WrestleMania week is here and we can be assured of a few surprises in WWE land. From the likely return of Cody Rhodes to whatever Scott Steiner says at the Hall of Fame, there’s plenty to look forward to. One such surprise is the impending debut of Gold medal-winning Olympian, Gable Steveson.
Steveson is due to be a major character on WWE’s Raw brand sooner rather than later. He follows in the footsteps of Kurt Angle who also won Olympic Gold in men’s freestyle wrestling before joining the WWF (now WWE).
Angle’s exploits at the Olympics are well documented of course. You might be surprised though how many other WWF/WWE stars have competed at the Games.
8. Ronda Rousey (Judo, 2004 & 2008)
It’s well-known Ronda Rousey enjoyed an acclaimed career in mixed martial arts prior to stepping foot in the squared circle. Rousey is the first woman to win titles in both WWE and UFC and competed in the first ever women’s bout for the MMA group.
What newer fans may not know is that Rousey had a glittering sports career even prior to her exploits in MMA. The “Rowdy” one began judo training before hitting her teens, coached by her mother, a world-renowned judoka.
AnnMaria De Mars was the first American to win a World Judo Championship and passed her talent onto her daughter. That paid off in 2008 when Rousey snatched a bronze medal. In the process, she became the first American to win an Olympics medal in women’s judo.
Rousey is a two-time Olympian, having also qualified for the 2004 Olympics at just 17 years old.
7. Karl Gotch (Wrestling, 1948)
This Belgian-born grappler may not be particularly well remembered Stateside, but his influence is undeniable. Karl Gotch, born Charles (or Karel) Istaz, excelled at amateur wrestling prior to his professional career.
Istaz competed for Belgium in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling at the first London Olympics in 1948. Istaz decided to give the pro ranks a try and was trained at the notorious Snake Pit in Wigan, England.
His ring name was a tribute to earlier wrestler Frank Gotch. Karl would find his greatest success during the 1960s and 70s in Japan. He is widely credited with helping shape the Japanese pro wrestling style during those decades. Gotch was so revered it earned him the nickname “The God of Wrestling.”
Towards the end of his career this Olympian had a brief six-month spell in the company now called WWE. Gotch and Rene Goulet held the tag belts for the last two months of that run, winning them in Madison Square Garden.
6. Mad Dog Vachon (Wrestling, 1948)
Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon is not the first name that springs to mind when you think ‘Olympian.’ The bald-headed, gap-toothed uncle of Luna Vachon made his name throughout the 60s and 70s with his wild and woolly style.
Prior to his professional wrestling career, Vachon was an accomplished amateur wrestler. At just 18 years old Vachon came seventh in his weight category at the 1948 Olympics, competing for his native Canada.
That was clearly the year for future pro wrestlers to congregate at the Games. Also present alongside the future Karl Gotch and Mad Dog was Verne Gagne, an unused alternate for the United States team.
Vachon would go on to a storied life in pro wrestling, winning championships across various territories and later entering multiple Hall of Fames.
5. Masa Saito (Wrestling, 1964)
Masa Saito was a long-time New Japan Pro Wrestling stalwart from the 70s to the 90s. During that time he had notable runs in the WWF, AWA, Florida, and many other promotions. Towards the end of his career he appeared a few times in WCW and acted as a liaison for the group’s Japan tours.
Before any of that he competed for Japan in freestyle wrestling at the 1964 Olympics. Taking part in the heavyweight category under his full name of Masanori, Saito eventually finished seventh.
After life as an Olympianm, he trained for pro wrestling the following year with careers in his homeland and the United States.
He was with the WWF for two years throughout 1981 and 1982. During that time he formed a dominant heel tag-team with Mr Fuji and won the tag belts twice. Fuji himself had won the titles three times already a decade earlier with Toru Tanaka, another Japanese partner.
4. Ken Patera (Weightlifting, 1972)
Ken Patera came from a family of elite-level athletes. His brother Jack played in the NFL for various teams including the Dallas Cowboys, before becoming head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Younger brother Dennis also played in the NFL
Ken was equally sports mad and loved playing American football himself as a youngster. He turned his attention to shot-put and discuss, but a disappointing finish in the 1968 Olympic trials for shot-put turned his mind elsewhere.
Patera then focused on weightlifting and found it a perfect fit. He won a slew of amateur weightlifting awards in the early 70s and was expected to do well at the Munich games. Sadly, Patera underperformed at the Olympic Games and did not medal.
He became a pro wrestler in 1973 to great success. His 1980 Texas Death Match with WWF Champion Bob Backlund won the Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Year award. He also held the Intercontinental title that same year.
3. Mark Henry (Weightlifting, 1992 & 1996)
The World Wrestling Federation started courted Mark Henry well in advance of his first match on the WWF roster. He did not make his in-ring debut until September 1996 opposite Jerry Lawler, but he had already been a stand out powerlifter for years by that point.
Henry got his first set of weights at ten years old and it was clear from very early on he was going to be something special. Henry racked up the weightlifting and powerlifting accolades throughout his teenage years, winning one championship after another.
Like Rousey, Henry appeared at two Olympics, with the first when he was still a teenager. At the Barcelona games in 1992, Henry competed in the super-heavyweight division. Four years later he competed at the Atlanta Olympics, but a back injury limited his performance.
The Federation took the unusual step of sponsoring Henry in 1995 and he began making sporadic appearances on WWF television. After being a two-time Olympian, he signed an unprecedented ten-year contract as the WWF hoped to tie-up one of the country’s premier young athletes.
2. Bad News Brown (Judo, 1976)
Allen Coage was a latecomer to both the endeavours he excelled at most in life. He had already turned 34 before competing in his first wrestling match. Prior to wrestling, Coage was an outstanding judoka. What is more impressive is that he didn’t his professional judo career until he was 22, albeit after several years training.
That did not stop him from stacking up a host of impressive credentials. This included multiple judo championships and gold medals in the heavyweight division of two Pan American games.
Coage would almost certainly have represented the United States at the 1972 Olympics if not for injury. He did so in 1976, after a lawsuit was filed to challenge his initial exclusion from the team, and won Bronze.
In a piece of history that transcends wrestling, Coage became the first African-American to win a solo Olympic games medal in a sport outside boxing or track and field.
Coage also has the distinction of being the only other medal-winning Olympian in WWF/WWE alongside Rousey, Angle and Steveson. He enjoyed a two-year stay in the WWF in the late 1980s, winning a battle royal at WrestleMania IV.
1. Chad Gable (Wrestling, 2012)
It is easy to forget the leader of the Alpha Academy is a bonafide Olympian given how little WWE has made of this impressive achievement. Under his real name of Charles Betts, Gable competed in Greco-Roman wrestling at the London Olympics.
Despite a great performance in the Olympic trials prior to the games, Gable was knocked out of the competition in the quarter finals. He eventually finished in ninth place and left the Olympics empty-handed.
Betts signed with WWE in 2013 and made his in-ring debut the following year. His ring name is a tribute to Dan Gable, an American freestyle wrestler considered by many to be the greatest amateur of all time.
That presents a slight issue for WWE now as Gable Steveson – the other man named after Dan – doesn’t plan on having two Gables in town.
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