Gable Steveson made his World Wrestling Entertainment TV debut Sunday night on the promotion's Great American Bash telecast. Despite being cast in the role of a fan favorite, many of the cheers were for his opponent, who was cast — in theory, anyway — as the heel.
Gable Steveson's WWE television debut did not go well. Here are some reviews.
The Gophers wrestler and Olympic gold medalist had his first televised pro wrestling match on Sunday night — and many of the reviews were unflattering. But how much is real and how much is show?
As wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez put it:
What happened?
*In some of the pre-match build-up Steveson was being touted as a successor to legendary pro wrestler Kurt Angle, also a former Olympic wrestler who won a gold medal in 1996. However, during the match, fans mocked Steveson with a chant of "You're not Angle!"
*Baron Corbin, a veteran who has played a number of roles over the year, was well received by the audience.
*The match ended in a "double disqualification," with the wrestlers brawling outside the ring. For fans anticipating something that would hint more about Steveson's future, it was an unsatisfactory ending.
Here's some of what was said about the match on the Internet:
Nate Lindberg, Pro Wrestling Torch: "Corbin is one of the best and consistent workers in the WWE who can give anyone a great match. Steveson wasn't performing as well as the WWE hoped over the last couple years, which is why he's been off TV. If you've got a green worker, putting them with someone of the caliber of Corbin is a perfect pairing. Unfortunately, this match was relatively cold. ... The crowd was pretty quiet for the match overall chanting for the heel, Corbin over the debuting gold medalist."
Scott Carlson, whatculture.com: "Despite being matched up against the constantly despised Baron Corbin, Steveson was roundly booed by fans during his debut match at NXT Great American Bash Sunday night. This came with no hint of Gable playing to it: he actually still hit typical babyface moves and poses throughout the contest. (Contrast this with Angle, who also was touted as an Olympic hero from his debut, but leaned into being a smarmy, superior heel to great effect.)"
So what happens now? Sunday's result could prompt a wrestling "feud" between Steveson and Corbin, a storyline that could play out during upcoming WWE telecasts.
Or maybe there's something else going on. One of the people who panned Steveson on Twitter was a fellow WWE wrestler named Damon Kemp:
If the name Damon Kemp doesn't sound familiar, that's because — in real life — Damon Kemp is Bobby Steveson.
And Bobby Steveson is Gable's younger brother.
Makes you wonder if there's a family feud ahead.
Penn State scored in the 88th minute and defeated Minnesota 1-0, its first home loss of the season.