Marchel Barthel (July 8, 1990) is a German professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser. Before signing with the WWE, he spent the beginning years of his career wrestling under the ring name Axel Dieter Jr. He is also a second-generation wrestler as he is the son of German wrestler Axel Dieter.
Professional wrestling career[]
Westside Xtreme Wrestling (2009–2017)[]
Dieter made his debut for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in January 2009, losing to Dan Marshall. Dieter's next match in wXw would not be until July 2012, when he and Da Mack defeated Walter and Michael Isotov. Dieter and Da Mack would go on to form a regular team, dubbing themselves Hot And Spicy. On November 16, 2013, they defeated The Autsiders (Walter & Robert Dreissker) to win the wXw World Tag Team Championship. Dieter and Da Mack made 7 successful defences of the championship, defeating the likes of The Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End & Michael Dante), Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) and Kazuki Hashimoto & Ryuichi Kawakami. They eventually lost the championships to Matt Striker & Trent on March 15, 2014, but won the championships back in a rematch one day later. On April 6, 2014, Dieter received his first opportunity at the wXw Shotgun Championship, losing to Axel Tischer. After over a combined year as wXw World Tag Team Champions, Dieter and Da Mack were defeated by French Flavour (Lucas Di Leo & Peter Fischer) on 18 October 2014, bringing their reign to an end. On November 22, he unsuccessfully challenged Walter for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. In February 2015, Dieter took part in the Four Nations Cup, defeating Timothy Thatcher in the final to win the tournament. In March, Dieter took part in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Tommy End. In October, after a short break, Hot And Spicy teamed together once again, taking part in the 2015 World Tag Team Tournament, making it to the semi-finals where they lost to reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish). In March 2016, Dieter once again took part in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Drew Galloway in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Zack Sabre Jr., the man he defeated to advance to the final in the previous year's tournament. On September 2nd, Dieter and Da Mack faced off against each other, with Da Mack coming out on top and retaining his wXw Shotgun Championship. In late 2016, Dieter joined Ringkampf, and on December 10th, he defeated Marty Scurll to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. Dieter held the championship until March 2017, when he was defeated by Jurn Simmons. In April, Dieter announced that he would be leaving wXw to pursue further opportunities outside of Germany. On April 30th, wXw held a farewell show for Dieter, titled "wXw Die Matte Ist Heilig: Farewell To Axel Dieter Jr". In his final match, he teamed with Ringkampf stablemate Walter to defeat longtime partner Da Mack and longtime rival Jurn Simmons.
Progress Wrestling (2017)[]
Representing wXw and Ringkampf, Dieter made his debut for Progress Wrestling in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2017, alongside Walter, defeating The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch). They returned to the promotion on January 29, 2017, losing to The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks). They once again returned on 19 March, defeating The Hunter Brothers (Jim & Lee Hunter). In his first singles match, Dieter lost to Mark Haskins. On April 23rd, Dieter, Walter and Timothy Thatcher unsuccessfully challenged British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) in a Six Man Tag Team Match for all of British Strong Style's championships.
World Wrestling Entertainment[]
NXT (2017–2022)[]
In early 2017, after Dieter suddenly left wXw, it was rumored that he had signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Dieter, using his real name, eventually debuted for WWE's developmental territory NXT in June 2017, losing to Roderick Strong at a live event.
In wrestling[]
- Finishers
- Signature moves
- Nicknames
- Managers and valets
- Christian Michael Jakobi
- Tag teams and stables
- Hot & Spicy - with Da Mack (as Axel Dieter Jr.)
- RINGKAMPF- with Big Daddy Walter, Christian Michael Jakobi and Timothy Thatcher (as Axel Dieter Jr.)
- Imperium
- Entrance music
Championships and accomplishments[]
- European Wrestling Promotion
- EWP Tag Team Championship
- Great Bear Promotions
- Great Bear Grand Championship
- German Stampede Wrestling
- GSW Tag Team Championship
- Nordisch Fight Club
- International NCW Cruiserweight Championship
- NFC First Fighter Championship
- 2010 NFC First Fighter Tournament Winner
- Pro Wrestling Fighters
- PWF North-European Championship
