As noted before, WWE released eleven known NXT developmental talents on Friday. Among the notable names included Drew Gulak and Boa.
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that his sources stated that Gable Steveson was also among the talents released by WWE on Friday.
Meltzer reported that WWE officials previously had not been pleased with the progress of Steveson’s development and felt he was not adapting well enough to professional wrestling as they had hoped when they first signed him. Steveson had been primarily working in dark matches at WWE’s SmackDown tapings in recent months.
Meltzer reported that had Steveson been released a few weeks earlier, he would have been able to compete in the Olympics trials for Team USA’s wrestling team at this year’s Olympics Games in Paris, France. As a result, Meltzer reported that it is too late now for Steveson to make the team as a heavyweight wrestler for Team USA for this year’s Olympics Games.
Prior to his departure, Steveson had been signed to WWE since September of 2021. Prior to his signing, Steveson made his official debut appearance for the company at SummerSlam 2021 in August of 2021