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Anybody versus Anybody


Flowrestling
February 19, 2008

FloWrestling.org

There is probably nothing more important in wrestling than body weight. It’s the most recognizable aspect of the sport and the foremost concern of almost every athlete and coach. Where wrestlers weight in depends on a complex matrix of factors including strength, quickness, body composition, hydration, and about a million other things. After all, the divisions of the sport are set up entirely on body weight. It’s an important thing to consider. It also changes the way we look at match ups. If anybody watched the surreal interview with Ryan Lang this past week, his comments about maybe moving up to 157 or 165 are laughed off as ridiculous claims, and the funniest jokes he tells in the interview. He’s a talented wrestler, but can you even imagine him going up against Eric Tannenbaum? He’s simply not big enough. We all realize that little guys wrestling big guys is inherently unfair. It’s why weight class exists in the first place.

This is a circuitous introduction brings me to one of my favorite hypothetical questions: what if weight class did not matter? What match ups would I really want to see? In real life, our favorite match ups are limited to weight class. We want to see guys wrestle who actually have a shot at wrestling each other. There also are discussions about who are “pound for pound” the best wrestlers in the country. This is kind of like that. If weight class completely did not matter and there was a completely even playing field in terms of relative size, who would you really want to see wrestle?

Here is the basic rule: size doesn’t matter. You can find and match up two guys from any of the ten weight classes in college wrestling. Assume the match up exists with both of the wrestlers weighing exactly the same. Qualities do carry over though. If a wrestler is big and strong at 125, he’ll still be big and strong if he’s wrestling a 184 pounder (Mike Sees for example, would be huge no matter where you put him). Essentially you’re taking his body type and moving it to whatever weight class suits your individual match up, not worrying about weight advantages. Skill sets also remain the same. If a wrestler is dominant on top at 141, he’s still great from that position if you want to see him wrestle at 174 (Mark Perry could ride as well at heavyweight as he can at 165). It takes a little imagination, and certainly is far from perfect, but somebody trying to avoid doing work for class tomorrow on a rainy Monday afternoon (read: me), it poses some interesting questions. Here are a ten inter-weight class match ups I would love to see.

Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) vs. Mike Poeta (Illinois): Freight train double versus freight train double. I feel like Scott’s length would give Poeta fits, plus he’s deceptively strong for how lanky he is. I could see Poeta struggling to get out from bottom. But the real meat of the match would be in neutral. Both wrestlers are aggressive, explosive, and diverse from their feet. If they really get after it, as both wrestlers usually do, it could be an offensive clinic from both wrestlers. This is probably the most exciting match up I can think of.

Jayson Ness (Minnesota) vs. Mark Perry (Iowa): Who is better on top? Perry has used turns to spark both of his finals appearance, including one of the more memorable (and controversial to Cowboy fans) tilts in recent memory to knock off Johny Hendricks. And we’re all aware of Jayson Ness’s lethal half series, which has him tied for the national lead in falls. Perry has a little more funk from neutral, and I see him winning the takedown battle. He also has the capability to score in buckets from top. But Ness is strong as a bull, and Perry has a reputation for struggling on bottom, and I’d have to imagine Ness could sink a half or two and make this one very interesting. Could he make Perry yet another one of his many victims? This would be the best mat wrestling we’d see all year.

Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. Colt Sponsellor (Ohio State): The all gas tank match up. While I think that Metcalf would have a serious advantage in this one based on skill set, the pace alone would make this worth the price of admission. It would be an absolutely blistering seven minutes.

Ryan Lang (Northwestern) vs. J.D. Bergman (Ohio State): Fireworks much? The one downside to this match is that it could be over in the first 30 seconds. At some point, there will be a highlight reel throw. At some point, something crazy will happen. Both guys are athletic and wide open. Just don’t blink, the match might be over.

Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra) vs. Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro): Dream match up for fans from New York. In case you haven’t noticed, there are few things I appreciate more than good mat wrestling, and that certainly would be the case here. I also recognize that good mat wrestling isn’t necessarily exciting wrestling, but these guys are about as active as you get. I’ve seen Gillespie put up 17 points in a period. The kid has more tilts than tattoos. But Ruggirello’s arm bars could be just as troublesome. Ruggirello’s problem would be getting to top, as Gillespie is more well rounded from his feet.

Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) vs. Jake Varner (Iowa State): What would the over under on this match be in Vegas? Two and a half?

Darrion Caldwell (North Carolina State) vs. Max Askren (Missouri): Can you even imagine some of the scrambles that would take place in this one? Both guys can hit pinning combinations from anywhere, both guys have gumby-like flexibility, and both guys are comfortable in every position imaginable. While I think Caldwell is a tad stronger, Askren’s funk negates the strength advantage. This is another one that could be over in a hurry either way.

Keith Gavin (Pitt) vs. John Glenn (American): A match up of the two quietest stars in college wrestling. Competing outside of the power conferences really keeps them out of the limelight after the major tournament season is over, as there really aren’t a whole lot of major match ups on either wrestler’s schedule. Once again, this is a match up of guys who will go after each other. Gavin wrestles absolutely fearless, and Glenn benefits from a score, score, score mentality. I don’t see either of these guys pulling punches against each other.

Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) vs. Josh Churella (Michigan): The appeal of this match up is simple, warrior versus warrior. It would be especially appealing if they held this in March, when both wrestlers have a propensity for stepping their games up. I see Churella being able to push Donahoe around a little bit, but it would be a tight, low scoring affair that would need some late bout heroics, which both guys are apt to do. Plus it’s a battle between two of Michigan’s favorite sons.

Phil Davis (Penn State) vs. Raymond Jordan (Missouri): Talk about athletes. Davis and Jordan are two of the countries most dangerous wrestlers. I’d go as far as to say that Davis is the strongest wrestler in America, and Jordan is in the conversation for the quickest. The clash of styles would be phenomenal. Explosive is possibly the highest complement a wrestler can be given, and these two are as explosive as anybody in the country.

The great thing about these match ups is that they are completely up for debate. You may think I’m crazy on any one of these. And there are still hundreds more matches that could be brought up. If anybody has any other’s they’d like to think up and debate, feel free to post below.

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#12
Isdfo   March 7, 2008 at 10:33pm
Ben Askren vs. Corey Cooperman, who has the better scrambling ability
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#11
Iowa   February 23, 2008 at 4:59am
Tom Brands vs. Royce Alger
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#10
A Fan   February 22, 2008 at 12:32pm
Had Matt Smith stayed at Penn State I would have liked to see him and Nick Simmons go. Talk about two brutal wrestlers from top.
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#9
Yeah   February 20, 2008 at 12:32am
I think Metcalf would pound Sponseller because Colt would actually wrestle him. When people wrestle Metcalf, he destroys them. That would probably be the case here too. Personally, I've seen Metcalf wrestle Perry and I think Metcalf could be Sponseller regardless of weight.
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#8
Usa   February 19, 2008 at 7:37pm
askren in any match is great to see. put him up against someone like sponseller who attacks non-stop and that would be awesome to watch
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#7
Shankbob_x   February 19, 2008 at 7:18pm
Keith Gavin is freakin nasty good
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#6
Ian McCutcheon   February 19, 2008 at 6:53pm
Anybody counts, and Askren-Brands might be the best one I've heard.
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#5
MIP   February 19, 2008 at 6:53pm
I was in the weight class with Churella and Donahoe that year. they aslo wrestled at team states the weekend before with Josh winning close in both matches, Churella proceeded to beat my ass in the quarters!
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#4
You Said Anybody   February 19, 2008 at 4:56pm
I would like to see a bracket containing zeke jones, john smith, henry cejudo, mike poeta, and matt valenti. All of them are as fast as greased lightning. and after that I would like to see how Ben Askren's funk would handle Brands' physical punishment
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#3
Jus Keepin It Real   February 19, 2008 at 3:56pm
Bubba Jenkins versus Darrion Caldwell now that would be a match up
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#2
Harry_x   February 19, 2008 at 3:39pm
Donahoe and Churella did wrestle back when Paul was a Freshmen and Josh was a soph in high school. Josh won and Paul took 3rd in the State that year at 103lbs!!!
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#1
Zs_914_x   February 19, 2008 at 3:00pm
Gomez (Michigan State) vs. Angel Escobedo (Indiana): Neutral would be amazing, two of the quickest and smoothest wrestlers in the nation. I believe it would be a treat to watch. Plus they are two of my favorite wrestlers.
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