monterrey in Mexico, the home of the match, saying:

“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 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 through them, and people were putting hands on me, pushing me, grabbing me, and I’m like, I love it because this is as real as it gets with us.

“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 is next level.”

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Gable would often be accompanied by Los Americanos (Rayo & Bravo), with Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate portraying the characters, respectively.

It was previously reported that Pete Dunne was the producer of the mask vs. mask match, which garnered 5.75 stars from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Just Like The Old Days

From grannies hitting wrestlers with their handbags to full-on attacks, history is full of stories of veteran talent who have been besieged by fans for their actions in the ring.

Even in modern times, occasional stories emerge of fans who have gone a bit too far when it comes to their reaction to whatever has transpired. Back in November 2021, a fan jumped the barrier on WWE Raw and attacked Seth Rollins, with the star reflecting on the moment that saw security and police involved.

Addressing that attack in mid-2023, Rollins would comment that “it really does not happen that often“, noting the quality of the security team at WWE shows.

The reason why some fans get so involved is likely a combination of heightened emotions and being part of a crowd. It’s something that is occasionally seen at sporting events, where fans react to what they’re witnessing with a degree of investment that can occasionally boil over into an act that they may, otherwise, not commit.

It could be argued that, in the majority of cases, the interaction isn’t premeditated, being a product of emotion as opposed to intention. The same is unlikely to be said of the fans who wait for WWE stars at hotels or send mail to their private addresses.

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• mexico
• Chad Gable
• AAA
• El Grande Americano
• wwe

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