One giant will be absent from this weekend's U.S. Olympic wrestling competition at Penn State University. Cash medalist Gable Stevenson, who won the men's freestyle heavyweight title at the 2021 Tokyo Games, is not competing and has no plans to travel to Paris to defend his title.
The wrestler, who is famous for his backflips after matches, performed a backflip in hopes of earning his second Olympic berth. Steveson, a former Gopher from Apple Valley, retired from amateur wrestling in 2022 after winning his second NCAA Championship. He began training for a career in WWE before returning to the amateur side of the sport last April and was well on his way to qualifying for the World Championship in July.
Just 10 days before the World Championships in September, Stevenson withdrew without explanation.
Stevenson's previous performance had qualified him for the Olympic Trials, but he has not competed in the amateur weight class since June of last year. He made his WWE NXT in-ring debut in July against Baron Corbin, a match that ended in a double countout. Recently, he has competed in non-TV matches before WWE television.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Steveson, then 21, trailed Georgian and three-time world champion Geno Petriashvili 8-7 with 6.5 seconds left. Steveson dominated Petriashvili with two takedowns with 10 seconds remaining, winning 10-8. The winning goal was decided with 0.2 seconds remaining.
