Wyatt Hendrickson could flourish in WWE after Gable Steveson stunner, says Oklahoma State coach David Taylor
David Taylor had a front-row seat to one of the wildest scenes in collegiate wrestling history.
Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson met Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in the 2025 NCAA Championship heavyweight finals this past Saturday in Philadelphia. After compiling a record of 27-0 for the 2024-25 wrestling season, Hendrickson pulled off arguably the biggest upset in NCAA history by scoring a late come-from-behind takedown to win the match and the championship, snapping Steveson's 70-match unbeaten streak.
This past season was Taylor's first as a coach for the Cowboys, and despite the monumental challenge, he saw a confident and prepared Hendrickson enter the finals.
“When I told him I’m going to come here [to OSU], I said, ‘Hey, I’ll have a plan for you. I’ll have you healthy and excited and help you win the national title,’” Taylor said Tuesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." “I think he just believed in it. I think when you get into a match of this caliber, whether you’re in combat sports, wrestling, MMA, whatever it may be, you just have to have unwavered belief. I feel like that’s just what he had going into this tournament. We were never training for one specific person. I was just trying to help him be the best wrestler that he could, and in preparation for this match, in his warm-up, he was calm. In the tunnel, I just have never seen him locked in like he was. He was just ready to go.
“He got in the very first exchange, and Gable got to his leg, and Wyatt was able to extend it into a scramble," Taylor continued. "They stalemated, and it just showed, ‘Hey, he believes.’ He gave himself a chance. He was losing by two points with a minute left in the match. He picked up his sprint, put a couple flurries together, and was able to get the leg, get the takedown with 20 seconds left, and then ride him out. Just a good testament to him and his belief.”
An Olympic gold medalist in his own right, Taylor knows talent when he sees it — and Hendrickson is living proof. Having now graduated from college, Hendrickson is expected to stay and train full-time at the Cowboys' regional Olympic training center in preparation for the next Olympic cycle. Taylor can see a world where the 24-year-old Hendrickson sticks with amateur wrestling as long as he himself did, potentially competing well into his 30s.
But Taylor also believes Hendrickson has a broader landscape of options ahead of him.
“He wrestled for the Air Force and was granted this one year of eligibility, I think, because it was COVID time," Taylor said. "So it’s the only person in academy history that’s had the ability to go and transfer and continue competing. Technically, he’s competing for the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) currently, stationed with Stillwater. His job is to wrestle. So he’ll be wrestling and competing to train for the LA ‘28 Olympics, and that will start for him now.
“He’s got the ability to be a world champion — be an Olympic gold medalist. I think that’s the next step for him, but he does have a big personality. I think he could be very successful outside of wrestling, whether that’s in the military or whatever he decides to do. He’s very driven, but I think he can still do some awesome things in wrestling.”
A win over Steveson is about as ideal of a door-opener as Hendrickson could ask for regarding his immediate future. Should he follow in Steveson's footsteps, it'd mean taking a stab at professional wrestling.
Steveson joined the WWE roster shortly after his Olympic triumph at the 2020 Games, but failed to maintain his career and ultimately was released in May 2024.
Taylor likes Hendrickson's chances to make a name for himself if he eventually attempts to do the same.
For now, though, they'll celebrate the big win and keep grinding.
“I think he could be really good in it,” Taylor said of a professional wrestling path for Hendrickson. “He’s a showman. I think he showed that this weekend. What made Gable so unique and special is his wrestling ability is unbelievable, but also, it’s the showmanship side of things that he brought to wrestling that was unique. Wyatt’s is the same. He wins, he’s a pinner, he does a backflip. He’s a 260-pound amazing athlete.
"The way that those two guys can wrestle is so unique, you just don’t see that for heavyweights. So if they continue wrestling, they’ll be wrestling against each other to become world Olympic champions. Obviously, we’ve seen Gable has had a lot of success doing other things, and I think Wyatt can do similar. He’s 'Captain America.' He’s got that good branding, and with his background in the Air Force, I just think he could be successful doing some different things.”
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