WWE News: Main Roster Star Debuts On ‘205 Live’ After Teasing New Gimmick On ‘SmackDown’
Since he was moved back to SmackDown Live via the most recent Superstar Shake-Up in April, Chad Gable has barely appeared on WWE programming. However, he could be on his way to a more meaningful role on the blue brand, while also getting further in-ring exposure as the newest addition to WWE’s cruiserweight division on 205 Live.
As reported by WrestingNews.co, Gable made his cruiserweight debut on Tuesday’s episode of 205 Live, where he was introduced as the “surprise” that was recently promised by the brand’s general manager, Drake Maverick. Gable took on longtime cruiserweight mainstay Jack Gallagher in his debut match, defeating the British grappler after he failed to return to the ring in time for the referee’s 10-count.
While Gable appears to be the latest underutilized main roster talent — following The Singh Brothers and Mike Kanellis several months prior — to get moved to the cruiserweight ranks, there’s also a good chance he’ll be doing double duty on both 205 Live and SmackDown Live. On Tuesday’s episode of the latter show, Gable was seen in a backstage segment with Apollo Crews and Zelina Vega, where he was taking down notes as the other two argued in the background, per Figure Four Online.
It’s not clear what kind of gimmick or character change Gable may have been teasing on SmackDown Live, but Sportskeeda pointed out that he was rocking a new look with a shorter haircut and a red shirt with his surname displayed on it. The outlet speculated that WWE could be adding “another layer” to his existing “sports-related” gimmick, which has mainly built on his real-life reputation as a legitimate wrestler who had previously competed in the Summer Olympics.
WWE reveals another important character tweak to Chad Gable https://t.co/wnQuCvjpq1 pic.twitter.com/iDo3sI1v8l
— Cageside Seats (@cagesideseats) June 12, 2019
After a successful run on NXT as one-half of American Alpha, Chad Gable made his main debut roster following the 2016 brand split, as he and tag team partner Jason Jordan went on to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships not long after their call-up. Gable then formed a partnership with veteran Shelton Benjamin in 2017, after Jordan was moved to the Raw brand and revealed as Kurt Angle’s storyline son. This tag team, however, did not win any titles and was disbanded when Gable made the move to Monday Night Raw as part of the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up.
In the months prior to his return to SmackDown Live via this year’s Superstar Shake-Up, Gable was part of a tag team with Robert Roode — then known as Bobby Roode. The duo had spent slightly more than two months as Raw Tag Team Champions before losing their titles to The Revival in February.
