Chad Gable’s Olympic Failure Led Him Into The WWE

Hamish Woodward

Chad Gable WWE

Chad Gable went from Olympic Athlete to WWE Superstar in just one short year and has taken the company by storm as one of the best wrestlers and most entertaining wrestlers in the company.

He has drawn comparisons to Kurt Angle due to their past, but could Chad Gable be a future WWE Champion in the company?

Chad Gable Wrestled At The 2012 London Olympics

Before he was known as Chad Gable, the former WWE Tag Team Champion was an accomplished amateur wrestler.

He went by his real name of Charles “Chas” Betts and was one of top prospects in the American wrestling scene and rightfully earned his spot in the 2012 London Olympics.

Gable was a Minnesota high school state champion in 2004, the same as fellow WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar.

He competed in the Greco-Roman style 84kg event in the Olympics after defeating rival Jordan Holm in the final of the US Qualifying trials, capping off a fantastic season for the athlete.

He would then represent his country at the Olympics in 2012, mimicking fellow former WWE Superstar Kurt Angle. However, while Angle won the gold medal in his weight category, Gable was not so lucky.

He won his first match of the tournament but lost to Pablo Shorey of Cuba. It was a whitewash, losing 3-0 and sending him home from the Olympic Games.

He Signed To WWE Off The Back Of His Achievement

Chad Gable was an amateur wrestler for 20 years of his life, according to the man himself. in an interview, he stated that the Olympics was the greatest moment of his life and he was trying to achieve that once again when he signed for the WWE.

Speaking to Men’s Journal, Chad Gable revealed his favourite wrestler as a child was AEW’s Sting and that he wanted to emulate the feats of the smaller WWE stars like Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and Eddie Guerrero.

“The mindset at the time — everything went so fast. I amateur wrestled for 20 years. It culminated at this great moment and how fortunate it was to have all my family there, and my friends were over there as well. It was an incredible milestone and peak in my life — a special time in my life.”

“For pro wrestling, I was always a fan — but the first guy I was obsessed with was Sting. I watched WCW, and Sting was my guy for three or four years.

Then I started watching the cruiserweights [junior heavyweights] and watched the smaller guys and identified with them. Eddie Guerrero and Daniel Bryan [were] who I look to for inspiration;

they’re small in stature like myself but didn’t let that hinder them. They just belong and they really believe that, and that’s awesome.”

He signed a deal with WWE in November 2013 after impressing the WWE staff with his Olympic performance and his grit and determination during a WWE try out.

It was here where he would learn to train in WWE’s Developmental Division, known as NXT. Here he would be given the name Chad Gable and start his journey from Amateur wrestling to Professional Wrestling.

He Is A Tag Team Specialist In WWE

Since his debut in NXT, Chad Gable has always been considered somewhat of a tag team specialist. His first endeavour into the division came as part of a stable of fellow amateur wrestlers. He has a key member of Shoot Nation, one of the early attempts for NXT to start their own faction.

The group featured five NXT wrestlers, which were;

  • Chad Gable
  • Angelo Dawkins
  • Jason Jordan
  • Sawyer Fulton
  • Tucker Knight

This group featured five likeminded individuals who wanted to bring the reality back into wrestling. This meant real, or “shoot” style moves and an amateur wrestling-style in the ring.

The idea for the group was an interesting one and the give men thrived during NXT live events in Florida. However, the group never made it to TV and disbanded, with each man going their own ways.

However, each wrestler in the group made a good career for themselves in WWE. The two standouts in that group are Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, who formed the ultimately popular tag team known as American Alpha.

Jordan had previously been part of a team with Tye Dillenger, but despite stellar in-ring talent he failed to show the crowd his natural charism – something crucial in the world of pro-wrestling.

Teaming up with Chad Gable helped him unlock that side of him, with the Olympian’s charismatic personality bringing out the best in Jordan.

The pair were incredibly successful as a duo, winning the tag team championship in both NXT and on Smackdown.

Their NXT Tag Team Championship feud with The Revival (FTR in AEW) was one of the best in NXT history and helped put tag team wrestling back on the map in WWE.

After winning the Smackdown tag team titles, they soon lost the belts and went their separate ways. This was when Jason Jordan was drafted to Raw and revealed as Kurt Angle’s son, something many fans thought Chad Gable would be perfect for

. Both Chad Gable and Kurt Angle were Olympians and competed at the Olympic games in amateur wrestling, whilst Jordan had no such background.

Gable didn’t find as much success as his former partner. He changed gimmicks around over the years, going from almost winning the King of the Ring to being called “Shorty G” and eventually leading his own team known as “Alpha Academy”, a nod to his past. In this group, he and Otis become tag title holders and one of the most entertaining teams on Monday Night Raw.

Chad Gable vs Kurt Angle

A dream match for many in WWE is pitting the two Olympic wrestlers against each other – Chad Gable vs Kurt Angle.

They shared similar in-ring styles, a similar background and a very similar sense of humour. In WWE they could play hapless fool one second, and ruthless killer in the ring the next.

The match these two have put on in their primes would have been a classic. With the right built, Prime Angle vs Prime Gable could have been a five star match in anyone’s book and helped to push Gable to the main event of WWE.

This match did happen once. However, it came at the worst time. Kurt Angle was gearing up to retire and on a final tour of WWE.

He would wrestle Gable on a random episode of Monday Night Raw. This match wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the Kurt Angle we needed. Injuries had mounted and he simply could not move like he used to, even if his mind was as sharp as ever.

Baron Corbin would retire Kurt Angle at that years Wrestlemania, but many fans though that Chad Gable could have been the man to end the legendary career of the Olympic Gold Medallist.

Is He A Future WWE Champion?

Many fans have thought that Chad Gable could become WWE Champion in the future. He has always had a great look, fantastic wrestling ability and a character that could work in a main event setting.

While he looked rather one dimensional during his time with American Alpha, since then he has shown many sides of his character that can work in a program with the likes of Edge or Roman Reigns.

The reason for his lack of singles push in the past is unknown, but we can look towards former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

He is famous for not liking smaller wrestlers compared the giant behemoths that have dominated the company for decades, and Gable fits in the former category.

However, with Triple H now in charge and a new era in WWE beginning, he has every chance to get over with the fans and make his move towards a top spot. With a bit of luck we could see Chad Gable as WWE Champion in the near future.

While Chad Gable never found success in the Olympics, he has become a big star in the WWE and could be a world champion some day in the future.

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