Olympic Gold Medallist Gable Steveson was one of many performers to be released by WWE in April 2024. Steveson signed a contract with WWE in 2021 following his successful run to Olympic Gold at the Tokyo games, and was immediately positioned as a potential successor to someone like Kurt Angle. He appeared at WrestleMania 38, was officially drafted to “WWE Raw,” and even had a brief run in “WWE NXT” in 2023. However, his career in WWE never reached the heights of his freestyle career.

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Steveson was released by the company for a very simple reason; he wasn’t that good. “His contract was a very big money contract, and he wasn’t cutting it.” Steveson arrived in WWE already having allegations of sexual abuse to his name, something that WWE fans were not high on, but according to Meltzer, it was Steveson’s ability in the ring that cost him his spot, as the company had full knowledge of the allegations against him.

“He did have the sexual assault claim from his freshman year in college, WWE signed him with full knowledge of that and it was not an issue in amateur wrestling, wasn’t an issue in college wrestling, like once he was cleared, he was good to go … it was an issue with wrestling fans. However, it probably had to do in a great degree with him getting booed with Baron Corbin, in the one match that people saw that he had at that one ‘NXT’ show.” Meltzer went on to say that he watched a number of his dark matches, some of which were against recently released star Cameron Grimes, and said he wasn’t impressive, had no charisma, and got little to no reaction from the fans.

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit to Wrestling Observer Radio

2021 Olympic Gold Medalist and inaugural WWE NIL signee Gable Steveson has been released. Following news that there had been cuts made to the “WWE NXT” roster, including Drew Gulak, Dave Meltzer reported that Gable Steveson had been a part of them. When Steveson signed with WWE in 2021, declining to continue in freestyle wrestling or a potential move into MMA, he set the precedent for an influx of college athletes to be molded into professional wrestlers at the Performance Center. Meltzer’s report in particular makes mention that he’d signed his WWE deal in 2020 — going against all other reporting — with the caveat that he’d continue as an amateur wrestler to compete in the 2021 Olympics. WWE was supposed to be facing competition from its now sister promotion, UFC, but won out to eventually land him. 

Steveson continued in freestyle wrestling afterward, winning the 2022 NCAA Division I National Championship, and most recently the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championship. He would also defeat fellow NIL signee Mason Parris to qualify for the 2023 World Championship, but Meltzer notes that WWE forbade him from competing in the tournament. 

Despite being a hot commodity within the context of collegiate and national wrestling, Steveson had been unable to make such a mark in the world of professional wrestling. In 2019 it was alleged that he and a Minnesota wrestling teammate — Dylan Martinez — had sexually assaulted a woman and were arrested. In December that year, it was confirmed that no charges were being brought forward due to a lack of significant evidence. The county attorney also pointed to a lack of law in Minnesota which would allow them discretion in charging perpetrators of sexual assault of an inebriated victim. It’s worth noting that an overturned conviction in the case of the State vs. Francois Khalil in 2021 saw Minnesota law-makers update legislation regarding alcohol consumption and consent. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist, beat Cedric Alexander in an untelevised match prior to the January 5th, 2024 episode of WWE Smackdown.

According to PWInsider.com, Steveson is set to work more dark matches at future Smackdown events, although he is currently not part of the creative plans for the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match.

In a video shared on the University of Minnesota Gophers’ Twitter/X account, Coach Brandon Eggum provided an update on Steveson, stating that he will not be competing for the university this year as his primary focus is on his pro wrestling career.

"Coach's Corner" is back in 2024!

You won't want to miss this one as @BrandonEggum recaps the #Gophers performances at @SoldierSaluteIA, looks ahead to the Big Ten opener Monday night at Iowa, and also provides an update on Gable Steveson. pic.twitter.com/flnICxLXrU

— Minnesota Wrestling (@GopherWrestling) January 11, 2024

Source: eWn

A new article from FloWrestling states that Gable Steveson has confirmed he intends to return to NCAA competition next year.

Steveson won national titles while attending the University of Minnesota in 2021 and 2022 before retiring from NCAA competition to focus on his career with WWE, with whom he signed a Next In Line deal in 2021.

After making a few appearances on WWE programming, Steveson recently returned to freestyle wrestling this past spring, competing at the US Open and Final X.

Scheduling details are reportedly still being sorted out with WWE, but with 2021 not counting toward his eligibility due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Steveson does have one final year remaining as noted on his UMN roster page.

Source: WrestleView

WWE signee Gable Steveson has announced his plans to return to international wrestling competition.

On Tuesday, USA Wrestling sent out a press release to announce that Steveson will be competing at the US Open later this month.

You can check out the official announcement below:

OLYMPIC CHAMPION AND FORMER GOPHER GABLE STEVESON SET TO RETURN TO INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING COMPETITION
Former Gopher heavyweight Gable Steveson, as he announced his return to amateur wrestling competition on Tuesday evening with his registration in the U.S. Open, which will take place later this month.

The announcement closes out a 13-month hiatus from the sport dating back to last season’s NCAA Championships where Steveson left his wrestling shoes on center mat, a rich tradition in wrestling signaling the end of a competitor’s career.

Steveson has hinted towards his desire to make his return to the mat in recent media appearances as the 2024 Olympic cycle draws near. FloWrestling confirmed Steveson’s return through their social channels on Tuesday evening.

As the rumors swirled of a potential return for the heavyweight, the U.S. Open seemed to be the first event in which Steveson could come back to the mat as the tournament acts as the first step in qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials next summer.

In his four seasons at Minnesota, Steveson amassed an 85-2 career record with 60 bonus-point victories, collecting two NCAA titles, three Big Ten titles, and two Dan Hodge trophies. He also claimed the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeating Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili in one of the most dramatic finishes the sport has ever seen.

The former Gopher great will return to action as a representative of the Gopher Wrestling Club, Minnesota’s regional training center for international styles. He will be competing alongside fellow GWC athlete Hayden Zillmer, the 2022 World Team member at 125 kilograms.

Fans can tune in to the awaited return of Gable Steveson at the 2023 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 26-30, 2023 live on FloWrestling.

Source: eWrestlingNews

Gable Steveson is training at the WWE Performance Center full-time, after a recent heart surgery.

Steveson signed with WWE in 2021, after winning Gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling.

ESPN reports that Steveson underwent an ablation last month to treat Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome.

WPW is a disorder due to a specific type of problem with the electrical system of the heart that causes the heart to beat abnormally for periods of time.

In 2007, MVP was discovered to have WPW syndrome during a routine medical, in what was called a life-saving discovery.

ESPN’s report adds that Steveson is now training at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida full-time after previously working at a private center set up on campus at the University of Minnesota.

Source: EWrestlingNews

Olympic wrestling gold medalist Gable Steveson was the first NIL signee for WWE. He recently gave an update regarding his training and noted that he’s “getting active” before his eventual WWE debut.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Steveson hasn’t progressed during his WWE training. The report notes that everything is “cold” on the Olympic wrestler, and the company may be hesitant to debut him soon.

Steveson was drafted to Raw during the WWE draft last October. He made a cameo appearance at this year’s WrestleMania.

Source: EWrestlingNews