Former WWE NXT trainee Gable Steveson was on the losing end of a massive collegiate wrestling upset over the weekend.
A late takedown from Oklahoma State heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson onto Steveson allowed him to mount a late comeback in their match on Saturday, crowning him the 2025 NCAA Division I Champion at heavyweight.
The unexpected result, quickly deemed by many to be a historic and quite unexpected outcome in the sport, broke a streak of dominance that Steveson had put together in his wrestling career.
Returning to his wrestling background after a failed WWE run came to an end last May and following a three-month run as a professional football player for the Buffalo Bills, Steveson was aiming to head back to a scene where he had shown otherworldly dominance.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medalist was hoping to three-peat at the NCAA Division I Championships, coming back after winning the finals in 2021 and 2022. In fact, between that tournament and the Big Ten Championships, Steveson had attained six consecutive gold medals since 2020.
But in his way was Henrickson, a two-time Bronze medalist at the Division I Championships, who was heading to the competition for the first time since transferring schools from the U.S. Air Force team.
Steveson’s time with WWE never truly got off the ground, working just 17 matches and only having one bout shown on TV before parting ways with the company last year. Following his release, Steveson commented that it “wasn’t the right time” for him to pursue pro wrestling, but that he could give it another shot “maybe one day if the stars are aligned.”
His presence in the scene was rejected by many who pointed to a 2019 sexual assault charge he was facing as the reason for withdrawing support. In the case, which was dropped due to “inadequate evidence,” an attorney for the prosecution hinted that the decision to not pursue charges was related to a Minnesota law that didn’t consider sexual assault victims “mentally impaired” by alcohol if they voluntarily consumed the drinks themselves.
The law, considered an “intoxication loophole,” was changed in 2021.
It remains unclear what will happen next for Steveson. He has previously considered pursuing a career in MMA, noting last year that training with UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones “put a major spark” in him to do the sport.
