WWE superstar Ludwig Kaiser was arrested in Florida just a week before his highly anticipated main event bout.
Kaiser, whose real name is Marcel Barthel, was charged with misdemeanor battery just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to booking records viewed by The Post.
He was booked into the Orange County Jail in Orlando, Fla., on a $1,000 bond. He has since been released from jail.
The 35-year-old German wrestler allegedly got into an altercation with another man, leading to his arrest on the battery charge, wrestling reporter Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported.
Additional details about the arrest were not immediately known.
The Post has reached out to the WWE and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Orlando is home to the WWE Performance Center.
Barthel, who also competes under the luchador moniker El Grande Americano, is expected to face off against the “Original” El Grande Americano Chad Gable in a mask vs mask match on May 30.
The highly anticipated match, which has been months in the making, is scheduled to serve as the main event of AAA Lucha Libre’s “Noche de los Grande” in Monterrey, Mexico.
In April 2025, WWE announced it had acquired the lucha libre promotion.
Barthel took over as El Grande Americano in June 2025 after Gable suffered a rotator cuff injury, which sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
He appeared on the most recent episode of Monday Night Raw at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, NC, on May 18, competing in a Trios Tornado match alongside Los Americanos, where they defeated Gable’s “Original” El Grande Americano and Los Americanos Hermanos.
He signed with the WWE after he “established himself as one of the German independent wrestling scene’s brightest prospects,” according to his profile on the promotion’s website.
“Kaiser has since proven to be a true mat magician, as well as a no-nonsense competitor,” the profile. reads. “With the posture of a steel pole and a facial expression that rarely deviates from the stern setting, Kaiser is practically unflappable — though on the rare occasion that he does lose his cool, he’s quick to let his opponents know by defiantly screaming “nein” in their face.”
