My over hyped US wrestler

[Antitroll2828]

2 hours ago, mspart said:

Maybe the question should have been will Yianni make the Olympic Team for 2024?   Then people can say their peace on that.   Or maybe the question could be who will be our 65KG rep on the Olympic MFS team?    Who wants to take on these questions? 

For myself, I don't see Yianni making the team.   He would have to do some major improvement which can be done and a person of his caliber is certainly capable of it.   But as has been noted, 65 is super tough. 

mspart

Fair enough, definitely could’ve phrased it differently 

[AgaveMaria]

On 11/4/2023 at 8:52 AM, Antitroll2828 said:

Is Yianni the most over hyped US wrestler ever? Since he was a sophomore I’ve been hearing how amazing he was at freestyle…hell when he lost 2-0 to Zain then sued a huge portion of the wrestling world was ok with it bc “yianni was our best chance to medal” …meanwhile yianni has taken a lot domestic loses -Zain ,J.O. , Nick lee and multiple Ls to McKenna.. has there ever been a US wrestler this hyped that has taken this many domestic loses 

Dave Schultz, obviously.

He lost 9 times in College and only got 2nd at the Tblisi tournment while in High School even after he pinned Chuck Yagla at the Great Plains Tournament. All those High School and college losses!

Then in world competition he got beat a number of times. He only won one world Gold and one Olympic Gold. His own brother Mark won Three world titles - and that is his little brother!

Over hyped?  How about your post is over the top asinine

 

[Jim L]

Terrible take by OP.. best interpretation is that YD had not done everything his biggest fans predicted.. yet 

 

[wrestle87]

2 hours ago, Antitroll2828 said:

get one medal with 0 Russians

I understand your point, but it is a little disingenuous bc musukayev, for example, is from russia, as are a number of entrants in most weight classes each year.  I checked, and as far as I can tell musukayev was the only russian in yiannis weight that year.  

This is an interesting topic broadly, but its kind of turning into a thread just bagging on yianni.  

We have seen a lot of crossover success from strong ncaa performances leading directly to international success, and yianni is one of those guys.  Would this thread exist if yianni had beaten nick lee this year but failed to place? He’d still be a 4x champ and silver medalist.

Is this just recency speaking? What role did yianni play in vito running roughshod over everyone in the world this year? Certainly greater than zero.

I think you are also forgetting the absolute slump that USA wrestling was in for ~15 years starting in 97 and ending with burroughs and varner in 2012.

We straight up blew.  Sucked.  Hot garbage in wrestling shoes.  We had some solid performances from individuals, but the average US performance was to get outclassed and shown the door after round 1.

So has yianni underperformed against early hopes and excitement, both our and his own, yes.  But, he is of heartier, more capable, better prepared stock than the US has produced in a long time.  Him underperforming is because we are better, not bc he dropped the ball.  

Let’s also give some credit to Nick Lee, bc he is nasty in his own right.  Dude rose to the occasion.

[Jim L]

On 11/5/2023 at 12:13 AM, billyhoyle said:

Metcalf, Mocco, Schlatter (maybe due to injury in part), Askren

All those guys at least made the national team, never did as well Internationally as they did in the NCAAs. Didnt Mocco wrestle for an Olympic bronze? 

Lots of really good college wrestlers have done less intentionally

Pendleton, Kole Conrad, Darion Caldwell all had multiple wins over guys on your list, but never made repped the US at World or Olympic (pretty sure about that)

Ed Ruth, one of the most dominant wrestlers of the decade, made 1 national team and didn't place

Going old school Pat Smith never made a national team

Going really old school, I don't believe Larry Owings did either

 

[bnwtwg]

This is such a stupid thread. This is why we can’t have nice things.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

5 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Who is doing that?  The initial claim by a certain troll was that people were always saying that Yianni was our best chance to medal, and I and others are pointing out that was exactly true, since it's been seventeen years since anyone other than Yianni won a medal at 65kg, and he did it only last year.  And the fact that he's got domestic losses means nothing compared to that fact.

It means its going to be tough to make the team in 2024.  He may need to transfer to NLWC to have a shot.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

54 minutes ago, Jim L said:

All those guys at least made the national team, never did as well Internationally as they did in the NCAAs. Didnt Mocco wrestle for an Olympic bronze? 

Lots of really good college wrestlers have done less intentionally

Pendleton, Kole Conrad, Darion Caldwell all had multiple wins over guys on your list, but never made repped the US at World or Olympic (pretty sure about that)

Ed Ruth, one of the most dominant wrestlers of the decade, made 1 national team and didn't place

Going old school Pat Smith never made a national team

Going really old school, I don't believe Larry Owings did either

 

World team.  Top 3 is national team.  Other than that, you are right on about a lot of things.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

3 hours ago, 1032004 said:

wasn't that the year he beat Bajrang at Beat the Streets?  I'm pretty sure that was part of what started the "he's our best chance to medal" talk.

