One of the hottest commodities in the sports world appears to have found a home. It sounds like Olympic freestyle wrestling star and gold medal winner Gable Steveson is headed to the WWE. That’s according to the Wrestling Observer, who reported the move just shortly after the NCAA D1 champion hit Twitter with a cryptic message, telling fans that he had “just put pen to paper.”
Just put the pen to paper… ✍
— Gable Steveson (@GableSteveson) September 4, 2021
Steveson apparently met with WWE owner Vince McMahon back in August, while attending the promotion’s SummerSlam event. The former Golden Gopher will be following in the footsteps of his brother Bobby Steveson, who reported to the WWE Performance Center last month to begin training. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Steveson told the outlet that “If I ever go to WWE, I’d be a ‘Paul Heyman Guy,’” adding that WWE superstar and former UFC champ Brock Lesnar has been advising him on his future career moves since high school.
“WWE has been so great to me,” Steveson explained. “Triple H, Brock, Heyman, Ric Flair and so many others have been so supportive,” adding that he’d also received lots of support from UFC stars like Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, and Henry Cejudo.
After coming home from his standout performance in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Steveson made public ovations to both the WWE & UFC, while also making it known that he’d been in contact with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings. There was even talk that he might return to school for another year of wrestling, or find a spot on the Gophers’ Football team.
Ultimately, however, it seems that the offer from the WWE was just too good to refuse. Tough luck for MMA fans who may have been hoping to see yet another standout, top-tier athlete hit the Octagon. Still, if he’s got Lesnar in his ear, giving him advice, there may be time for a UFC run somewhere down the line in his future.
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