Axel Dieter Sr. was a prominent figure in German professional wrestling, whose influence extends to the current generation through his son, Marcel Barthel, also known as Ludwig Kaiser and El Grande Americano. This article explores the careers of both Axel Dieter Sr. and his son, highlighting their achievements and contributions to the world of professional wrestling.
Axel Dieter Sr.: A Foundation in German Wrestling
Information about Axel Dieter Sr.'s early life and career is limited in the provided text, but his impact is evident through his son's career. He trained Marcel Barthel, passing on his knowledge and passion for the sport.
Marcel Barthel: Carrying the Torch
Marcel Barthel was born in Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, on July 8, 1990. Trained by his father, Axel Dieter, Christian Eckstei, and Karsten Kretschmer, Barthel embarked on his professional wrestling journey, initially following in his father's footsteps in the German wrestling scene.
Early Career and Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw)
Barthel debuted under the ring name Axel Dieter Jr. at NFC New Years Fight Night II on March 1, 2008, wrestling Da Mack to a time limit draw. In January 2009, he made his debut for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), losing to Dan Marshall. He didn't have his next match in wXw until July 2012, when he and Da Mack defeated Walter and Michael Isotov.
Hot & Spicy: Dieter and Da Mack formed a regular team, dubbing themselves Hot & Spicy. On November 16, 2013, they defeated The AUTsiders (Walter and Robert Dreissker) to win the wXw World Tag Team Championship. Dieter and Da Mack made seven successful defenses of the championship, defeating the likes of The Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End and Michael Dante), Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov), and Kazuki Hashimoto and Ryuichi Kawakami. They lost the championships to Matt Striker and Trent?
Read also: Explore Ludwig Kaiser's WWE role
Singles Competition: On November 22, 2014, Dieter unsuccessfully challenged Walter for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. In February 2015, he took part in the Four Nations Cup, defeating Timothy Thatcher in the final to win the tournament. In March, Dieter took part in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Tommy End. In October, after a short break, Hot & Spicy teamed together once again and made it to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Tag Team Tournament before losing to reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish). In March 2016, Dieter once again took part in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Drew Galloway in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Sabre, the man he defeated to advance to the final in the previous year's tournament. On September 2, Dieter and Da Mack faced off against each other, with Da Mack coming out on top and retaining his wXw Shotgun Championship.
Ringkampf and wXw Unified World Wrestling Title: In late 2016, Dieter joined Ringkampf, and on December 10, he defeated Marty Scurll to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Title. Dieter held the championship until March 2017, when he was defeated by Jurn Simmons. In April, Dieter announced that he would be leaving wXw to pursue further opportunities outside of Germany. On April 30, wXw held a farewell show for him, titled Die Matte Ist Heilig: Farewell to Axel Dieter Junior.
Occasional Appearances: Due to wXw's working relationship with WWE, Barthel was able to make occasional appearances for the promotion. At the 17th Anniversary Show, in an untelevised segment, Barthel and Alexander Wolfe saved Walter and Thatcher after they were ambushed by members of the Rise stable. On October 30, 2018, it was confirmed that Barthel, under the Axel Dieter Jr.
Progress Wrestling
Dieter also wrestled in the UK for Progress Wrestling.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
In 2017, Barthel signed with WWE under his real name and was assigned to WWE's developmental territory NXT that June, where he lost to Roderick Strong at a live event. On the August 8, 2018, episode of NXT, he made his television debut in a losing effort against Keith Lee. In December, he formed a tag team with Fabian Aichner, with whom he would compete on both the NXT and NXT UK brands. They would later align themselves with Walter and Alexander Wolfe, forming the stable Imperium.
Read also: Good Design According to Dieter Rams
Imperium and Championship Success in NXT
Barthel found considerable success in NXT as part of the Imperium stable. With Fabian Aichner, he won the NXT Tag Team Championship twice, solidifying their dominance in the tag team division. The stable, with its emphasis on traditional wrestling values and a strong European identity, became a prominent force in NXT.
Main Roster Debut and Ludwig Kaiser
On the April 8 episode of SmackDown, Barthel debuted under the new ring name Ludwig Kaiser, accompanying his Imperium stablemate Walter (now called Gunther) in a squash match against Joe Alonzo. His new surname came from Gustl Kaiser, an important wrestling promoter during the time when his father was active as a professional wrestler. On the May 27 episode of SmackDown, Kaiser had his first match on the main roster, teaming with Gunther to defeat Drew Gulak and Intercontinental Champion Ricochet. A feud with the Brawling Brutes ensued for several months, which also included the return of Aichner (now called Giovanni Vinci) to Imperium and resulted in two Intercontinental Champion matches between Gunther and Sheamus.
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Kaiser and his Imperium stablemates Gunther and Vinci were drafted to the Raw brand. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown in Berlin, Kaiser answered LA Knight's open challenge for the United States Championship, but lost. At Survivor Series on November 30, he lost a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship against Sheamus and Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker. At the Royal Rumble on February 1, 2025, Kaiser entered 13th the eponymous match but was eliminated by Penta in six seconds.
El Grande Americano and WWE Speed Championship
On the June 30 episode of Raw, Kaiser began portraying the masked luchador El Grande Americano after Chad Gable, the first person to portray the character, sustained a legitimate injury. As a result, Kaiser also inherited Americano's Speed Championship from Gable, gaining his first singles title in WWE. The following week on Raw, Kaiser wrestled his first match as Americano, defeating Dragon Lee. On July 25, Kaiser, as Americano, made his debut for WWE's sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) at Alianzas, where he defeated Octagón Jr. As El Grande Americano, he is the reigning WWE Speed Champion, holding the title for 180 days.