Why El Grande Americano Works In AAA But Not WWE

It takes a lot of things coming together to make something work in wrestling. While the wrestling itself has to work (though sometimes it is less important than others), you also need to have the right personalities involved. That is often what draws in the most important result, which is a positive reaction from the audience. Every so often you get a lesson in how important that can be and that is what we are seeing at the moment, oddly in two ways at once.

There are a lot of things going on in WWE at the moment, and as is usually the case, not everything is being taken entirely seriously. That is certainly the situation with the battle between El Grande Americano and the Original El Grande Americano. The Original character has been around for over a year but was ultimately put on the shelf with an injury. That led to the replacement (whom we’ll call Grande, as opposed to Original) taking over until the Original showing up again, leading to a showdown at the Royal Rumble.

This has led to a variety of other people being involved, including Los Americanos and Los Hermanos Americanos (not sure who they are). You might have seen some of those matches here and there, most of which are treated as little more than jokes. That’s where the story would likely wrap up for good, as there isn’t much to be done with a story that has fallen that far down. However, that isn’t the case with this story and that is why we’re here this time.

AAA Turned A Comedy Feud Into Something Special

The battle between Los Grande Americanos means next to nothing in America, but that isn’t the only place where it is taking place.  The feud is also taking place in AAA in Mexico, where both of them are getting a bit more of a focus. Things are going a bit differently, and that might be the understatement of the year.

To put it mildly, these two are having one of the hottest feuds I’ve seen in years, at least in Mexico. Grande has turned into nothing short of a cult hero, as he gave a heck of a heartfelt speech in Spanish, talking about how anyone can be Mexican because it’s about the people and the culture rather than where you are from. The fans accepted him and Grande has become incredibly popular, while Original clearly can’t speak Spanish and is hated for pretending to be something he isn’t.

Grande went on to win the Rey de Reyes tournament, earning himself a future Mega (World) Title shot. This didn’t go well with Original and the feud continued, as they reached the point where they clearly cannot coexist in AAA. As a result, they will be facing off on May 30 in a Lucha de Apuesta match, which means there is a wager. In this case, it’s the ultimate stipulations in lucha libre: mask vs. mask.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZOG4LbSZu4

That’s a big enough story on its own, but it has also given us some red hot brawls, as these two cannot stand each other. Original even got Grande’s girlfriend fired from AAA to make it even more personal. They weren’t allowed to touch each other but finally broke out into a huge fight on the last show before their match. General Manager Rey Mysterio said that wasn’t cool, but the match was too big for to be canceled and would be taking place, much to the fans’ delight.

WWE & AAA Are Telling Completely Different Stories

It really does feel like you have two different stories going on at once here and it’s absolutely fascinating in a few ways. On the main WWE television show, the feud is nothing, with Corey Graves (AAA’s commentator) desperately trying to turn it into something more serious. Unfortunately that just isn’t going to work on Monday Night Raw and that’s simply because the fans do not care.

That’s something that often has to be considered but unfortunately isn’t most of the time. On occasion, certain groups of fans may or may not want to see something. This can be seen all over the place, as there are some stories which just do not work in some places. It’s a good example of why you need to focus on the right group of people rather than trying to please everyone with something that they might not care about.

Wrestling Has Always Been About The Right Audience

This isn’t something new, and has been the case for the better part of ever in wrestling. As usual, the proof can be found in a wrestling territory. About twenty five years ago, there was a feud in OVW over ownership of the company between the Bashams (yes those Bashams), which had been built up for YEARS and led to the biggest match in OVW history. The two of them squared off in one heck of a Loser Leaves OVW match for the OVW Title and they beat the living daylights out of each other. It still holds up today, but who in the world outside of OVW would care?

Well, that’s kind of the point: the show wasn’t designed for anyone but the OVW audience (as Jim Cornette, OVW owner and booker once said, “Why would people in Phoenix care about what is going on in the Ohio Valley?”). Instead, OVW designed everything for their fans and no one else. That’s why the feud worked, as the company understood their target audience and went with what they had make it clear they wanted to see. Shockingly enough, it worked.

Why AAA Fans Bought Into El Grande Americano

The exact same thing is true with the battling Americanos in AAA. No, it isn’t going to work in WWE because the company has treated the whole thing as goofy shenanigans. WWE had made it clear that these wrestlers did not matter and outside of a few videos trying to explain that the story and stipulations are really important, it absolutely has not seemed important whatsoever. They set it up this way and that’s how it was paid off, which really should not be even remotely surprising.

That’s not the case in AAA though. In AAA, the story has been given the chase to crow and build into something with some serious gravitas. Grande has been treated as a hero who is standing up for what the company and its fans are all about while Original is pretty clearly just there trying to rip the fans off. You have someone defending the company’s honor and someone who is only in it for themselves. That’s on top of turning everything personal, which is why the match is feeling so much bigger. It’s been set up perfectly and now we’re ready to see what happens when these two FINALLY get to fight.

The Best Wrestling Feuds Know Exactly Who They're For

This might not have been the greatest story or even an original one. No, this is really just a story that has been done time after time (it’s basically WCW vs. the NWO but the one on one version) but it is what the fans want to see right now. They found the right people to put in front of that audience and the wrestlers are giving it everything they have, making the whole thing into the surprise smash hit that it has become.

What matters the most is the fact that we are getting to see an outstanding feud, which is being enhanced by the crowd being that into the whole thing. That isn’t something that you are going to get everywhere, but it is absolutely working in front of the AAA audience. It is rare to find something that works this well, but if you put the right people in front of the right audience in the right way, it can work (this was basically the way ECW stayed alive for as long as it did). It’s working here, and I’m glad to be part of its audience.