Chad Gable is a towering presence in the ring

Chad Gable is an Olympian, amateur wrestler and multi-time Tag Team Champion and deserves better than being called “Shorty.”

Over the years, WWE has had a few Olympians on their roster. The most current one is Chad Gable. Not only does he have a bevy of medals from his time on the collegiate amateur wrestling scene, he also competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In November 2013, Gable was signed to WWE and debuted in NXT less than year later at a house show.

During his time in NXT, he was one half of the popular American Alpha tag team with Jason Jordan. They held tag team gold on both NXT and SmackDown Live. After the draft in 2017, the pair were split up and Gable has been both a solo competitor and tagged with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Roode. When he won the tag team title with Roode, he became the second Superstar to hold tag team titles on NXT, SmackDown Live and Monday Night Raw.

After two impressive matches with Jack Gallagher on 205 Live, Gable was then part of this year’s King of the Ring tournament where he eventually lost to Baron Corbin. Throughout the tournament, there was a lot of focus on Gable’s height (billed at 5-foot-8). His own former partner, Benjamin, made short jokes as did Corbin. On Sunday night night at Hell in a Cell, Corbin and Gable squared off again. It was here that Corbin started calling him “Shorty G”.

Any wrestling fan knows that height doesn’t matter. One of the most successful wrestlers of all time is Rey Mysterio. Gable is also the same height as Daniel Bryan, one of the most popular wrestlers in the last decade. Across other promotions around the world, some of the most successful and popular wrestlers are on the shorter side. In 2019, height simply doesn’t matter. To focus on it is pointless.

What’s the point of focusing on Gable’s height now? He’s been with the company since 2013 and has been on television for several years. He’s established himself as a champion multiple times. He showed what he can do in singles competition, even before an excellent run in the KOTR tournament. Reducing him to his shortness is a bullying tactic. (“Be A Star,” amirite?) Why would WWE resort to this now with an established wrestler? WWE even has the ring announcer calling him “Shorty,” so it appears they are going to stick with this hackneyed storyline for now.

If we’re being honest, Gable could legitimately take down most of the entire roster. He is an Olympian after all. He has years of experience in amateur wrestling. Have you seen his German Suplex? He is extremely strong and has taken down men of all sizes. If they were smart, Gable should have always been booked like Kurt Angle. There’s no reason he couldn’t have been this generation’s Angle.

It’s time to show Gable the respect he deserves and stop trying to devalue him by harping on his height. What do you think of Gable’s height being a point of focus now?