Why WWE Released Gable Steveson Revealed

Less than three years on from his hotly-anticipated and much-publicised signing, WWE released Gable Steveson on Friday, May 3 as part of cuts to NXT. The likes of Drew Gulak, Valentina Feroz, and Trey Bearhill were also released or will be departing the company when their contracts expire. 

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE decided to release Steveson as he was on a big contract and he simply "wasn't cutting it" as a pro wrestler. 

"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," Meltzer said.

WWE planned to push Gable Steveson to the moon after signing him in 2021 but the Olympic gold medallist only made sporadic appearances on WWE TV prior to his first televised match at NXT Great American Bash 2023 against Baron Corbin. The fans rejected him during the match and the contest was widely panned. 

Steveson also remained a controversial figure with many fans due to the past investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him. 

H/T TJR Wrestling