–> Gophers wrestling legend Gable Steveson has done his best to remain in the spotlight. Most recently, he competed against Baron Corbin in his WWE NXT debut, possibly ending the rumors of returning to NCAA wrestling.
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Timeline:
- 2019
- Suffered first wrestling loss since 8th Grade vs. Anthony Cassar
- 3rd place at NCAA National Tournament
- 2020
- Sexual assault allegation & suspension
- COVID-19
- 2021
- Individual Heavyweight NCAA National Champion
- Dan Hodge Trophy (National Wrestler of the Year)
- (Aug): Individual Heavyweight Freestyle Olympic Gold Medal
- (Sept. 9): Signed NIL deal w/ WWE
- (Oct. 22): Drafted to WWE Monday Night RAW
- 2022
- Individual Heavyweight NCAA National Champion
- Dan Hodge Trophy (National Wrestler of the Year)
- (April): Made first WWE appearance at Wrestlemania 38
- (Dec. 9): Appeared on WWE Smackdown for Kurt Angle’s BDay celebration
- 2023:
- (April 28): Returns to amateur wrestling at the U.S. Open
- (June 10): Defeats Mason Paris at Elite X, earning a spot on Team USA at the World Championships
- (June 19): Tells FloWrestling he would like to use his final year of eligibility and return to college wrestling
- (June 20): Appeared on the Gold Rush edition of NXT
- (July 5): Mark Coyle releases statement of Steveson possibly returning to Gophers
- (July 17): Tweets picture training at Iowa University wrestling facility
- (July 25): Steveson accepted a challenge issued by Baron Corbin for the Great American Bash
- (July 30): First professional wrestling match vs. Baron Corbin ended in No Contest
Brock Lesnar comparisons:
Ever since Gable Steveson arrived on campus at the University of Minnesota, he has been compared to combat sports legend Brock Lesnar. Gable lived up to the hype in the wrestling singlet. He doubled Lesnar’s NCAA titles and added something Lesnar never accomplished, winning an Olympic Gold Medal. Without a traditional post-college route, wrestling has always presented a unique professional opportunity for its top amateur athletes. Brock Lesnar is one of the most accomplished and famous former amateur wrestlers and his creative NCAA –> WWF –> NFL –> UFC –> WWE route provided a blueprint for an idea for athletes like Steveson to follow in the future.
Flashback to Gable Steveson winning a Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August of 2021, his star power couldn’t be higher. He paraded through professional MMA events, the likes of Bellator, PFL and even the UFC. Much like Lesnar, there were even rumors of a potential NFL training camp contract, but this time with the Bills. Most notably a transition into the professional wrestling scene made the most sense. After his parade he signed an NIL deal with WWE, allowing him to return to the Gophers for another season of NCAA wrestling.
Post-college career:
After winning his second-consecutive NCAA National Championship, Steveson left his wrestling shoes in the middle of the mat, signifying the end of his amateur wrestling career. Still in his early 20s, many took this with a grain of salt, as many combat sports athletes struggle to truly say goodbye to the competition. 2022 was relatively quiet for Steveson following the NCAA season. He only made two appearances on WWE-connected events and many questioned if/when his career was going to begin its next step.
Fast forward to the spring of this year, Steveson decided to make his long-awaited return to amateur wrestling, competing at the U.S. Open, which is the first step to qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials. In June he competed in the next step Defeats Mason Paris at Elite X, earning a spot on Team USA at the World Championships. Then just over a week later, he told FloWrestling that he would like to use his final year of eligibility and return to college wrestling.
Making only one WWE appearance in over a year, you could hypothesize that this might’ve been negotiating tactics that Steveson had with the WWE, maybe hoping for a new contract before he begins competing, or he was simply just bored and wanted to get back to competing.
Iowa transfer rumors:
Steveson specifically said that he planned on returning to college wrestling and not the Minnesota Gophers. This statement began a serious string of rumors connecting him to a potential transfer to bitter-rival Iowa. The rumored transfer was driven to a six-figure NIL deal. Once these rumors started circulating, Gophers AD Mark Coyle released a written statement of Steveson possibly returning to Gophers, which you could hypothesize was possibly a move trying to keep Steveson away from the Hawkeyes. A few weeks later Steveson tweeted a picture of training at the Iowa University wrestling facility, but he was wearing Gophers shorts.
Once the NCAA rumors were starting to seriously heat up, so was Steveson’s pro wrestling career. Appearing on the Gold Rush edition of NXT in June, which is essentially a developmental league to the WWE big show. Through the early summer, Steveson added fuel to the Iowa fire, with some cryptic tweets adding some serious steam to a potential transfer.
First professional wrestling bout:
On July 25, it was confirmed that Steveson was going to make a decision on his future on NXT’s Monday night show. It was relatively unclear exactly was Steveson’s future plan would be, but he accepted a challenge issued by Baron Corbin for the Great American Bash. Fast forward to Sunday, July 30 Steveson wrestled Baron Corbin in his first professional wrestling bout, having its fair share of controversy, ending via “Double Countout,” which is essentially a no-contest. The fans were heard chanting “Your not Angle” directed at Gable all night, and the reviews on Twitter were not the best.
Where does he go from here?:
Still only 23 years old, the world is Gable Steveson’s oyster. It would be fair to assume much of the last year has been used by Steveson to train for pro wrestling. The performing aspect does not come as first nature for everyone including his Gophers-counterpart Brock Lesnar. Therefore it would also be fair to assume that Steveson will be focused on pro wrestling in the near future. I will be the first to admit that I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge of the pro wrestling landscape, but I do know it is far different than when Brock Lesnar came up in the early 2000s. It’s not an overnight thing and it will take time for Steveson to build up his star, but highlights from his first match did seem entertaining and I am sure he has the right people helping him train.
The other interesting career route would be Steveson going the MMA route. Another NCAA wrestling legend Bo Nickal is currently taking the UFC by storm as one of its biggest stars. Having a pro record of only 5-0 and now having two wins on UFC pay-per-views under his belt, Nickal is showing that it is still possible for elite wrestlers to make a fast transition like Lesnar did. Nickal is doing this at 27, so Steveson would have more than enough time if he ultimately decides to go that route.
Ultimately, Steveson’s star might not be shining as bright as it did in 2021, but the sky is still the limit. There certainly is still not a clear plan that Steveson seems to be following, but I think that might help him at the end of the day. In the combat sports world, Steveson is still one of the best prospects or young stars and that will be the case for the immediate future.