Jagger's Friday Mailbag - 8/16/2024

Is this the end of the Golden Age of American wrestling, or just the end of phase one? Patrick 

It’s more like this is the end of phase three. And phase four will not slow down at all. We’ll have an entire new cast of characters in phase four and they are as legit as it gets. Phase one kicked off in 2012 when Jordan Burroughs brought home gold from London and then dominated the next cycle with a whole bunch of world titles. But a new hero emerged during the wee hours of the night in Rio and Kyle Snyder emerged as the top dog in the second half of the decade. But as Kyle struggles with the supervillain that is Sadulaev, David Taylor starts to stake his claim as the best in the world before putting an exclamation point on his run with Tokyo gold and kickstarting phase three as the new face of American wrestling. 

And now we head into phase four with no clear leader but with an abundance of talent. It would not surprise me at all if 2028 had six new members of the team heading into LA. 

There is no way to know what will happen with Spencer Lee in the next four years and he will be pushing 30 by then. Zain wasn’t even going to compete this year so he’s likely gone. Which by the way, if this is it for the Zain Train, it’s a shame that it ends this way with an injury but thank you for all the years of great wrestling that you gave us. You were ferocious on the mat and all class off the mat, maybe our guy comes back for one more year and gets a proper sendoff. 

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Kyle Dake comes back and finishes the story, but for now, I can see him taking some time off. Aaron Brooks is the best candidate to be a top dog now as he moves up a weight before possibly trying to usurp Snyder for the spot he’s owned for a decade now. At heavyweight, I’m calling it now that Gable Steveson will be back in 2028 to reclaim world dominance. So who will be the new players in the next four years? 

Aside from the insane amount of depth we have already at the senior level, go check out the current U20 team and tell me if we’re in trouble. Just a loaded bunch. 

I'm headed to the shore this weekend and want to sound Jagger-sharp when discussing Sebastian Rivera. What made the difference in bringing the medal back to Jersey? Salty Walkon 

The difference is he lives his life. He enjoys every minute of what he does and the moment is never too big for him. Not everybody can party all night at Jenks, then be in Paris a few weeks later and take home hardware. New Jersey wrestlers have a long history of Olympic success and our guy Seabass is keeping that tradition alive. Plus, I bought his shirt and I’m wearing it right now. 

What is one thing I can't forget to pack for DC? Dysen Gould

Clean shower shoes. Crash Davis can explain it to you in Bull Durham. You can leave the Skenes jersey home since I don’t think you’ll need it this October. 

When Va Tech wrestles Rutgers this season, who will the Hokies send out at 285 to face returning All-American Yara Slavikouski, returning starter Hunter Catka, or Jersey Boy Jimmy Mullen? Mike Abromitis 

You have to assume Mullen is ready to win the starting job as he’s a prized recruit who has given up football, for the time being, to concentrate strictly on wrestling. But the dual is early in the season and we can’t even be sure Yara will be there. Being a sixth-year guy with a bit of an injury history, the Rutgers big man could be on a bit of a pitch count early in the season. But you’re gonna see Mullen everywhere.