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'The next Kurt Angle' is unfortunately further away than ever from living up to the reputation of WWE's first-ever Olympic Gold Medalist. On X/Twitter, he was trolled badly for what he did on the WWE SmackDown dark match.
By now, fans may have guessed that the superstar in question is none other than Gable Steveson. Steveson was signed to WWE following his Olympic Gold medal win in Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021). Unfortunately, in the three years since, he has reportedly made very little progress.
He was set to be fast-tracked to the main roster via the WWE Draft in 2021. He is yet to make his actual televised debut on the main roster, but he has been competing in dark matches and there are reports that he is set to be booked for the next few WWE SmackDown tapings - with some speculating this as a foreshadowing of his main roster debut.
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On this week's pre-SmackDown dark match, Gable Steveson hit what was undoubtedly the most pointless backflip fans will ever see. You can take a look at it below, and Cameron Grimes' reaction tells the whole story:
The responses on X/Twitter were nothing short of brutal for the man once labeled as the next Kurt Angle:
For those unaware, certain allegations have followed Gable Steveson and as a result, he has become a bit of a controversial superstar.
Kurt Angle spoke about why Gable Steveson hasn't been pushed
Kurt Angle knows the pressure that comes with being an Olympic Gold Medalist in WWE. Before Gable Steveson was signed, Kurt Angle was the only gold medalist in WWE history.
However, he picked up the business quicker than anybody before him, and proceeded to have one of the best debut years of all time. It didn't even take him long to become WWE Champion.
On the Ten Count show, Kurt Angle explained why he thought Gable Steveson wasn't being pushed:
"Well, he's a great talent. He's very talented and I think the reason is his size. You know he's probably 170 pounds, you know 5'8. I think that bears a little bit on the reason why he's not being pushed as much as he should be, but I think he is an amazing talent. I think the WWE can do a lot with him. He's very technical, he has a lot of charisma, he's a talented kid and I think he would do extremely well if the company pushed him." (From 10:27 to 11:00)
How Steveson handles all the criticism coming his way will certainly play a role in his future in pro-wrestling and his continued role in WWE.
What are your thoughts on Gable Steveson? Let us know in the comments section below!
