Gable Steveson’s journey has been anything but conventional. The NCAA wrestling phenomenon has been under fire at every turn, from ruling the Olympic stage to entering the high-stakes entertainment industry of the WWE. Steveson was hailed as a generational talent, and WWE’s large investment in his future created enormous expectations. The sudden release by the WWE put a hold on everything, and then his return to wrestling sparked controversy in the wrestling world. 

Now, as Steveson reflects on his WWE release, he admits, “I could have done better,” and this hints at deeper struggles. The once-unstoppable athlete is navigating a stormy comeback, anxious to change his tale and silence the skeptics, as his return to NCAA wrestling sparks controversy and discussion. What went wrong even after WWE invested a million dollars?

Gable Steveson’s take on his WWE journey

The Olympic medalist left his wrestling career behind to try a new sport and signed a contract with WWE. His WWE debut match was against Baron Corbin at the Great American Bash 2023. However, his WWE career didn’t turn out as well as he hoped. The other setback was a sudden release from WWE. Is Gable Steveson happy with his performance in a new sport?

In a recent interview with ‘Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Steveson talked about his release from WWE. However, at the beginning of the interview, he said, “You can’t consistently do the one foot in, one foot out of everything.” Steveson was not able to focus on WWE and was somewhere missing his wrestling mat. Furthermore, he expressed the real reason for not performing well in WWE. Steveson said, “Maybe there could have been a lot of things that I could have done better.” It is evident that in his debut match, he didn’t perform well; soon after the start, the crowd shifted towards Steveson’s opposition.

Steveson also said that with time, he understood who he is, and maybe he was not comfortable with WWE; he said, “Definitely some getting used to, but as time went on, I did get used to the fact of who I am. A lot of it is you gotta be comfortable with yourself. If you’re not comfortable with yourself, then things won’t work.” After struggling for one whole year, WWE cut off ties with Gable Steveson, and then he even tried the NFL, but it couldn’t work out either.

The 24-year-old signed a NIL deal with WWE to defend the Division I national championship at heavyweight. He even joined a remote training facility to learn the finer points of in-ring work with the best coaches of WWE. Despite the million-dollar investment by WWE, Steveson would not prove his worth as he failed in his debut match. While joining WWE, Steveson said, “I’ve been on WWE since I was really young.”

What was next for Steveson after the WWE release?

After his release from WWE earlier this year, Steveson made an outstanding debut after his return to wrestling. Steveson got a one-year extension in his eligibility due to COVID-19. He was chasing his dream to win the third NCAA title, and on November 23, he took down Drew Blackburn-Forst by 18-3 within a few minutes—thumping return—and marked his first NCAA after his return.

Gable Steveson’s match was on November 24 against Campbell, and what a show. The two-time NCAA champion started with a 20-4 technical fall for the No. 8 Gophers against Taye Ghadiali—an All-American who has been ranked No. 7 this season. With that, Steveson has marked 54 consecutive college wins, and now he has a record of 87 wins and only 2 losses. 

Despite Steveson’s win, he faced backlash from the fans. Comments like, “Gable Steveson college wrestling again seems kinda silly. Ragdolled a kid from NDSU tonight in Fargo,” were found scattered across the internet. Drew Blackburn-Forst from NDSU was an inexperienced opponent and considered the match imbalanced. The bout was also referred to as “ragdolling” due to differences in skill and experience. Despite all the criticism, Steveson is standing tall and ready to prove his worth. What do you think of Gable Steveson’s journey and his career shift? Write down in the comments.