Kurt Angle has claimed WWE is deliberately trying to get fans to boo Gable Steveson.
Amateur wrestling star Gable Steveson finally made his WWE in-ring debut at NXT Great American Bash when he took on Baron Corbin. Despite being presented as a babyface and Corbin essentially being a career heel, Steveson was heavily booed and fans chanted for his opponent.
Many within WWE have drawn parallels between Steveson and Angle, mainly because they both won Olympic gold medals. However, this presentation clearly hasn’t worked with fans, and some are already losing patience, as Steveson retains one foot in the amateur wrestling world. Even NXT announcer Booker T admitted he’s “not bought in” on Gable Steveson.
With that being said, Angle has a different theory on why fans turned on the star. Speaking on his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE Hall of Famer said that it was all a plan by WWE, and the company is getting Steveson to copy him in an effort to get him booed.
“I heard, this is crazy but people have been coming to me and telling me, ‘Hey, he wrestled Baron Corbin in NXT and the fans were booing the heck out of him, and then he pulled his straps down and the fans were even more pissed.’ You know what? I think that is something that the WWE is actually doing. They want to make him a heel so they’re gonna have him copy and mimic me. This is what I believe.
I think they’re gonna have him copy and mimic me so he can piss the fans off so that he starts out as a heel because it’s easier to be a heel starting out than it is to be a babyface. I think they’re the ones that actually told him to do this stuff. I really believe that and I think the WWE is brilliant for doing it.”
When Did Kurt Angle Last Wrestle?
Despite the similarities between the pair, fans shouldn’t expect Kurt Angle and Gable Steveson to share the ring anytime soon. While Steveson is beginning his career, Angle hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 35 in 2019 where he lost to Baron Corbin.
Despite this, the pair have shared the screen before, with Steveson accompanying Angle on SmackDown in December 2022.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co