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CHAD GABLE READY FOR ROYALTY, ANDRADE AND MORE WWE OPPORTUNITIES

In 2012, Chad Gable was competing in the Summer Olympics, working towards achieving gold.  In 2019, Gable, now a Smackdown star for World Wrestling Entertainment is working towards achieving royalty.

Gable will be competing on tonight's episode of Smackdown Live on the USA Network in the quarter-finals of the resurrected King of the Ring tournament, looking to ascend to the highest plateau he has been afforded thus far as a singles competitor by World Wrestling Entertainment.    For Gable, this was one of the biggest chances that the company has allowed him outside of their tag team ranks and it was one that he laughed about coming as a complete surprise to him.

"It was a surprise to me too, my friend, " joked Gable when he spoke to PWInsider.com.   "I just, sometimes we find out when the fans do and I was totally fine with that. Because once I saw my name in there, I was very excited, as you can imagine. For a guy like me that is looking to break out and find an opportunity as a singles guy, I can't really think of a better way, you know what I mean, than a tournament like this. And to bring back some of the nostalgia for the fans as well. And so far, I think they had been just doing this awesome job of, you know, putting on some of the best matches we've had on TV, on Raw, Smackdown in a long time. So, it's pretty great."

Having beaten Shelton Benjamin in the first round, Gable has advanced to tonight's episode of Smackdown from Norfolk, Virginia, where the technically excellent star will face off with Latin villain Andrade, something Gable's been waiting for the opportunity to do for some time.

"[Andrade is] one of the guys that I've kind of been looking forward to mixing it up with," admitted Gable.  "You know, I knew him down in NXT, and obviously our styles are quite a bit different. He comes from a different background than me, but a lot of times I find that makes for the best matches. You know what I mean? And you look back in history, and a lot of great matches that happened between guys with similar styles that both of us. When you talk about guys like Rey Mysterio. The matches with Rey and Kurt [Angle], they're are a lot of people's favorite matches, and high on their list. And I think our styles are going to clash just perfectly enough to deliver just one of the better matches you're going to see in this tournament. If not the best. I can't think of an opponent that I've been looking forward to more to kind of tearing it up with then him, so it should be good."

Should Gable make it past Andrade, there is an entire field of competition still open to him.  When asked to survey it and see who was out there, he was potentially excited about working with, Gable noted, "Yeah, so I mean the names of the tournament, you can probably name anybody. But from like a character standpoint, I did some stuff with the Elias a few weeks ago where ... and you know, he kind of started that whole short joke, making fun of me thing, was kind of on him. And so I'd love to get a shot at him, just get some redemption for that, because I haven't had a chance to follow up on that yet.  And I know ... I pride myself on the fact that I think I could have a great match with anybody. And not to say that Elias couldn't have a great match with anybody either, but we could tear the house down. But say Ali wins. Ali, incredible opponent as well. And from the Raw side of it, even in the finals, I'd love to rustle some of those bigger guys. I'd love to do a singles match against [Baron] Corbin. I'd love to do a match against [Samoa] Joe. And I've already mixed it up a little bit with Ricochet when me and Bobby were tag teaming. And I think people got a small glimpse of what me and Ricochet are able to do together.  So you know, it's really a win win for me in the end, no matter who I ended up facing. And to be honest, I really think it's going to be a win win for the fans as well, just because the caliber of talent in the tournament is like ... it's unmatched. So regardless of who ends up where, you're going to get just some insane matches."

Known for his great work inside the squared circle, Gable has been going back to the past to study and prepare for the King of the Ring.  When pressed on his favorite moment from past editions of the tournament, Gable goes back to the very first King of the Ring pay-per-view in June 1993.

“I know everybody kind of points to like the Stone Cold moment as being one of the famous ones. But for me it's guys like Bret Hart, who went through the tournament and put on these various like different matches, you know, on that night, and like against different opponents with different styles.   For me, as a fan of more the technical side of wrestling, and just the sports side of it, a guy like Bret is somebody that I'll always look up to. And him just kind of charging through that thing like an athlete almost, you know what I mean? At the top level, was something that was, to me, really inspiring and just something I was drawn to.”

Gable feels the entire tournament was a chance for talents to show themselves in a “top level” spotlight.

