Despite Signing With Buffalo Bills, Gable Steveson Chooses to Honor His Wrestling Roots

Gable Steveson is restarting with a clean slate! After his decorated tenure as a wrestler and an ex-WWE star, Steveson’s new chapter involves debuting in the NFL. The 24-year-old is apparently signing a rookie three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. And ahead of this career one-eighty, Steveson remarks that he has been fortunate to compete at the highest level in his sport, but is now ‘looking forward to the challenge‘ of witnessing how his wrestling skills translate to football.

However, the Olympic gold medalist remains a wrestling loyalist at heart. And his presence at the 6th annual Nickel City Duals substantiates just that.

As per Gable Steveson’s Instagram updates, the Minnesota alum was present at Ilio DiPaolo’s Nickel City Duals 2024. Scheduled for the 8th of June, this tournament featured 30 high school boys teams and 6 girls teams. The Buffalo Bills’ latest defensive lineman attended the event to cheer for the upcoming talent in his former sport.

From the center of the Riverworks’ covered ice rink, Steveson captured his first Instagram story, giving a small go-around of the venue. The video exhibited a noisy and competitive atmosphere, as duals are seen taking place simultaneously on multiple mats. Steveson even added the location sticker reading, “Buffalo RiverWorks.”

This endeavor concretizes Steveson’s eternal love and respect for wrestling. Moreover, after revealing the byte from the venue on Instagram, he re-posted pictures with many of his young supporters. In a particular one, he was even seen posing with a fanboy who had his shoe signed by the icon.

Indeed, Steveson has ascended to great heights in wrestling, gradually shaping his identity. Thus, his presence at the event shows his concern for the future of the sport. Also, every bit of advice from him would weigh in gold for the budding wrestlers. This is because the amount of experience that Gable Steveson boasts is incredible.

From wrestling to WWE, Gable Steveson is a man of many talents

2017  Junior World Champion, Gable Steveson had his freshman season with the University of Minnesota in 2018-19. As a Gopher’s starting heavyweight, he went 35-2 in his first season and was placed third at the NCAA Championships. However, he redeemed himself in the sophomore year with a stellar 15-0.

But Steveson upped his ante post-2020. In his junior year, he won the Dan Hodge trophy in the 125kg category and his first NCAA title against Mason Parris. Keeping up the streak, his senior year was as successful, with another Hodge trophy, his 2nd NCAA title, and the 2021-22 Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year award. During the offseason, he made his Olympic debut in Tokyo and thrashed Geno Petrishvili to a defeat in the finals to bag gold.

Nonetheless, his resume is not limited to this. Year 2021, Steveson signed with WWE and sporadically appeared in a few dark matches. However, Steveson’s sole televised match was against Baron Corbin at the previous year’s Great American Bash. Speaking of this year, he last defeated Cedrick Alexander at the WWE Friday Night Smackdown #1277, in February, before being released in May.

With such extensive professional wrestling experience, it is natural that Steveson wishes well for the sport’s future. And his appearance at the Nickel City Duals is a presumable sign that one can never take wrestling out of him, despite his switch.