In an era where athletes often seek recognition, wealth, and the excitement of the game, a few surprise us in different ways. Gable Steveson is a one-of-a-kind personality who refuses the luxuries and opportunities life offers him even though his new passion of today, the mat, fascinates fans and professionals. His journey has us all wondering: What was the driving force behind his return after a seemingly perfect exit?

Despite being a star in the wrestling community, curiosity got the better of  Steveson, and treading outside the realm of wrestling, tried his hands at WWE and football. He returned to wrestling after failing to make a mark on either. Now, while talking to KSTP, Steveson gets honest about the Minnesota Gophers decision. The interviewer asked if the 24-year-old was happy with his return. What did Stevenson have to say?

“Man, you just, um, in 2022 when I left, I just didn’t want to leave anything on the table. And I’ve tried to come back, um, once after that. And after everything, after getting through everything and finally getting back to come, coming back to the University of Minnesota, it’s just, uh, it’s a blessing in disguise.” He made his debut in WWE with WrestleMania 38 from the Baltimore Ravens, and due to his bad performance, he was released. Looking back, Gable Stevenson reflected on his performance in 2022 and how he could have done things a little differently.

“You know, I really wanted to finish off in the right way in 2022. I feel like I did a great job of doing that, but there was a little more that I could do. And so now, just being the older figure on the team, I like to put the pieces together for the next guy to step up and kind of take over that role.” Whatever qualms he may have about his performance, his achievements are admirable. Steveson now holds the third-longest victory streak in program history, surpassing Tim Hartung. Dustin Schlatter, who won 65 consecutive games from 2005 to 2007, and Cole Konrad, who set the record with 76 back-to-back wins from 2005 to 2007, are the only Gophers who have defeated Steveson.

Furthermore, Steveson also shed light on how his approach has evolved. His training and recovery approach would have been unfathomable to his 18-year-old self. The wrestling champion also shares his desire to motivate younger athletes. “And so now being older, thinking about all those things and, um, making sure that I could put the pieces together for the next guy in line to kind of follow in and push that narrative.” Steveson will be a part of Minnesota as a senior wrestler on February 2, 2025. No. 7 Minnesota (7-1, 3-1 B1G) returns home this weekend for a ranked matchup with No. 12 Rutgers (11-4, 3-2). But apart from wrestling, what else is going on for Stevenson?

What does Gable Steveson’s future hold apart from wrestling?

With the coming faceoff with Rutgers on Sunday, the 24-year-old American wrestler is all set to prove his dominance on the mat. But what do his future goals look like? Is he eyeing the 2028 Olympics, or is he geared to go outside wrestling? Gable is more driven than ever to advance his wrestling career after observing competitors like Wyatt Hendrickson, Cohlton Schultz, and Greg Kerkvliet from the sidelines last year. What about a second Olympic run?

Gable shared about the 2028 Olympics in an interview with ; he said, “2028 would be really nice, especially because it’s in America, in LA. Being able to win another gold medal in front of the home crowd would be really cool.” Is there anything before or after that? A few days back, the former WWE champ was seen training with the MMA coach Jon Jones. In no time, the speculation of his transfer to MMA began. Steveson participated in heavyweight champion Jones’ preparation for the bout against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York. What did Jones have to say about the whole situation?

“He’s going to be scary. He’s going to be very scary when he decides to do MMA.”, said Jones. Later, Gable Steveson also cleared the air about the same; he said, “I think wrestling translates really well to MMA. I’ve been working on boxing a lot when I was down there in the camp with Jon. I think it will translate really well.” But the question persists: will he join MMA or work on his wrestling training for the 2028 Olympics?

Talking about this, Gable Stevenson shared, “I would love to combine them both and maybe wrestle the Olympics and then maybe a few weeks later or a few weeks before, go out there and win a big fight.” He is currently focusing on wrestling, and we are definitely watching closely for any new developments!