I went to the UWW Freestyle World Cup in Iowa City, and it was awesome. In fact, it got me so amped up that I'm going to be coming at you with a bunch of wrestling content. I'm ranking the top five guys at every weight class, and today we move on to 74 KG (approximately 163 pounds). Let's get to it.
5. Alex Marinelli
I have my Hawkeye Homer glasses on, but I still don't see a way for Marinelli to compete with the best guys at this weight. I do think he showed a lot of improvement in the folkstyle world this past season, so hopefully he puts together a couple of wins and keeps that wrestling momentum going into next season for Iowa.
4. Vincenzo Joseph
Joseph hasn't really done much at the freestyle level, but he is a two-time defending NCAA Champion, and that's got to count for something. I'm not sure how strong his interest is at this point in his career, but he definitely has the talent if he dedicates himself to a transition down the line.
3. Nazar Kulchytskyy
Nazar is crafty enough to be an alternate, but not really a threat to challenge for the top spot. He's a very good wrestler, but if everything breaks right, he gets tech'd twice by the man at the top of this list.
2. Isaiah Martinez
Isaiah Martinez was a guy who I had the highest of hopes for when it came to his potential. After his undefeated freshman season, I thought he would go all four years undefeated. He was so totally overwhelming and awesome that I just couldn't see anybody beating him. He ended up getting beat in his sophomore year, and did not win a national title in either his junior or senior years. He just never really seemed to get better, and his underhook offense got figured out by the best wrestlers out there. Even against lesser competition, he didn't dominate like he did early in his career. And now he is going to the international world where I just can't see him giving the top guy a run for his money. I-Mar is still a physical freak, and I could still see an amazing MMA career if he chooses to go down that path.
1. Jordan Burroughs
Still the King. He bounced back from a disappointing Olympics in 2016 to win yet another World Title in 2017. He's older, not quite as explosive, but definitely craftier in his attacks. He's the man. Thinking anything else would be ridiculous. He had the single best moment of the World Cup when he managed a pin against Azerbaijan in the finals. He won't be able to do this forever, so appreciate it while we still can. He's still awesome, and ain't nobody from the USA taking his spot at the top of this weight class.
The Olympics have now been underway for nearly two weeks, and if you have missed any of the action, don't worry; you still haven't missed much (Greco and Women's Freestyle wrestling did start earlier this week). That's because tomorrow starts the men's freestyle wrestling competition. It may last three days, but these are wrestlers, which just means that they only do two weight classes from start to finish in a day. Within about eight hours, you have to clean out the best in your division to earn a gold medal. It's beautiful, it's wonderful, and it's the only sport you need to watch in the Olympics. And judging by the demographics of this website, you're probably most interested in how the USA is going to do at each weight class, so let's break it down, starting with the lowest chances and working our way up to who has the best chance of claiming Gold in Rio.
65 KG - Frank Molinaro
Am I a Frank Molinaro hater? Yeah, pretty much. Even when he won a NCAA title at 149, it was against a fairly weak class that year. The fact that he tied two of his matches but won on criteria to get the US spot didn't inspire a lot of confidence (I was also bitter about that first tie taking out personal favorite, Brent Metcalf). Then he went to Turkey to qualify the US for the Olympics and lost a must-win match. So that was that, and the US will not have anyone in Rio at 65 KG.
But wait, he managed to get in because somebody else got busted for doping. And to be fair, he's wrestling way better than he ever has. Sure, a lot of matches, he's pulling something out of his ass, but you have to be incredibly good just to be in position to pull something out of your ass. I don't see that luck continuing, and I'd be surprised if he got a win this weekend.
57 KG - Daniel Dennis
You have no idea how badly I would like to put Daniel Dennis higher on this list, but I can't do it. If there is one American that even non-Americans could get behind, it's Daniel Dennis. The guy had the most hearbreaking NCAA Finals loss in history. I'm not talking about one of the most heartbreaking, it is the hands down winner for most heartbreaking loss.
I still get ill watching it; I cannot imagine what he went through when it happened. And that's not the craziest part of his story. He gave up wrestling for years where he lived in a trailer with no television or internet; that was a step up from the half year that he spent living in his truck. And somehow, after all of that, he came back better than ever. He had to beat his own teammate in the US Trial finals, and he went out and dominated. With a story like that, he's probably got a pretty impressive Wikipedia page. Well, here's a screenshot:
That's the entire thing. You don't even have to scroll down to fit it all in, and about half of that is the table of contents and references. This is the difference between wrestlers and other sports stars. Hell, The top E-Gamer at 57 KG in the US probably has a Wikipedia page 50 times this long (of course I'm pretty sure e-gamers only come in at 57 KG or super heavyweight, so maybe it's a bigger deal).
To make it to the Olympics from where he was is incredible. But I'm going to be pulling for an even greater climax in his story. He's not going to be favored, but I'm definitely not going to count him out.
125 KG - Tervel Dlagnev
I know he doesn't sound like an American, but trust me, he is, and he's definitely the best heavyweight the US has. He has constantly been in the mix at World Championships, but it seems like he kind of stalls out in that 3-6 range and can't quite make it to the elite of the elite. He has also struggled with some injuries over the past year, and the current rankings reflect that (currently #14) so I can't really see him taking a step forward. It's tough to envision him making the podium, but he's had far more international success than everyone but the top two guys on this list, so it wouldn't be crazy to see him wrestling for a Bronze.
86 KG - J'Den Cox
J'Den Cox is probably the biggest wildcard on Team USA (I mean, he's the only guy on the team with a shorter Wikipedia than Dan Dennis). He could easily be eliminated immediately, and that will be that. But he's also incredibly athletic, and also incredibly big for 86 KG. He's long and strong, so I guess he's down to get the freak shit on. But he's just such a different matchup from the other guys in this weight that he could cause some issues. His technique is not going to be nearly as polished as some of the Eastern European countries he'll be squaring off against, but if there's an American that can come out of nowhere to make it to the championship, this is the guy to pick.
As for winning the gold...um, no. Unfortunately for Cox, there's this Russian named Abdulrashid Saulaev. Even if Cox gets eliminated early, you should watch Sadulaev, because he is that awesome. He might be the best wrestler at any weight class right now, although I favor the guy at the end of this list.
97 KG - Kyle Snyder
Snyder won the World Championships last year at the age of 19. That is so stupidly impressive and amazing that I still haven't totally wrapped my head around it. He comes into these games ranked number four as he has had some close losses at international tournaments. Even those losses were questionable as the reffing at some of these international tournaments are...less than fair. Oh, and in between those international tournaments, he bumped up to heavyweight and won a National Title. What I'm trying to say is Kyle Snyder is really freaking good at wrestling. Even with that, when you search Wikipedia for Kyle Snyder, this is what you get:
The first result is a pitcher who played three seasons in the mid-2000s and had an ERA of nearly 6.00. He outranks the World Champion Wrestler.
Anyway, if I was betting on this weight class, I'd take Snyder. He's so young that he's constantly improving, and he was already good enough to win a World Championship. Without questionable officiating, I don't think anyone can knock him off, and he has the potential to become a generational talent.
74 KG - Jordan Burroughs
Speaking of generational talents, that is exactly what Jordan Burroughs is. He's accomplished so much in wrestling that it's absolutely stupid at this point. Some have referred to him as the Michael Jordan of wrestling, and that's not an outrageous statement. I mean, the guy once won a World Championship with a broken ankle. On top of that, he's an ideal ambassador for the sport as a whole. Sure, he's not quite as explosive as he was four years ago, but what he's lost in that area, he's gained in technique as he's far better at turning guys and racking up points on the mat. I can't explain Jordan Burroughs. He's the best wrestler in the world. but even that doesn't do him justice. No matter what the sport is, to watch someone special in his craft is a religious experience. Jordan Burroughs wrestles tomorrow. Don't miss it.
The US Olympic Trials were held this past weekend, where men's and women's freestyle and Greco were decided on who would represent the US in the Olympics (if the US qualifies, as only half of the weight classes had been qualified so far). There were some absolutely incredible matches, and it was a ton of fun to watch. However, there were also some frustrating matches where when the match was over, you didn't really feel like the better wrestler won the match. That is the biggest issue I have with freestyle, and it's why my preference is still folkstyle (the type of wrestling you see in college (and basically all levels before that as well)).
