Gable Steveson won an Olympic gold medal in stunning fashion, picking up the win in Tokyo with a last-second victory in the men’s freestyle 125kg wrestling final.
Steveson won his gold medal match against Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili with moments left, coming back to win after being down 8-5 in the final minute. Steveson, a potential WWE prospect and University of Minnesota wrestling standout, then scored a takedown to bring things to 8-7 with just seven seconds to go. After a restart, Steveson quickly moved around Petriashvili and scored a second takedown with less than one second remaining on the clock, giving him the win.
Steveson made it to the gold medal round after picking up decisive victories over Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgyzstan in his opening match, and a semifinal win over Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur of Mongolia.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED! ?@GableSteveson grabs the GOLD as time expires. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/yqMc3wbXsu
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2021
DO A FLIP!@GableSteveson x #TokyoOlympicspic.twitter.com/PpSNj8wUSc
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 6, 2021
Steveson, the reigning NCAA Division I National Champion and Danny Hodge Trophy winner, is a noted WWE fan and had been in attendance at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this year.
Shortly after the gold medal victory, Triple H posted the following congratulatory message:
A GOLD-MEDAL celebration!!! Congratulations to @GableSteveson on his performance at the #TokyoOlympics. Focused until the last second, another gold meal for @USAWrestling and #TeamUSA!!!!
On a media call for the event, Triple H confirmed they’d had some discussions about bringing Steveson into the company when he decides his amateur wrestling career is over, but they haven’t decided on anything yet.
“I would hate to say to a guy who’s a junior in college, ‘Let’s make some decisions in the moment while you try to get ready for the Olympics.’ Let’s focus on one thing at a time. He’s got a bright future in anything he decides, but he’s a massive fan of what we do. I’m a massive fan, we all are, of what he can bring to the table here. And if he does make the decision to come here and wants to become a WWE Superstar, I have no doubt he will do it. [He’ll] do it in record time and be amazing at it.”
Steveson also received some words of encouragement from Triple H after his semifinals win, and received a good luck message from Ric Flair prior to the Olympic Games starting in Tokyo.
