CHROMEBIRD

Why don't we see rent-a-wrestler type stuff happening with Japan like the Russian wrestlers in MFS? Japan is so stacked, it's hard to imagine other countries not wanting to poach some of that. Is it just a lack of local support elsewhere for WFS?

Mike Evans was up there for a hot second

Will they try to push everyone out here?

He's team captain and may feel obligated to compete, even though he doesn't owe anyone anything, but the grind of the season will take its toll and distract from preparing for trials. Maybe he'll do the limited season thing. ORS? I can't remember what happened with his ORS in the runup to the Tokyo Olympics and the cancelled season, etc. I also wonder how Fix will prioritize (or not) his senior season against getting ready to make an Olympic run.

I agree, he looked so ominous and huge when they were receiving their medals just before the photo op

He definitely towered over them when he was on the top platform and the others were on their respective steps

I can't do a screencap at the moment but yes, I thought Taz, a big guy, looked small next to Sadulaev and even smaller going with Snyder.

Comparatively. Snyder looked completely jacked next to him.

Sheesh

Idk, he woke up the entire arena after his semifinal match. Dude was pumped

Definitely deserved suspicions but Taz looked pretty small compared to Snyder and Sadz. The scary part though is he's still filling into a full-sized grown man frame

Gotta qualify the weight first

Valid point, but the assumed medals can get tricky. By the same logic Tricia Saunders has 5 World medals (4G 1S) but likely would have been a 2 or 3 time Olympic medalist, possibly gold, if WFS existed in the Olympics back then. She'd be up there on Mt. Rushmore.

Yessss

New king Sidakov. What's the word over there on Sadulaev?

Lots of good eatin in Paris. We might see Vito and RBY go to France at 57kg and return home as 86ers.

His chest wrap is fine. Clearly, Dake should have done more sunrise leech therapy to get rid of the endurance sapping worms hiding in his his teeth.

His chances would've gotten better this season with 3TD, could stay on his feet and play catch n release, then fake ride/escape attempt from top/bottom when the gas tank hits empty. It would be fun to see him go with Brooks, but he might also insult Yazdani's religion after the match and start an international incident

OP's lineup would be a murderer's row and looks like our best chances right now. But something crazy always happens at OTT, so it'll be interesting to see where things shake out differently.

Did something get lost in translation? They should Ban Basketball, not Toilet Paper

Not to take away from Taylor's accomplishments, but Wrestling Mt. Rushmore is pretty crowded. We go through this exercise every year but there's no agreement on how to objectively measure our top 4. Is an Olympic medal worth more than World gold? Do we adjust metrics for post-USSR competition? Banned countries? # of weight classes? College record? Super low cut singlets? Taylor has 1 Olympic medal (gold) + 4 World medals (3 gold 1 silver). Where does he fit in this list, which doesn't even include Gable, Cael, Rulon, Kemp, and many others frequently mentioned in discussions of our all-time greats. Bruce Baumgartner: 4 (2G 1S 1B) + 9 (3G 3S 3B) John Smith: 2 (2G) + 4 (4G) Helen Maroulis: 2 (1G 1S) + 6 (3G 2S 1B) Kyle Snyder: 2 (1G 1S) + 6 (3G 2S 1B) Kenny Monday: 2 (1G 1S) + 2 (1G 1S) Rulon Gardner: 2 (1G 1B) + 1 (1G) Jordan Burroughs: 1 (1G) + 9 (6G 3B) Adeline Gray: 1 (1S) + 8 (6G 2B) *2023 Worlds TBD Dave Schultz: 1 (1G) + 6 (1G 3S 2B) Kyle Dake: 1 (1B) + 5 (4G 1TBD) plus he hasn't lost to Taylor since they were kids David Taylor: 1 (1G) + 4 (3G 1S)

Jimmy? Is that you?

Vito has been showing us his best wrestling and I would love to see him ride that wave at 57kg next year. If not, I feel like Gilman still has another good cycle in him and will make a solid run at trials. Richards has been getting some good experience internationally and of course Spencer Lee would be a threat if he's healthy.

Ask Joey McKenna

On a related note, it looks like PSU Wrestling really does pull some good NIL money. Last night my wife saw a video on social media of a kid doing a backflip and then biting into a burrito supreme. She asked why the heck everyone was commenting "We Are." It was Beau Bartlett doing a Taco Bell ad.