My biggest issue with freestyle is exposing the shoulders to the mat. If you expose an opponent's shoulders to the mat, even if they are nowhere near those shoulders being pinned, you get two points. I get very frustrated when I see a guy go for a takedown, and the opponent reaches through his crotch, flips him upside down for a second and gets two points while the guy who initiated the action is still looking to score off that move. And yes, maybe it is extra frustrating because this is how every American loses in international competition.
But I see wrestling as the physical domination of your opponent. The ultimate goal is to pin your opponent's shoulders to the mat, and I really don't think anything that does not get you closer to that goal should be rewarded. Nobody gets pinned off of a leg lace, but Jordan Burroughs scored 8 points in about two seconds doing that to win his Olympic spot against Andrew Howe. And here's the thing, it was fun to watch, but I just feel that the points awarded far outweigh what Burroughs was actually accomplishing.
There are issues with folkstyle wrestling. Mat work can be incredibly boring, and I scream at my television anytime I see a top guy throw in a leg, the bottom guy stands up, and the ref just resets the guy to stay on the bottom with no stall call. But I still see the essence of dominating your opponent leads to victory. There are some exceptions where the guy with the takedown loses, but it's pretty rare, and the NCAA is making steps towards preventing that.
And maybe this is all just because I’m bitter about Brent Metcalf losing. He gave up two points when he shot in for a takedown, and basically did a one man gator roll to escape from a bad position. Molinaro had good defense, but he didn’t initiate any real action. Still, he got two points for a back exposure and won the 3-3 match on criteria. Now I’m not going to count out Metcalf for the 2020 Olympics, but I think this was his best shot to make it (well, 2012 actually may have been better). Zain Retherford has shown massive improvement over the last couple years, and giving him four more years, two of which he will completely be focused on freestyle make him the early favorite at that weight (Stieber would be an ideal guy at 61 kg, but that’s unfortunately no longer an Olympic weight, but hopefully they bring it back). Metcalf will go down as one of the greatest American wrestler to never make an Olympic team.
What were we talking about again?
Oh, yeah, folkstyle and freestyle. My big issue with freestyle is that you can beat an opponent without trying to pin their shoulders to the mat. Just turning a guy is more flash than substance (and I 100% understand that it is incredibly difficult to turn someone who does not want to be turned). And I’m even down for an exposure on a takedown attempt getting an extra two points, because it takes away a huge defensive maneuver for the guy being taken down, so it does lead to more action on the feet. And since turns are impressive, I’d rather just see a turn getting an extra two points, and then you stand them back up instead of racking up points off of the turns. I’d love folkstyle to look into the same thing to help with their issues of boring matches where guys just rack up riding time.
Overall, I just want to see the best wrestler win in an action-packed match. Both freestyle and folkstyle are great. I’ll admit that freestyle has more action, but folkstyle does a better job of proving who is the better wrestler, and that’s why I still prefer it to the Olympic style.
The NFL kicked off while college football cruised into week two this past weekend. There were some very fun games (Iowa vs. Iowa State) and some games that made me sick to my stomach (Iowa vs. Iowa State), and amazing things happened on football fields around the country. And none of those things can even hold a candle to what happened in Las Vegas this past weekend, where Jordan Burroughs won his third world championship (four, if you count his Olympic Gold Medal, which you probably should). Burroughs is not just a great wrestler; he is the Michael Jordan of wrestling and the most underappreciated athlete of his generation.
It's impossible to describe how great Burroughs is in words. He is currently on a five year run of dominance. In 2011 and 2012 in his first years of international competition, he blew through everyone to get a World Championship and an Olympic Gold. That led to my favorite sports photo in history.
This is why sports matter.
After 2012, wrestling overhauled the scoring, and it didn't slow him down a bit. He is 23-1 in world championships, and his only loss was in 2014 to the eventual World Champion who he had to wrestle after spraining his MCL. The knee is super important to a wrestler, and despite Burroughs spraining it in the first match of the tournament, he still went on to win the Bronze Medal.
You may have noticed that I skipped over 2013. That's because I'm not totally convinced that 2013 is humanly possible. Like, I know that it did happen; there's record of it and everything, but logically, my brain cannot wrap my head around Jordan Burroughs at the 2013 World Championships. Burroughs won the World Title while outscoring his five opponents by a score of 34-3. These are the best wrestlers in the world, and Burroughs ran threw them like they were nothing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he did this all on a BROKEN ANKLE.
