Back when he went by his given name of Chas Betts, SmackDown’s Chad Gable excelled at amateur wrestling. He was so good he went to the Olympics in London 2012.
A lot of standout shoot grapplers - even the ones who aren’t good enough to represent their country in international competition - look to mixed martial arts when their amateur days are over.
Not Gable, as he told the Miami Herald’s Jim Varsallone in a recent interview:
No. A lot of people ask that and think it would have made sense, considering my background, but MMA was something I...and still to this day...was not very interested in. I don't really watch it. A lot of people assume that I do, but I don't. For whatever reason, it just didn't grab me like it did a lot of people in my [amateur wrestling] field. For me, it was just amateur wrestling and pro wrestling that I fell in love with.
Gable talks about how Mick Foley’s first book was one of his favorite Christmas gifts ever, and how as a young fan he looked up to WCW cruiserweights like Eddy Guerrero, Rey Mysterio & Chris Jericho and technical wrestlers like Bret & Owen Hart.
Even though he was ready, willing and Gable to enter the world of MMA, when the opportunity presented itself, the future American Alpha never considered it:
I always loved pro wrestling. I always loved WWE. I loved WCW. I wanted to be a pro wrestler longer than I ever dreamed about being in the Olympics or anything like that.
Lucky us.