The introduction of El Grande Americano in early 2025 sparked an immediate backlash from fans, many of whom claimed the character mocked lucha libre customs. While the character is showing no signs of going away, WWE has seemingly made a notable edit in response to irate fans.
During a recent WWE Main Event taping, El Grande Americano was in action but a major change was made to his entrance. Rather than being billed as from the ‘Gulf of America,’ WWE’s ‘new’ masked Superstar was billed as from the Gulf of Mexico. The use of ‘Gulf of America’ had sparked backlash as many found using the label invented by President Trump to rechristen the pre-existing gulf was a disrespectful move to the traditions of the area.
Changing to the Gulf of Mexico is an interesting move especially given the recent comments of Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque. WWE’s Chief Content Officer recently argued that online backlash doesn’t reflect real-life views, suggesting that his strategy will be to ignore what social media has to say. Nevertheless, Levesque has seemingly changed tact and ditched Trump’s branding, despite recently having praise for the current leader of the United States.
El Grande Americano will compete at WrestleMania 41 where he’ll battle a truly beloved name in lucha libre, Rey Mysterio. The WWE Hall of Famer has vowed to expose Americano as a sham on WWE’s biggest stage of them all.
