A prolific amateur wrestler who competed at the2012 Summer Olympics in London, Betts signed with WWE in late 2013 and tested training before he was deployed to WWE's developmental branch,NXT. Working as atag team wrestler, he won theNXT Tag Team Championship with his partnerJason Jordan asAmerican Alpha, before being called up to the main roster in 2016, where they won theSmackDown Tag Team Championship before disbanding in mid-2017. He formed a tag team withShelton Benjamin before being traded toRaw in the2018 Superstar Shake-up and then forming a team withBobby Roode, winning theRaw Tag Team Championship with him in December 2018. With this win, he became the second man (after Jordan) to have won the NXT, SmackDown, and Raw Tag Team Championships. In January 2022, Gable won the Raw Tag Team Championship for a second time withAlpha Academy tag partner,Otis. In early 2025, he began simultaneously portraying the masked luchador El Grande Americano. Under this persona, he would win his first singles championship, theWWE Speed Championship. Due to injury,Ludwig Kaiser took over the role of Americano on June 30, 2025.
Starting in May 2015,NXT newcomer Chad Gable began astoryline withJason Jordan, in which he tried to convince Jordan to form a new partnership, following the dissolution of Jordan's team withTye Dillinger. After nearly two months of coaxing, Jordan finally agreed to a tag team match with Gable as his teammate. On the July 15 episode ofNXT, Jordan and Gable were successful in their official debut together against the team ofElias Samson andSteve Cutler.[21] On September 2, Jordan and Gable competed in the first round of theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, beating the team ofNeville andSolomon Crowe. After defeating theHype Bros, they would get eliminated from the tournament by the team ofBaron Corbin andRhyno. Originallyvillains, the duo turned intofan favorites even in defeat, when they showed fighting spirit and resiliency throughout the match. AtNXT TakeOver: London, Gable and Jordan were successful in a fatal four-way tag team match, which was taped for the December 23 episode ofNXT. During the January 8 tapings ofNXT, the team of Jordan and Gable began using the name American Alpha.
American Alpha faced off with theVaudevillains on the March 16 episode ofNXT in a number one contender's match where they emerged victorious, earning them anNXT Tag Team Championship match againstDash Wilder andScott Dawson, now called "The Revival", atNXT TakeOver: Dallas. The pair won the NXT Tag Team Championship at the event.[22] On June 8 atNXT TakeOver: The End, American Alpha lost the title back to The Revival, ending their reign at 68 days. After the match, they were assaulted by the debutingAuthors of Pain (Akam andRezar), who were managed by the legendary manager,Paul Ellering.[23] The pair subsequently failed to win back the NXT Tag Team Championship after being defeated by the Revival in a two out of three falls match on the July 6 episode ofNXT, before wrestling their final match on the brand on July 20, where they were defeated by the Authors of Pain.
As a result of the2016 WWE Draft on July 19, the team was drafted to theSmackDown brand, being their first tag team pick overall.[24] On the August 2 episode ofSmackDown, American Alpha made their debut, defeating the Vaudevillains. The pair teamed withThe Usos and the Hype Bros atSummerSlam to defeat the team ofThe Ascension,Breezango (Tyler Breeze andFandango), and The Vaudevillains. The pair then entered an eight-team tournament which would determine the inauguralSmackDown Tag Team Champions, defeating Breezango in the first round to advance to the semi-finals where they faced The Usos. Despite defeating The Usos quickly on the September 6 episode ofSmackDown, Gable's knee waskayfabe injured during a post-match assault when the Usos turned heel, rendering American Alpha unable to compete atBacklash and undoing their attempts to become the inaugural champions.
They returned on the September 20 episode to face the Usos in a number one contender's match to establish who would face inaugural Smackdown Tag Team ChampionsHeath Slater and Rhyno atNo Mercy, where they were defeated due to Gable's injury, marking their first loss on the main roster. At the event, they would instead team with the Hype Bros to face the Ascension and the Vaudevillians where they were successful. On the November 1 episode ofSmackDown, American Alpha defeated theSpirit Squad to qualify for Team SmackDown for the10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match atSurvivor Series. Team SmackDown was defeated by Team Raw at the event, with American Alpha being eliminated byLuke Gallows and Karl Anderson after eliminatingThe Shining Stars.
