Bo and DT

[TBar1977]

1 minute ago, Hammerlock3 said:

I don't think they care. Most PSU fans aren't dumb enough to buy into all the "fun" talk. 

I was this stupid!

[nhs67]

3 minutes ago, TBar1977 said:

I was this stupid!

Why are you here, imposter?!

We know you aren't the real TBar!

[Hammerlock3]

1 minute ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

It was all just a really weird look.  Bo didn't look to be trying to generate offense.  Maybe because he knew how it was going to play out, but it is also possible that something else was going on.

If a staff is pulling these type of internal shenanigans, I think it is also possible that some of their stable is being used as "enhancement talent."

Well dirty little secret about Bo, despite being a virtuoso (probably the greatest ever) at hunting big moves, a lot of his matches were just him waiting for reshots. He didn't wrestle as hard guys like Retherford Nolf Taylor....

I don't think the internal shenanigan support the idea that they told Nickal to lose at all. Getting into weird hypotheticals but if they could just tell him to lose why didn't they let him medal the year before anyway...

[Hammerlock3]

Just now, nhs67 said:

Why are you here, imposter?!

We know you aren't the real TBar!

YES I AM!

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

9 minutes ago, Hammerlock3 said:

Well dirty little secret about Bo, despite being a virtuoso (probably the greatest ever) at hunting big moves, a lot of his matches were just him waiting for reshots. He didn't wrestle as hard guys like Retherford Nolf Taylor....

I don't think the internal shenanigan support the idea that they told Nickal to lose at all. Getting into weird hypotheticals but if they could just tell him to lose why didn't they let him medal the year before anyway...

True. But imagine how sad Bo would feel if he was ostracized by what some on here have referred to as "the cult."  

Why didn't NLWC tell him about Taylor's injury status?  

If you don't tell him about Taylor's injury status then that is one less roadblock for DT the next year.  Take the difficult things as they come.

Watch again... really weird matches and Bo had a really different demeanor.

Edited Tuesday at 06:39 PM by Interviewed_at_Weehawken

[CHROMEBIRD]

23 minutes ago, VakAttack said:

I wonder how Penn State fans feel about this obvious rift among their guys?  It mainly seems to be between Taylor and everyone else, which is weird since Taylor is likely the "face" of the Cael Era.

Dunno if it's a rift as much as it it is mini-cliques which you see in other rooms. RBY sort of did his own thing and didn't seem to like hanging out with his teammates. Suriano, Cassar, Starocci give a similar lone wolf vibe. Spencer was criticized for not getting along or practicing with the rest of the team, by Ayala's mom no less, but now he & Drake drill together regularly. Prioritizing yourself first just sort of comes with the sport. Not to get all Louden Swain or anything

[okokzach]

2 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

True. But imagine how sad Bo would feel if he was ostracized by what some on here have referred to as "the cult." 

Definitely didn't seem happy to "do the job" for Taylor in 2021 OTT. Watch again... really weird matches and Bo had a really different demeanor.

That Bo would agree to throw matches is one of the absolute dumbest beliefs I've seen on this board. It's hilarious that you take umbrage with people calling Penn State cultish, and at the same time you believe they conspired to have a sacrificial younger member lose to help a senior member.

Edited Tuesday at 08:51 PM by okokzach

[The Kid]

48 minutes ago, okokzach said:

That Bo would agree to throw matches is one of the absolute dumbest beliefs I've seen on this board. It's hilarious that you take umbrage with people calling Penn State cultish, and at the same time you believe they conspired to have a sacrificial younger member lose to help a senior member.

I don't know if threw the match, but he looked content in losing. 

As far as Bo not knowing about DT's injury, I find that impossible to believe. 

[JeanGuy]

I don't think it had anything to do with be asked to step aside. If there is bad feelings it was about letting Downey get the nod in 2019 because Taylor didn't show at Finals X. He he known Taylor was sitting he might have made a run at 86kg.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

3 hours ago, okokzach said:

That Bo would agree to throw matches is one of the absolute dumbest beliefs I've seen on this board. It's hilarious that you take umbrage with people calling Penn State cultish, and at the same time you believe they conspired to have a sacrificial younger member lose to help a senior member.

I didn't take umbrage with the cultishness at all.  I was saying that I'm not the only one who believes the culture is cultish. Sorry you misread me.

I'm not the only one on these forums to have thought so at the time.

ATT State College MMA would look a whole lot different without Cael's blessing... and how welcome would Bo be at NLWC practices if he upset the hierarchy.  

Also listen to the Brooks Basch interview after OTT.  He hints at some stuff.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

2 hours ago, JeanGuy said:

I don't think it had anything to do with be asked to step aside. If there is bad feelings it was about letting Downey get the nod in 2019 because Taylor didn't show at Finals X. He he known Taylor was sitting he might have made a run at 86kg.

Exactly... and then 2021 happened.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

2 hours ago, The Kid said:

I don't know if threw the match, but he looked content in losing. 

As far as Bo not knowing about DT's injury, I find that impossible to believe. 

He 100% knew Tay;or was injured.  Everyone did.  But Bo was clearly told DT was wrestling in Worlds that year, so Bo did not challenge PD3.

