Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable and Otis spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about transitioning from amateur wrestler to sports entertainer. Gable said he had a more difficult time with this, but eventually came to understand the purpose of a WWE Superstar.
Pritchard noted how Gable’s remarks were similar to those of Kurt Angle when he spoke about his own transition into pro wrestling. Prior to signing with WWE, Angle told Bruce Prichard that he didn’t want to lose a match. Angle knows this was a result of his not understanding pro wrestling, but didn’t get it at the time.
Gable said hearing Kurt Angle ‘s remarks was comforting to hear. He didn’t face that exact issue himself, but it was nice to see that someone so revered overcame the same obstacles he did.
“It was so comforting to hear too. And fortunately for me, I don’t know why or what it is in me that never struggled with that,” Gable explained, “as far as I should be winning every match. I don’t know if it’s because of the size thing that I came in with the mentality that it just ain’t gonna happen. And I kind of knew that already.
A hard bridge to gap
“But it is nice to know that, like other guys, a guy like Kurt Angle, that actually paved the way for me, went through the same struggle and had to cope with it and come to this acceptance. I mean, it’s a hard gap to bridge,” he noted, “when you’re at that level of an amateur sport where your identity and your life kind of ride on your success and your ability to produce results. But we’re here now. It’s different. We produce a TV show, so it’s cool.”
Watch our full interview with Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable and Otis below:
