BusinessSportsMoneyWWE Has Found Its Next Main Event Star In Chad Gable

ByBlake Oestriecher,

Contributor.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Blake Oestriecher is a columnist covering WWE, AEW and pro wrestling.Jun 19, 2026, 08:24am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.

Summary

WWE's Chad Gable has unexpectedly become a breakout star. Following a shoulder injury and a "Battle of the Americanos" storyline with Ludwig Kaiser, their Mask vs. Mask match at AAA's Nocha de Los Grandes garnered widespread critical acclaim, including a rare 5.75-star rating from Dave Meltzer. This success has spurred WWE officials to advocate for a significant push for Gable, with strong support for a prominent role at SummerSlam 2026 in his hometown. Gable has since turned babyface on Raw, receiving massive crowd reactions and impressive merchandise sales. Despite WWE's history of mismanaging popular talent, the article suggests Gable should seize this momentum by winning the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, potentially elevating him to main event status.

Chad Gable is finally wrestling as himself after more than year as a masked luchador. (Credit: Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images)WWE via Getty Images

WWE has caught lightning in a bottle with Chad Gable, but will the company actually capitalize on a golden opportunity?

In early 2025, Gable, whose had his fair share of ridiculous gimmicks in the past, undertook yet another one as "El Grande Americano." Despite widely being considered one of the world's best in-ring performers, Gable was left to perform as a faux luchador in a storyline that largely served comedic purposes.

When Gable underwent shoulder surgery in the summer of 2025, he was replaced temporarily by Ludwig Kaiser, who donned the El Grande Americano mask and gimmick. After missing roughly half a year of action, Gable ultimately returned to WWE at the 2026 Royal Rumble, doing so as the "Original El Grande Americano" and igniting a storyline against Kaiser in a "Battle of the Americanos," if you will.

Little did WWE know that it had struck gold with a gimmick that had been set up to be midcard comedy fodder.

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The storyline between the two Americanos, taking place largely on WWE's satellite lucha libre-focused brand AAA, reached its climax at AAA's Nocha de Los Grandes earlier this month. That's when AAA delivered a Mask vs. Mask match between Kaiser and Gable under the "Americano" masks. The match, won by Kaiser, forced Gable to reveal himself as the Original El Grande Americano and was widely and heavily praised by critics across the pro wrestling landscape.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer (h/t Cageside Seats) broke the traditional five-star scale and gave the instant classic a whopping 5.75 star, writing, "This was the best AAA match I've ever seen, arguably the best WWE match and a top tier match of all-time." On CageMatch.net (h/t Sports Illustrated), fans instantly rated the match as a 9.67 out of 10, instantly catapulting it into the top 20 all-time.

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Now, WWE is finally taking notice of Gable and his potential to be a main event star. According to a report from WrestleVotes Radio (h/t NoDQ), some WWE officials are advocating for Gable to receive a strong push immediately: "There is a strong internal push within WWE to feature Gable in a significant way. There is reportedly support for Gable to have a prominent role at SummerSlam 2026, as the event is scheduled to take place in his hometown of Minneapolis."

Since Gable's unmasking as Americano, he has turned babyface on Raw, where he's been receiving massive crowd reactions after the incredible work he did in the Americano storyline. In addition, the bidding for his Americano mask on Fanatics blew away WWE officials. That seemingly would guarantee a monster push for Gable on WWE's main roster, but the company's history suggests that's far from a sure thing.

Just recently, WWE fans have watched the company drop the ball with stars like LA Knight, Rusev, Drew McIntyre and essentially the entire men's tag team division, just to name a few. In other words, there's no such thing as a sure thing for Gable, despite his long-running reputation as an incredible in-ring performer and one of WWE's most underrated and unappreciated stars.

The key, of course, is to strike while the iron is hot, which hasn't been WWE's strong suit in the Triple H-led creative era. Triple H has, oftentimes to the company's detriment, played the long game with red hot storylines, waiting so long to pull the trigger on a major turn, title change or character development that it doesn't have the same impact once he finally does.

That could happen with Gable too, but it shouldn't.

As Gable, realizing his faults as the heel Americano, has been embraced by the same luchadores he once mocked, he's quickly gotten over as one of WWE's top fan favorites. What that should lead to is Gable defeating Penta, one of the greatest lucha libre stars of all-time, for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam.

That's a title Gable should have won two years ago and never did, so it would be a full circle moment if and when he finally captured IC gold. That title has recently been held by the likes of Gunther (who had a record-breaking reign), John Cena, Sami Zayn, Bron Breakker and Uso. It's not a world title, of course, but it's a potential stepping stone to bigger and better things for Gable.

The former Americano would instantly be presented as a top-level star if and when he ended Penta's impressive IC title reign in front of his hometown fans at one of WWE's flagship PLEs. From there, WWE could continue to portray Gable as a top babyface, elite in-ring worker and main eventer on par with the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and CM Punk.

That's a tall task and not necessarily a likely one, but given Gable's soaring popularity, the least WWE can do is try.

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