Mental Warfare: Alvarez vs Arujau

Sammy Alvarez got back on Twitter for the first time in a long time just to engage in some mental warfare. Get caught up on the back-and-forth.

Jul 21, 2020 by David Bray

Often times, the mental warfare between athletes is subtle. Not for this Sammy Alvarez vs Vito Arujau match on July 25. Despite the fact that Arujau is the more accomplished competitor, Alvarez has raised the personal stakes by predicting a big win for himself.

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Saturday, July 25, 2020 | 8:00 PM EST

On July 25, Sammy Alvarez created a new Twitter profile for the express purpose of calling out Vito.

I made a return to twitter to tell you (@vArujau) I am going to tech fall you bud... @FloWrestling JERSEY vs RUSSIA
— Sammy Alvarez (@sammyal17289751) July 13, 2020

Does Sammy Really Think He Can Tech Vito?

The Tweet was bold enough that some on Twitter called its validity into question, but on a recent episode of The Bader Show, Alvarez confirmed that he did in fact set up the account to call out Vito.

There are a lot of people out there who think he's on another level than I am. It's understandable...[but] I think I'm going to tech fall him because I've just jumped levels in my wrestling since the season...

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Alvarez offered some insight into his bold approach when he sat down with Mike Mal for his promo shoot. For Sammy, wrestling isn't just about the wins and losses, it's also about proving a point to his opponents and anyone who doubts him. At the end of the following interview, he said,

I enjoy going out there and just beating the guy, beating his coaches, beating his cousin in the stands and just walking off the mat knowing he's going to have to sleep for the next 365 days knowing this little skinny guy from Rutgers, New Jersey just made me look a fool.

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Vito's Response?

Sammy's callout was too bold to go unnoticed. So what did Vito think? He answered that question on The Bader Show last week. When Bader asked about Sammy's prediction of a tech fall, Vito replied,

If he wants to think that, I challenge him to try.

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In Vito's confident response, he did not dwell on Alvarez's comment but instead focused on his own development. He took a similar approach in his interview a few days earlier with Mike Mal. Vito believes that his wrestling has steadily improved.

I think I've been at a steady growth. Not necessarily hopping levels, but I've been getting better. I think every day you go to practice you should get a little better.

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The question remains whether Sammy Alvarez's Twitter call-out or Vito's quiet confidence will have any impact on the match. One thing's for sure, the mental warfare between these two has added stakes to this bout. It all goes down on July 25.