Chad Gable Aims to Build Something Special Around His WWE Intercontinental Title Reign

Chad Gable wants his reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion to stand out for all the right reasons.

Gable captured the title at SummerSlam in August and has since defended it against opponents including Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee. Speaking with Complex Grabs, he explained that championship matches have given him the opportunity to work longer contests with greater stakes.

“Now that I have a championship, I think I’m getting the chance to do that over the course of 12 to 15 minutes, sometimes even longer,” Gable said. “It allows people to see deeper levels to what I’m capable of. There are more stakes, and every match doesn’t just have the potential to be good—it feels important.”

Gable noted that he was previously asked to deliver brief “sprint” matches, but his title defenses now give him enough time to showcase a broader range of skills.

“In the past, it may have been what many people call sprint matches—five, six or seven minutes where you’re trying to put on the absolute best you can in a short amount of time,” he said. “You can still put on an awesome match in that amount of time.”

Gable also highlighted his recent defense against Dragon Lee in Mexico, saying he wants every challenger to appear capable of defeating him.

“That crowd in Mexico was as invested as I’ve ever had a crowd with Dragon Lee,” Gable said. “What I’m trying to bring to this title is the opportunity for these guys to succeed and create situations where it could happen on any night.”

His goal is for fans to believe the championship could change hands whenever he puts it on the line.

“With the kind of matches we have, the title could change hands any night,” Gable said. “Those are the opponents I want. I want people to believe in them to the point where we’re on the cusp of something special every time I defend the championship. I’m trying to do something special with this one, and I think we’re getting there.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Gable discussed advice he has received from Randy Orton throughout his WWE career. He said it took him years to fully understand Orton’s lessons about distinguishing what is necessary in the ring from what is not.

“Randy Orton has given me so much advice about the things that are necessary and the things that aren’t necessary,” Gable said. “He has probably been telling me that since I was called up to the main roster, and it may have taken me 10 years to finally realize it and put it into practice. It’s about being smart with the way you do, or don’t do, things in the ring.”

Gable also credited The Undertaker with encouraging him to embrace the intensity and competitive spirit he developed during his amateur wrestling career. The conversation took place while Gable was working in AAA.

“The Undertaker pulled that out of me in AAA,” Gable said. “He encouraged me to let some of my real nature from amateur wrestling and my competitive side come through in what we do. I think I had been hiding that for a long time because I was very reserved.”

Gable said The Undertaker helped him stop suppressing that part of his personality.

“I can be a very intense person,” he continued. “When you wrestle amateurly to the level and for as long as I did, there is a certain level of intensity, anger and emotion that comes out when it needs to. I don’t think I ever let that out until he finally convinced me to do so. Being able to access that has been a big help.”

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