Triple H called out for controversial firing of former star; veteran believes "WWE really missed the boat"

WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H was recently called out by veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer. He believes the company made a huge mistake by firing a popular star. The name in question is Gable Steveson.

After making a surprise appearance at SummerSlam 2021, Steveson was signed by WWE under their NIL program, where the organization finds 'Next In Line' pro wrestling stars. He became the second Olympic gold medalist to be hired by the Stamford-based promotion after legendary Kurt Angle.

Steveson made his in-ring debut at NXT The Great American Bash 2023. However, after wrestling in some matches at live events, he was eventually released in May 2024.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio recently called out the Triple H-led promotion for Gable Steveson's release, mentioning that he believed the company fired the upstart at the worst time.

"I mean Gable Steveson probably would have gotten a gold or a silver [at the Olympics]. I mean based on how he was wrestling last year, you know, barring an injury and everything. Obviously, the timing of his WWE firing was the worst. But I think WWE really missed the boat."

Meltzer also mentioned that WWE should have encouraged Steveson to participate in the Olympics because the company would have received great exposure if the star won a medal.

"You know, WWE really should've encouraged him [Gable Steveson] to do it [participate in Olympics] and if they were gonna fire him, it's a different story but they should have really encouraged. (...) The kind of exposure that they would have gotten if one of their stars won a medal. It was just great exposure for the company."

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WWE legend Kurt Angle believes Gable Steveson was a better athlete than Brock Lesnar

During an edition of The Kurt Angle Show, the wrestling legend said Gable Steveson was a super athlete. Angle even claimed that the 24-year-old might be a little better than Brock Lesnar.

"The kid's a super athlete. You think Brock Lesnar is an athlete? This kid, he might be a little tad bit better athlete than Brock Lesnar. I don't say that you know? That's very difficult for me to say because, especially for Brock's size, he's an incredible athlete, him and Gable Steveson are. But this guy, I mean he's fast, he's athletic. I've seen him do backflips, just standing there. He's a 250-pound monster. Good for him to be able to do stuff like that. It's just incredible so I wasn't surprised if he signed with the Buffalo Bills."

It will be interesting to see if the Triple H-led promotion will sign Gable Steveson once again in the future.

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Please credit the Wrestling Observer Radio and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from the first half of this article.