[ad_1]
AP Photo / Jeff Roberson, File
WWE officially signed a historic contract with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson on Thursday.
The contract is the WWE First Name, Picture and Likeness (NIL) agreement with an NCAA student-athlete.
In addition to being a member of the WWE roster, Steveson will be allowed to defend his 285-pound 285-pound NCAA 2020-21 National Championship in freestyle wrestling at the University of Minnesota during the 2021-22 campaign.
According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Steveson, 21, said it was a multi-year deal that will see WWE set up a “distance learning center” near the University of Minnesota campus to that he can learn the nuances of professional wrestling while wrestling collegially.
Regarding his decision to sign with WWE rather than pursue an MMA career with the UFC or explore an opportunity with WWE’s main rival, AEW, Steveson said, “I’ve been in WWE since I joined WWE. Very young. I was on guys like Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a very long time. So growing up watching them, me being an artist on the wrestling mat, I felt like it was the right choice. “
On Twitter, he called it a “childhood dream” to sign with WWE.
Steveson sprocket @GableSteveson
Childhood dream fulfilled .. I officially signed with the @WWE!!! Thanks for the opportunity !! LET WORK
Steveson won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics and made an appearance at WWE SummerSlam shortly thereafter.
Even before that, it was speculated that Steveson would pursue a career in WWE, as he had been in contact with WWE Executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque and appeared in the crowd at an NXT TakeOver event.
Commenting on Steveson and the uniqueness of his NIL deal, Triple H said, via Coppinger:
“Gable impressed us before he became an American Olympic gold medalist. He has all the tools to be a generational talent: a world-class athlete with size, speed, determination and the ability to captivate an audience with his incredible charisma.
“The introduction of NIL allows us to create a more direct path from college to WWE, a benefit to the athletes as well as to the WWE Universe as Gable will have an immediate presence with our company while working on it. graduation and defense of his national championship. The future is bright for him in WWE. “
WWE Superstar Seth Rollins intervened during the signing:
Seth Rollin @WWERollins
The best wrestler in the world comes to the best wrestling company in the world !!! I love to see it! Gable Steveson is WWE! https://t.co/CDDttbwX8J
Steveson is looking to follow in the footsteps of Kurt Angle and Lesnar, perhaps the two most notable amateur wrestlers to have achieved success in WWE.
Angle won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics before becoming a multiple-time WWE World Champion and one of the greatest workers in the ring of all time.
Like Steveson, Lesnar was an NCAA champion at the University of Minnesota before experiencing a rapid rise to the top in 2002.
Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 after an eight-year hiatus, then returned to SummerSlam after more than a year of absence. All told, Lesnar is an eight-time World Champion and one of the most successful Superstars in WWE history.
Of how he thinks his skills will translate in WWE, Steveson said:
“Being able to learn to take moguls and with the wrestling history that I have right now, I think I can adjust to it all really quickly. I think with the charisma, confidence and attitude that I have. brings to the wrestling mat, it will translate very quickly to WWE, and I feel like I can… go on screen and have a good role and know what to do perfectly.
Steveson’s multi-year talent contract with WWE will go into effect once his varsity wrestling career ends, although he is allowed to make appearances for WWE in the meantime.
With the adoption of new NIL rules by the NCAA this year, college athletes are allowed to earn money using their name, image and likeness for the first time. WWE had never had the opportunity to offer this type of contract before.
Once Steveson makes the full-time jump to WWE, he will join his older brother Bobby Steveson, who once wrestled in Minnesota and recently signed with the company.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all the hot topics of wrestling. Watch the latest episode in the player below (note: some NSFW languages).
[ad_2]
Source link