Update On Gable Steveson's WWE Draft Plans

The Olympian's move to the Raw brand was one of the 2021 Draft's biggest surprises.

by Andrew Pollard
Vince McMahon Gable Steveson
WWE

With this year's WWE Draft now in the rear-view mirror, one of the biggest surprises of the 2021 Draft was seeing Gable Steveson drafted to Raw.

It was already known that the Olympic golden medallist had signed with WWE, but it was somewhat of a shock for fans to see him included in the Draft. And while that was indeed the case for those watching at home, Fightful Select now reports that Steveson's inclusion wasn't a surprise for those behind the scenes in WWE.

WWE often tries to keep things as hush-hush as possible where it pertains to surprises and shocks, but Steveson being picked up by the Raw brand was not a closely guarded secret behind the curtain. So much so, an early runsheet for the second night of the Draft even had an entrance listed for the 21-year-old.

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Obviously no such entrance ended up happening, and Fightful also adds how there are currently no "imminent" plans for Gable - although clearly things can change at the drop of a dime in WWE.

WWE opted to feature Steveson in the Draft as a way to add an element of surprise to proceedings, with him also kept off any Draft graphics listing available talents.

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A two-time All-American, Gable Steveson won gold at this year's Tokyo Olympics after defeating three-time World Champion Geno Petriashvili. Despite rumblings of him possibly seeking a career in MMA, Steveson and this 6'1", 218 lbs frame ended up signing with Vince McMahon's sports entertainment juggernaut.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.