Since Chad Gable and Jason Jordan joined forces and became American Alpha in NXT, they have taken the Tag Team division by storm. Their chemistry together is something truly special, and WWE officials pushed them to the main roster much faster than a lot of people expected. Their run with the NXT Tag Team Titles was cut short, and Gable and Jordan were moved to SmackDown Live during last year’s WWE Draft in July.
For a while, it seemed that WWE officials were pushing American Alpha as the next big thing in WWE’s Tag Team division. The duo won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships fairly quickly, but their run was cut short again. Since then, Gable and Jordan have been floating around on WWE television without direction or having been sitting on the sidelines while The Usos have been dominant in the Tag Team Title picture.
There is no question that WWE officials are high on Gable and Jordan, but they’ve taken a backseat over the past few months of WWE programming. Their time will come, but a lot of people aren’t happy about Gable and Jordan being directionless. Some fans feel the team is missing something. Kurt Angle’s name continues to come up as a possible manager for the team eventually, but Gable and Jordan may not be into that idea.
On paper, a young and talented tag team being managed by Kurt Angle seems like a perfect scenario for all to succeed, especially considering all three men are former Olympians and rich wrestling background. The issue at hand for Gable and Jordan is about making it on their own. During an interview with NBC Elmira , Jason Jordan revealed how he and his tag partner feel about the rumored partnership with Kurt Angle.
“We still want to be American Alpha and not Team Angle 2.0. But if the opportunity came and Kurt would put his stamp on us, then we could essentially be Team Angle, but we would like to be Team Alpha with the tutelage of Team Angle.”
You can understand their perspective about wanting to make American Alpha mean something and connect to the WWE Universe on their own. Obviously, Gable and Jordan working with Angle would be a huge deal for them. However, Angle would be influential in getting them over with the fans rather than their dynamic getting over naturally over time. As great as Angle could be, he may also get in the way of Alpha’s potential.
American Alpha is stuck in an interesting place right now on SmackDown Live because the fans know their push to the top of the WWE ladder is only a matter of time. However, their booking suggests that the powers that be don’t believe Gable and Jordan are ready to reach the echelon. It’s been discussed that Jason Jordan could break out on his own because WWE officials see him developing into a main event guy eventually.
Clearly, Jason Jordan is a performer who has the size, looks, and skill to become a major player someday. It’s possible that American Alpha will become a launching pad for him to reach the next level as a singles star. A lot of people can see that in his future. That is a situation where Kurt Angle could be of help, but WWE fans always respond more strongly to a performer who got over with them organically rather than being pushed.
However, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan have only just scratched the surface of what they are capable of on WWE television. A lot of people understand that, which is where the frustration with their current booking comes from right now. No matter what the future holds for Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, or American Alpha, WWE officials know they have something special. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be booking them so carefully.
[Featured Image by WWE]