WWE: Will the focus on Chad Gable’s “shortness” hold him back?

Chad Gable has had a nice push in the WWE as of the late.

An underdog by every account within the King of the Ring tournament, he didn’t score the crown, but he did make it a lot farther than some within the WWE Universe may have anticipated.

His win over Shelton Benjamin was expected; beating Andrade was an absolute surprise; beating Shane McMahon so that Gable could score a win off the boss’s son and arguably the most-hated heel in the company right now, was a deliberate attempt by WWE to thrust Chad Gable into the spotlight.

And it worked; it all worked. As such, Chad Gable is riding a nice wave of momentum with the fans right now.

Having said that, one can’t help but notice how he’s being positioned on WWE television, and the fact that “shortness” is something that many heels love to point to, and consistently comes into play.

Will this continued mocking help or hurt his long-term success? Can this enhance or devalue any plans around longevity, possible championships, or future potential to be truly “over” within the company.

While it’s been long speculated that WWE’s Chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon loves his big guys, consistently placing them into the main event and title race picture, it’s a little known fact that there is nothing more fans love then an good old underdog story; something that often is linked to Superstars that are smaller.

One only needs to point to Daniel Bryan (during the YES! Movement era), Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guererro, The Hardy Boys, and a plethora of others, who not only made it to the pinnacle of the roster by becoming WWE World Champions (sometimes multiple times over), but have also established a larger-than-life fan following, and are all legends within the industry in their own right.

Did they have to overcome preconceived notions within WWE’s establishment to get there? Probably, but their talent in terms of attracting attention well outweighed their height (or lack thereof). In fact, smaller talents tend to be the Superstars who have the best matches, thanks to the amount of time they’ve taken to hone their craft of wrestling; their technique; their agility; their high-flying ways.

The fact that WWE Creative has decided to build upon Gable’s height, essentially creating an underdog persona in Chad through his said “shortness”, might just be an advantage and indication that the semi-finalist in the King of the Ring tournament is not only a turnaround in his WWE career, but a stepping stone to something bigger.

He’s getting a push, more airtime, more feuds, a spotlight on his ankle lock finisher, more opportunity; heck, he even beat Shane McMahon, something not even The Miz was afforded. Dare I say, that WWE Creative focusing on Gable’s height just might be a good thing; perhaps they see the success of past smaller talent, and are generously handing a heaping full of opportunity Gable’s way.

In the end, drawing attention to Gable’s height is creating heel heat for villain characters, thus creating a story for Chad to excel, beat the odds of his story, and prove that size, in the end, really doesn’t matter; it’s what they can do in the ring. It’s a win-win situation for both sides

At the end of the day, size won’t hold Gable down; certainly not drawing attention to it considering how fantastic he is in that squared circle. Gable has a lot of passion, and it shows every time he’s on the mic, and in the ring.

Having said that, on the cusp of a WWE draft, and a new focus for both Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, the only thing that may be Chad’s downfall is what WWE Creative does with him next.