Some iffy officiating and Bajrang had wrestled on three continents in 10 days or something similar.

[Wrestleknownothing]

This would have been a Zain Retherford thread a year ago.

Perhaps @Antitroll2828 is a little premature on this take.

And a little late (Yianni is having a hard time hearing you over his world silver).

[Mr. PeanutButter]

Perhaps a little more inflammatory than the OP intended but I think I get the drift. After his worlds performance I too was caught very surprised when John lost not once but twice to domestic competition. 

He might be overhyped or he might be the best prospect (by a small margin) in an unforgiving weightclass. I was recently told that there were, like, a ton of different varieties of tomatoes so I suppose all sorts of pronunciations are welcome. 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

I may come off as a Yianni hater, but I am far from that, and I want to clarify.  I have friends who know Yianni well and speak to his high character.  I would love to YD (or anyone really) win 2024 gold (and then multiple golds going forward.)

However, his trend is not great at this point.  Could he make the team?  Of course.  But an argument could be made that he is our #3 guy and is losing ground to a guy who just placed 8th.  No number of DQ victories over Muskaev or strangely officiated matches over Bajrang are going to get him on the US team.  

Also, wasn't the Iranian 5th this year?

[Gus]

52 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

I may come off as a Yianni hater, but I am far from that, and I want to clarify.  I have friends who know Yianni well and speak to his high character.  I would love to YD (or anyone really) win 2024 gold (and then multiple golds going forward.)

However, his trend is not great at this point.  Could he make the team?  Of course.  But an argument could be made that he is our #3 guy and is losing ground to a guy who just placed 8th.  No number of DQ victories over Muskaev or strangely officiated matches over Bajrang are going to get him on the US team.  

Also, wasn't the Iranian 5th this year?

The Iranian was 5th. He lost to Muszukajev and Mamedov. 65kg is deep and these guys all beat each other. 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

21 minutes ago, Gus said:

The Iranian was 5th. He lost to Muszukajev and Mamedov. 65kg is deep and these guys all beat each other. 

I mean, that is how the brackets work.

[Gus]

20 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

I mean, that is how the brackets work.

Here is the list of placers from 2018 - present

2018: Otoguro, Bajrang, Valdes/Chakaev

2019: Rashidov, Niyazbekov, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2021: Shakhiev, Yazdani, Osmonov/Tulga

2022: Amouzad, Yianni, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2023: Muszukajev, Riveria, Mamedov/Tevanyan

 

No repeat champions. Only two wrestlers that have placed multiple times: Muszukajev and Bajrang. 

[nhs67]

Is Amouzad waiting to go up until after this cycle?  He looked bigger this year and the rumblings were that he was having trouble holding the weight.

Going up to 74 KG this late might be a pain in the ass, but he has the length to succeed there if he can fill out.  I do think it is a bit late... but I do expect him to go to 70 KG after this cycle is over for him with 74 KG for next Olympics.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him go 65 KG to 74 KG for 2024 to 2025 much like Yazdani went 74 KG in 2016 to 86 KG in 2017.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

39 minutes ago, Gus said:

Here is the list of placers from 2018 - present

2018: Otoguro, Bajrang, Valdes/Chakaev

2019: Rashidov, Niyazbekov, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2021: Shakhiev, Yazdani, Osmonov/Tulga

2022: Amouzad, Yianni, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2023: Muszukajev, Riveria, Mamedov/Tevanyan

 

No repeat champions. Only two wrestlers that have placed multiple times: Muszukajev and Bajrang. 

Yes.

[BigRedFan]

1 hour ago, Gus said:

Here is the list of placers from 2018 - present

2018: Otoguro, Bajrang, Valdes/Chakaev

2019: Rashidov, Niyazbekov, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2021: Shakhiev, Yazdani, Osmonov/Tulga

2022: Amouzad, Yianni, Muszukajev/Bajrang

2023: Muszukajev, Riveria, Mamedov/Tevanyan

 

No repeat champions. Only two wrestlers that have placed multiple times: Muszukajev and Bajrang. 

That's a crazy statistic.  Wonder how that compares to other weight classes.

[Gus]

22 minutes ago, BigRedFan said:

That's a crazy statistic.  Wonder how that compares to other weight classes.

Let's compare with 74kg

2018: Sidakov, Kentchadze, Burroughs/Abdurakhmonov

2019: Sidakov, Chamizo, Kaisanov/Burroughs

2021: Dake, Salkazanov, Bizhoev/Eryilmaz

2022: Dake, Salkazanov, Enami/Demirtas

2023: Sidakov, Dake, Takatani/Tsabolov

We had 2 guys repeat as champions in Sidakov and Dake. Additionally, we had 2 others place multiple times in Burroughs (2x) and Salkazanov (2x). 

