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Jay LaPrete/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
After disappointing stints in the NFL and WWE, Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson returned to what he does best.
Using his extra year of college eligibility due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Steveson triumphantly returned to the mats for Minnesota wrestling with a pair of dominant wins this weekend.
In his first NCAA match in 980 days on Friday, Steveson needed just 1:50 to earn an 18-3 tech fall as the Golden Gophers shut out North Dakota State 39-0.
The 24-year-old followed that up with a 20-4 tech fall in Minnesota’s 44-0 win over Campbell on Sunday, his first time being back in front of a home crowd. It’s the first time that the Gophers earned back-to-back shutout wins since 1997-98.
Big Ten Wrestling @B1GWrestling
2️⃣0️⃣-4️⃣ tech fall 👀<br><br>Gable Steveson dominated in his first home match since returning to <a href=”https://twitter.com/GopherWrestling?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@GopherWrestling</a>.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/B1GWrestling?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#B1GWrestling</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ksWjBGsVex”>pic.twitter.com/ksWjBGsVex</a>
After winning the 2022 national championship, Steveson began pursuing a career in WWE. He made his in-ring debut at the 2023 NXT Great American Bash in a match against Baron Corbin that wasn’t received well by fans, and he didn’t wrestle another televised match before being released this past May.
Despite never playing organized football before, Steveson pursued a career in the NFL and signed with the Buffalo Bills less than a month after being released by WWE. He appeared in two out of three preseason games and recorded three total tackles before the Bills cut him on Aug. 27.
Now that he’s back in a familiar setting, it can be expected that Steveson will be motivated to bring home a third career NCAA national title.
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