8 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About American Alpha
6. Chad Gable Is An Olympian
Angle is the most decorated Olympian in WWE history. After winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1995 World Wrestling Championships, Kurt made the United States team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He captured gold later that summer, and his Olympic success has been at the heart of professional wrestling character ever since.
It’s a background shared by Chad Gable, and quite possibly one of the reasons he and Jordan caught Angle’s eye in the first place. After a glittering, accolade-filled high-school and college wrestling career, Gable represented the USA at the 2012 Olympics. He faced Keitani Graham, a Micronesian athlete, in the qualifying round, and won handily, but a disappointing defeat in the following round saw him finish 9th overall.
Gable has called his Olympic heartache “one of, if not the worst moment of my life,” but his transition from folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling has been seamless. He has never looked like anything other than a crisp, precise technical wrestler every time he’s stepped into the ring, and combined with his goofball charisma and ability on the microphone, Gable has all the tools to become a major superstar.