On the December 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, they defeated Randy Orton and Luke Harper ofThe Wyatt Family, Heath Slater and Rhyno, and The Usos in afour corners elimination match to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions, celebrating with their families afterward.[25] After defeating The Wyatt Family (Orton and Harper) in a rematch to retain their title on January 10, the pair would go on to defend their title in atag team turmoil match atElimination Chamber successfully against The Ascension, Usos, Vaudevillians, Breezango, and Heath Slater and Rhyno, entering fourth and eliminating the Usos and Ascension, despite an attack by the Usos after their elimination, continuing their feud. On the March 21 episode ofSmackDown Live, American Alpha lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to The Usos after suffering a non-title match loss to the pair the prior week. After making theirWrestleMania debut atWrestleMania 33 where both were unsuccessful in winning theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, they failed in their championship rematch with the Usos, being attacked by Primo and Epico afterward, who defeated them the following week.
On the June 20 episode ofSmackDown, Chad Gable answered theUnited States Championship Open Challenge put forward by championKevin Owens where he was ultimately unsuccessful.[26] In a July interview, Gable spoke about going solo, citing his will to fight against top competition.[27] On the July 17 episode ofRaw, Jason Jordan was moved to theRaw brand. This effectively disbanded the team.[28]
Tag team specialist (2017–2019)
On the August 22 episode ofSmackDown Live, General ManagerDaniel Bryan announced that he had signed a returningShelton Benjamin to team up with Gable, therefore creating a tag team between the two.[29] The following week onSmackDown Live, Gable and Benjamin picked up a win over The Ascension in their first match as a tag team; this was also Benjamin's first WWE match since 2010.[30] On the September 12 episode ofSmackDown Live, Benjamin and Gable would defeat The Hype Bros,[31] before defeating them again in a rematch atHell in a Cell.[32] On the October 10 episode ofSmackDown Live, Benjamin and Gable would defeat The Hype Bros, The Ascension, and Breezango in a fatal four-way match to become the number one contenders for The Usos's SmackDown Tag Team Championship. On the November 7 episode ofSmackDown Live, they received their title opportunity and won the match by count-out, however, the Usos retained their championships as titles do not change hands by count out unless stipulated. After trading victories with The Usos the following weeks, they competed in a fatal four-way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against defending champions The Usos,The New Day, and the team ofRusev andAiden English atClash of Champions, but failed to win the title. Two days later onSmackDown Live, Gable and Benjamin defeated The Usos in a non-title match. They had quietly turnedheel during the period of time where they had been challenging The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships by showing more villainous tactics.
On the January 2, 2018, episode ofSmackDown Live, they defeated The New Day and Rusev and English in a triple threat match to earn another shot at the SmackDown Tag Team titles, which they lost the following week after pinning the wrong twin for the apparent victory and then losing the impromptu rematch. The following week onSmackDown Live, the duo confirmed their heel turn when they insulted the referee of their title match the week before, demoralized the fans, and accused General Manager Daniel Bryan of being biased, which resulted in Bryan booking them for atwo out of three falls match against The Usos at theRoyal Rumble, where they lost in two straight falls.[33] That following week, Gable and Benjamin interrupted an episode ofFashion Files, and traded insults with Breezango, challenging them to a match, Gable and Benjamin would eventually win the match. The next week, Gable and Benjamin mocked The New Day and faced them in a losing effort. On March 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, he accompanied Benjamin to a match againstShinsuke Nakamura in a losing effort, after which, they attackedWWE Champion AJ Styles before being fought off by Nakamura.[34]
On April 16, Gable was moved to Raw as part of the2018 WWE Superstar Shake-Up, thus disbanding with Benjamin. On the April 23 episode ofRaw, Gable turned face after he took offense atJinder Mahal insulting Raw General ManagerKurt Angle. Gable would defeat Mahal on his first match on the brand.[35] On the September 3 episode ofRaw, Gable formed a tag team withBobby Roode and went on to defeat The Ascension. AtSurvivor Series, they would become captains for Team Raw, but lost to Team SmackDown in the 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match.[36] During this time, Gable changed his attire to trunks and began wearing a robe in his entrance, mirroring Roode's look. On the December 10 episode ofRaw, Gable and Roode defeated AOP and their managerDrake Maverick in a three-on-two handicap to capture theRaw Tag Team Championship.[37] With the win, Gable became the second man (after his former partner Jason Jordan) to have won the NXT, SmackDown, and Raw Tag Team Championships.
