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This morning, multiple sources have confirmed that the WWE has released 2020(1) Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Shortly after winning his second NCAA title, in 2022, Steveson turned his attention to the professional wrestling/sports entertainment industry and signed with the WWE. In 2023, Steveson was granted permission to wrestle in the US Open, which he won, and then Final X. At Final X, Steveson defeated Mason Parris, 5-2 and 5-0 in consecutive matches to secure a spot on the World team. Shortly before the World Championships, Steveson had to withdraw from the team to focus on business with the WWE. Parris took his place and came home from Belgrade, Serbia with a World bronze medal. During his time at WWE, Steveson was promoted on several marquee pay-per-view events and “drafted” to Raw; however, he did not have much mat time in front of the camera. No specific reason was given for Steveson’s release; however, longtime pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer suggested that an “inability to connect with the audience” may be a factor. While the timing of Steveson’s release is unfortunate; two weeks after the Olympic Trials, he wasn’t the only one let go by the WWE. At least 11 other members of WWE’s developmental NXT brand were released on Friday, as well. One of them is a 2022 NCAA DII national champion Darrell Mason of Minnesota State. Steveson should have plenty of options available in the future. If he wants to continue pursuing a career in pro wrestling, he could hone his craft in a smaller promotion. Steveson has trained in the past with NCAA/WWE/UFC star Brock Lesnar and has hinted at a future in mixed martial arts. Of course, with the Final X wins over the eventual world bronze medalist in 2023, Steveson still is capable of beating anyone in the world if focused on freestyle wrestling.

Amine qualified for the NCAA on four occasions - all at 165 lbs. In his first three trips to nationals, Amine earned All-American honors placing seventh as a freshman and fourth in each of the two seasons that followed. Last year, Amine was fourth at the Big Ten Championships and ended up falling in the NCAA Round of 12 to Stanford’s Hunter Garvin, 4-2. His record after four years at Michigan was 64-25. In 2022, when the Wolverines captured the Big Ten Championship, Amine upset top-seeded Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) to make the Big Ten finals. What makes this move even more interesting than a very talented wrestler in the portal, is the Amine family has been a fixture at the University of Michigan. Cam’s father, Sam, and brother Jordan wrestled for the Wolverines; as did his uncle Mike and cousins, Myles and Malik. Amine will have one year of eligibility remaining. He joins Andrew Alirez, Wyatt Hendrickson, and Kyle Parco as All-Americans who are currently in the portal.

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May 3 CES 77 (Triller TV) Nodirjon Safarov (Northwest Wyoming/Asian bronze) vs. Chris Vega (Springfield Tech) May 3 ONE Fight Night 22 (Amazon Prime) Chihiro Sawada (Silver at Junior Asian championships) vs. Noelle Grandjean May 11 UFC Fight Night (ESPN/ESPN+) Terrance McKinney (North Idaho College/Chadron State) vs. Esteban Ribovics May 17 Bellator Champions Series: Paris (MAX) Archie Colgan (Wyoming) vs. Thibault Gouti May 17 LFA 184 (UFC Fight Pass) Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) vs. Oseyiomon Oiyemhonian May 18 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Emily Ducote (Oklahoma City) vs. Vanessa Demoupoulos June 1 UFC 302 (ESPN Pay Per View) Alexander Romanov (World University bronze) vs. Jailton Almeida June 8 UFC Fight Night (ESPN+) Cody Stamann (Grand Valley State) vs. Taylor Lapilus Julian Marquez (Missouri Valley) vs. Zachary Reese John Castaneda (Minnesota State Mankato) vs. Daniel Marco June 13 PFL 4 2024 (ESPN+) Tyrell Fortune (Grand Canyon) vs. Daniel James June 21 PFL 5 2024 (ESPN+) Josh Silveira (Arizona State) vs. Rob Wilkinson Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior June 22 UFC on ABC 6 (ABC/ESPN+) Khamzat Chimaev (Swedish national champion) vs. Robert Whittaker (Australian national champion) Kelvin Gastelum (North Idaho) vs. Daniel Rodriguez June 29 UFC 303 (ESPN PPV) Michael Chandler (Missouri) vs. Conor McGregor

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