GrandOlm

I don't think that's the case internationally. In countries that do both like Poland or Russia, I think it's just random (FS caucus regions aside). Whatever style has a gym close by (or you happen to get invited to) is most likely the one you will end up doing. In some other countries, Greco is the only option for men.

I don't know if it's because most American wrestling fans are folk only and they all retire by 22; people gain mass as they age. And it's not just pure blubber. I saw so many comments about Ross being small for heavyweight. He has an awkward teen body still, he'll outgrow that for sure. Dake doesn't age, or does he? Look at the faces. Boyish to mature man. He's aged a lot.

Lee: He's old for a lightweight, but old as in he's in the ending stretch of the spectrum where lightweights tend to win medals. Still in his 20s. 57kg might have become a transitionary weight as human athletes of that size become ever rarer, with Spencer being one of those few examples. Zain: Yeah. Non Olympic weight - they are less prestigious/coveted- helped. Green: Yep, he is both old and beat up for the weight class. Dake: 86 kg is borderline an upper weight, it's not that unprecedented for mid 30s year olds to have some success at those 85kg+ weights. I think him being so undersized is at least as hindering as his age. Snyder: Snyder has been around forever and looks way older than he actually is (being completely bald, bulky muscles), but he's only 30. A lot of upper weights peak in their early 30s. Size and strength are really important at those upper weights, and men often not only keep but improve in those aspects through their 30s. So no surprise there. I think big Bruce was at his best in his early 30s , and Snyder is the modern incarnation.

In my mind ,world class means either someone who can beat world medalists level wrestlers. For the stricter definition, world class designates a wrestler that can win gold at olympic weight worlds/olympics. I think Nolf could beat world medalists. This situation is also a byproduct of the one per country limit. So Russians/Soviets and Americans could be kept off teams when in other countries someone their level could solely focus on medaling in the big international events. I think Vladimir Letun is a good example of a Soviet version of Nolf. Won a gold and bronze at Soviet Nationals. Competed for 10 years but never took part in the big international tourneys.

I think the vast majority of people under 50 have no clue who Gable is. From a Hollywood trope and plot lines angle in terms of cinema, doesn't the Gable story lack compelling villains? The Soviets Gable beat internationally were not big bad Ivan Dragos. They were the weaker parts of the Soviet team and have faded to obscurity with time. And in college, Gable himself was the Hollywood cast villain who played the Goliath to someone else's David.

I can see Ross leapfrogging Merrill in the next few years. I think Merrill is close to tapping out his physical potential while Ross still has that awkward teenager build and size.

I just thought the the celebrity worship (because he was successful in wrestling that means he belongs to some "athlete super class" and he will extremely successful in everything else he tries) was delusional and that success in WWE has little to no crossover with wrestling. I also thought he was not a good candidate for becoming a pro football player. I don't think you can trumpet his football accomplishments as some great achievement. A NFL coach who was a wrestling fan invited him to the practice squad. He was cut, since he had no chance. That's just favoritism giving someone a cool memory. Ghadaffi's son was a pro football players in Serie A in a round about way as well.

Not sure if this post was a joke or not. Very few people on the planet weigh 300 lbs without carrying copious amounts of excess, unhealthy boy fat ( or large amounts of PEDs). Even fewer weight that much in their late teens and early 20s. There might be a couple Chris Taylor esque wreslters with very high body fat percentages, but it's still a tiny amount of competitors. At greco seniors I don't think any of the top wrestlers weigh 130 kg (since Lopez retired.) Plus, anyone that large and actually athletic would be in football most likely (money).

Coby Merill looks like he could be in his 30s.

Coon wrestled Mirzazadeh who is the best wrestler in the world right now and the favorite for 2028. Some people made a huge deal out of the fact that score was fairly close, but Mirzazadeh had a conservative style back then. He'd get a pushout or a turn. Then he would coast the rest of the match. It wasn't that Coon was at his level, which was the web that some people spun after the loss. I think Coon has had an amazing career given his technical ability and athleticism. Far better wrestlers than him never won a world silver or never went to the Olympics.

Well Riza won. When your biggest challenge is a 5 ft 11, 26 year old who has never won a world level title.... There are 3 people in Iran who could beat Riza. The Turkish federation pulled some strings to get their boy back in after his steroid oopsie, let's see how near 40 Riza progresses. I don't see him beating Mirzazadeh at the olympics. This has to be at least the 5th time in a row that Heiki Nabi has lost 1-1 in the first round. Kamparov is a big basic plodder. Semenov is still the most talented and highest ceiling of Russia's 130 kgs. It's too bad he can't stay disciplined. Semenov is not a generational wrestler, but he could have won a lot more in his career. Milov is having some Indian Summer in his career. Peaking in his late 20s Sargsyan is undersided for 97 kg, but Russia is a shadow of the old Soviet machine and he's the best they have. Sargsyan gets emotional when he loses. A lot of pressure. He's had some terrible Ls, Sargsyan lost to one of the Sterkenburg brothers (no disrespect but a Russian rep shouldn't be losing to either of them). Bisultanov won 87. I've long said Bisultanov is the most talented of the current 87 kg wrestlers and the closest to being Beleniuk's heir. Noivikov was really lucky to win gold at those Olympics. If they wrestled that tournament again, he could have left without a medal. Emelin won at 63. He's old for a greco light weight. Competing in a tweener category. Other than Bisultanov, I don't think any of these (olympic weights) Euro champions are the best at their weight class.

I think Riza is going to sleepwalk his way to beating the "record" (he won't really due to a technicality, but UWW and the Turks will say he did, so everyone will just go along with it). Europe is still pitifuly mediocre 130 kg. I have no faith that Vitek and Kamparov can challenge him. Who would have predicted that Russia's best wrestler over almost two decades would be a - needs everything to go his way to win gold type. Oh and he also has persistent weight and motivational issues to boot. (I forgot about Hlinchuk. He still had that awkward teen looking physique at the last worlds. Maybe he matured sufficiently and can surprise everyone).

That's really bad for freestyle. Even during the soviet era, at least other groups could win the silvers and bronzes. Now they wins those too, just with fake flags.

Geno is in parliament. I found his profile https://parliament.ge/en/parliament-members/8453/biography. Geno received the Karelin/Taymazov treatment. I've never heard of a wrestler coming back from this type of retirement. He's done. Amazing what an Olympic Gold medal can get you. Many of these countries put so much stock into the olympic gold. So Zare is all alone and unchallenged? No one is near his level. Is he going to sweep this cycle and possibly the next one? This is not a good weight for Russia so unless America produces someone, it could be a long time.

UWW has entrants on their site. Geno is not listed at 125 kg. Is he retired? It's been over a year now. Would make sense to go out on top with his age and style. Sad and Uguev are entered. https://uww.org/article/european-championships-2026-entries