At theRoyal Rumble kick-off show, Gable and Roode defeated Rezar andScott Dawson in a non-title match. The match stipulation stated that if Rezar and Dawson were to win, their respective teams (AOP and The Revival) would both receive tag team championship matches.[38] The Revival would eventually receive their title match on the February 11 episode ofRaw, in which Gable and Roode lost the championship.[39] Gable and Roode failed to regain the championship from The Revival in a triple threat tag-team match also involvingRicochet andAleister Black atFastlane on March 11.[40][41]
Shorty G (2019–2020)
During the2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Gable was drafted to SmackDown, while Roode remained on Raw, effectively ending the team.[42] In August, Gable was announced as one of the competitors in theKing of the Ring tournament.[43] On the August 27 episode ofSmackDown Live, Gable defeated Shelton Benjamin in the first round of the tournament.[44] He lost in the finals againstBaron Corbin.[45] AtHell in a Cell on October 6, Gable defeated Corbin, with the announcer announcing him as "Shorty Gable" (upon Corbin's request, making fun of his height), which officially became his ring name.[4] Later, his name was truncated to "Shorty G".[46]
AtCrown Jewel on October 31, Shorty G competed in a 10-man tag team match as a part ofTeam Hogan, defeatingTeam Flair.[47] AtSurvivor Series, Shorty G was a part of Team SmackDown; he was eliminated byKevin Owens, but his team won the match.[48] After this event, Shorty G continued to wrestle in the tag team division withMustafa Ali as his partner.[49] On the January 3, 2020, episode ofSmackDown,Sheamus returned from injury, appearing to save Shorty G from an attack by The Revival, but then delivered a Brogue Kick to him.[50] Sheamus then defeated Shorty G at theRoyal Rumble,[51] and on the January 31 episode ofSmackDown.[52] After three months away from television, Shorty G made his return on the May 29 episode ofSmackDown in a 10-man battle royal for a spot in theIntercontinental Championship tournament but was eliminated byCesaro. Later that night, Shorty G defeated Cesaro. On the July 31 episode ofSmackDown, Shorty G turned heel by attackingMatt Riddle from behind and aligning himself with King Corbin, however, the alliance storyline was dropped.[53][54] In 2024, Gable described the Shorty G character as the lowest point of his career.[55]
On the October 23 episode ofSmackDown, after losing toLars Sullivan, he announced that he had quit being "Shorty G" and reverted to the ring name Chad Gable.[56] On the November 13 episode ofSmackDown, Gable turned face when he opened theAlpha Academy and attempted to recruitOtis as his client.[57] The team made their debut on the December 11 episode ofSmackDown, losing to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.[58] On the February 19 episode ofSmackDown, Gable ordered Otis to attackRey Mysterio after their tag team match, reverting back to a heel.[59]
Gable (left) with Otis (right) asAlpha Academy in March 2022
As part of the2021 Draft, both Gable and Otis were drafted to the Raw brand.[60] On the January 10, 2022 episode ofRaw, Alpha Academy defeatedRK-Bro (Randy Orton andRiddle) to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.[61] They dropped the titles back to RK-Bro on the March 7 episode ofRaw, ending their reign at 55 days.[62] On Night 2 ofWrestleMania 38 on April 3, Alpha Academy failed to regain the titles from RK-Bro in a triple threat match also involvingThe Street Profits.[63]
On the March 13, 2023 episode ofRaw, Gable found Otis backstage taking part in a photo shoot withMaximum Male Models (ma.çé andmån.sôör, managed byMaxxine Dupri). Otis then decided to leave with Maximum Male Models instead of Gable, which began a series of segments between Gable and Dupri, who both wanted Otis to be on their respective teams.[64][65] Dupri officially sided with the Alpha Academy on the May 15 episode ofRaw when she cheered on Otis and Gable eliminating ma.çé and mån.sôör in the Intercontinental Championship number one contenders'battle royal.[66] In the following weeks, Dupri trained with Alpha Academy, who began to slowly turn face after increasing crowd support. Dupri made her in-ring debut on the July 3 episode ofRaw in a mixed six-person tag team match with Gable and Otis, defeatingThe Viking Raiders (Erik,Ivar andValhalla) when Dupri pinned Valhalla.[67] On the July 10 episode ofRaw, Alpha Academy held a graduation ceremony for Dupri. At the end of the ceremony, Gable presented Dupri with her own Alpha Academyletterman's jacket. As Dupri was about to put on the jacket, The Viking Raiders appeared on the ramp to distract the team, and Valhalla attacked Dupri from behind and stole her jacket.[68] On the following episode ofRaw, Gable and Otis lost to Erik and Ivar in a "Viking Rules" match, but Dupri managed to take back her jacket.[69]
