Every Wrestling Rookie Of The Year: Where Are They Now?

8. 2015: Chad Gable

Essa Rios Lita
WWE.com

Chad Gable was and is amazing, and soared in NXT with one of the feel-good stories of the decade. The rise of American Alpha was perfect; two great lads and even better wrestlers taking a Steiners/Rock N' Roll express blend and making it their own before finally vanquishing the Revival was peak NXT.

Because he is small, the technical wizard is pigeonholed as a comedy character now, but it's at least more amusing than the career death sentence that was 'Shorty G'. He elevates quite naff WWE material by sneaking in references to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and generally being an endearing, irreverent dork.

He's too good for it all.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!