Jon_Kozak

Great breakdown - It's worth noting that Iran is reportedly not going due to recent events. Also, I'd expect Russia's entries to change based on what happens at Russian Nationals this weekend. Federations have to submit the number of entries by a certain day and the guys submitted here are likely place holders. Also, 79 is pretty loaded with Gamkrelidze (world silver), Yergesh (beat Starocci at U23 worlds), Eryilmaz (world bronze), and Gulaev (world bronze). This will be a great test for Levi.

I don't feel confident picking anyone at 57 - but the safe picks are Pavlov, Chebodaev, and Mutaliev. Magomed-Salyakh Ozdamirov is another guy to watch at 57 - he won U20 Russian Nationals and looks ready to challenge guys at the senior level.

I'd be shocked if they gave one to Mongush. They usually only give wrestle-offs to the exceptional - Sidakov, Sadulaev, Uguev. Pavlov did beat Mongush at last year's Russian Nationals and the two had a close match at the Yarygin this year (it was 7-5). But I agree that Mongush has been better internationally.

Nachyn Mongush and Zaurbek Sidadkov won't be wrestling at Russian Nationals. As already mentioned, Sidakov is hoping for a special wrestle-off against whoever wins Russian Nationals, but he doesn't know if he'll get one yet. Brackets will be out in the next day or so - I'll have an article up with them when they're released and will be tracking all of the results over the next few days.

We're hoping to find out who people think the best wrestlers at each weight are since 2001.

No criteria other than who you think is the best 133-pounder of the last 25 years. We thought that's what would make it more engaging because everyone will have their own criteria on how they define who the best is.

I think Woods is our best shot at a medal this year so I'm glad he made Final X. I don't think he beats Kiyooka, Mamedov, or Amouzad but I feel pretty good about him against anyone else in the world. Prior to this year, Woods hadn't wrestled freestyle since 2019. So, it's pretty incredible he made Final X this year. It also might explain some of his problems closing out matches.

The entries from that article are directly from USA Wrestling's registrations. So yes, Kyle Snyder is entered at 97 kg

Appreciate you sharing the article...I think there's enough time before worlds that Ramazanov and Novikov will end up wrestling at worlds. We heard from Ramazanov and he seemed optimistic about being able to compete moving forward but did acknowledge the complications. If I had to guess, this is more of a power play by the new federation president. It's certainly serious and probably means they won't accept transfers from here on out.

Yeah you've got it right

thanks for your support...i tried to be as honest as I could with the Crookham situation. From what I've been told, Ryan was optimistic about being able to wrestle in the post-season and did everything he could to try to get back. The coaches left the decision up to him on whether or not he wanted to compete and he literally made the decision yesterday.

I think the one match to headline a card like this was appropriate. Of course I'd love to see them wrestle again but a best of 3 isn't ideal for a two hour card with 10 matches.

lol I love the forums - I'm usually on them most days but we had a little family get away the past few days so that spared me from getting caught in the weeds of my Ryder Block error.

Hey sorry for the delay - just checked the forums today. Yeah, it's a bad ranking...it happens from time to time. Most times we catch it before it gets to this point but Block slipped through the cracks. You'll remember last year I had to answer for dropping Maida 18 spots and this year I have to answer for not dropping Block. It'll be fixed on Monday...unless he beats Bartlett tonight of course

Marsteller was teched by Magomed Ramazanov (eventual Olympic champ) in about 90 seconds at the 2024 Zagreb Open almost exactly one year ago. https://www.flowrestling.org/video/11848336-86-kg-semifinal-chance-marsteller-usa-vs-magomed-ramazanov-bul

Appreciate the kind words - I didn't have anything to do with the making of Young Bucks but I read your post to Bader

No luck - have to type out all of the results too so that's been fun!

I've got results rolling in this article with a link to the brackets - https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13359017-2024-soldier-salute-wrestling-tournament-results Midlands results are here for those interested - https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13358672-2024-midlands-wrestling-championships-results-and-brackets all free for my friends here to view and enjoy

Braxton Amos is not wrestling at Midlands. Originally he and several other Wisconsin wrestlers were registered but I've since heard from the Wisconsin coaching staff that they're not sending any wrestlers to Midlands.

IMO AJ Ferrari's resume is not comparable to Gable Steveson's. Gable Steveson Wins over: #1 Kerkvliet #2 Hendrickson #7 Ghadiali #9 Schultz #10 Luffman NCAA finishes - 1st, 1st, 3rd Missed 2 NCAA Tournaments Lost to Anthony Cassar - NCAA Champion Won 2 Hodge Trophies AJ Ferrari Wins over #1 Buchanan #10 Novak NCAA finish - 1st Missed 3 NCAA Tournaments Lost to Noah Adams - 3X NCAA Qualifier, never AAd Gable has 3 full seasons of data and more head-to-head wins over the current field than AJ. It's a similar situation but it's certainly not the same.

Mendez lost to Cole Matthews and Beau Bartlett last year. Alirez beat Cole Matthews and Beau Bartlett while going undefeated two years ago. It's really that simple. I know it might seem weird because Mendez is the returning NCAA champ and beat Alirez in freestyle. However, we've never counted freestyle results for college rankings and nothing happened in that match - traded shot clock points and Mendez got a step out.

She's the last match in the session that starts at 12:15 pm (ET) so I'd guess somewhere between 2:30pm and 3:00pm (ET).

I agree that there shouldn't be an asterisk but unfortunately many will say there is - especially at 74 kg where Sidakov has established himself as the best guy in the world and is only being kept out due to things outside of his control. I think there's room for a nuanced conversation here - it's different than 1984 primarily because there are so many Russians in the field. 25% of the bracket at 74 kg are Russians....there are 17 total Russians across every weight in men's freestyle

This argument doesn't really apply considering the circumstances around Sidakov making the 2023 team. Sidakov was allowed to sit out of Russian Nationals in 2023 because of his previous accomplishments. The Russian Wrestling Federation said the 74 kg spot would be determined by the winner of Russian Nationals vs Sidakov. Chermen Valiev won Russian Nationals over Timur Bizhoev and Sidakov beat Valiev in August of 2023. Valiev was originally supposed to wrestle Sidakov at the Commonwealth Cup but requested more time in between Russian Nationals and the wrestle-off. So Sidakov used the Commonwealth Cup as a "tune-up" event for his world team wrestle-off with Valiev.

Man thanks for all of the kind words guys - genuinely means a lot. Planning on doing more of this type of video - especially rolling into the Olympics. It's tough during the regular season (college) cus our video guys travel most weekends and then I practically spend all day Monday on rankings but the new studio will help with pumping these out with more frequency. And for the record, Christian, JD and Tyler are some of my closest friends (so I'm obviously biased) - they do a great job with FRL. I understand the rabbit trails and jokes aren't for everyone but idk of another wrestling podcast that puts out the content they do with the same level of competitence and consistency.