He broke his ankle four weeks before the tournament, required a surgery where they put in five screws and a plate in his ankle and told him he should be able to start training again in 6-8 weeks. Instead, he got back on the mat 11 days before the World Championships, and then beat the shit out of everyone competing in Hungary. Michael Jordan gets lauded for the flu game (rightfully so), but that is nothing compared to what Burroughs did.
So even though Burroughs lost last year, everybody knew that he was the guy to beat this year, and he went out and proved why by outscoring his opponents 36-5(I highly recommend watching his semifinals matchup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzUklhcwRDU). I mean, he did it on two fully functioning ankles, so it's kind of a ho-hum performance. And that's where we're at with Burroughs. There is no way for him to impress us at this point, because what he's done so far is mind-bogglingly impressive. He is America's most dominant athlete, and it's not particularly close.
But it's wrestling, and although wrestling is gaining in popularity (partially because of Burroughs who doubles as an incredible ambassador for the sport), it may not even make it in the top 10 of most popular sports in the United States. But don't miss out on Burroughs's greatness; it is truly historical, and even if wrestling isn't your jam, watching someone excel to this level at something is an opportunity you don't want to miss.
Jordan Burroughs is the Michael Jordan of wrestling? No, no, no. Michael Jordan was the Jordan Burroughs of basketball.
The World Cup is alive and kicking (see what I did there?). Everybody is excited, and as a non-soccer fan, it gets kind of annoying. I have nothing against soccer; it is simply a sport that doesn't capture my attention. But I did have to do some self-searching and find out why I was so annoyed by the World Cup. Honestly, it's jealousy. Nearly everyone is talking about soccer, and I wish it were the same way for wrestling. When a big wrestling event happens, it's rarely on live television, and even on those occasions, very few people are talking about it. I'm jealous of soccer's success, because wrestling is my soccer, and it has yet to make those steps towards mainstream popularity.
We're outcasts, as neither sport is one of the big three sports. None of my good friends care about wrestling, so when I find someone who does, I instantly have the highest opinion of that person. At that point, you could tell me anything about that person, and I can justify it. "Oh, he eats the souls of children? Well, those kids were just going to turn into bastard teenagers anyway. Besides, he made a really good point about what Metcalf is going to have to do to get past the guy from Azerbaijan (I actually don't know if Azerbaijan is strong at this weight; I just wanted to show off that I can spell Azerbaijan)."
Most importantly, soccer fans and wrestling fans are amazed when people don't get excited about the sport. It's so incredibly exciting to us that it is hard for us to listen to people who cannot appreciate what they are watching. Anybody can get excited as they watch Messi control a soccer ball with his foot as well as Peyton Manning controls a football with an arm, or seeing Jordan Burroughs take a shot and then reshoot with his double leg in the blink of an eye. But for fans of the sport, it's that average play in soccer that amazes them like a normal clinch is one of the most fascinating things to watch in wrestling as there are so many subtleties from two guys working hard as they jockey for position.
I hope that wrestling will one day have what soccer has. I doubt it is going to happen, but I would have said the same thing about soccer 20 years ago. The key is going to be a television deal. Fox Sports makes so much sense that it's ridiculous. Every great wrestler is asked about whether they will try to make it in the UFC, so the tie-in is already there, and if they can steal the NCAA Championships, put on a premium duel each week, along with major events like The Southern Scuffle and National Duels to build up the audience. With that, add the big freestyle events, like the team trials and world championships. But that's big picture. On a smaller scale, go to FloWrestling, watch the freestyle matches from the World Team Trials; they're all pretty incredible. And you may find that you still don't like wrestling, which is totally fine, as I still don't care about soccer, but getting exposed to something new and awesome is one of the best things we can do with our time, so all I'm asking is give wrestling a chance.
I want what soccer has. I'm totally jealous (and slightly bitter) that wrestling is not nearly as popular. I want what you have, so all I can really say is, enjoy it soccer fans. And prepare to be annoyed when I tweet the shit out of the world championships in September.
I'm going to focus on the amateur side of wrestling, because it's one of the few things I love more than professional wrestling. The biggest news this week is that wrestling will remain in the Olympics through 2024, and it probably means that it is going to be safe for the foreseeable future. This is excellent news, as wrestling belongs in the Olympics. For sports that truly define the Olympics, it has to be right up there with track & field, swimming, and gymnastics. Personally, I think it is more "olympic" than those other sports, but I recognize that it may just be my bias for wrestling and my indifference towards those other sports.