 

[Gus]

51 minutes ago, Gus said:

Let's compare with 74kg

2018: Sidakov, Kentchadze, Burroughs/Abdurakhmonov

2019: Sidakov, Chamizo, Kaisanov/Burroughs

2021: Dake, Salkazanov, Bizhoev/Eryilmaz

2022: Dake, Salkazanov, Enami/Demirtas

2023: Sidakov, Dake, Takatani/Tsabolov

We had 2 guys repeat as champions in Sidakov and Dake. Additionally, we had 2 others place multiple times in Burroughs (2x) and Salkazanov (2x). 

 

57kg

2018: Uguev, Sanayev, Takahashi/Atli

2019: Uguev, Atli, Dahiya/Sanyev

2021: Gilman, Sarlak, Tsiutryn/Lehr

2022: Abakarov, Gilman, Zanabazar/Micic

2023: Micic, Higuchi, Abakarov/Harutyunyan

We have one repeat champion in Uguev (2 gold). We have 5 others that placed multiple times in Sanayev (1 silver, 1 bronze), Atli (1 silver, 1 bronze), Gilman (1 gold, 1 silver), Abakarov ( 1 gold, 1 bronze), Micic (1 gold, 1 bronze).

86kg

2018: DT, Erdin, Friev/Yazdani

2019: Yazdani, Punia, Naifonov/Reichmuth

2021: Yazdani, DT, Abakarov/Naifonov

2022: DT, Yazdani, Dauletbekov/Makojev

2023: DT, Yazdani, Dauletbekov/Amine

We had 2 guys repeat as champs in Yazdani (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) and DT (3 gold, 1 silver). 2 others place multiple times in Naifonov (2 bronze) & Dauletbekov (2 bronze).

 

97kg

2018: Sadulaev, Snyder, Odikadze/Conyedo

2019: Sadulaev, Sharifov, Nurov/Snyder

2021: Sadulaev, Snyder, Goleij/Zakariiev

2022: Snyder, Tsakulov, Magomedov/Matcharashvili

2023: Tazhudinov, Magodedov, Matcharashvili/Synder

We have one three-peat champion in Sadulaev. 3 others placed multiple times in Snyder (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), Magomedov (1 silver, 1 bronze), Matcharachvili (2 bronze).

 

125kg

2018: Petriashvili, Deng, Hadi/Gwiazdowski

2019: Petriashvili, Akgul, Deng/Khotsianivski

2021: Zare, Petriashvili, Lkhagvagerel/Akgul

2022: Akgul, Lkhagvagerel, Petriashvili/Zare

2023: Zare, Petriashvili, Akgul/Parris

We have two repeat champs in Petriashvili (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) and Zare (2 gold, 1 bronze). 3 others placed multiple times in Deng (1 silver, 1 bronze), Akgul (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) & Lkhagvegerel (1 silver, 1 bronze).

[Wrestleknownothing]

4 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

I may come off as a Yianni hater, but I am far from that, and I want to clarify.  I have friends who know Yianni well and speak to his high character.  I would love to YD (or anyone really) win 2024 gold (and then multiple golds going forward.)

However, his trend is not great at this point.  Could he make the team?  Of course.  But an argument could be made that he is our #3 guy and is losing ground to a guy who just placed 8th.  No number of DQ victories over Muskaev or strangely officiated matches over Bajrang are going to get him on the US team.  

Also, wasn't the Iranian 5th this year?

Lee was 7th, not 8th. But not the 7th best wrestler there. See Repechage is French for Stupid.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

3 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Lee was 7th, not 8th. But not the 7th best wrestler there. See Repechage is French for Stupid.

Would you have him somewhere around 4th best?

[Wrestleknownothing]

2 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Would you have him somewhere around 4th best?

Yes

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

11 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Lee was 7th, not 8th. But not the 7th best wrestler there. See Repechage is French for Stupid.

If only there was a way to earn seeding points and separate yourself from other studs!

[Wrestleknownothing]

5 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

If only there was a way to earn seeding points and separate yourself from other studs!

I have expounded on the un-serious way they set up the seeding points.

1. Have all the tournaments in the most difficult to get to time zones for the western hemisphere. If they show, they have two choices:
   1. get there a week early, ala the world championships, to acclimate and optimize performance (and spend loads of money - see point 2);
   2. get there just in time, and feel like crap, and maybe get hurt.
2. Have the points accumulate individually so that a deep country, like the US, will have to spend a crazy amount sending multiple wrestlers, but PR can just send the one that they know is their rep.
3. Make it a perfect attendance award rather than merit, because attendance lines their pockets, not achievement.