"I think you're getting a taste of all these people that the fans have been wanting to see more of, " said Gable.  "You know, it's guys that some of the fans would say ... whatever terms they want to use, whether it's held back, or not exposed enough, or underutilized, or whatever. They kind of threw a lot of those guys in this tournament. So it's almost ... it's like a big fan pleaser, you know, it should be. And so far, everyone's delivering, and I'm not surprised by that at all, because every one of these guys, including myself, is just starving for a chance like this. So I think, you know, the fans got lucky with this one."

While he relished his opportunity working with Jason Jordan and Robert Roode as part of tag team tandems for WWE, Gable has been waiting for a chance to stand tall and differentiate himself from the pack as a solo star.  When he was drafted to Smackdown, he immediately began putting ideas together to pitch to WWE CEO Vince McMahon, just to show he was open to anything that would give him an opportunity.

“…When Bobby and I were broken up when I got traded to Smack Down, I immediately went to Vince, you know, with character ideas, pitches for stories, and I made my own vignettes, explained Gable.  “I made my own promos that I would bring my laptop in and show him. Just basically like begging, pleading, doing whatever I could to get something, get anything. And I wasn't married to these ideas that I was giving him. I just wanted to throw as much at him and say, "Look, I'm open to anything. This is what I've got for you, but I'll do anything you've got in mind because I'm ready to work. I'm ready to deliver for you, and so when I'm doing that, it shows them that I want to work, that I'm ready. And so when they come back to me with something, there's no way I'm going to be a guy that is going to poo poo some ideas, you know, or anything that they give me. Because them offering me anything means that they want to invest in me, and to me that's a compliment. And so I'm going to take that and I'm going to use it to its full advantage, whatever ideas they throw at me. And I take them all as a compliment and I'm ready. I'm ready for them to invest in me, and I can guarantee you they're going to get back their investment. I will deliver.”

With the WWE world turned on its axis with the addition of WWE NXT on Wednesday nights live, Gable, himself a member of the NXT system, looks upon the new, two-hour live series will pride, while admitting it’s a new level of competition for himself and others on the main WWE roster.

“For a guy like me, I couldn't be happier for [WWE NXT]. And I'm also very competitive at the same time, so I will treat it as competition. Never to be out done. But as a guy who came from there and kind of cut my teeth down there, it's so special. And it's just unique, you know, because when I first got there, in 2013, they were still doing the buildings in Tampa and the smaller buildings were ... man, when I first got there, the crowds were 15, 28, 25 people, you know what I mean? So I'm kind of like, "Whoa, like what did I sign up for?" And then in a matter of nine, eight or nine months, it just blew up man. And we were doing the Barclay Center, which was the show I was on, and so I was part of it at a very special time where I just got to see it explode, and it just hasn't slowed down. Which is kind of mind blowing to think about because they just keep going and going. And now with this announcement, it's just further proof that what they're doing works, you know, it's an incredible product and I'm just excited to see where it goes.  Who knows? I mean it's gonna keep balling up and keep getting bigger and bigger obviously. So who knows? Maybe there's going to be some talent match-ups between the brands and stuff, which is something that I would look forward to. Anytime I can get in touch and get in contact with the new opponent, it's good for me. So you know, really happy for all those guys.”

Since being given the chance to break out as a singles star, Gable admits that it can be a daunting task.

“It's hard, man, Gable explained.  “This place... you know, it's a snake pit. You got to find a way to make your mark. And once  [Jordan] went to do his thing with Kurt [Angle] on Raw, I was really excited to kind of have my chance to break out as a singles guy because I did fall in love with tag team wrestling down at NXT. Like, it was something I never thought I would kind of appreciate on the level that I've found myself doing. But we would just have so much fun and so much success at the tag team stuff.    I always saw myself as a singles guy, and so when I finally got that chance, I was very excited and I had ... some matches I was really proud of early on, with like AJ Styles and Rusev on Smack Down. And since that, you know, I've had a few matches with guys like Jack Gallagher even on 205, which is just opportunities I'm just trying to take advantage of.”

With Andrade on the horizon tonight, Gable knows what a standout performance can mean for his long-term WWE future and it’s not something he plans to let pass him by.

"I think people are aware that I'm fully capable of kind of delivering as a full time singles guy, and being one of the top stars, but I think they just haven't seen enough for me yet to like really get them to buy in. And that's what I'm looking to do here in this tournament, I can't think of kind of a better way to do that and break out. So it's a big opportunity for me, and it's not one that I want to waste."

Whether his current journey ends with him wearing crown and carrying a scepter as the King of the Ring, Chad Gable’s WWE adventure has only just begun.

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.

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