Chad Gable Claims He Wasn’t Jealous Working with Gable Steveson

After joining WWE a few years ago, Gable Steveson underwent training and participated in dark matches, but his television debut remained uncertain. Eventually, WWE released him. With that said, Chad Gable has made it clear that working with Steveson didn’t bother him at all.

While speaking in an interview with Peter Rosenberg on Cheap Heat, Chad Gable reflected on his experience working with Gable Steveson at WrestleMania 38. Despite sharing a similar name, Gable wasn’t concerned about potentially losing his last name due to WWE’s history of name changes. He mentioned how his focus during WrestleMania was on his tag team match with Otis and their pursuit of the tag team titles alongside RKBro.

Regarding Gable Steveson’s debut at WrestleMania, where he tossed Chad Gable around after Gable’s match, Chad expressed understanding and support for Steveson. He empathized with the pressure Steveson faced, entering WWE with high expectations and without prior wrestling training. Chad acknowledged the challenge of transitioning from amateur wrestling to the entertainment-oriented style of WWE, which requires emotive performances and character development.

“Completely transparent perspective from me. At the time, I was doing the stuff with RKBro (Randy Orton & Matt Riddle), me and Otis were wrestling for the tag team titles. We had a match at WrestleMania, my first WrestleMania match, when he was being introduced. My mind was on the fact that I had finally earned my spot on the show, on WrestleMania. I was so proud and so happy about that, and happy for Otis. My mind was, ‘I’m on Mania with Randy Orton. This is great.’ The fact that they were bringing [Steveson] in, and I was involved with him in his first appearance. He came in the ring after I lost, threw me around. The reality was, I wasn’t upset by any of that. None of that bothered me. I looked at from his perspective and I was imagining myself in his shoes thinking, ‘I wouldn’t want to be you right now. There is so much hype surrounding you, and you haven’t even started training yet. This is your debut. It’s on WrestleMania.’ Everyone kind of wants that, but you better deliver. This is their first look at you.”

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Chad shared his perspective on the differences between amateur wrestling and WWE, pointing out the necessity for wrestlers in WWE to convey emotion and vulnerability, which can be a significant adjustment for athletes coming from a different background. Despite Steveson’s short-lived stint in WWE, Chad recognized his immense potential as an athlete and expressed confidence in Steveson’s future success in whatever athletic endeavor he pursues.

“I was pretty confident in my character and my performance. I knew that I was going to give them what they needed and what they wanted out of me. There was no jealousy on my part because I’m like, ‘You have a big job here to do, dude. You have big shoes to fill. I’ll do my part to make you look as good as possible.’ I was very comfortable at the time. There was no animosity or real jealousy. I went out of my way to work as well as I could with him, welcome him, and offer whatever advice I could at the place I was at at the time. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him. Some guys, that’s just how it is. You kind of have to get a taste of it to see if it’s for you. It’s certainly not for everybody. Amateur wrestlers are trained to do the complete opposite of what we do in WWE. Stoneface, no emotion, go do your job and get out. If you did that in WWE, you probably won’t have a job very long. You have to show emotion and vulnerability. It’s not to say he didn’t have that, but sometimes guys just don’t want to do that, or they’re not willing to, or it’s not natural. He’s an athlete through and through. Potentially one of the best heavyweights this country has ever had. He’s going to be fine with whatever he chooses to do athletically. This stuff is not for everybody. It’s a whole different animal.”

Following his WWE release, Gable Steveson made the jump to the NFL by signing with the Buffalo Bills and he will be playing as defensive line and is clearly doing intensive training for it. Regardless, Chad Gable will always respect Gable Steveson and that’s all that matters.

What were your initial impressions of Gable Steveson when he debuted in WWE? Do you feel he had potential to succeed in the company? Let us know in the comments section below!