Lights, Camera, Action. And with that, we have our new Big 10 Heavyweight Champion, Gable Steveson. But in all honesty, is anyone even surprised that Gable won? The guy was steamrolling through opponents even before he left to explore bigger stages of WWE and NFL. And since he’s back, he has extended his 52-0 lead at the end of 2022 to a colossal 67 unbeaten matches. But Golden Gabe won’t have the moment of relief. The Sullivan Award is still pending, right? Nah, we are just kidding. Of course, it is the NCAA finals. But that’s not all either.

Gable Steveson said a few days back that his feet were getting back to where they were, but that was about his fitness. Nevertheless, this is becoming very true of his career as well; the Minnesota wrestler secured the top spot in the rankings throughout his three active seasons from 2019 to 2022; now after making his comeback to collegiate gymnast, the champion is once again the number one spot in the NCAA DI rankings in the 285 lbs.

His comeback has been nothing short of sensational since he returned last year. The first team that the Gopher faced in his homecoming was on November 24th against Campbell. Gable mentioned how Minnesota has given him everything and that he has to give it back now, and how well he is giving back. He won that match, as well as every match since then. He simply steamrolled his way to another Big 10.

To say that it was a tough path would be an overstatement. Even if it was, the Minnesotan didn’t make it seem so. In the Quarterfinal of the Big Ten championships, man was just pure dominance, making a technical fall victory over Maryland’s Seth Nevills by a dominant score of 21–5; this meet showcased his explosive takedowns. Then came the semi-finals, where the Olympic gold medalist had his decision win against Ohio State’s Nick Feldman with a score of 15–4.

At the end of it all, on March 9, he was against Nittany Lions ace, Greg Kerkvliet. Now with this, the man is yet to be defeated in any of the big ten championships, not only the big ten though, he still hasn’t been defeated in any of the last 65 meet, since his collegiate comeback he has been on a streak of  6-0 this year against top-10 opponents and 14-0 overall. But how did the final match of his Big 10 career go?

Gable makes record with his 4th Big 10

To say that the 2021 Tokyo gold medalist dominated in the finals would be an understatement. After all, the man is now the only heavyweight to ever win four Big Ten Championships on March 9, 2025. In the Big Ten championships finals this Sunday, the 2x NCAA Champion went head to head against the Penn State wrestler and one of his oldest rivals, Greg Kerkvleit.

Kerkvleit was the reigning NCAA Heavyweight Champ and had won 38 straight matches headed into the Big Ten final. But even he couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with the intensity that Gable Steveson brought through the match. Greg’s coach, Cael Sanderson, had told the Nittany Lion to simply be himself. But perhaps not even being himself was enough to overcome the hulking 285-pound of unstoppable force from Apple Valley.

Greg didn’t put up much of a competition as Gable was quick with his first-period takedown to take a 3-0 lead. He then added takedowns in the second and third periods and took the riding time point to cruise into the victory. Still, despite the Penn State wrestler’s loss, the Big Ten championships went to the Nittany Lions. The Pennsylvania State University clinched its third consecutive Big Ten championship with 181.5 points.

Key wins included Levi Haines’ major decision at 174 pounds and Carter Starocci’s sudden-victory finish at 184 pounds. The latter even won the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year. Meanwhile, Gable won the Big Ten Wrestler of the Championships for his domination. And it is this same domination that the fans expect from him in the NCAA finals. But in the meantime, Gable wasn’t done breaking records.

As part of his win, he became the nineteenth man to win 4 Big-10 titles. Not to mention, as if paying homage to his pro wrestling venture, he matched the record of former Gopher and legendary pro wrestler Verne Gagne in holding 4 titles. While Gagne’s record had stood since 1949, the Minnesotan’s record has finally been matched. But now, up ahead lies the NCAA championship. Can he do it? Well, let’s see.