Gable Stevenson signed to WWE

Gable Stevenson the Olympic wrestling gold medalist inks a multi-year deal with WWE.

The 21 year old, who just took Gold at the Tokyo Olympics last month has signed a NIL deal with WWE, that will allow him to attend the University of Minnesota for his senior year and defend the Division 1 national championship.

A remote training facility will be set up near the campus by WWE so Stevenson can learn in ring work with WWE coaches, he'll have access to the WWE Performance center in Orlando Florida.

Gable's multi-year deal will begin after he graduates in May. He'll become a full time performer with the company, but will also appear on WWE programming during the school year.

Stevenson had his options open, as he was in talks with the UFC, as well as pursuing a career in the NFL. The UFC though wanted Stevenson to gain experience in the regional MMA scene before potentially bringing him into Dana White’s Contender Series to compete for a contract.

WWE has a rich history in transforming top freestyle wrestlers into superstars within the promotion. The only other WWE athlete to win Gold at the Olympics was Kurt Angle at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Brock Lesnar being another wrestler like Stevenson who won the National Championship at the University of Minnesota is now one of the biggest superstars at WWE.

WWE President said, “We all saw his physical ability prior to and at the Olympics, this is just the starting line and nowhere close to the finish line, so our investment is based on how much we think of Gable now and how much bigger we think he can become.”