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I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time seeing how this is going to work. The main problem is that it's just freestyle. Don't get me wrong -- I love freestyle. No other sport I'd rather watch. But the truth is, the bleachers are pretty empty even in nationals and WTTs. It's a small community, not particularly moneyed, and it's hard enough to get them to come out when there's actually something on the line. We know the typical attendance figures for freestyle events, and we know they aren't financially viable. I just don't see the plan. It isn't that nothing's being done. I see the social media, I see the prize links to high school teams, the drawing for a free camp. That's nice. Maybe it bumps the attendance a bit. But even if it's on the above-average side of a typical freestyle event, that's still a long way from being financially viable. Forgive my rant, but: 1. Better Cross-Selling They could have tried to cross-sell it with another sport which similarly has a modest fan base -- e.g. BJJ, grappling, judo. Not seeing that. Even if it's just one or two match, these smaller sports can cross-sell. They'd also be wise to find a way to work with MMA on this, because otherwise, MMA will see them as competition. Maybe build in some advertising for them, and have some UFC people there. We can't portray ourselves as some sort of minor league for UFC, but the sports are symbiotic and both can play off that. Similarly, it sucks that Hulk passed, but I'd have thought they could cross-sell to the pro wrestling crowd too. Not my jam, but those guys fill huge arenas. Maybe they were trying, I don't know, but that's going to be a tough sell without a pro wrestling "face". They also could mix something else in the event which pulls out the non-wrestling crowd or at least wrestling fans' families or significant others -- e.g. some well-known performer at intermission, MMA celebrities, etc. Not seeing that either. The reason it's so important to attract an audience outside the typical freestyle crowd isn't just that the numbers are too low without them. It's sponsorships. Companies like Defense Soap and Rudis only have so much ad money to go around, and to be viable, you need to attract some of the bigger dogs. 2. Making the Event More Exciting If they're not going to do any of that stuff, then they really need to do something to amp up the excitement level in the wrestling itself. But I don't see that either. For example, build in mini events within the wrestling itself. A big prize if someone hits a 5 pointer, or a pin under a minute, or something that creates a huge incentive to do something wild. Something that totally changes the complexion of the match to see if anyone's going to pull it off. I'm not seeing that. They could shake it up by mixing up the rules to make it more offensive-action oriented or throw-oriented, or dramatically change the scoring, so it's constant attempts to score. (I made a separate post about that a while back.) Doesn't appear to be in the works. They also could mess with the scoring by giving guys a "handicap" like it's golf (e.g. spotting points to the underdog), so you can have more on-paper mismatches or bumping up weights. But everything I've heard so far is that it just isn't varying much from a standard freesyle dual that doesn't vary much from tradition. 3. Where's the "League"? The most frustrating thing to me is that what's billed as a "league" really just looks like a Flowrestling Night in America event. If you're gonna do a league, do a league. Have a draft, talk it up. Have the "teams" based in specific cities. Create an actual team, which develops actual fans, who actually follow said teams. Get creative about how team score is kept to keep it exciting. Get the smack talk going, get the interviews before and after going, have a process for trade, have a well-known coach for each team -- even if the coach(es) are crossover guys. Maybe have the coaches wrestle if the team score is tied. If this is too heavy a lift, maybe contract with the RTCs. Those are existing teams of freestyle athletes who have no one to compete against except themselves when not in international competition. Even better, if you do that, maybe doing a licensing deal with universities, you can tap into collegiate allegiances to build out your fan base. Why not link up with them? In fairness, my guess is that they know there's too small a demand to create an actual league right out of the gate, and they're doing this event more to whet the appetite and build a brand, sort of a "proof of concept." I agree that makes sense, as the fan base is too small as it is. But even if so, that should be made more clear, and the design of the event should serve as a buildup to that -- explicitly, and with some context for the vision, so it gets talked up. It's also all the more reason to really change things up and do something extraordinarily fan friendly and action-friendly, widening the audience while exciting the bases. 4. Unique matchups. What's more, even among existing fans of freestyle wrestling, you need to create a product that they want to see. For that, you need good matchups. Honestly, they're pretty lackluster. Several are decent, but it begs for a headliner. Get me a Gable vs. Snyder, or Spencer vs Jax, or Nickal versus an actual bear (OK maybe not), or AJ vs. Starocci, or Starocci vs. Bartlett (LOL), or Taylor vs. Dake part XVIII. Or go the generational route, putting in the top current guys against some top high school guys with huge social media followings. They've done some of this, pulling in Nickal and old-timers like Palmer and Caldwell. *** Bottom line is this: What I'm seeing is a lack of risk taking. The built-in audience is simply too small for this, so you need to do something more than just talk it up on twitter and having drawings, because even if that works you'll still fall short. A rehash of RPW or RWL is going to hit a wall real fast. Maybe they've got Elon Musk secretly bankrolling them for $500 million and so they're fine with taking a loss, so they can afford to make it an event for freestyle purists. But I suspect all they've really got it some decent seed money, which is going to dry up real fast if they can't present a viable vision with a path to profit.

Kaleb Wright from Campbell to Long Island

Shane Cook from Cleveland State to Grand View

Gavin Ricketts from Cleveland State to Bellarmine

Douglas Terry from Cleveland State to Life University

Six more states add snap waivers (WV, Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas). This too is a very good move by DHHS.

It’s no joke, go woke and go broke.

Just stumbled on this, but Fox Nation has a promo for Active Milary, Veterans and First Responders. 1 Year Free Subscription!! I didn't believe it so I tried it out. Seems to be Legit. I'm watching it now!

In politics the big dudes usually don’t go down. They usually sacrifice someone farther down the chain unfortunately. Corruption is rampant

... but what if Jim, Bill and Don all share a cell?

Politics are far far dirtier than we think. It is pretty disgusting.

*Reverse transfer alert* Wrestlestat is reporting that Hogan Swenski is back on the Ohio State roster, and no longer transferred to Rider. We saw this last year with Sam Ewing committing to Nebraska and Max Elton committing to Lock Haven, before Donny Vinson got the Buffalo job, and both wrestlers went back to Buffalo. Blake Schaeffer was also reported to transfer from Kent State to Cleveland State, but with the latter school closing its program, he went back to Kent State.

Was watching family guy today and this popped up. Glen quagmire as bill Clinton. Comedy gold

... but it was kind've funny don't ya think?

Here’s a more complete version of the match. George Hackenschmidt and Joe Rogers went two rounds. The bout in between (according to a comment) features Joe Carroll vs. Peter Gotz. And at the end, there's the trophy presentation.

…and Comey might go to prison. Head of the FBI.

Chances Kyle Dake drinks raw milk? I’m going 100% (although at least he’s healthy)

Someone pretending to be on the high road again.

Not outraged at all, just thought you would be man enough to understand making fun of hospitalized little kids is a bit of a low blow. I was wrong. It happens. Enjoy

I stand by the joke. Gotta look on the bright side boss. If it’s all doom and gloom it’s no fun.

That would work if you were a comedian. I mean, you are in fact comedy, but you’re far from a comedian.

Also. You’re the one who seems to be outraged a bit. It’s just selective to your topics.