What Led To Gable Steveson's In-Ring Debut At WWE NXT Great American Bash

Nearly two years after signing with WWE, Gable Steveson will finally be making his in-ring debut this Sunday as he takes on Baron Corbin at "WWE NXT's" The Great American Bash.

Since he signed with WWE, Steveson has been training at the WWE Performance Center, encouraging the company that he's ready to compete on television. It wasn't Steveson's confidence that finally brought him on-screen though. It was a request made by WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels. During The Great American Bash media call, Michaels explained the role he played in setting up Steveson for his first pro wrestling match.

"I will be straightforward, honest, [Steveson] had been here and I wanted to know, 'Hey, I want to do something with this guy. I want to get him into the mix. Can I do that?' Michaels said. "Again, there are some times, some people fall into different genres, different rules. I don't ask a lot of questions, to be perfectly honest, but he is someone that I felt like, 'If we're going to do something with him, let's do it.' I think, perhaps, it was something that slid off someone's desk, so I brought it up, and I got the go-ahead. Maybe a little abrupt, but I wanted to throw him into the deep end, and let's see how this is going to go."

Considering Steveson's background as an Olympic gold medalist, Michaels is also curious to see if Steveson can compare to, or even surpass, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, who is famous for winning an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck. As Steveson's match with Corbin approaches, Michaels is ready to see how Steveson handles the transition to the WWE style of wrestling.