WWE prospect Gable Steveson won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics today, and the company congratulated him on the big victory.
Steveson trailed Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili 8-5 with just 10 seconds left in the biggest wrestling match of his life. He delivered a spin-behind takedown with those 10 seconds left, and then another with less than 1 second left, to win the men’s freestyle 125-kilogram class finals 10-8 on Friday night in Japan.
Georgia representatives challenged the final points but Steveson actually gained a point on the challenge, giving him five points in 10 seconds.
Steveson played to the crowd and walked around the mat with the American flag draped over his shoulders, then hit a back-flip that he often does when he wins a big match.
“You know, I put on a good show,” he said. “People are going to remember the name Gable Steveson.”
Steveson had a successful run in the Tokyo Olympics, outscoring his opponents 23-0 in the first three rounds, and dominating 2016 Olympic gold medalist Taha Akgul 8-0 in the quarterfinals. The wrestler he defeated in the final, Petriashvili, is the #1 seed, and a three-time world champion, who won a bronze medal in 2016.
Gable earned $250,000 for winning the gold medal in Tokyo.
ESPN noted that the wrestling world, amateur and pro, now await the next move from Gable. It’s no secret that he is a big fan of WWE and is interested in working for the company, but he could also return to the University of Minnesota for his senior year, and cash in on the NCAA rules changes regarding likeness, name and image. Steveson, who already has some deals in place, was the NCAA Heavyweight Champion this past season, and shared the Dan Hodge Trophy for the best collegiate wrestler in the country.
Gable noted that he isn’t ready to make a move just yet because he’s “living in my moment.” He plans to return home to Minnesota, and decompress before making any decisions.
Steveson has known Paul Heyman since junior high school, and one of his mentors is Brock Lesnar. He often tweets about WWE and has attended several events in recent years.
You may remember Gable appearing at ringside during the “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” Night Two event during WrestleMania 37 Weekend in April, shown on camera with WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and former WWE Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Cemen. You can see a tweet from that appearance below.
Triple H noted after that Takeover appearance that Gable and his dad were guests at WrestleMania 37 and Takeover, and that WWE has had talks with the brothers for a while. He also said he thinks Gable would be “amazing” in WWE.
The Steveson Brothers, Gable and his brother Bobby Steveson, who are lifelong wrestling fans, have been expected to work with WWE at some point for a few years now. They both have been standout wrestlers for the University of Minnesota, and have trained with Lesnar, an alumni. It was last reported in mid-June that Bobby was being praised for some of his work at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, and that he was scheduled to officially start with the company in the next class of Performance Center recruits.
As seen below, WWE tweeted a clip from Gable’s match and congratulated him.
“[eyes emoji] INCREDIBLE. Congratulations, @GableSteveson! [first place medal emoji] #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics,” they wrote.
Triple H commented on Gable’s performance from earlier in the week, writing, “10 points in 2min. 8-0 victory over reigning champ. Gold medal match next. Legends falling …. Legends being made…. @GableSteveson = MACHINE!! #TeamUSA #TokyoOlympics”
Triple H then commented on today’s gold medal victory and congratulated Gable.
“A GOLD-MEDAL celebration!!! Congratulations to @GableSteveson on his performance at the #TokyoOlympics. Focused until the last second, another gold meal for @USAWrestling and #TeamUSA!!!!,” he wrote.
Heyman took to Twitter this afternoon to tout the big win by Gable, calling him a Paul Heyman Guy.
“GABLE STEVESON WINS OLYMPIC GOLD! #PaulHeymanGuy @GableSteveson captures #OlympicGold in the most dramatic fashion imaginable! @WWE @TripleH @bobby_steveson @WWEonFox @btsportwwe @arielhelwani @NBCSports @jacobu,” he tweeted.
Heyman also responded to a man who advised him to get on Gable’s “train immediately.” He responded, “As you know, kind sir, I have been a believer in @GableSteveson since he was an undefeated high school wrestler from Apple Valley, Minnesota!”
Stay tuned for more on Gable and his WWE future. Below are a few related tweets from today’s win, plus tweets from Triple H, Heyman, WWE, WWE On FOX, WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross, NXT Tag Team Champion Nash Carter, Chad Gable, and Pat McAfee:
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