Backstage News On Gabe Sapolsky's Status With WWE
It's Friday, September 23, and after a week of speculation, rumor, innuendo, viral campaigns and a whole lot of listens to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", the big return to WWE is finally upon us. That's right — former WWE creative team member Gabe Sapolsky is pulling a 2014 LeBron James and coming home.
According to PWInsider, multiple sources have confirmed that Sapolsky is back with the promotion and will once again be part of WWE's creative team. They were not, however, able to confirm whether Sapolsky would be working in creative as part of the "NXT" brand, which he had been doing during his previous stint with the promotion, or if he would be working on the main roster. He becomes the latest former WWE creative member, and associate of Paul "Triple H" Levesque, to return to WWE, along with Ryan Katz and "Road Dogg" Brian James.
A protege of Paul Heyman, Sapolsky began his career as Heyman's assistant in ECW before eventually becoming the booker for Ring of Honor during the promotion's early years. There, he helped mold future superstar talents like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Samoa Joe.
Triple H's Backstage Team Evolves
Sapolsky would later found the Dragon Gate offshoot promotion, Dragon Gate USA, and then later independent promotion EVOLVE, which would run from 2009 to 2020, when it closed following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through EVOLVE, Sapolsky became involved with WWE, initially working as a consultant before later becoming a creative member. His association with WWE led to EVOLVE becoming something of a feeder promotion to WWE, with EVOLVE talents such as Matt Riddle later jumping to WWE. He would be released from WWE in January of this year, and has since largely focused on working in the NFT field.
Sapolsky's run with EVOLVE was controversial, with some fans accusing him of betraying independent pro wrestling due to his WWE association, while other former EVOLVE stars, including disgraced wrestler David Starr, would accuse Sapolsky of not paying wrestlers. He would also be accused of using burner accounts to attack wrestlers and fans online, something Sapolsky would later deny.