Ever since the debut of Brock Lesnar in 2002, WWE has been trying to create the next Lesnar. His sheer dominance in the ring, whether squared or octagon, has thrilled fans for decades. Despite the WWE’s efforts to make the ‘Next Brock Lesnar,’ nothing has come to fruition. However, one NXT candidate is finally on the right track.

The race to find ‘The Next Big Thing’ can also be seen in AEW with their counter to Lesnar in Parker Boudreaux. Now, it is left to be seen who will win this race.

Gable Steveson, the Next Brock Lesnar, seals his first NXT win 

Like his icon, Kurt Angle, Steveson is an Olympic wrestling gold medalist. He won the 2020 Summer Olympic Games gold medal against the three-time reigning World Champion Geno Petriashvili. Steveson is one of the few Olympic gold medalists to be signed by the WWE. With his size and wrestling background, the WWE was quick to package him as the next Brock Lesnar. However, despite signing on in 2021, he had zero wins.

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After two years and no hope of fans taking a liking to Steveson, he appeared on NXT to face Dante Chen. The match took place at a house show in Sebring, Florida. According to fans in attendance, the two put on a brilliant match, with Steveson picking up his first WWE win with an Ankle Lock as a tribute to Kurt Angle. This marked a great victory for Steveson, whose WWE career has been plagued with twists and turns till now.

It was in 2020 when Steveson announced his interest in pro wrestling, calling it, “A dream I’ve had since I was a kid.” After winning the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, WWE quickly swept him up with a brief appearance at SummerSlam in August of the same year. Mr. Kennedy confirmed in 2022 that he was training Steveson before his debut.

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Despite making multiple appearances in the WWE and being announced by Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 38, he would only compete in a match in the July 25 episode of NXT in 2023. He faced off against Baron Corbin at the Great American Bash. However, the match exposed Steveson’s lack of in-ring ability, with the crowd booing towards both wrestlers. The match ended in a count-out draw that received heavy criticism from both the fans and experts.

Thanks to this, Steveson has been on shaky ground at WWE.

The long and uncertain road of Steveson to the main roster

Since he signed on to the WWE, Steveson has had a long and uncertain road. He was moved to the NXT division despite being hinted to appear on the main RAW roster in 2021 during the WWE Draft. He also appeared on the December 9, 2022, episode of SmackDown for Angle’s birthday celebration. After this, he was quietly moved to the NXT division as he required more training.

In August 2023, Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Steveson had been removed from the NXT Roster with no plans for him. When RingsideNews contacted the WWE for confirmation on this, they were told the situation was unclear. For the WWE, Steveson was a massive asset. He was also the first to sign an NIL deal with the WWE. Despite all these twists and turns in his road to the main roster, fans are excited after his first win. They are hoping he will improve and be taken seriously by the company.

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