In this competitive arena of sports, highs and lows are very common. But what is uncommon is an athlete reaching the height of his career, then changing to another sport, things not working, then again venturing to a completely different sport, again facing the same, and finally returning to what made him great. This less-traveled path was taken up by wrestling maestro Gable Steveson. On May 3rd this year, he was released from WWE. The Olympian, despite the termination, didn’t stop pursuing athleticism. He then entered the NFL. That also resulted in a short-lived career choice. When he opened up about these careers, he expressed that both domains got a certain sting. It might end the hope of his fans, but Gable didn’t let that happen.

He broke out of the deadlock from these ambitions and came to his core competency—NCAA wrestling. While Gable Steveson was scouring around the NFL, he remained a wrestling loyalist at heart. He attended Ilio DiPaolo’s Nickel City Duals 2024 and was seen cheering newcomers on the mat. With a wide experience in wrestling on various platforms, the 2017 Junior Champion from the University of Minnesota returned to his home turf. Although the Olympic gold champion has a short bid in the NFL and the WWE, he seems to have learned about both sports he ventured into. Gable Steveson, after gathering some experience, reveals which is the most challenging of all.

In a clip shared by FloWrestling on their X handle, Gable Steveson compared the toughest sports among three domains—WWE, NFL, and wrestling. For the NCAA behemoth in terms of physical challenge, he thinks, “Wrestling is the toughest.” For such a seasoned freestyle wrestler, he has seen many challengers that could startle his expectations from an opponent. And he explained why he thinks that. “you know, um, amateurs I have seen in the Olympics are all the toughest.” Gable said in the conversation.

Being a wrestler, Gable could think about the challenges and demands his sport throws to the wrestlers. But there is a lot to consider before jumping to any conclusion about the toughness of any game. Body strength, anaerobic power, endurance, and other parameters are all parts that determine the difficulty level of any sport.

Tougher is better for Gable Steveson

In that light, wrestling is surely one of the toughest games in the world. It demands physical and mental fortitude. For example, a freestyle wrestler competes with his opponents’ brains and physiques and invents tactics within a fraction of a second. They have to find the weakest links in the opposition, and at the same time, they need to guard their own. And who better understands this than Gable Steveson? In the first match after his fresh start in the NCAA, he continuously attacked the legs of Taye Ghadiali to weaken the movements and clinched victory. By the technical fall, Gable scored 20-4 against Ghadiali. After the return to his alma mater at Minnesota, as expected, Gable led the victory of 44-0 over Campbell.

Gable Steveson registered his 54th unhindered college victory in the following rounds when the heavyweight juggernaut again fell heavy on North Dakota’s Toye Ghadiali. That’s only the start! Winning the match and his roaring expression to the crowd was so intense that it became an anecdote that he would lead the Minnesota Gophers to its next victory stands in Iowa at the Soldier Salute.

Are you also excited for his next showdown? Let us know in the comments down below!