Gable Steveson’s future with WWE NXT is uncertain after withdrawing from this month’s Senior World Championships and being removed from the internal NXT roster, only to appear at two NXT live events this weekend.
Earlier this summer, the Olympic Gold Medalist defeated Baron Corbin in his WWE NXT Great American Bash premium live event from Austin’s H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Steveson will be replaced at the tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, by heavyweight wrestler Mason Parris, as announced last week. As PWMania.com previously reported, Steveson must first obtain permission from WWE to participate in these amateur wrestling tournaments.
It was reported by Dave Meltzer that Steveson was “officially removed” from the WWE NXT roster and “there are no plans for him in NXT at this moment.”
Following the report, Steveson defeated Dante Chin at NXT live events on Friday and Saturday.
Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Steveson’s situation is not only unusual right now, but his overall future is dependent on Vince McMahon, who has stepped back from WWE while he recovers from spinal surgery.
Meltzer stated, “He worked two shows this weekend. That was coming off from Wednesday when he pulled out of the World Championships. It’s weird because originally, they had him pegged as the next Brock Lesnar. Obviously, that has to be re-evaluated. He got a great deal coming off of winning the Gold Medal, as he was expected to be the next Brock Lesnar. But, you know, he was gonna debut on the main roster in a big way, and now he’s wrestling Dante Chin in Sebring, Florida, in front of 200 people to get ready. His trajectory has changed greatly, but he is there and not trying for Belgrade,” Meltzer stated. “I don’t know if he’s going to be back on TV soon. I know a week ago, they had no plans for him. A lot depends on….his situation will depend on Vince [McMahon]. Until Vince comes back, I don’t know if we’re gonna know a lot that’s going to happen with him because his situation is going to be a Vince decision, and if Vince isn’t back, then Triple H is in charge and everything like that, but it’s the big picture. He’s got an uphill climb right now.”
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
