American Alpha was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

, composed of former amateur wrestlers

Jason Jordan Nathan Everhart (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jason Jordan. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. He has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in Janu ...

and

Chad Gable Charles Edward Betts (born March 8, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Chad Gable. He is a four-time tag team champion in ...

. The team performed on

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's developmental brand

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

before being moved up to the main roster on the

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. The team was disbanded after Jordan moved to the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand on July 17, 2017 while Gable stayed on SmackDown. They were one-time NXT Tag Team Champions and one-time

SmackDown Tag Team Champions The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE' ...

. This made them the only tag team to have won tag team championships in both NXT and WWE's main roster in the same year.

History

Formation and NXT Tag Team Champions (2015–2016)

Starting in May 2015, NXT newcomer Chad Gable began a storyline with Jason Jordan, in which he tried to convince Jordan to form a new partnership, following the dissolution of Jordan's team with

Tye Dillinger Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Shawn Spears, where he is a current member of The Pinnacle ...

. After nearly two months of coaxing, Jordan finally agreed to a tag team match with Gable as his teammate. On the July 15 episode of ''NXT'', Jordan and Gable were successful in their official debut together against the team of Elias Samson and Steve Cutler. On September 2, Jordan and Gable competed in the first round of the ''

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK and ...

'' tournament, beating the team of Neville and Solomon Crowe. After defeating the

Hype Bros The Hype Bros was an American professional wrestling tag team which performed in WWE on its SmackDown brand. The team, composed of Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley, was formed in June 2015 on the development territory, NXT. History NXT (2015–20 ...

, they would get eliminated from the tournament by the team of

Baron Corbin Thomas Pestock (born September 13, 1984) is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Baron Corbin. Pestock is a former off ...

and

Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno or Rhino. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is one-half of the Impact World Tag Team Champions in his secon ...

. Originally a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

tag team, their fighting spirit, and resiliency against their larger opponents won them many fans and began a gradual

babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

turn for the pair. On the November 18 episode of ''NXT'', Jordan and Gable would call out main roster tag team The Ascension and defeat them. On the December 2 episode of ''NXT'', Jordan and Gable would face another pair of former NXT Tag Team Champions

The Vaudevillains The Vaudevillains were an American professional wrestling tag team in WWE, composed of Aiden English and Simon Gotch. Their gimmick was a pair of Vaudeville-era throwbacks. They also wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where they wer ...

and defeat them as well. At NXT TakeOver: London, Gable and Jordan were successful in a fatal-four-way tag team match which was taped for the December 23 episode of ''NXT''. On the January 8 tapings of ''NXT'', the team of Jordan and Gable began using the name American Alpha. American Alpha squared off with

Blake and Murphy Blake and Murphy was a villainous professional wrestling tag team in WWE on their developmental territory NXT consisting of Wesley Blake, Buddy Murphy and their valet Alexa Bliss, where they are one time NXT Tag Team Champions after defeating ...

on two separate occasions on the January 27 and February 24 episode's tapings, where they were successful both times, as well as teaming with

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady FreeAgentZ (formerly known as Enzo and Cass) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of nZo and CaZXL. The duo are best known for their tenure with WWE, from 2013 to 2017, under the respective ring names, Enzo Amore and Big Cas ...

against them and Dash and Dawson on the February 17 episode, where they victoriously emerged. American Alpha faced off with the Vaudevillains on the March 16 episode of ''NXT'' in a number one contender's match where they emerged victorious, earning them an NXT Tag Team Championship match against Dash and Dawson, now called "The Revival", at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. The pair won the NXT Tag Team Championship at the event. They defeated the Vaudevillains on the April 20 episode of ''NXT''. On June 8 at NXT TakeOver: The End, American Alpha lost the titles back to The Revival, ending their reign at 68 days. After the match, they were assaulted by the debuting Authors of Pain ( Akam and

Rezar } Gzim Selmani (born 16 June 1994) is a Dutch-Albanian professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Rezar. After signing with WWE in 2015, he has since teamed ...

), who were managed by legendary manager,

Paul Ellering Paul Ellering (born August 22, 1953) is an American Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE to a legends contract. Ellering spent most of his wrestling car ...

. The pair subsequently failed to win back the NXT Tag Team Championship after being defeated by the Revival in a two out of three falls match on the July 6th episode of ''NXT'' before wrestling their final match on the brand on July 20, where they were defeated by

The Authors of Pain Legion of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani. They are best known for their time in WWE as the Authors of Pain, under the ring names Akam and Rezar, where they are former one-time Raw Tag Tea ...

SmackDown Tag Team Champions (2016–2017)

As a result of the

2016 WWE draft Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film ...

on July 19, the team was drafted to the

brand, being their first tag team pick overall. On the August 2 episode of ''SmackDown'', American Alpha made their debut, defeating The Vaudevillians. The pair teamed with

The Usos The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are ...

and

The Hype Bros The Hype Bros was an American professional wrestling tag team which performed in WWE on its SmackDown brand. The team, composed of Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley, was formed in June 2015 on the development territory, NXT. History NXT (2015–201 ...

