2015 was filled with great stories both on and off the mat. Throughout this week, we'll revisit some of the best stories of the year and give our predictions of what the "Best of 2016" will be.

Here in the first article in the series, we'll look at the top controversies of the year. Of course, they're subjective, but there certainly wasn't any shortage of nominees. For whatever reason, 2015 provided wildly interesting and unconventional situations.

That the Lebedev-Bonne scoring fiasco at 2015 Vegas Worlds didn't make the cut tells you how deep the field of controversies is here. I mean, that match actually featured an 'off-duty' Russian referee shouting instructions, from behind the scorers table to Lebedev's corner, on whether to challenge or not.

Other craziness that didn't make the cut; let's call them (Dis)Honorable Mention:

NCAA Seeding - From fans, to wrestling analysts, to those on the seeding committee could say with a straight face why wrestlers were seeded where they were. There was no rhyme or reason. What was applied to seedings in one case was contradicted in another. Myself and CP shredded it on FRL, where at least, Jason Borelli tried to explain.

Stieber-Dardanes Scoring Snafu - Most people missed this one. In a regular season dual involving two top-ranked wrestlers, the scoring account was flat out wrong. In a precursor to the biggest injustice of the year, CP and I predicted this would rear it's ugly head at the most critical time: NCAA's.

Ruth-Reader Scoring Interpretation - Exposure points in the international styles are often very subjective - particularly in determining who initiated the action. This has to be one of the more glaring examples.

Cleveland State Getting Cut, ReInstated - This is a cautionary tale. If a DI program in a cradle of wrestling talent can get dropped, any program can. The Athletic Director had his own objective, which was obvious when Jason Bryant grilled him on this episode of Short Time. The gist was this - he wanted a lacrosse program and would say any nonsensical thing to justify it. Thankfully the community rallied to keep the Vikings team a reality.

Virginia Cutting State Tournament Short - The VHSL, citing weather issues, made, literally, a last minute change to the state tournament. Two days were reduced to
one day with single eliminations. The entire Virginia wrestling community was up in arms, as reflected by State Champion Corbin Allen's silent protest of putting his medal on backwards.

Pariano Firing - Northwestern dismissed Drew Pariano, who led several Wildcats to NCAA finals and All American honors just prior to the season starting. To this day, not many details were made public, but the timing - just a week before the first date of college competition - was bizarre.
On to my Top 5...

5. Does Russian Doping Scandal Permeate Wrestling?

Photo: Tony Rotundo

- In November, reports came out that an investigation concluded that Russia ran a state-sponsored doping within its Track & Field program. WADA, the World Anti-Doping Association charged with keeping international athletics clean and free of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs outlined pervasive and systemtic problems. Since, athletes, physicians, and administrators in Russia have been sanctioned, some banned for life.
What does this have to do with wrestling?

As it stands now, this is NOT a huge wrestling controversy. However, there are murmurs that the investigation has creeped from T&F and into wrestling. Some suggest that it's coming - that a number of Russian wrestlers, including some superstars, will face penalties and/or suspensions. And this, in an Olympic year.

4. McKenna Misses Weight at Trials, Worlds

- Brock Zacherl looked fantastic in winning a Junior National title in Las Vegas as part of U.S. Open Week. That put him in the finals of the Junior World Team Trials. As a returning Junior World medalist, Joey McKenna was allowed to compete at the Senior level and request a special wrestle off with the winner of the Junior Trials, who was, again, Zacherl.

But McKenna missed weight for Senior Trials, begging the questions: 1) should he be afforded the special wrestle off with Zacherl and 2) if he was, would it be in America's best interest to send a guy to Worlds that has weight issues?

McKenna was allowed the wrestled off and he met, and beat Zacherl with a two kilogram allowance.

Now the beef was: 'McKenna made the team without ever once making 60kg.'

The drama wasn't over. McKenna joined the Junior World Team in Salvador, Brazil but failed to make weight, producing the most 'I told you so's' of the year.

3. Flapgate

- Perhaps THE most talked about story of the year. Missouri and Iowa met in National Dual finals and things were chippy, with wrestlers blocking exits to the locker rooms and arm shivers and chest shoves part of that path.

The most glaring example of the intensity and, dare I say 'hatred', came at 125lbs were two of America's leading contenders met. Alan Waters applied his patented, and oft-criticized riding tactic. And when Thomas Gilman couldn't get out, he got to his feet and sort of slammed Waters on his back.

But that wasn't all...

After winning the match, Waters flapped his arms like wings, which the Hawkeye bench and fans didn't take kindly to. Now, Missouri went on to explain that the gesture was a precipitant of their pre-practice flag football routine where they call each other 'ball hawks'. But you ain't convincing me that it was just coincidental that the first time we ever saw this motion was against the HAWKEYES!

The side show actually obfuscated the huge accomplishment - that kind of chip on Mizzou's shoulder paced them to a win over Iowa, a National Duals title, and maintained their dual winning streak that's still going and now stands at 35.

2. Marable Misses Weight at Trials

- The wrestling world was up in arms, and in an exceedingly rare moment, unified.

As the U.S. Open Champion, Nick Marable sat in the World Team Trials finals. Just one small detail...you have to make weight first.

Marable didn't. He claimed that in working out the day before weigh ins, he passed out on a treadmill and sustained an injury that left him unable to compete.

James Green went on to win the Trials, but when it became apparent that Marable would likely be afforded a special wrestle-off, and then again when that was actually announced and confirmed, the wrestling community collectively went bonkers.

I mean, who bought that story. CP and I didn't. And really, we didn't blame the Marable camp for going that route. What we didn't like was that the loophole existed.

Marable just happened to be one of two human beings on planet earth that had beaten Jordan Burroughs in freestyle. But still....where's the process? It wasn't the first time this kind of thing had been an issue, and who knows if it will be the last?

Green would beat Marable at the special wrestle-off and go on to earn a Bronze medal at the World Championships.

1. #FreeIanMiller

- One of the greatest injustices in the modern era of NCAA wrestling. Yeah, I said it. Sure, there was a time when a referee literally determined tie matches by declaring a winner. But in March of 2015, Ian Miller (Kent St.) literally lost a match in which he scored more points than his opponent, Brian Realbuto (Cornell).

In NCAA quarterfinals, Miller had gotten off to a fast start and a big lead before Realbuto mounted a vicious comeback. In the course of Realbuto's take-'em-down, let-'em-up process, the official scorer couldn't keep pace. He flat out missed an escape, and when regulation ended, the scoreboard showed a tie score.

The KSU coaches tried to convince the officials and scoring table that there was an error and were told to go back to their corner. Video evidence shows them being shooed back to their chairs.

Overtime took place where, of course, Realbuto won.

When Kent State coaches Jim Andrassy and Matt Hill tried to lodge a protest, they were told that once the wrestlers leave the mat, the match is over, and that they should have contested the score at the table during the match, which, of course, they did.

Thus #FreeIanMiller was born. Review the tape. Review the scoresheet. One man had more points at the end of regulation.

1849, or 1972, or 2015....that's a hose job.

Say it with me one more time: #FreeIanMiller !