Gable Steveson saw his first semi-official action as a WWE entertainer Sunday night, showing off some moves at WrestleMania 38. In a short bit between bouts, the former Gophers heavyweight came out on the winning end of a little Gable-on-Gable violence, with a fellow Minnesotan taking the beating.
St. Michael native Chas Betts — known to "WWE Raw" fans by his stage name, Chad Gable — played the role of Steveson's foil. Like Steveson, Betts is a former Minnesota state high school champion (2004, St. Michael-Albertville) and Olympian (2012, Greco-Roman). Sunday, he became Steveson's adversary, setting the stage for Steveson's first spotlight moment in WWE.
During the show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, tag-team duos RK-Bro and Street Profits invited Steveson to celebrate with them in the ring after the Raw tag-team title bout. Chad Gable, part of losing duo Alpha Academy, knocked a drink out of Steveson's hand and gave him a loud shush. Steveson bellied up to Gable, wrapped his arms around him and threw him to the mat, to the delight of nearly 78,000 fans in the stadium and millions more watching on pay-per-view and streaming.
In a post-event interview with WWE, Steveson described his introduction to pro wrestling as "heart-rushing.''
"It's hard to describe the emotions that you get, coming from amateur wrestling, collegiate wrestling, to be in front of 70,000 people,'' he said. "I go in there, Chad gives me the look, and you know what I've got to do. I've got to throw him.''
Sunday's show wrapped up a big weekend for Steveson, who received a grand welcome from WWE impresario Stephanie McMahon on Saturday's first night of WrestleMania.
