Chad Gable is reportedly in discussions about an appearance for Real American Freestyle, with Eric Bischoff describing the talks as “relatively serious” on his 83 Weeks podcast.
Bischoff, who co-founded the RAF alongside Hulk Hogan, revealed the conversations while noting contractual hurdles between WWE and the promotion.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Chad Gable is a phenomenal, phenomenal amateur wrestler and is kind of sniffing around Real American Freestyle, just throwing it out there. We’re talking about it. There’s some contractual issues that can kind of make that difficult, but we’re having discussions and relatively serious ones. So I think it’s just a matter of time.
Bischoff did not confirm whether discussions have taken place directly with Gable or internally within RAF. He also teased that another unnamed talent from a collegiate wrestling background has expressed excitement about the promotion.
The situation could be straightforward given the TKO connection. UFC fighters, including Merab Dvalishvili, Henry Cejudo, Arman Tsarukyan, Frankie Edgar, and Urijah Faber, have all appeared on RAF cards under a working arrangement between the UFC and the RAF. Since both WWE and UFC operate under TKO, a similar arrangement allowing Gable to compete in amateur wrestling is plausible.
Gable is a former NCAA All-American and Olympic competitor. He returned to SmackDown this past Friday following his mask vs. mask loss at AAA Noche de Los Grandes.
