Ludwig Kaiser/El Grande Americano Arrested On Battery Charge

WWE's Ludwig Kaiser - who also performs as El Grande Americano across WWE programming and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide - has been arrested.

Recentlybooked.com has noted that Kaiser, real name Marcel Barthel, was booked into an Orange County, Florida jail at 2:37 pm ET on Wednesday, May 20 on a battery charge. Barthel's bond was set at $1,000 and he bonded out of jail at 11:20 pm ET, PWInsider has reported.

There are currently few details about the incident that resulted in Ludwig Kaiser's arrest, but Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful has stated the battery charge was against a male following an altercation, as opposed to a domestic situation.

Whether Kaiser's arrest will affect WWE's plans for him is currently unknown. Kaiser has been prominently featured across WWE programming since taking over from Chad Gable as El Grande Americano in June 2025, and he has cemented himself as a top star in AAA. Plans are in place for a Mask vs. Mask Match between El Grande Americano and Original El Grande Americano at Noche de los Grandes on Saturday, May 30.

Ludwig Kaiser has wrestled for WWE since 2017, initially joining the company as part of NXT UK and NXT. He moved to the main roster in 2022. Kaiser is a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion, having held the belts with Fabian Aichner while they were both a part of Imperium.