WWE signs ‘Cheer’ star Gabi Butler to contract
A star of the Netflix docuseries “Cheer” is coming to WWE.
It was announced via People today that “Cheer” star Gabi Butler has signed a WWE contract. The 24-year-old Butler told People that she fell in love with pro wrestling after attending this year’s SummerSlam in Nashville, where she spent time with WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon. Butler said Stephanie “really inspired” her to take the leap into WWE.
People wrote that Butler will be “training at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando and will attend the biggest events in the sport as she immerses herself in the wrestling world.” Butler has two years of college eligibility left and is currently thinking about where she wants to cheer next year.
“This year is the first year that I’ve actually taken a break from cheerleading,” Butler said. “I did a tour this summer, and that was [a] very, very time-consuming thing, mentally and physically. So I took this year off and I’m currently thinking about where I would want to cheer in college next year.”
Butler told People that she is looking forward to the challenge of competing in an actual wrestling match one day.
“I would definitely love to take that challenge, hopefully in the future,” Butler said. “You have to be committed to be wrestling, that’s for sure. It definitely doesn’t look easy.”
“Cheer” premiered on Netflix in 2020 and “follows the ups and downs of Navarro College’s competitive cheer squad as they work to win a coveted national title.”
“It’s very related to cheerleading because we’re performers, we’re entertainers, we like to put on a show and we also have to be athletic,” Butler said about wrestling.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted about Butler signing with WWE: “Sky’s the limit for @GabiButlerCheer… excited to welcome this incredible athlete to the @WWE Performance Center!”
Butler has 2.6 million followers on TikTok and 2.1 million on Instagram.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.