PNWfan

Cornell. USA can't seem to quite the Iranian code at 65kg. Yianni came up short a couple times at the Sr. level, Mendez comes up just short today.

Carroll didn't look too impressive out there when we stepped on the mat with Masoumi. Needs some time in the weight room. To me, it seems like he is a fringe AA right now who could probably use a redshirt year to help his body develop.

You are probably right. Last year Feldman was completely outclassed against Masoumi. That said, if Carroll is truly the #1 P4P in the 2023 recruiting class, he should be able to hang tough. That said, Masoumi is a top 10 guy in the world right now and would be in that Iranian lineup if it were not for Zare.

Anyone else looking forward to Christian Carroll against Masoumi? Personally, I cannot wait for that match. Will be a great test for Carroll against a very tough Iranian who crushed Nick Feldman last year and also beat Zillmer at the World Cup.

Who is going to beat him? I share the question if Gable plans to still compete at WCs. I would assume yes given he already wrestled at US Open and Final X. If for whatever reason he passes, Mason Parris would make for a nice fill in who can likely compete with the top tier of international HWTs.

Well, isn’t he technically doing both right now? And why would WWE be hyping up this announcement if he is going to say he plans to wrestle at Iowa and then take another shot at gold in 2024?

I’m actually a little nervous he is going to announce he will be foregoing real wrestling altogether and will be going full WWE.

In all seriousness, anyone else concerned he might announce a full commitment to WWE and forego future wrestling plans? This seems unlikely given him already wrestling in the U.S. Open and Final X, plus all the teases about Iowa, but it would really suck if that is the big announcement tonight.

They are on the UWW site. In summary: 57kg: Richards beats German to take Bronze 65kg: Lee teched by Mongolian 10-0 in less than two minutes. 74kg: No medal for Ramirez 86kg: No medal 92kg: Zahid loses first match to Iranian but ends up taking gold due 97kg: Snyder wins gold via forfeit 125kg: Parris rolls through the field to take gold. Beat Conyedo (Olympic bronze at 97kg) in first match 10-0, also beat Deng from China who is a former world silver.

Ochir looked impressive, clearly outclassed Lee. I think Yianni gives the U.S. a better chance in those matches than Lee does. However, if Yianni cannot beat Lee, that is a problem.

That was ugly.

Was surprised to see him there too with all that he has accomplished, he must want the matches as a tune up for World's.

Looks like the team is in Budapest, minus Retherford, Dake, Taylor and Steveson. With Parris wrestling in place of Steveson, will be interested to see how he fares against the rest of the 125kg field. I still believe he is one of the top 10 125kg's in the world, hopefully he gets the chance to show it against the likes of Akgul, Petriashvili, etc.

Interesting timing for this announcement. Seems like JG has always been a tweener for the Olympic weights. Not powerful enough to bump up and beat the best at 74kg, but too strenuous of a cut to 65kg to compete at the peak levels he reached at 70kg in non-Olympic seasons. Another guy who seems to fit in this same category is Zain Retherford. Hoping James can beat the odds.

Any idea if the U.S. actually plans to send their A team to this tournament, as the list from UWW suggests?

Kinda happy to see Rashidov has been unseated at 65kg. Didn’t care much for his sit and wait style.

Incorrect. Starocci and Nickal wrestled opening round of Olympic Trials in 2021. Nickal victorious 6-1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_Olympic_Team_Trials_(wrestling)#Brackets

Curious to see if we get Gable vs. Zare at this year's WC's. I saw Gable's interview where he was asked about possible matchups against Petriashvili/Akgul, but I think the 125kg that would actually be the toughest matchup right now for Gable is Zare. I'd still expect Gable to win, but Zare does have that relentless, push forward Iranian style (if he doesn't gas) that would be a different look for Gable.

Pretty sure Starocci and Nickal wrestled in the opening round. Perhaps that is what Brooks is alluding to.

I agree that the grounding rule is very subjective and inconsistently called in freestyle at the senior levelt. However, I disagree with the statement that a wrestler can drop to his knees and never give up 1. Look at David Taylor's Olympic final match against Yazdani. Yaz was pushing him with those underhooks and DT was (smartly) dropping to his knees to avoid the push-out point. I think it was the third time this happened where the ref hit DT with a caution and awarded Yaz 1 point, which seemed to catch DT off guard.

Not sure Feldman is a true HWT. Seemed like he really struggled at Junior World's with some of the competition that was more grown into the weight.

If Steveson wins World's in 2023 and Olympics in 2024, he belongs on Rushmore. Look at who he beat in the Olympics and the age he did it. Plus, the eye test shows he is one of the most dominant HWT's the world has ever seen. I doubt he will hang around long enough to build up an international resume comparable to the like of Smith, Baumgartner, Taylor, Dake, etc., but that should not restrict him from being placed among the greats of all time.

I thought David Taylor was going to be wrestling at 86kg, but brackets just released show Mark Hall as the U.S. rep. Any idea what happened?

Masoumi drops two matches at 125kg. Where are our Iranian friends? Would love to see their thoughts on his performance.

Meh, I'm sure you were also saying before the last Olympics that Gable had no chance of beating Akgul or Petriashvili given his limited experience on the senior level. We saw how that turned out.