billyhoyle

I think (and hope) Taylor will compete through 2028 because he has a chance to be the greatest wrestler in U.S. history. However, I can't imagine he will stick around when he is done competing just because he owns/sponsors a gym. Taylor coaching Iowa would be an incredible combination of the only program with the resources to match PSU and a coach who might be able to compete with Cael for top recruits.

This was my takeaway from his tweets. Very important people at ESPN asked him to do the announcing as a favor to them. Then a bunch of people complained about the great job he did because they are used to everything being the same since the 40s, and therefore he isn't going to announce NCAAs again. And so the fans will just have to miss out on how he revolutionized NCAA wrestling announcing by talking about MMA half the time. Because UFC announcing pays well, he will continue to do that.

I only disagree with one part of your post. Daton Fix threads are not close to the level of beating a dead horse. There probably haven't been enough of them.

He’d be a very good sideline guy. He just talks too much about things that have nothing to do with the actual match to be on the match calls.

For 1) Smith has always had this type of rep. Even his best teams were criticized for their passive wrestling style/playing the edge/stalling on top). For 2) if it’s a tie match, you don’t want to give up an easy counter attack against a guy like Carr who can shoot and finish in a second. Waiting to OT is common and not a bad thing. And the concept of not leaving the match in the hands of the refs doesn’t really apply in this match because it was just poor match awareness/coaching-and with 2 age level world champions like this the match is going to be close no matter what.

Would you think similarly if he were a Muslim who said you’re going to hell unless you accept the Quran? I think the line for post match religion is just stay positive and don’t shit on other people’s beliefs. Also, it’s ok to answer some questions about the actual match.

I’m purely speculating here, but what you just outlined was his original goal. They haven’t even put him on TV at all and are sending him around the county as a warm up act. That’s not how you get famous. There’s something very strange going on-it seems like they are trying to ***duck** with him so he quits and they don’t have to pay out whatever deal they have. Either way, WWE has shown zero indication that he is an important part of their future.

I have been hating on Iowa for most of the season, but they significantly outperformed what I thought they could do both at B10s and NCAAs. Ayala making the finals is big in showing that a post Spencer Lee Iowa team can produce finalists who weren’t transfers. The future is better than I thought it would be there, and I see the justification in keeping Brands on for at least another season.

Cormier was awful. It’s funny that he’s complaining on twitter about the criticism and shitting on the sport as his excuse. ESPN is usually great, but this year was not good.

He’s actually better if you compare accomplishments at the same age.

Based on statistics, he's much more likely to cause generational drug addiction by joining WWE than generational wealth. And elite wrestlers like Taylor are making very good money when you factor in endorsements, clinics, training centers. Gable is just as good as Taylor and there is zero reason he can't also make generational wealth from wrestling. He also happens to be really awful at WWE acting. I mean, they can't be THAT wrong seeing as he has been part of the company for years now and they refuse to put him on TV. And it's not like the training he's doing matters, because Logan Paul and KSI are now WWE superstars.

Given your handle, I understand why you would have immeasurable respect for Vito. I just don't think he has any chance of beating Brooks though.

This is what got him in trouble.

PSU does, but they’re also the best at developing talent. I agree that Iowa as a program is now at around the level of Michigan. It’s not a huge dropoff because of the transfers, but it’s clearly a program on the decline.

But is that because of good coaching by the Brands or is it Spencer Lee and transferring in talent? Do you really think Iowa is better off with Brands than if they could get Pop or Taylor/Burroughs (when their time comes after 2024). I think if Pop isn't available, then it makes sense to stick with Brands for the time being-but there's no doubt that the program is in decline.

He did insult two billion Muslims last year though and never apologized for it. Obviously he has freedom of speech, so that is his choice. But because of what he said, is it unfair for others to likewise criticize his religious beliefs and not apologize? Imagine if a Muslim wrestler had insulted Christianity after winning NCAAs-I think there would be a similar "focus on the wrestling not religion" attitude towards such an athlete. Also, this isn't isolated to Brooks or PSU. Dake is a great example of this with some of the things he says. When Palacio used to do interviews, there were similar comments. It's just the nature of a message board/twitter. Religion is just inherently a controversial topic, so espousing a religion after a wrestling match is going to create controversy among those who don't believe in the religion. The same thing would happen with politics if a wrestler were to take the time after a match to broadcast a political message.

This thread right now:

I hope so. He is only 23, the age at which JB started his international career and 5 years younger that DT in his first. His potential as a wrestler is unlimited. Is there talk of him going to MMA since UFC is now owned by WWE? As a WWE performer, he is awful. It has been obvious since the beginning that it wasn't working, and WWE is burying him and refusing to even put him on TV.

Are the Ferraris no longer training at HWC?

Kollin Moore was a 1X state champion and not highly ranked as a recruit. Jesse Delgado was also not highly ranked either.

Power lines can't melt trees!!!!!

The NCAA is the governing body of college athletics. Realignment doesn't eliminate the NCAA, but if you think this sport can survive without an organization like the NCAA, you are wrong. What realignment will do though is eliminate a number of the programs that are currently in P5 conferences but will see huge revenue drops. The issue with the decrease in popularity of the sport (fewer fans watching NCAA wrestling and attending duals) is that as wrestling becomes less popular, it will be earlier on the chopping block. About ten years ago, it looked like NCAA wrestling was increasing in popularity. The way the regular season has been managed has completely screwed up any momentum that we had though.

Yeah, what other venue provides athletic scholarships to athletes? The net value that wrestlers get from NCAA wrestling from those scholarships is in the tens of millions per year. Then consider how much the NCAA subsidizes training for international athletes who also coach (think of the cost of PSU facilities). And don't ignore salaries for coaches so wrestlers can compete into their 30s and know they have a job after. Please provide an example of how wrestling can exist in this country in any form that is close to what we currently enjoy if you eliminate NCAA wrestling. You say there are a 100 different ones-I ask you to provide one logical one. Are we going to have hundreds of athletes train at the OTC funded by some rich donor? This whole "things are going to be ok if the NCAA goes away" makes no sense to me.

The problem is that 95% of the season is meaningless, and the coaches have essentially stopped wrestling the regular season because of it. Without the regular season, the only events that "matter" no longer have any storylines attached to them because there were very few prior matchups of significance. There was a huge drop in ratings last year for the NCAA finals, and I expect this year to be just as bad if not worse.