Gable Steveson is well-known for his backflips and last-second Olympic triumph in Tokyo, but his showmanship beyond the wrestling mat was also on display this summer.
The gold medalist and four-time state high school champion from Apple Valley said he knew "a long time ago" he'd return for his senior year with the Gophers.
Still, Steveson didn't announce until last week he was officially signing with WWE and giving college wrestling one last go-round this season to "build the anticipation."
Now the anticipation will grow for Steveson's last year with the Gophers, with fans wanting to know when they can witness his WWE debut, too. Stay tuned, he says.
"I'll be making on-screen appearances," Steveson said with a smirk at Monday's news conference at the Gophers' Athletes Village. "I don't know who I'm going to wrestle ... but when I do, I hope you guys will be watching."
All eyes locally will surely be on Steveson and former Gophers star Brock Lesnar in chairman Vince McMahon's popular pro wrestling circuit.
When asked if he will face off against Lesnar — the former NCAA, WWE, and UFC champion — Steveson purposefully remained silent, but his eyes widened with excitement.
"He's such a legend," Steveson said. "For me to go out there and have him on my side and have the guidance he brings is special."
Lesnar, the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion, first met Steveson after the young phenom's senior year of high school at Apple Valley. Lesnar invited him to a WWE match at Target Center.
"Ever since then he's just been like a figure I could talk to," Steveson said. "A person who guides me in the right direction."
Minnesota's wrestling program also produced current WWE wrestler Shelton Benjamin (All-America in 1997 and 1998) and Steveson's brother, Bobby (2016-20), who is currently training with WWE in Orlando.
But Gophers coach Brandon Eggum was beaming with pride last week describing what it meant to be able to boast about two transcendent stars such as Steveson and Lesnar. Recruiting has gone sky high.
"Brock Lesnar is a superstar, and Gable is now entering that same light," Eggum said. "It brings a different precedence to our program here. A lot of people are excited to watch those guys and follow their career."
Eggum remembers Lesnar and Steveson a while ago wrestling against one another in the Gophers facility when they just "rolled around and scrapped a little bit."
How about something bigger in the future in front of thousands of pro wrestling fans in town? The WWE's next event in the Twin Cities is its "Smackdown" at Xcel Energy Center on Dec. 17.
"Gable wanted to follow in [Lesnar's] footsteps and do the same things," Eggum said. "In the blink of an eye, he's right on his tail. Those guys can be tag team partners in the future. Or maybe they're squaring off against each other. But it's going to be fun. We can't wait to see them."
Steveson hopes his first-ever name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with the WWE leads to others taking a similar path. He wants to force passionate pro wrestling fans to "tune into us" in college first, he said.
First things first, though. Steveson wants to finish what he started by defending his NCAA title, while hopefully helping the Gophers win their first national team title since 2007.
"Gophers responsibilities are No. 1," Steveson said. "That's what we talked about first with the WWE. Being able to compete here was my last goal. I felt like I owe all the fans that show up and want to watch me in sellout crowds … I wanted to spend my four years and leave my legacy here."
