10 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2023 (According To The Internet)
2. Baron Corbin Vs. Gable Steveson (WWE NXT The Great American Bash - 30 July)
Cagematch Rating: 2.31/10.
WWE desperately wants to make A Thing of Gable Steveson.
Even before the Olympian signed with the company, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was regularly peppered with talk of WWE's admiration for the freestyle wrestling standout. SummerSlam 2021 saw Steveson make his first appearance amongst fellow gold medallist Tamyra Mensah-Stock. A few weeks later, Steveson's WWE signing was confirmed, glamour shots with Triple H and Vince McMahon were splashed across the internet, and Gable was inexplicably drafted to Raw before even reporting to the Performance Center.
His sports entertainment progress was halted by a return to the freestyle/folkstyle scene that made him, Steveson eventually re-emerged for a short program with steady hand Baron Corbin in July 2023. Unfortunately, his Great American Bash bow was far from steady.
Corbin, theoretically, is a safe choice for a first match. He's an effective heel that crowds enjoy rooting against and a far more solid worker than detractors would admit. It speaks to this match's failure, then, that the audience was all over Steveson, utterly rejecting the new golden boy by the end, drowning Gable with jeers where McMahon likely imagined thunderous applause.
The rare rebellious modern WWE crowd aside, Steveson flopped in his debut. The Kurt Angle comparisons were unfair and cursed from day one, but by entering a listless performance devoid of fire, energy, and personality, Gable revealed himself far closer to green than gold.