Steveson says his in-ring debut is ‘pretty close’ to happening.
In September of 2021, it was formally announced that Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson signed with WWE. As a part of the 2021 WWE Draft, Steveson was slotted on the Raw brand.
In late December 2022, he appeared on SmackDown as a part of Kurt Angle’s birthday bash segment. Steveson began training full-time with WWE in the fall of last year after undergoing a heart procedure.
While being interviewed by MMAFighting, Steveson expressed that he feels he’s close to making his in-ring debut. He does not know exactly when that’s coming, but said ‘probably’ after WrestleMania 39.
I’m pretty close to debuting and being on-screen. I’m just waiting for that call and waiting for that time. Some days it’s stressful because I never know when it will come and I’m used to amateur wrestling where it’s like, ‘Hey, we have the Olympics in three months or we have the Olympic trials in two months, be ready for it.’ Right now, you’re going through the motions with no goal, and I wish I could have that goal in sight and put forth and give people real answers when I’m debuting, but it will be coming really, really soon. And when I mean really, really soon, probably after [WrestleMania] or just a little bit after that. I think being able to understand that this game is different and it’s a process and I’m going to follow the process the right way and just keep moving forward.
He went on to add that he’s hungry for more to accomplish and wants to be the most dominant, physical and athletic talent to come into WWE since Brock Lesnar.
I’m young and I’m hungry. I want to be the best in everything I can possibly be. Step one is WWE and go out there and be the most physical, athletic and dominant wrestler since probably Brock Lesnar, maybe even more than that.
Elsewhere in the interview, Steveson expressed his desire to compete in the 2024 Olympic games. It is up in the air as far as whether he’ll be able to do it or not but he’s looking forward to the idea of being a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
I think that’s a discussion when that time comes and that’s a discussion for how my schedule may play out, and you never know how it may play out. As of right now, it’s a yes or no, but at the end of the day, I will be ready to compete and put on a good show as always. I’m hoping [to return to the Olympics]. I will be ready if that time comes and I won’t stop being ready until I know if I can go and if I get that yes or no. It would be really amazing [to win a second gold medal] and I hope it happens and I hope I can do that. I feel if there’s someone who can do it, it’s me. I’ve got that burning passion to keep doing it. I believe in myself to the fullest.
Steveson’s brother, Damon Kemp is a member of WWE’s NXT brand and he was most recently featured on the February 28th show in a segment with The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed).
