American Alpha are quite possibly the most exciting tag team in professional wrestling. Made up of former amateur wrestlers Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, they are a constant hit with crowds thanks to their technical prowess and innate charisma.
TheSPORTbible sat down with the dynamic duo back in June when the tag team were part of NXT, WWE's third brand ran by Paul "Triple H" Levesque. They talked about a host of topics ranging from their influences, chemistry and style, to the rabid UK crowds they have come across.
Now, 2012 Olympian Gable will return to the United Kingdom as a featured member of the Smackdown roster. He was thrilled to be drafted to the blue brand and cannot wait to feel the energy of the crowds in the UK once again.
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Speaking to TheSPORTbible, he said:
"We're so excited. Me and Jason were so happy going into it [the WWE draft] and really confident that we would be drafted but still nervous at the same time. Once we saw our names we were so happy and ready to just hit the ground running and I think we did that; we made an impact right away. But we've not even scratched the surface, we've got a lot to do and we're more than happy to start from the bottom and make our way up. I think that's what Jason and I are best at, is slowly chipping away and setting goals until we make it to the top."
American Alpha, along with The Revival, really helped revitalise tag team wrestling in 2016; their chemistry bringing some of the best ever tag team matches. The Revival, or Dash and Dawson as they are more commonly known as, knocked off Alpha to become the first ever two-time NXT tag team champions. Gable would not shy away from more battles down the line and believes the teams have "unfinished business" together.
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"I think we have a bit of unfinished business with them [The Revival] so I think I'd look forward to more matches with them. We had great chemistry with them from the beginning and for whatever reason you always seem to find, and this happens in amateur wrestling and it's true in any other sport where you kind of find this opponent, like an arch-nemesis, that you just click well with, that you can go back and work with a million times and split the matches right down the middle. The Revival are that kind of opponent for us. I'd be glad to continue to throw it down with them, I'd just hope for the results to sway our way in the future."
During our last chat, the two confessed to being big fans of Nandos when they come over to the UK but that's not the only thing they like.
"I don't know if it's just because we're in the US and we don't get to see it that often but the architecture in the Cities, it seems like you drive a few hours and you're in a completely different world to the town you were in just a few hours before that. Jason and I both just love seeing that taking different pictures and stuff like that, I just love walking around and getting a different taste - it's pretty sweet."
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If you had to pinpoint a time where Alpha exploded into life, or if you had to ask them, they would more than likely tell you about their experience at an NXT live show in Blackpool where the Empress Ballroom gave them a raucous ovation and chanted their names to the tune of the 2 Unlimited hit "No Limits" for 15 minutes.
Gable says he'd love it if the chant could be the team's trademark and hopes to hear it again in November.
"That would be amazing. It's such a unique chant and it would be amazing if people could pick that up and make it a thing for us. It's hard to not get on board with it, it's infectious when it starts going and there became a point on that night [in Blackpool] where we just didn't know what to do - we were just standing there, people would not stop and we were loving it but we were like 'at some point we've got to wrestle here! It was incredible, I'd love for that to get picked up."
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WWE are bringing their all-action shows to the UK and Ireland on the following dates:
Friday, Nov 4 (The SSE Wembley Arena, London, England)
Saturday, Nov 5 (Butlins, Minehead, England)
Saturday, Nov 5 (Manchester Arena, Manchester, England)
Sunday, Nov 6 (Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England)
Sunday, Nov 6 (First Direct Arena, Leeds, England)
Monday, Nov 7 (Monday Night Raw at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland)
Monday, Nov 7 (GE Oil & Gas Arena, Aberdeen, England)
Tuesday, Nov 8 (SmackDown Live at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland)
Wednesday, Nov 9 (Genting Arena, Birmingham, England)
Thursday, Nov 10 (Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales)