Where O' Where Has Top Wrestling Gone?

[mr.nonothingatall]

12 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

I didn't make any statement in my response to your previous post regarding my feelings. I was just pointing out the hypocrisy in that fact that you are saying stalling should be called stalling and the referees shouldn't choose when and where to call it, and then in the next sentence you said they shouldn't call stalling in SV if it's going to decide the match.

Pick a side.

No hypocrisy, I want them called more often in regulation. And less often in sv. 

[ionel]

1 hour ago, mr.nonothingatall said:

trollling?

[MPhillips]

Just now, ionel said:

trollling?

Fish on? Not Fishback...

[mr.nonothingatall]

Just now, ionel said:

trollling?

MPhillips is in the kayak trollin, I'm the marlin

[MPhillips]

6 minutes ago, mr.nonothingatall said:

MPhillips is in the kayak trollin, I'm the marlin

[He Rassle]

On 1/24/2026 at 4:35 AM, headshuck said:

The 3pt TD killed it?

It certainly didn't encourage it. And as has been mentioned, the desire to make a reversal worth what it should be relative to the rule change, along with increasing the TF to keep up with this inflation won't do anything to incentivise it, unless you do something absurd like award a riding point every thirty seconds. Then you'd have the comical effect of a guy getting his second riding time point at the same time he loses a point for stalling....

...which brings me to: I think a lot of the complaints alluding to a lack of enforcing the stall call would be mitigated by incorporating incentives (or disincentives) via holding mat position. If nothing else, award the same point as in FS for a push-out/step-out. I'm inclined to say there should be a smaller circle for a first point, but I don't like an open space style wrestler punished for style alone.

Anyway, if an escape is so easy, stop calling top for stalling, but also do away with riding time. If you can ride someone out, great. But the reward for that would be squeaking out a win the way they do already by getting one takedown and not risking another shot.

[Gus]

1 hour ago, He Rassle said:

It certainly didn't encourage it. And as has been mentioned, the desire to make a reversal worth what it should be relative to the rule change, along with increasing the TF to keep up with this inflation won't do anything to incentivise it, unless you do something absurd like award a riding point every thirty seconds. Then you'd have the comical effect of a guy getting his second riding time point at the same time he loses a point for stalling....

...which brings me to: I think a lot of the complaints alluding to a lack of enforcing the stall call would be mitigated by incorporating incentives (or disincentives) via holding mat position. If nothing else, award the same point as in FS for a push-out/step-out. I'm inclined to say there should be a smaller circle for a first point, but I don't like an open space style wrestler punished for style alone.

Anyway, if an escape is so easy, stop calling top for stalling, but also do away with riding time. If you can ride someone out, great. But the reward for that would be squeaking out a win the way they do already by getting one takedown and not risking another shot.

The last thing that folkstyle wrestling needs is more rules. All these counts on the leg after takedowns and while riding are getting out of hand. Many times, the top guy gets a takedown, has the legs split and could methodically work up into a nearfall position but because the 5 second count they have to hurry off the hips and give up the advantage position. I would be in favor of getting rid of all these 5 second count calls and just call stalling when the ref sees it. 

[He Rassle]

21 minutes ago, Gus said:

The last thing that folkstyle wrestling needs is more rules. All these counts on the leg after takedowns and while riding are getting out of hand. Many times, the top guy gets a takedown, has the legs split and could methodically work up into a nearfall position but because the 5 second count they have to hurry off the hips and give up the advantage position. I would be in favor of getting rid of all these 5 second count calls and just call stalling when the ref sees it. 

I agree. But I have come to be less fond of the stall call by mere fact of the subjectivity of it. I just think there should be a way to encourage action without handing out more points based on a ref's feelings.

[H82Lose]

We JUST talked about this last weekend. We were at a college tourney, and it was crazy watching the lack of effort to ride someone one. In the older days, it was mat return, mat return, maybe one more return, then grind the hell out of them on top. 3 point take downs have hurt the top game? maybe.