Gable Steveson is a 23-year-old professional wrestler who has been competing in the WWE for just over three years. He is also known as “The Future of Wrestling” and has made his way to the top of the company’s roster, but he hasn’t always had it easy.
Gable Steveson is a gold medalist in wrestling. He has been a favorite of Kurt Angle’s since he was 16 years old. The two have been friends and training partners for many years.
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- Tory Barron is an ESPN.com writer and editor located in Bristol. After retiring from lacrosse at UConn, the Washington, DC native decided to try her hand at writing about athletes.
Perform you know any 275-pound guys that can do a backflip?
Let’s take this thinking exercise a step further while you’re pondering that apparently insignificant question: How many 275-pound guys do you know who can backflip, win an Olympic gold medal, and grab the attention of Triple H and Ric Flair with their physical prowess?
In less than two minutes, you’ll have earned ten points. Defeat of the defending champion by an 8-0 score. The gold medal match is up next. Legends are born, legends are born, legends are born, legends are born, legends are born, legends MACHINE!! @GableSteveson #TokyoOlympics #TeamUSA
— August 5, 2021, Triple H (@TripleH)
Before I participate in the Olympics, my guy @RicFlairNatrBoy gives me a shout. Thank you for your support, Legend. pic.twitter.com/ALbl7cdHRq
July 19, 2021 — Gable Steveson (@GableSteveson)
I’m not sure how many come to mind. This is due to the fact that Gable Steveson is an uncommon breed. No, the enticing American wrestler is a one-of-a-kind, genuine original.
“That flip is coming,” Steveson hinted to NBC Chicago ahead of his awe-inspiring Tokyo run. “When and if I can win, put on a nice performance for America, that flip is coming.”
The greatest showman delivered on his promise on Friday.
PERFORM A FLIP! @GableSteveson x #TokyoOlympicspic.twitter.com/PpSNj8wUSc @GableSteveson x #TokyoOlympics
6 August 2021 — Team USA (@TeamUSA)
Steveson skillfully straddles the thin line between confidence and arrogance. The 21-year-strong old’s sense of self and confidence in his supernatural talents are what allowed him to win his first three Olympic matches without conceding a point.
It’s a remarkable achievement, especially since one of his opponents was Turkey’s reigning Olympic champion, Taha Akgul. Steveson, the heavyweight for the University of Minnesota Gophers, is the reigning NCAA Division I National Champion and recipient of the Dan Hodge Trophy. In his first match, Steveson made quick work of Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev, winning 10-0 in only 2 minutes and 2 seconds. He then thrashed Akgul 8-0 before winning his quarterfinal bout against Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur 5-0 to get to the men’s freestyle 125kg wrestling final.
They have a one-in-six chance of encountering me. Don’t get it mixed up. https://t.co/pDWkFRgVD7
April 22, 2021 — Gable Steveson (@GableSteveson)
“After their quarterfinal match, Steveson remarked of Akgul, “He’s arguably the greatest heavyweight wrestler to ever step foot (on the mat).” “However, his time is over. I came to do business. I came here with the intention of winning…. Nothing is going to be handed to me. ‘I have to go get it.’
And that’s precisely what he accomplished in the final, coming back to beat Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili, the 2016 bronze winner and three-time world champion (2017-19).
When Steveson was born in the year 2000, the United States had never won an Olympic gold medal in men’s heavyweight boxing (Bruce Baumgartner, 1992). It’s hardly unexpected, given his background, that the Apple Valley, Minnesota, native would be the one to pull it off.
I’m not suggesting that the Team USA star’s mother started it all by naming her son after wrestling great Dan Gable (Steveson’s middle name is Dan), who was a two-time national champion wrestler at Iowa State and a 1972 Olympic gold medalist.
I mean, who am I kidding? That is precisely what I am implying. This whole situation seems to be predetermined. Perhaps this is why the flamboyant celebrity was so bold and outspoken about his plans. This is what he was meant to do.
He told the Associated Press, “You can tell that when the lights become bright, Gable comes to perform.” “That, I believe, is number one with me. And I believe that is what people can expect from me no matter where I go.”
You’re on the correct track if the wrestler addressing himself in the third person and the above statement made you think of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The pinnacle of athletic accomplishment, earning an Olympic gold medal, was only the beginning of Gable’s lengthy list of goals.
The wrestler intends to utilize the achievement to kickstart his WWE career, and aspires to be given chances similar to those enjoyed by The Rock and his mentor, fellow Minnesota great and WWE champion Brock Lesnar.
“You don’t really know how to make it to the WWE when you’re a child,” Gable told Gopher Sports, “but when I came to the University of Minnesota, I understood how Brock went about things and how to build contacts.”
“My friendship with Brock has been fantastic. It’s remarkable that a man of that caliber has taken notice of me and gone out of his way to assist me and point me in the correct path.”
Could @GSteveson have a better training partner than @DCBROCKLESNAR? #GopherFamily #GopherTough pic.twitter.com/X7YKlc4Kzb
January 16, 2019 — Minnesota Wrestling (@GopherWrestling)
It’s not a question of if or whether he’ll pursue a career in professional wrestling; it’s a question of when.
Following the Olympic Games, I will declare whether I will return to college wrestling or pursue a professional career!
July 2, 2021 — Gable Steveson (@GableSteveson)
Without even stepping into a ring, Steveson has already created a lot of commotion in the professional wrestling world. Gable has maintained his name in the spotlight among WWE brass and talent alike, from being in the audience at NXT TakeOvers and WrestleMania to waving at Vince McMahon on Twitter.
@StephMcMahon is aware of this. @GSteveson, it’s great to see you! pic.twitter.com/JSygZP44ys #NXTTakeOver
April 9, 2021 — WWE NXT (@WWENXT)
Then there’s the famous photo of the Team USA star with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, his manager.
“The shot of myself, Paul (Heyman), and Roman Reigns will go down in wrestling history as perhaps one of the greatest,” Steveson added. “Because of the road I’m on and the one that Roman Reigns has carved out for himself as a champion, I’m certain that I’ll never be beaten again. Paul Heyman’s contribution to the sport of wrestling. He is, without a doubt, the best spokesman. He’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Steveson’s ambitions for the future are colossal, and why shouldn’t they be? He’s a living, back-flipping example of the advantages of going large.