Wrestling being in the Olympics is great, and it has already led to some very good rule changes that will help the sport, because freestyle wrestling got stupid over these last few years with the scoring changes and the overtime rules. The United States is still trying to push for an unlimited (10 minutes, which is basically unlimited considering that is an eternity to try and wrestle) sudden death, which I absolutely love, but FILA seems to be fighting against since it can lead to "boring" moments where people are waiting for action. There is nothing more exciting than a sudden death period, especially when it is a one-on-one battle of wills. I'm really hoping for that, but as long as I never have to see a wrestler pick a colored ball out of a hat again, I can at least sleep a little easier.
On the bad side of things, wrestling is again cutting down the weight classes. There will now only be six freestyle weights for freestyle, Greco, and women's freestyle. For women's, this number makes sense, as there is only about 10 pounds of weight difference between each class. You won't get much of a tweener with that limited range of weights. The difference in men's weight is 22 pounds. Twenty-two pounds. These are the proposed weights for freestyle (Greco is fairly similar in their weights):
55kg - 121lbs
65kg - 143lbs
75kg - 165lbs
85kg - 187lbs
95kg - 209lbs
125kg - 275lbs
And yes, that does not even count the 66 pound weight difference between the two heaviest weights. There used to be 10 freestyle weight classes, which seems about right. You could easily convince me of going up to 11 or 12, but 10 is a fine number. Wrestling has continued to lose weight classes and was down at 7 for this last Olympics. They are giving up yet another class in order to make them a more viable sport, but it's getting a little ridiculous. There are six freestyle wrestling events. Michael Phelps was able to win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics. It would take a wrestler 28 years to win that many medals. So if a prodigy won a gold medal at 18, he'd just have to keep doing that every four years until he was 46. And for anybody stating that they could also compete in Greco, yes, they could, but that would be like asking Phelps to compete in long distance swimming; it's a completely different set of skills.
No, the change in weight classes wouldn't change any of that, but it would give more people who train incredibly hard with no real monetary incentive. United States Wrestling offers $250,000 for winning a gold medal and nothing for anything else. The payouts from the Olympics aren't that impressive either. Jordan Burroughs is by far the most famous current wrestler, and I would guess that 80% of sports fans have never heard of him.
Wrestling being back is great, but it would be a whole lot better if wrestling could get some more respect and get back to 10 weight classes. Wrestling only takes up a few days. It could still take up the same amount of time and add those weight classes in. For wrestlers, the Olympics is all there is, and increasing that number so a few more wrestlers can achieve their dream seems like a worthwhile investment to me.
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Since I don't want to end this on a bad note, the greatest social media sports story of the year happened this week. Iowa and Penn State, despite being the two biggest powerhouses in the conference, are not on each other's schedule this year, because the B1G loves logical decisions. Penn State coach, Cael Sanderson, sent a message to Iowa's head coach, Tom Brands, on Twitter asking about something big missing on their meet. After a back-and-forth exchange, which I recommend checking out here, they came to an agreement to meet at Carver Hawkeye Arena on December 21.
This is not just awesome news for wrestling, it is awesome news for sports in general. And yes, it had to have been completely staged, considering Tom Brands didn't have a Twitter account until last week, and it seemed as though he was still figuring it out during their exchange since he had never tweeted before Sanderson tweeted at him today, but who cares? This was an awesome way to deliver the news, and it would be one of the biggest stories of the year if it happened in another sport. Imagine if LSU and Alabama were not on each other's schedule, and Les Miles tweeted at Nick Saban about how they should try to get something done, and they came to an agreement to have one of their non-conference games be a game between the two teams. With great stuff like this happening, Cael Sanderson is making it really hard for me to dislike him. As long as Penn State doesn't start wrestling like Oklahoma State (where their motto is, "It's not wrestling unless you're stalling"), I think I may have to root for them to prosper their way to a second place finish this year.
So, yes, this was a great week for wrestling, but there is still room for improvement down the road, both in rule changes, and in increased weight classes down the road. But wrestling remains in the Olympics, and Iowa and Penn State are wrestling this year. Life is good for this wrestling fan.
