What’s next for Gable Steveson? The Olympic Gold Medalist made his long-awaited in-ring debut for WWE at NXT Great American Bash in a bout against Baron Corbin that ended in a no contest. Steveson was far from popular with the Texas crowd, as he was met with a chorus of boos as well as “You’re not Angle!” chants from the H-E-B Center. Those chants were in reference to WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, a former Olympic Gold Medalist himself who essentially made the exact transition from the mat to the squared circle that Steveson is trying to emulate. That said, those are essentially where the parallels between Steveson and Angle end, as many have criticized Steveson for his lack of character or charisma thus far.
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Kurt Angle Weighs In on Gable Steveson’s Debut
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Kurt Angle praised Steveson’s in-ring ability but questioned whether he is cut out for the “entertainment” side of sports-entertainment.
“First of all, he’s an incredible athlete,” Angle said. “He’s not only incredible on the mat wrestling. This kid, he can do backflips. He’s really athletic. Super athletic. I think he’s gonna have a great future. I just don’t know how entertaining he’s gonna be.”
Like Steveson, Angle possessed the athletic talent from the jump, but carved out a name for himself with his goofily arrogant personality. Angle also showed adaptability as well, as he was able to evolve his personality over the years from a full-on comedy character to an ultra-serious wrestling machine.
“I know that he loves to talk. A lot of his friends that I talked to say he’s kind of a loudmouth, which is kind of good. You don’t want to be shy when you’re in this,” Angle continued. “I was a shy kid, and when I went to WWE, I had to learn how to suck it up and just go out there and put everything on the line. It was really a hard transition for me. I think Gable Stevenson will have the same thing.”
While there are parallels between the two, Angle pointed to a crucial amateur wrestling habit that has to be broken to succeed in pro wrestling.
“He’ll probably have to break that mold of being an amateur wrestler, because as an amateur wrestler, you show no emotion. You go out there and you focus and you wrestle and you go from the pen. It’s not like pro wrestling. We have to show people emotion,” Angle added. “You have to show if you’re scared or if you’re mad or if you’re excited. You have to have incredible charisma. I think that Gable has that. I just don’t know how well he’s going to translate that when he starts talking. I expect him to have a great career. I don’t know if he’s going to have the career I had, but I think he could he could definitely.”
