Kurt Angle: It's Unfair to Compare Gable Steveson to Me

Kurt Angle has said it is hardly fair to compare Gable Steveson to himself, following the young Superstar's debut match last month.

Steveson signed with WWE in 2021, mere weeks after capturing Gold at that year's Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Later that year, he became the first person under contract to be drafted to Raw before having a match with the company. Despite initial reports that Steveson was underwhelming in training, more recent reports stated that he has come a long way and is exceeding WWE's expectations for him. 

Steveson's Debut

Close to two years after his high-profile signing with WWE, Steveson competed in his first match at the WWE NXT Great American Bash event. Steveson received a somewhat hostile response from the NXT crowd, many of whom chanted for Steveson's opponent, Baron Corbin, instead of the Olympian. The double count-out finish did not go over well with fans either, many of who saw it as a 'cop-out' for Steveson's first match. 

Kurt Angle Weighs In

One of the several negative chants during Steveson's match with Corbin was "You're not Angle," a nod to WWE's first Olympic Gold Medalist. On his podcast, Kurt Angle shared why he feels it's unfair to compare Steveson to his own legendary career in the ring. 

“I feel badly for him because he’s being compared to me at this point in time, and he hasn’t even barely started, he just started out right now so I don’t know how his future is going to be."

Angle suggested that WWE could lean into these comparisons, having Steveson imitate Kurt in the ring to draw more heat from the crowd, turning Steveson heel in the process. Angle has previously commented on possibly managing Steveson, alongside other former Olympians in WWE. 

Steveson is a WWE Superstar, but could he be returning to the Olympics next year? Click here to find out more. 

H/T - Wrestling Inc