[Wrestleknownothing]

6 hours ago, VakAttack said:

I wonder how Penn State fans feel about this obvious rift among their guys?  It mainly seems to be between Taylor and everyone else, which is weird since Taylor is likely the "face" of the Cael Era.

Hard to speak for everyone, but I think the general view is, "Huh, that's a shame. Are we still winning this year?"

[Hammerlock3]

3 hours ago, The Kid said:

I don't know if threw the match, but he looked content in losing. 

 

No he didn't he skulked off without shaking hands like a spoiled child.

[BruceyB]

I listened to the podcast, one of my biggest takeaways was that Bo claimed he wanted to get into one of these cards, and then when CP asked if he would wrestle Zahid, Bo seemed to dance around the match-up by suggesting that they have already wrestled a few times and that it would be more exciting if he wrestled someone else.. I read it as "I don't want to wrestle Zahid, but I can't admit it on radio since I just recently claimed to be the best 86kg wrestler in the world." He didn't fully shutdown the idea of the match-up but on 3 different occasions he sounded like he would prefer a different match-up.

I have stated in this thread I'm not a fan, but I maintain an open mind.. his appearance on FRL did nothing but further support my feelings towards him. He sounded whiny about MMA fans being fickle.. which to me sounded like someone that doesn't understand that probably 99% of the viewership is looking for excitement, not technical prowess that leads to a victory. Ben Askren didn't get denied by the UFC during his prime for his lack of fighting ability, it was because of the lack of excitement in his fights. The UFC is not boxing. The UFC is an entertainment product above a fighting product. You have to have a product that entertains the average fan, not the hardcore fan that appreciates the small details. 

[The Kid]

11 hours ago, Hammerlock3 said:

No he didn't he skulked off without shaking hands like a spoiled child.

That's the penn state way!

[strange_daze]

Nickel will continue to tout wrestling and PSU in part because that's part of his base, and those ties have an impact on his ability to monetize. Nothing wrong with that, but in terms of actual wrestling, who cares what he thinks about Taylor. They aren't equivalent: DT is a world and olympic champ--in actuality, not in theory--actively shaping and the present and future of the sport; BN is former wrestler--a very good one obviously--who is trying to join the influencer game and capitalize on his past. I think Askren and BN is a better comparison, though here, too, one is actively shaping the sport in a way that extends beyond cult of personality.

[steamboat_charlie]

Why would anyone be surprised that Taylor and Nickal don't get along?  Don't think there's a room big enough on the planet for those two heads to fit in.  

Both great wrestlers.  Both rank on the absolute bottom of the "guys you'd like to get a beer with" list.  

[Hammerlock3]

4 hours ago, The Kid said:

That's the penn state way!

No its the Bo way. Guy is a narcissist. 

[Mr. PeanutButter]

16 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Also listen to the Brooks Basch interview after OTT.  He hints at some stuff.

I tried listening to that pod but couldn't make it through. What did he hint at?

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

2 minutes ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

I tried listening to that pod but couldn't make it through. What did he hint at?

I tried to listen to it a second time last night.  Impossible.  If I remember correctly, he may have said something to the effect that some people at NLWC did Bo dirty? 

He was certainly talking about some members of the NLWC staff plotting against him personally.  I assume he means Kennedy, which I get.

I'm sorry if I got any of this wrong.  Last time I listened to it was almost a year ago while I was on a long run.

[BarSeries]

I thought Nickal had seen a ghost when CP mentioned Zahid's name

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

18 minutes ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

I tried listening to that pod but couldn't make it through. What did he hint at?

So this was bothering me.  I just went back to an old thread to find my own synopsis of the Basch interview from when it was released.  I did not have it in my synopsis at the time.  This doesn't mean that nothing was said (ever), but I am not 100% sure it was said on the podcast.  

[alex1fly]

"I lost because I was told to lose" feels right in Bo's wheelhouse lol

At the same time, when you're being paid sometimes you have to do what your bosses tell you to do even if you don't like it. Just part of being employed.

Either way Bo seems to use every opportunity to whine and grandstand so you know, more power to him.

[MidwestMan]

On 3/4/2025 at 2:09 AM, SocraTease said:

I  admire Penn State's wrestling program, but I have to make an exception with Nickal.  He's is often an example of things gone haywire and wrong.

He exudes toxic "bro" culture and exaggerated macho-ness. 

He has a Texas-sized ego that often rivals Ferarri for it's wounded narcissism.  (The two are from the same high school.)

He is blindly ambitious in that sense made famous by Oscar Wilde's line, "Ambition is the last refuge of failure".  

He has no sense of proportion. Listen to the tone of his words as well as the content.  He is hyperbolic and usually self-referential.

He invokes Jesus as some kind of culture warrior, but clearly knows little to nothing about biblical history, the New Testament, or his occasional "hero's"  life and words.  

He hitches a ride off the bluster, blatant jingoism, and authoritarianism of a dangerous politician who will remain unnamed. 

He has athletic talent but imagines he is the second coming of something special in MMA.  He's not. When he gets plastered to the floor in MMA the way Askren got humbled, I expect we will hear a litany of excuses.  

As for his jealousy of David Taylor, Nickal shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence.  

Your handle is very appropriate.  Deep!