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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – APRIL 03: Gable Steveson celebrates after beating Nick Gwiazdowski in their Freestyle 125kg finals match on day 2 of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials at Dickies Arena on April 03, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – APRIL 03: Gable Steveson celebrates after beating Nick Gwiazdowski in their Freestyle 125kg finals match on day 2 of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials at Dickies Arena on April 03, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The US Men’s Wrestling team for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 is probably the most stacked. Living up to the legacies of Dan Gable and Kurt Angle is Gable Steveson, a Minnesota Gopher and a potential WWE Champion in the future. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Steveson talks about his passion for pro wrestling.
Gable Steveson might join WWE after Tokyo Olympics 2020
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TOKYO, JAPAN – MARCH 25: A boat sails past the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Rings on March 25, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Following yesterdays announcement that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be postponed to 2021 because of the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, IOC officials have said they hope to confirm a new Olympics date as soon as possible. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
WWE has seen a bunch of amateur wrestlers make a name for themselves under Vince McMahon‘s tutelage. The largest pro wrestling company in the world has an effective hiring and training policy and they’ve doled out icons like Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley, both former amateur wrestlers and former WWE Champions.
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Living up to his mentor’s legacy will be tough, but Gable Steveson has the makings of being the next Brock Lesnar. Like the Beast Incarnate, Steveson is freakishly athletic at a whopping 260 pounds. He’s known for his acrobatic celebrations after his wins.
“So, I just pulled the strap up and I was like, ‘Forget it, let?s go. I just did the flip, and now everybody requests it everywhere I go. And it?s like my trademark. Like, people are waiting for me to do a flip. And who knows when the next one will be.”The US wrestling team hopes his next flips will be in Tokyo, after which he can flip all he wants in the WWE. (H/T Minnesota CBS)
With the Tokyo Olympics 2020 a few days away, Steveson is a favorite to clinch gold in the 125 kg category. Will he become the second Olympic gold medalist to head to WWE?
What is his connection with WWE?
If there’s one man Steveson looks up to outside of amateur wrestling, it’s WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief has completed 300+ days with the title, and Steveson claims he’s coming for it. What’s more interesting is that Reigns’ special counsel Paul Heyman pushed for WWE to sign him.
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Presented LIVE from backstage at @WWE @WrestleMania for future historical reference ….@WWERomanReigns @GSteveson @GopherWrestling @Olympics pic.twitter.com/zEikgmc8Wi
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) April 12, 2021
In 2020, Steveson even trained with his mentor, Brock Lesnar. Being a former Gopher, the Minnesota native grappled with the Olympian before addressing the college’s wrestling team. With a name like Lesnar associated with him, the pressure on Steveson’s shoulders hasn’t lightened.
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Speaking to Kare 11 in Minnesota, he talked about his future career in wrestling for the first time. ?That?s a hard question [when he will join WWE]. It?s on the air right now. There?s a lot of things going on. I want this Tokyo gold first, and we?ll go from there. WWE is in the near future. When? I?m not sure, but I?ll be there.?
Read more: Tokyo Olympics 2020: All Rules and Scoring Details for Judo
