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Gable Steveson recently left Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson amazed as he discussed the origins of his famous backflip, which has gone viral on social media.
The American was a highly sought-after athlete following his Olympic Gold medal win, with UFC, Bellator, and WWE in the mix to sign him. He ended up choosing WWE due to his pro wrestling aspirations as well as the NIL program, but has left the door open for an MMA bout in the future.
During his appearance on the former UFC light heavyweight champion's Jaxxon Podcast along with Luke Rockhold and Laura Sanko, Steveson discussed the origins of the backflip, which is very impressive because of how athletic he is for a heavyweight. He mentioned that one of his teammates suggested he do it as a way to cap off his historic season:
"My senior year, I won 173 matches in a row in high school and I had the best winning percentage in Minnesota history...[One of my teammates] said, 'I think it [backflip] would be good for you to show athleticism', and the guy I was wrestling, I pinned him in 11-seconds in the state finals before, so I went out there pinned him in 17-seconds, and I did the backflip then that's how it started."
Jackson was amazed by Steveson's athleticism, which shows just how gifted the Olympic Gold medalist-turned-WWE superstar is.
Gable Steveson opens up about the importance of his NIL deal
Since being introduced, NIL deals have been a massive shift in the business of collegiate sports in the United States, and Gable Steveson recently opened up on the importance of the deal for his college journey.
During the aforementioned appearance, Gable Steveson mentioned that the NIL deal he signed with WWE was more important than serving as a pathway to pro wrestling as he noted that it allowed him to continue with his academics and attain his degree. He said:
"My most important thing was how can I graduate? I wanted the paper cause at the end of the day, whatever I do with my life, no one can I say I'm not intelligent, that I didn't graduate, that I left early, so I wanted the degree...Which allowed WWE to start the NIL program and that's how I got with WWE and I still am now." [21:59 - 22:23]
Check out the full episode below:
