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Tokyo Olympic 2020 gold medalist Gable Steveson has a 67-2 NCAA wrestling record in college. Steveson has so far competed for three years at the University of Minnesota.
On September 9th, 2021, WWE confirmed that they had signed Steveson to a NIL contract. This contract means he will still be able to compete at the collegiate level at the University of Minnesota in his senior year.
He tasted defeat twice in March 2019 to Anthony Cassar. Cassar eventually went onto mixed martial arts as opposed to professional wrestling. Otherwise, Steveson has a nearly perfect record, with more recent victories against Mason Parris and Tony Cassioppi in the 2021 NCAA Championships. Gable achieved first place and won gold at this event.
It has been confirmed that Gable will not compete for WWE full-time until he graduates from the University of Minnesota. Speaking with Aerial Helwani during MMA Hour, he said:
"I told them I wanted to go back and finish school and their number one priority was ‘You can do that,'" said Steveson. "And so, I was like ‘let’s do a Name, Image, and Likeness deal’ because that came out in July. So, I told them that."
"Vince [McMahon], Nick Khan, and Triple H all said ‘Go ahead and win a national title," Steveson continued. "Regardless, everything will still be in place for you. We’ll do this, this, and this for you. You go back and get your degree and we’ll see you after that.’ So part of my deal is I can go onstage during my school year time, so that’s pretty cool too." Gable Steveson said (h/t Wrestling INC.)
Is Gable Steveson's college record better than Kurt Angle's?
Fellow Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle finished his college wrestling career with a 116-10-2 record. Steveson hasn't completed his collegiate career yet; whether he will match, or surpass, Angle's career remains to be seen, but it's certainly possible.
As you can imagine, many comparisons have been and will continue to be made between Gable Steveson and Kurt Angle due to their similar backgrounds.
If Kurt Angle's WWE career is anything to go by, fans will be in for an absolute treat when Gable Steveson officially arrives. Angle picked up the world of WWE so fast that he went on to win the WWE Championship quite early into his career.
Angle is now in the WWE Hall of Fame, an honor Steveson will surely strive to earn once his WWE career officially begins.
Are you looking forward to Steveson's in-ring debut? Sound off below.
