Reason For Gable Steveson’s WWE Release Revealed

More insight has now come to light regarding Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson being released by WWE.

Cuts have returned to the WWE roster with NXT taking the hit this time around. Talents such as Ezekiel Balogun, Julian Baldi, Trey Bearhill, Valentina Feroz, Darrell Mason, Vlad Pavlenko, Kiyah Saint, Keyshawn Leflore, Emmamaria Diaz, Boa, and Drew Gulak were all let go.

Dave Meltzer later reported that in addition to the 11 names released, Gable Steveson has also been let go. Meltzer noted that the timing of Steveson’s release was especially cruel as if it had come a few weeks earlier, he could have competed in the Olympic trials for the Paris Games in the summer.

Gable Steveson Wasn’t Cutting It In WWE

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer followed up on his report, giving more insight as to why Steveson was let go and ultimately it came down to having a big money deal and not making progress in the ring:

All these cuts were done on the same day. A lot of people in the amateur world are going ‘Oh my God, how horrible, if they cut him three weeks ago…’ but they probably weren’t thinking cuts three weeks ago.

The reality is it’s another one – his contract was a very big money contract and he wasn’t cutting it, that’s the thing. It’s very, very hard. You’re talking about a guy who from literally 7th grade on was an incredible athlete. This guy may be, probably is, the best heavyweight wrestler ever in the United States. The best wrestler period out of the state of Minnesota and Minnesota has got a lot of great wrestlers.

Despite being part of the WWE Draft in 2021 which saw him move to Raw, Gable Steveson never had a match on the red brand. His only televised match in the company came against Baron Corbin at the 2023 Great American Bash with that contest ending in a double count out.

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