When people think of professional wrestling, they probably think of the superstars who came from a time when wrestling was at its peak in popular culture.
When Hulk Hogan caused full-on Hulkamania in the 1980s.
When people were saying catchphrases (some NSFW) during the WCW/WWE “Monday Night Wars” and WWE’s “Attitude Era” in the late 90s and early 2000s and “Austin 3:16” and “NWO” Was wearing a shirt.
If you’re a former WWE wrestling fan and you talk to any current wrestling fan, they’ll probably tell you that now is a great time to follow WWE. If you ask WWE superstar and fan-favorite Alpha Academy member Chad Gable, he said that whether it’s culturally, creatively or athletically, the sports entertainment brand is bigger than ever. And some of those big names are coming to Lexington, like “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins, Rhea Ripley and more.
“Wrestling always goes through what you would call ‘boom periods.’ We’re in a situation right now,” Gable said. “For the last 18 months, we’ve been firing on all cylinders.”
As WWE sets the table for its 40th major event, WrestleMania, in Philadelphia this April, its popular “Monday Night Raw” telecast is running with the same momentum and intrigue as it does at the Central Bank of Lexington on Monday, Feb. Roop is taking over the arena in the center. 12. The live broadcast on USA Network began in 1993 and is the No. 1 cable TV show on Monday nights.
As someone who has spent a lot of his on-camera time behind the scenes, Gable spoke to the Herald-Leader about his rise to popularity and how watching one of wrestling’s most popular shows live is more than watching at home. Is different.
Chad Gable and Alpha Academy
Chad Gable’s wrestling career is experiencing a different kind of progression. He recently completed a feud and a tough challenge against WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther, which took his career higher. With his real-life friend and wrestling partner Otis and recent additions to the team, Maxine Dupree and Akira Tozawa, Alpha Academy has become one of the more comedic factions of the Raw roster.
“You have a bunch of people who shouldn’t be working,” Gable said. “It just happens and it works and it clicks and it connects with people.”
WWE’s Chad Gable was in the Olympics
Gable, who competed on another grand wrestling stage at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as an amateur wrestler, moved up from WWE’s developmental NXT brand to wrestle on the main roster in 2016. While he made his first major appearance on Friday Night SmackDown before being created. Despite being a regular member of the Monday Night Raw roster, he is still surprised by the events taking place in it.
Gable said, “I’ve been doing these things for 10 years and I’m still blown away by the production value.” “The scale of it is huge and makes you wonder how you can do it twice a week, every week, endlessly for a year.”
What happens on Monday Night Raw during commercial breaks?
Because Monday Night Raw is live television, Gable said it gives fans a chance to see things they don’t normally see happen in the building during commercial breaks.
Often, a wrestler or team of wrestlers will come out and they will go to a commercial break before their opponents come out to join them. While viewers at home will be watching a commercial for a show on USA Network, fans in attendance will be treated to a bit of darkness and some promo videos where the wrestlers perform in the ring… well, not completely, at least until The cameras started rolling again (Gable said he and Otis sometimes even talk about old horror movies in the ring).
“We’ll just hang out a little bit and wait and then maybe interact with the crowd if we want,” Gable said.
But Gable said that when the cameras roll, the crowd is more excited than at some of the non-televised WWE live events held throughout the year.
“It’s nothing compared to being there in the building,” he said. “Our crowds are more into it than they have been in the last 20 years.”
Why go to Raw when you can watch on TV?
Gable said that everything about attending Monday Night Raw in person (except the absence of live commentary) is exactly the same, only much, much bigger than you realize, whether it’s the lights, the screen. Or the knowledge of making fireworks. This, coupled with a deep roster of male and female WWE Superstars ranging from “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and World Heavy Weight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins to “The Man” Becky Lynch and Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley, creates a . Fun nights that potentially scratch all your live entertainment itches.
“You get music at a concert. In a basketball game you get an athletic competition. With us, you combine them all into one,” Gable said. “It’s something for everyone…it’s not. It’s everything to everyone.”
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This story was originally published 9 February 2024, 10:41 am.
