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Netflix's 'Cheer' Star Gabi Butler Signs WWE Developmental Contract
Gabi Butler, the star of Netflix's hit series "Cheer," has signed a contract with WWE.
Star of the hit Netflix show “Cheer” Gabi Butler announced yesterday that she will leap from the cheerleading world into the WWE after signing a developmental contract earlier this week. The cheerleading and television star revealed to PEOPLE Magazine that she only recently saw wrestling for the first time but immediately fell in love with it. Her first wrestling show was last summer’s edition of SummerSlam, during which Butler says she was “blown away by what [WWE] put on.”
Butler will begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando but knows there is a lot of work to be done. Although professional wrestling and cheerleading may seem like polar opposites she knows that her athletic and television background will help her. According to Butler, the “way [the Superstars] performed” and the competitive, “athletic atmosphere” made her realize that the two sports aren’t so different after all. “It was like I was watching a cheerleading competition, but a wrestling edition,” she mused.
“I was so involved in the cheerleading industry for so long, and I never really looked into anything other than cheerleading. But when I went to SummerSlam, it really just opened my eyes to the athleticism and the dedication the athletes bring into the ring,” she said.
Butler said that she can’t wait to get in the ring in front of fans and is shocked by the similarities between cheerleading and wrestling. In addition, she also talked about how Stephanie McMahon inspired her to transition into the world of wrestling when she never thought it was possible.
“I would definitely love to take that challenge, hopefully in the future. You have to be committed to wrestling, that’s for sure. It definitely doesn’t look easy. 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.
Triple H also took to Twitter to congratulate Butler on signing her WWE developmental contract. The 24-year-old still has a couple years of college athletic eligibility left as well, but looks like she is trading the cheer mat for a wrestling mat and coming to WWE.
In the meantime, you can catch up on all your favorite developing NXT stars on the WWE Network on Peacock!
