GlassPrison

I originally had some questions when I heard about this event, but presumed that RAF did their diligence ahead of time. One thing to note - the article is from ESPN, a direct competitor to Fox. The quotes from legislators are from two members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, so there should be no surprise about their displeasure. Without knowing what work RAF has done to clear the event, it seems like there's two possibilities: (1) they rushed this and didn't do their homework. In which case, they need to outright cancel or risk major issues with the Fox relationship, investors, and public perception, OR (2) they've already cleared this and have received a green light from legal representation and it's a non-story (and ESPN is shooting across Fox's deck). Either way, there's PR work to be done, but I have to imagine that they expected that going into an event in Russia.

I love RAF, but can we get rid of Danis please.

From a cost perspective, it’s not a bad idea. Consolidate travel and operating expense by limiting the coaching staff and training partners to a smaller group.

Just to be clear, I didn’t do a damn thing…

So excuse my ignorance, but I haven’t followed this stuff for very long. USA Wrestling posted that Schendel and Mogard secured triple crowns, but I have no idea what that entails. Can someone educate me? I presume that includes Fargo FS and GR, but what’s the third component?

Love the performance by heavyweight Sawyer Schendel in 16u. He’s a big boy. 1st in FS and GR. Way to represent MN!

McEnelly vs Bo is straight fire Those on social media dismissing Max and calling a quick tech for Bo are about to learn!

As someone that has followed MMA a long time, and absolutely loves RAF, I was surprised with Danis’ inclusion. Problems follow him everywhere, and I don’t think he brings much crossover value. With that said, I’ll tune back in again next time. Not because of any drama, but because RAF is doing far more to push this sport forward and provide long-term wrestling opportunities to men and women that would never have a platform like this without it.

Let’s go Hayden!

I am psyched for that RAF Georgia card.

I’m excited to see what Yonger has for Sharipov. Great to hear that Max is in the audience tonight. Excited to see him get into the mix

I know would be pretty surprised to see him at MN.

I think we are all saying the same thing. We want Ben to be safe and we want him to live his life like he wants to. We know there’s risk and hope he’s safe about it. He has a family and we want them to have a full life together. Everything is speculation and it’s Ben’s choice to make. Probably should stop arguing amongst ourselves and let Ben do what he will do.

Bottom line - I’m happy Ben is in a place where he feels comfortable competing. Its not my place to say if it’s medically appropriate. Does it make me nervous - yes. Do I have enough familiarity with his situation to know if that’s valid - no. Like most everyone, I just want him to be safe and healthy. I’ll be watching and cheering for him.

I think this is awesome. Keep building the footprint of the organization and build an international identity. I'm all here for more shows!

Training montages with Gable in the Gophers room and a spotlight on the coaches is fantastic marketing exposure for the program. With that said, U20s and U23s overlapped, so I was a bit surprised too, but I think it was a great call to be there. Support Gable and get a huge platform to highlight Gopher wrestling. Now let’s see who Max gets in his debut!

Yeah he did leave coaching. I was actually wondering the same and I haven’t asked around to see if he pokes his head back in or maybe just works with Gable due to the standing relationship. Whatever it is, I’m happy to see him in the fold. Agreed on Jones. He could have a lot of impact as an ambassador in his post fight career.

Gable vs Sadulaev sounds good to me. Love the Zare callout too. Not sure RAF is going to be able to get Iranians to come over, but that’s the match to make if they can. Wish it was at an Olympics or World Championship too, but I’ll take RAF. Was also happy to see the broadcast team and Jon Jones highlight Eggum/Brandvold/Gophers coaching staff. They do a great job.

I sure hope he goes and I think he can medal. Let’s see Gable vs Sharipov in RAF and we will get a view on potential medal placement.

Looking forward to it. Can’t wait for my son to get a few years older too, because it seems like a killer family atmosphere.

It’s just a small group of hardcore wrestling fans online. Every real person I actually know gets excited for the MMA guys. I was a diehard MMA fan before I was a diehard wrestling fan, so I like to see these guys too. A few each card is smart marketing. As long as we are getting Snyder vs Aitmukhan, Aeoden vs Zahid, etc - there’s no logical basis for an argument.

Between Snyder, Wyatt, Sharipov…there’s a lot of fun stuff on the table for Gable.

Now that is going to get some more eyes on the sport.

For a real young guy like Aeoden, this is an information gathering opportunity as much as anything else. Tough matchup, but he will learn a lot from it.

Let’s go Aeoden!