Gable subsequently feuded with Intercontinental ChampionGunther and won a fatal four-way match on the August 7 episode ofRaw to become the number one contender.[70][71] Two weeks later onRaw, Gable won his title match against Gunther by countout, ending Gunther’s undefeated singles streak on the main roster; however, as championships do not change hands by countout unless otherwise stipulated, Gunther remained champion.[72] On the September 4 episode ofRaw, Gable failed to win the Intercontinental Championship from Gunther.[73]
During the build toWrestleMania XL, Gable was involved in a storyline where he trainedSami Zayn for his Intercontinental Championship match against Gunther.[74][75][76] After Zayn won the title on Night 1 of the event, Zayn gave Gable a title shot on the April 15 episode ofRaw, but Gable failed to win the title. After the match, Gable attacked Zayn as he was celebrating with his wife at ringside, turning heel in the process.[77][78] The following week, Gable said that he had spent too much time training "losers" such as Zayn and his stablemates, declaring that the stable's focus would now be on Gable winning the Intercontinental Championship.[79] On the April 29 episode ofRaw, Zayn defended his title againstBronson Reed, winning the match by disqualification after Gable attacked him. The following week, Zayn attacked Gable during his match with Reed, leading to a triple threat match atKing and Queen of the Ring on May 25, where Zayn retained his title.[80][81][82] AtClash at the Castle: Scotland on June 15, Gable failed to win the title from Zayn after Otis and Dupri refused to interfere on Gable's behalf, ending their feud.[83] Two nights later onRaw, Otis, Dupri andAkira Tozawa walked out on Gable, who in turn left Alpha Academy. Later that night, he was attacked by the debutingWyatt Sicks stable.[84]
American Made and El Grande Americano (2024–present)
On the June 24 episode ofRaw, Gable defeatedBraun Strowman and Reed to qualify for theMoney in the Bank ladder match at thetitular event on July 6, which was won byDrew McIntyre.[85][86] After continuously being hounded by The Wyatt Sicks, Gable called outBo Dallas, who was walking to the ring whenThe Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed and Julius Creed) attacked him from behind, aligning themselves with Gable in the process. They continued to attack Dallas in the ring before being fended off by the rest of The Wyatt Sicks.[87] On the August 5 episode ofRaw, Gable teamed with The Creed Brothers for the first time as American Made, losing to The Wyatt Sicks (Erick Rowan,Dexter Lumis andJoe Gacy) in their in-ring debut.[88] On the September 9 episode ofRaw, The Wyatt Sicks defeated American Made in a Street Fight, ending their feud.[89]
After losing to a debutingPenta on the January 13, 2025 episode ofRaw, Gable started a comedic storyline in which he underwent a "quest" to discover the ways oflucha libre.[90][91][92][93] In March, he began to portray a traditional luchador under the name El Grande Americano, a character that denied being the same person as Gable and garnered some negative reception from WWE's Mexican audience.[94][95] On April 19, at Night 1 ofWrestleMania 41, Gable, as El Grande Americano, defeatedRey Fénix, who replaced an injured Rey Mysterio.[96] Also as El Grande Americano, he defeatedDragon Lee to win his first singles championship, theWWE Speed Championship, during the May 5 tapings ofSpeed (aired May 7).[97][98]
On June 7, Gable challengedEl Hijo del Vikingo for theAAA Mega Championship atWorlds Collide in a losing effort.[99] Later that night, Gable, as Americano, participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won bySeth Rollins.[100] In the same month, it was reported that Gable sustained a legitimate shoulder injury, leaving him out of action, and the role of Americano was taken over byLudwig Kaiser.[101][102]
Personal life
Betts married Kristi Oliver, who he had been dating for nine years,[103] on June 19, 2011.[104][105] The couple have three children together.[106][107]
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