WWE star Ludwig Kaiser arrested on battery charge in Orange County
Marcel Barthel, 35. (Credit: Orange County Jail)
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Ludwig Kaiser was arrested Wednesday on a battery charge in Orange County, Florida.
Marcel Barthel, 35, performs in the ring under the names Ludwig Kaiser and El Grande Americano, was charged with misdemeanor battery, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
He was booked into the Orange County jail before being released on a $1,000 bond, according to his booking sheet.
Details of the arrest
The backstory:
The incident occurred on April 26 near downtown Orlando.
According to deputies, the victim reported being attacked inside the Paramount on Lake Eola Apartments on East Pine Street. He told investigators that Barthel and a woman followed him into an elevator and began behaving in an "uncontrollably intimate" manner.
When the elevator reached the 12th floor, the victim stepped out and asked the pair to show "some manners" regarding their aggressive kissing. At that point, Barthel allegedly began striking him repeatedly and pushed him to the ground, the report states.
Deputies reviewed surveillance footage from the building, which captured the encounter. Barthel was later identified as a resident of the complex.
An arrest warrant was filed with the Clerk of Court, and Barthel subsequently turned himself in at the Orange County Jail. He was released on a $1,000 bond, according to his booking records.
Ludwig Kaiser in WWE
Ludwig Kaiser talks on the microphone during WWE Friday Night SmackDown at Uber Arena on August 30, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by WWE/Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
According to the WWE, Barthel joined the WWE Performance Center in the summer of 2017 and made his WWE Network debut a year later on NXT.
"Kaiser has since proven to be a true mat magician, as well as a no-nonsense competitor," reads his bio on WWE.com. "With the posture of a steel pole and a facial expression that rarely deviates from the stern setting."
Barthel had performed under the Ludwig Kaiser moniker before his character was repackaged as El Grande Americano upon the injury of another wrestler. The two are set for a feud between the two rivalry gimmicks in the upcoming weeks.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and WWE. This story was reported from Orlando.