Eric Bischoff believes Chad Gable has the amateur pedigree to actually compete in Real American Freestyle, and he may be the only current pro wrestler who could pull it off, as he explained on 83 Weeks.
Bischoff set the bar by describing the elite level of talent on the RAF roster.
“When you’ve got Olympic gold medalists like Kyle Snyder, or you’ve got a phenom like Beau Bassett, and everything in between,” he said, rattling off names like gold medalist Andrew Suedo and silver medalist Kennedy Blades. In Bischoff’s eyes, that level of competition is unforgiving. “When you’re competing with people at that level, no matter how good you were 15 years ago or 10 years ago or five years ago, if you’re not at that level today, you’re going to get smoked.”
He emphasized just how wide that gap can be. “The difference between current elite-level success and previous successful experience is night and day,” Bischoff said.
Even so, Bischoff singled out Gable, a 2012 Olympian, as a special case. “I think Chad Gable, if he committed for a period of four to six months and really focused on his freestyle, trained with some elite-level freestyle wrestlers, I think Chad still has enough gas in the tank that he could be competitive and put on a great show that would be highly entertaining,” Bischoff said. As for anyone else making a similar leap, Bischoff was doubtful. “But I think he’s probably the only one.”
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
