When people think of professional wrestling, they likely think of superstars that come from times when wrestling was at its peak in popular culture. When Hulk Hogan caused full-on Hulkamania in the 1980s. When people were spouting out catchphrases (some NSFW) and donning “Austin 3:16” and “N.W.O.” shirts during the WCW/WWE “Monday Night Wars” and WWE’s “Attitude Era” in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. If you are a former WWE wrestling fan and you talk to any current wrestling fan, they will likely tell you that it’s a great time to follow the WWE. If you ask Chad Gable, WWE superstar and member of the fan-favorite Alpha Academy, he said whether it’s culturally, creatively, or athletically, the sports entertainment brand is almost bigger than ever. And some of those bigger names are coming to Lexington, like “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Rhea Ripley and more. “Wrestling itself always goes through what you would like to call ‘boom periods.’ We’re in one right now,” Gable said. “Over the past 18 months or so, we are firing on all cylinders.” As WWE sets the table for its 40th marquee event, Wrestlemania, this April in Philadelphia, its popular “Monday Night Raw” broadcast is riding equal parts momentum and intrigue as it takes over Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington on Monday, Feb. 12. The live broadcast on the USA Network on started in 1993 and is the No. 1 cable TV show on Monday nights.
Bright lights illuminate the ring during the WWE “Monday Night RAW” event, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Boston. The popular live TV wrestling event will be broadcast from Rupp Arena Monday, Feb. 12. Charles Krupa AP
Wrestler Logan Paul, right, kicks Seth “Freakin” Rollins during the WWE “Monday Night RAW” event, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Boston. Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, is scheduled to make an apperance in Lexington on Monday. Charles Krupa AP As someone who has seen his fair share of camera time inside the ropes, Gable talked to the Herald-Leader about his own rise in popularity and what makes seeing one of wrestling’s most popular shows live so different than watching it at home. CHAD GABLE AND THE ALPHA ACADEMY Chad Gable’s wrestling career is experiencing its own sort of take-off. He recently completed a feud and stiff challenge to WWE’s Intercontinental Champion Gunther that elevated his career. Along with his real-life friend and wrestling partner Otis and recent team additions like Maxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa, the Alpha Academy has become one of the more comedic factions of the Raw roster. “You’ve got, like, almost this band of misfits that should not work,” Gable said. “It just does and it works and it clicks and it resonates with people.”