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

to defeat the team of The Ascension, Breezango and

. The pair then entered an eight-tag team tournament which would determine the inaugural

, defeating Breezango in the first round to advance to the semi-finals where they faced The Usos. Despite defeating The Usos quickly on the September 6th episode of ''SmackDown'', Gable's knee was

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

injured during a post-match assault when the Usos turned heel, rendering American Alpha unable to compete at

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

and undoing their attempts to become the inaugural champions. They returned on the September 20th episode to face the Usos in a number one contender's match to establish who would face inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs mononymously as Heath, and is also active on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in W ...

and

at No Mercy, where they were defeated due to Gable's injury, marking their first loss on the main roster. At the event, they would instead team with the Hype Bros to face the Ascension and the Vaudevillians where they were successful. On the November 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', American Alpha defeated

The Spirit Squad The Spirit Squad was an American professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) consisting of Kenny, Mikey, Johnny, Mitch, and Nicky. The team's ring personas were those of an all-male cheerleading squad. Before forming th ...

to qualify for Team SmackDown for the 10–on–10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match at

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

. Team SmackDown was defeated by Team Raw at the event, with American Alpha being eliminated by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson after eliminating The Shining Stars. The duo won a tag team turmoil match on the following episode of ''SmackDown'', giving them the right to face

Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Bray Wyatt. Rotunda is ...

and

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

The Wyatt Family The Wyatt Family was an American professional wrestling stable in WWE originally composed of Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper. The Wyatt Family debuted in WWE's then developmental branch NXT in November 2012, with Harper and Rowan going ...

to establish the number one contenders for the

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's ...

, but were defeated following the interference of

Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All E ...

. At

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

, the pair teamed with

and

Apollo Crews Sesugh Uhaa (born August 22, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Apollo Crews. He started his career in 2009, originally working under the ring name ...

to defeat the Ascension, the Vaudevillians and

Curt Hawkins Brian Myers (born April 20, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact Digital Media Champion. He is best known for his tenures in WWE from 2006–2014 and 2016–2020 unde ...

on the kickoff show. On the December 27th episode of ''SmackDown Live'', they defeated Randy Orton and Luke Harper of

, Heath Slater and Rhyno, and The Usos in a

four corners elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions, celebrating with their families afterwards. After defeating The Wyatt Family (Orton and Harper) in a rematch to retain their titles on January 10, the pair would go on to defend their titles in a tag team turmoil match at

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...

successfully against The Ascension, Usos, Vaudevillians, Breezango and Heath Slater & Rhyno, entering fourth and eliminating the Usos and Ascension, despite an attack by the Usos after their elimination, continuing their feud. American Alpha would defeat the Ascension on the following ''SmackDown'' in a rematch and then Breezango the week after, being confronted by the Usos after both matches. On the March 21st episode of ''SmackDown Live'', American Alpha lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championships to The Usos after suffering a non-title match loss to the pair the prior week. After making their Wrestlemania debut at

WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 201 ...

where both were unsuccessful in winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal they failed in their championship rematch to the Usos, being attacked by

Primo & Epico Primo and Epico Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. The team, composed of real-life cousins, are former WWE Tag Team Champions, with the title won during their first run as Primo and Epico from 2011 to 2013. They also for ...

afterwards, who defeated them the following week. American Alpha got revenge by defeating the duo the following week in a beat the clock challenge match, although their time was beaten by Breezango. This was their last televised match as a tag team, as Jordan moved to

while Gable stayed on SmackDown.

Separation (2017)

On the June 20 episode of ''SmackDown'', Chad Gable answered the United States Championship Open Challenge put forward by champion

Kevin Owens Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...

where he was ultimately unsuccessful. On the July 4 episode, he faced

AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

to qualify for the Independence Day Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the U.S. Championship, but was defeated by Styles. Afterwards in a WWE.com interview, Gable spoke about going solo. He said that he wants to compete against the top guys. He said that American Alpha thrives on competition and that they got to have a run with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but they know there are a lot of other tag teams who want that chance and they got pushed to the back of the line. He said that he and Jordan support each other 100% and that they can hang with any singles competitor and to wait until Jordan gets his chance to show what he can do in singles competition. On the July 17 episode of ''Raw'', Jason Jordan was moved to the

brand after being revealed as the (

) illegitimate son of Raw General Manager

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

. This effectively disbanded the team.

In other media

American Alpha made their video game debut in ''

WWE 2K17 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

'' and they later appeared in ''

WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It is the nineteenth installment in the WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to '' WWE 2K17''. It was released wor ...

''. Both Gable and Jordan are also present in ''

WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the ''WW ...

'' but the American Alpha team is not present by default.

Championships and accomplishments

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' ** PWI ranked Jordan #103 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 2017 ** PWI ranked Gable #104 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017 *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Rookie of the Year (2015) – Gable *

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

( 1 time) **

( 1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Alpha WWE teams and stables WWE NXT teams and stables