Ludwig Kaiser

Progress Wrestling (2017–2018) Representing wXw and Ringkampf, Dieter made his debut for Progress Wrestling in the UK on 15 January 2017, alongside Walter, defeating The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch). They returned to the promotion on 29 January, losing to The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper and Travis Banks). They once again returned on 19 March, defeating The Hunter Brothers (Jim and Lee Hunter). In his first singles match, Dieter lost to Mark Haskins. On 23 April, Dieter, Walter, and Timothy Thatcher unsuccessfully challenged British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate) in a six-man tag team match for all of British Strong Style's championships.

On 30 December 2018, Barthel made a surprise appearance at Progress' Unboxing event, where he was defeated by Eddie Dennis.

WWE / Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Imperium (2017–2025)

On 30 June 2017, Barthel signed with WWE and was assigned to WWE's developmental territory NXT. He made multiple appearances at the NXT live events before making his television debut under his real name on 8 August 2018 episode of NXT, where he lost to Keith Lee. Barthel then formed a tag team with Fabian Aichner, with whom he would compete on both the NXT and NXT UK brands.

On 22 May 2019 episode of NXT UK, Barthel and Aichner helped Walter retain the United Kingdom Championship, forming the stable Imperium. On 13 May 2020 episode of NXT, Barthel and Aichner defeated Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher (replacing Riddle's original partner Pete Dunne) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. After successful title defenses against teams like Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, and The Undisputed Era, Imperium lost the titles on 26 August episode of NXT to Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango), ending their reign at 105 days. On 26 October 2021, at NXT: Halloween Havoc, Barthel and Aichner defeated MSK in a lumberjack tag team match to win the NXT Tag Team Championship for the second time. On 5 December at NXT WarGames, they successfully defended the titles against Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner. On 2 April 2022 at NXT Stand & Deliver, they lost the titles back to MSK in a triple threat tag team match also involving The Creed Brothers, ending their reign at 158 days. On the 5 April episode of NXT, Barthel and Aichner faced The Creed Brothers in a losing effort, with Aichner walking out of their match.

On the 8 April episode of SmackDown, Barthel debuted under the new ring name Ludwig Kaiser, accompanying his Imperium stablemate Walter (now called Gunther) in a squash match against Joe Alonzo. His new surname came from Gustl Kaiser, a wrestling promoter during the time when his father was active as a professional wrestler. On the 27 May episode of SmackDown, Kaiser had his first match on the main roster, teaming with Gunther to defeat Drew Gulak and Intercontinental Champion Ricochet. A feud with The Brawling Brutes ensued for several months, which also included the return of Aichner (now called Giovanni Vinci) to Imperium and resulted in two Intercontinental Champion matches between Gunther and Sheamus. As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Kaiser and his Imperium stablemates Gunther and Vinci were drafted to the Raw brand. On 23 April 2024 episode of Raw, Kaiser attacked Vinci and kicked him out of Imperium after they lost to The New Day.

On 30 August episode of SmackDown in Berlin, Kaiser answered LA Knight's open challenge for the United States Championship, but lost. At Survivor Series on 30 November, he lost a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship against Sheamus and Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker. On 1 February 2025, at Royal Rumble, Kaiser entered the eponymous match at #13, but was eliminated by Penta in six seconds. On 24 February 2025 episode of Raw, Kaiser won a triple threat match against Penta and Pete Dunne. On 17 March episode of Raw, Kaiser lost a no holds barred match against Penta. After this match, Kaiser did not appear on Raw for over three months and Imperium quietly disbanded.

El Grande Americano (II) (2025–present)

On 30 June episode of Raw, Kaiser began portraying the masked luchador El Grande Americano after Chad Gable, the first person to portray the character, sustained a legitimate injury. As a result, Kaiser also inherited Americano's Speed Championship from Gable, a title he held until 11 November episode of NXT where he lost it to Jasper Troy—this ended the Americano character's reign at 190 days (188 as recognized by WWE), the official longest reign for the title, while for Kaiser solely, this ended his portion of the reign at 134 days. Beginning in July 2025, Kaiser (As El Grande Americano) began to make appearances for WWE partner promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), wrestling for the AAA Mega Championship at Triplemanía XXXIII on 16 August. Although initially wrestling as a heel, Americano would turn técnico in AAA, receiving acclaim for his character work as Americano. During this time, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate began appearing as Rayo Americano and Bravo Americano, beginning a stable referred to as Los Americanos. While he transitioned into a face character in Mexico, he kept the heel character in USA.

At the Royal Rumble on 31 January 2026, Americano started a feud with his predecessor, now referred to as "The Original" El Grande Americano. Americano would go on to win the Rey De Reyes tournament on 14 March 2026, defeating "The Original" El Grande Americano (Chad Gable), La Parka, and Santos Escobar in the final, receiving a future AAA Mega Championship match for his victory. Their feud culminated at Noche de Los Grandes, where Americano defeated "The Original" in a highly-acclaimed Lucha de Apuesta Máscara vs. Máscara.

Other media Video games

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotes El Grande Americano (mask) "The Original" El Grande Americano (mask) Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Noche de Los Grandes No Disqualification match

Personal life Barthel began dating fellow WWE wrestler Tiffany Stratton in May 2022. He is currently dating AAA ring announcer Andrea Bazarte.

On 20 May 2026, Barthel was arrested in Orlando, Florida, on a misdemeanor battery charge following an altercation at his apartment complex. Following his booking into the Orange County Jail, Barthel was released on a $1,000 bond.

Championships and accomplishments Catch Wrestling Norddeutschland Tag Team Tournament (2009) – with Da Mack European Wrestling Promotion EWP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Da Mack Great Bear Promotions Great Bear Grand Championship (1 time, final) German Stampede Wrestling GSW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Da Mack Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Rey de Reyes (2026) Nordic Championship Wrestling NFC First Fighter Championship (1 time) International NCW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) First Fighter Tournament (2010) Pro Wrestling Fighters PWF North-European Championship (1 time) Westside Xtreme Wrestling wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (1 time) wXw World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Da Mack Mitteldeutschland Cup (2014) Four Nations Cup (2015) WWE WWE Speed Championship (1 time) NXT Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Fabian Aichner