Little cinnamon roll, big cinnamon roll, triple tuck, and a grand slam. That's not how the careers of most cheerleaders go. But then again, most cheerleaders aren't Gabi Butler.
Gabi Butler, a social media influencer and former star of the popular Netflix documentary TV series about one of the country's top college cheerleading squads in the Emmy Award-winning Cheer, is ready to take her athleticism to a new sport. The longtime gymnast recently revealed to PEOPLE that she has officially signed a contract with the WWE.
Butler told PEOPLE that she fell in love with wrestling while attending the SummerSlam in Nashville this summer. "I was blown away by what they put on," she said. "When I went to SummerSlam, it really just opened my eyes to the athleticism and the dedication the athletes bring into the ring."
While she was at SummerSlam, Butler said that she spent time with WWE Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon, who "really inspired" her try-out the WWE world. "The way she carries herself is very impressive and the conversation we had was so nice," Butler shared.
However, the former Netflix star admitted to PEOPLE that she has never really looked into another sport before, as most of her focus has been training for cheer. "I was so involved in the cheerleading industry for so long, and I never really looked into anything other than cheerleading," she said.
Will There Be a Cheer Season 3?
When the second season of Cheer about 2019 National champions Navarro College and their historic rivals Trinity Valley Community College dropped on January 12, audiences expected a repeat of groundbreaking routines and high-flying stunts they had seen the first season. Instead, COVID-19 hit and Daytona was canceled.
Then, something worse happened. News broke that Navarro alum Jerry Harris had been convicted of pressuring young boys to send him nude photos of themselves. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Given the news that Harris's actions are a widespread problem in the cheerleading industry (something covered by the documentary series itself, as well as by the Netflix documentary on gymnastics, Athlete A), at the moment, there is no word if there will be a third season of Cheer on Netflix. However, if a third season does move forward at the streamer, Butler's decision to sign with the WWE shouldn't impact the series as she was already a part-time cast member in Season 2.