At the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE, El Grande Americano came face to face with El Grande Americano, with two different men donning the same gimmick. Months after the original got injured, he returned at the show to take back his identity and prove himself as the “real” El Grande Americano. It is testament to the bizarreness of professional wrestling that this is not the first time a “stolen identity” storyline has happened, and nor will it be the last.
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Across multiple promotions such as WWE, WCW, and AEW, there have been instances of a copycat of a certain character, creating some strange storylines that likely won’t ever be forgotten, for better or for worse ( it is usually for worse!).
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El Grande Americano
- Both Chad Gable & Ludwig Kaiser have wrestled as El Grande Americano.
- El Grande Americanos faced off at the Royal Rumble.
- One of these men will likely lose their mask in WWE.
Chad Gable sought to learn the craft of lucha libre, introducing his own character, El Grande Americano. However, he eventually got injured, and Ludwig Kaiser undertook the mantle of El Grande Americano, taking the character to new heights. At the 2026 Royal Rumble, the original El Grande Americano returned to the ring to face off with his imposter, sparking a feud between the two.
In the time since, the original El Grande Americano cost his doppelganger a match on RAW, clearly looking to take back the gimmick as his own.
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The Undertaker
- Ted DiBiase brought in a new Undertaker.
- Paul Bearer had the real Undertaker return to face him.
- The Undertaker vs. The Undertaker match headlined SummerSlam.
The Undertaker made his iconic debut at Survivor Series 1990, being introduced by Ted DiBiase as part of his team. Eventually, The Undertaker would join forces with Paul Bearer, becoming one of the most intimidating and scary characters in WWE history. During a feud with Yokozuna, The Undertaker was written off WWE programming for an extended period due to injury… in the meantime, DiBiase introduced a new Undertaker.
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Eventually, the real Undertaker made his comeback to take down his fake imposter, with the two even main eventing the 1994 SummerSlam in one of the worst headliners in the show’s history.
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Hologram
- Hologram has been building momentum in AEW.
- A fake Hologram emerged to join the Don Callis Family.
- El Clon wears “evil” Hologram attire.
Hologram has been stacking up wins in AEW since his arrival in the company, though the masked man was soon being hounded by strange video glitches hinting at the arrival of someone called “El Clon”. Before his enemy surfaced, Hologram was taken out with an injury. In the meantime, another “Hologram” showed up, quickly turning heel and joining the Don Callis Family.
It was soon revealed that this was El Clon, the evil glitched clone version of Hologram. Yeah, even in AEW we can get very silly stolen identity storylines!
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Kane
Kane colliding with Imposter Kane
- Kane has wrestled both with and without a mask in WWE.
- The unmasked Kane was met with his older self in a strange feud.
- The future Luke Gallows wore the classic Kane attire.
Kane was forced to unmask in 2003, revealing his face for the first time since donning the gimmick. He was still as evil as ever, but it wasn’t long until his past came back to haunt him. In 2006, Kane began hearing voices, being taunted by strange video packages that made him snap and attack people at random… it was soon revealed that his older, masked version had come to torment him in the present day.
Imposter Kane and the real Kane fought for several weeks, all ending with a match at Vengeance. The real Kane won, removing the imposter’s mask. This was all ultimately to sell the See No Evil movie, starring Kane.
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Sting
Fake Stings
- Sting has had various impersonators over the years.
- WCW booked a Sting vs. nWo Sting match.
- Somehow, the roster was conned with the fake Sting.
Sting’s iconic face paint has been used as a disguise so many times over the years that it is almost impossible to keep count, but there is one instance and storyline that sticks out more than the rest, and it came in WCW when “nWo Sting” was introduced. The nWo and Sting were huge rivals in WCW, leading to the group playing some mind games, having their own version of Sting attack people, conning WCW’s babyfaces into thinking that Sting was aligned with the faction.
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When the ruse was revealed, nWo Sting became a comedy character by trying to appease the real Sting, often getting ignored by his stablemates, and constantly looking goofy in defeat. Somehow, this stolen identity gimmick lasted for several years, and some fans were on board with the over-the-top nature of it.
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Sin Cara
Sin Cara battles with Sin Cara
- Sin Cara got injured in 2011, so he was replaced.
- The new Sin Cara developed some heelish tendencies.
- WWE booked a Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara feud between a good and evil version.
Sin Cara was set to be WWE’s next big lucha libre star, before he became renowned for botching. In an attempt to bring some personality and care to his character, WWE ran a silly storyline in which someone stole his identity. During his injury, a different man stepped up dressed as Sin Cara, looking the same but acting more heelish. This eventually prompted the real Sin Cara to return, giving fans “Sin Cara Azul” and “Sin Cara Negro”, one wearing blue and the other wearing black.
The pair had a couple of matches, eventually ending with the evil Sin Cara getting unmasked – to which he was called ugly by commentary. The unmasked Sin Cara carried on wrestling as Hunico, as their feud continued. Eventually, Hunico would once again become Sin Cara when the original version left WWE (yes, it is all very confusing).
