Kurt Angle On Gable Steveson – “I Feel Badly For Him”
Kurt Angle feels bad for Gable Steveson but thinks WWE has a trick up its sleeve when it comes to the Olympic champion.
Gable Steveson recently made his in-ring WWE debut at NXT Great American Bash where he took on Baron Corbin. Despite Corbin being hated for almost all of his WWE career, the former King of the Ring was the one being cheered by the crowd in Texas while Steveson was booed for the entire match.
At one point, Steveson locked Corbin in the ankle lock which garnered “you’re not Angle” chants from the crowd reminding him that not all Olympic gold medallists are created equal in the eyes of the WWE Universe.
What did Kurt Angle really think of Gable Steveson’s WWE debut?
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show – courtesy of AdFreeShows – the WWE Hall of Famer reflected on Gable Steveson’s start in WWE and says he feels bad for him since he’s being compared to Angle right from the get-go:
“Well, I feel badly for him because he’s been compared to me at this point in time and he hasn’t even barely started. He just started out right now. So I don’t know how his future is going to be. I know he’s really talented, really athletic.
“I’m not sure how he is as far as entertainment-wise, but as far as in the ring, I heard he’s really good. But no, I don’t think it’s a fair assessment to compare him to me right now. I think down the line, you can do that.”
Kurt Angle then touched on the very negative fan reaction Steveson received at The Great American Bash and says he thinks WWE might be telling Steveson to mimic Angle to elicit that exact response:
“I heard, this is crazy but people have been coming to me and telling me, ‘Hey, he wrestled Baron Corbin in NXT and the fans were booing the heck out of him, and then he pulled his straps down and the fans were even more pissed.’
“You know what? I think that is something that the WWE is actually doing. They want to make him a heel so they’re gonna have him copy and mimic me. This is what I believe. I think they’re gonna have him copy and mimic me so he can piss the fans off so that he starts out as a heel because it’s easier to be a heel starting out than it is to be a babyface.
“I think they’re the ones that actually told him to do this stuff. I really believe that and I think the WWE is brilliant for doing it.”
Gable Steveson received a more positive reaction at Raw in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he took out a former world champion in a segment that did not air on TV.