Gable Steveson used a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience to frame his WWE release as a self-directed decision rooted in competitive ambition rather than organizational failure.
The Olympic gold medalist repeatedly described his exit as mutual, respectful, and temporary. What he did not address was why WWE crowds had already turned on him, or how his well-publicized SA allegations had followed him throughout his short run with the company.
Steveson described his time in WWE as positive and free of conflict. “I had a great experience. I have nothing wrong with anybody there. TKO was great. Triple H – Paul Levesque was great. Stephanie, Vince, everybody was great.”
He framed his release as a matter of personal standards rather than performance.”I just had a competitive drive that I needed to get out.”
According to Steveson, the problem was not WWE’s system, but his inability to fully commit to it. He said, “I was trying to bridge both and I wasn’t giving my 100 percent to the business. And if I’m not going to give 100 percent to the business, then you might as well exit me out because it’s already over with.”
Steveson emphasized that the door remains open. “I would love to go back in the future. I would love to do a sport and go out there and dominate… I would do it again most definitely because I have no hard feelings with them,” he said.
Steveson’s WWE run was brief and publicly uncomfortable. He had only one televised match. More notably, he was repeatedly booed by live crowds, including during appearances WWE clearly hoped would position him as a future star. The company never fully committed to him on television, and the audience response made that hesitation understandable.
Additionally, the boos did not emerge in a vacuum. According to sources, Gable Steveson and University of Minnesota teammate Dylan Martinez were arrested in June 2019. This happened after police received a 911 call alleging a SA involving a foreign object. Both men denied the allegations.
Six months later, Hennepin County prosecutors announced that Steveson would not face criminal charges due to “inadequate evidence.”
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman stated at the time that al**hol may have been involved and acknowledged limitations under Minnesota law. He explained that his office was restricted in how it could bring charges because Minnesota’s statute did not classify voluntary intoxication as mental incapacitation for the purposes of consent.
Steveson maintained during this period that he was “100% Innocent.” At the time of Steveson’s arrest, Minnesota law stated that a person who voluntarily consumed al**ol or d**gs was not considered mentally incapacitated for purposes of sexual assault statutes. In practical terms, this meant that a person could be severely intoxicated and still legally capable of consent if they had consumed substances willingly.
The law drew national scrutiny and sparked protests. On June 30, 2021, Minnesota lawmakers repealed the intoxication loophole, closing the provision that had required d**gs or al**hol to be administered without a person’s agreement in order to meet the threshold for impairment.
The repeal came too late to affect Steveson’s case.
WWE never publicly cited Steveson’s legal history as a reason for his release. Steveson’s version of events presents his exit as a clean, professional separation driven by competitive priorities.
What cannot be ignored is that WWE audiences had already rejected him. The boos were loud, persistent, and closely tied to online awareness of his past. WWE is historically tolerant of controversy when a performer connects with fans.
