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WWE star Marcel Barthel, who performs under the names Ludwig Kaiser and El Grande Americano, was arrested in Florida this week.
Barthel, 35, was arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor battery charges, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PK Press Club Digital.
He was reportedly booked into Orange County Jail before being released on $1,000 bail, the New York Post reported.
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Ludwig Kaiser speaks into a microphone during WWE Friday Night SmackDown at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany on August 30, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
The wrestler was allegedly involved in an altercation with another man before being arrested, Fightful reported.
PK Press Club Digital has contacted WWE for comment.
Barthel’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday to allow the wrestler to travel outside the country for professional purposes, according to multiple reports. He returned to Florida to surrender.
German-born Barthel joined the company in 2017 after working at Westside Xtreme Wrestling and Progress Wrestling. He was part of the Imperium faction with Gunther as leader and Fabian Aichner, who was later renamed Giovanni Vinci before his release.
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Ludwig Kaiser walks to the ring during WWE Survivor Series: War Games at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada on November 30, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
“Kaiser has established himself as one of the brightest prospects on the German independent wrestling scene,” his WWE profile reads. “He joined the WWE Performance Center in the summer of 2017 and made his WWE Network debut a year later on NXT.
“Kaiser has since proven himself to be a true magician on the mat, as well as a pragmatic competitor. With the posture of a steel post and a facial expression that rarely strays from the stern setting, Kaiser is virtually unflappable – although on the rare occasions when he loses his cool, he does not hesitate to let his opponents know by shouting “nein” in defiance. His in-ring excellence quickly led him to align himself with the imposing faction Imperium with two NXT Tag Team Championship reigns under its belt.”
He played the role of Ludwig Kaiser before his character was repackaged as El Grande Americano when Chad Gable was injured. Since Gable’s return, it has been repackaged as the Original El Grande Americano and began to rival Barthel’s El Grande Americano gimmick.
El Grande Americano faces El Grande Americano during the WWE Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026. (Joe Maher/WWE)
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Since then, he has performed at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. El Grande Americano and Original El Grande Americano are set to end their heated rivalry with a mask vs. mask match at Noche de Los Grandes on May 30.
