Gable Steveson is replacing the wrestling tights with pads and a helmet because he has signed with a top team in the National Football League.
There have been several notable cuts by WWE over the last year, but perhaps the biggest surprise was when the company released former Olympic Gold Medallist Gable Steveson.
The 24-year-old Gable Steveson was released by WWE in early May along with several other NXT wrestlers. It was reported at the time that WWE wasn’t happy with his progress as a pro wrestler and decided to cut ties with the 2020 (the games were held in 2021) Olympic Gold Medal wrestler.
Steveson only competed in one televised match in his WWE career. It was against Baron Corbin at NXT’s 2023 Great American Bash in a match that ended in a double countout. Even though Steveson was the babyface in the match, he was booed heavily by the crowd.
Following his WWE release, there were rumors of a possible jump to the UFC, but instead, Steveson is going to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
It has been reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Steveson is signing the standard rookie three-year deal with the Bills, who have never won a Super Bowl although they did lose four Super Bowls in a row in the early 1990s.
The story also noted that Steveson is expected to play on the Bills defensive line, which he’s never done before. It was also noted that the first time Steveson ever put on a pair of cleats was at a recent workout for the Bills.
Gable Steveson Comments On Signing With NFL’s Buffalo Bills
After the news came out, Gable Steveson commented on signing with the Bills.
“I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may translate to football. I am grateful to Coach (Sean) McDermott, (general manager) Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me this opportunity.”
There is no guarantee that Steveson will make the team and he’s also not the first former WWE star to go after an NFL career following a WWE departure. Wrestling fans will remember Brock Lesnar quit WWE after WrestleMania 20 in 2004 and tried out for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as a defensive lineman. Lesnar didn’t make the team, but he was one of the final cuts.
Steveson, like Lesnar, was a collegiate wrestling star at he University of Minnesota before going to the Olympics and trying to make it in WWE as a wrestler.