7 Must See Events For Every Wrestling Fan
Wrestling is not necessarily known for drawing huge crowds to events, but wrestlers and wrestling fans definitely love to come and watch good matches. As the sport of wrestling grows, so does its fan base, and events are getting better and better to watch live. If you are a true fan of wrestling, here are seven events that you should definitely go see at least once in your lifetime.
Iowa vs Oklahoma State Dual
The Iowa Oklahoma State dual has been a big deal in the wrestling community for decades because these two teams are the two most winning teams in the history of college wrestling. Since 1928, these two teams have won a combined 57 team national championships with Iowa winning 23 and Oklahoma State winning the all time record at 34. Not to mention for a long time, these two programs have had some of the biggest names in USA wrestling as coaches with Dan Gable and Tom Brands at Iowa and John Smith at Oklahoma State. Whenever these two teams get together for a dual meet there is a sell out crowd and an electric atmosphere. At almost every weight class, there are top ranked wrestlers competing against each other.
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NCAA DI Nationals
The NCAA DI nationals is an exciting three day wrestling tournament that showcases the best of the best in college wrestling. Each year this event is put on in a huge arena in front of a sellout crowd. Fans can cheer on there school as they compete for both individual and team titles. There are always huge upsets that occur and an underdog story that is super fun to follow. You can fill out brackets to predict the winners of each weight class and there is a ton of stuff for fans to do outside of watching wrestling. The DI national finals are broadcast on ESPN and the wrestlers compete on an elevated mat in the center of the arena. This three day event is like the Superbowl for wrestling fans.
Beat The Streets
Each year the organization Beat The Streets hosts an event in New York City; this past one was called “Grapple At The Garden”. This is a super fun event that is the closest thing wrestling has to an all-star game. The event usually takes place somewhere very cool, like in Times Square or Madison Square Garden. Fun match ups are made and there are even celebrity appearances. This past May, Jordan Burroughs had a match with former Olympian and MMA star Ben Askren. Even though the matches are a little more light hearted, you will still see world class performances by these athletes.
Fargo Freestyle Nationals
Each summer, USA Wrestling hosts a their national freestyle and Greco tournament in Fargo North Dakota. This tournament showcases some of the best highschool wrestlers in the country. Although there are now many large national highschool tournaments, winning a title at Fargo is still considered to be one of the biggest accomplishments a highschool wrestler can attain. Many Fargo champs go on to be NCAA champions and even Olympic champions as well. Many young wrestlers have made a name for themselves in Fargo.
Final X
Final X is a newer event that determines who will represent the United States at the world championships. Wrestlers can qualify a couple different ways like winning the U.S. Open or winning the World Team Trials or being a returning World Champion from the prior year. Two wrestlers in each weight class wrestle best of three matches. The winner earns the starting spot on the U.S. National team. The event is very well done and the wrestling you get to see there is world class, and because a spot on the world team is on the line, these athletes wrestlers leave it all out on mat.
Penn State vs Iowa
Since 2011, Penn State has won the NCAA team title every year except for 2015, making them the new top team in college wrestling. Iowa, who has traditionally been the team to beat, doesn’t like losing their place on top of the college wrestling world. On top of that, both Penn State and Iowa are both Big Ten teams, making them conference rivals. When these two teams face off, you can feel the tension in the air. No matter if the dual is at Iowa or Penn State, there is a sellout crowd cheering loudly. If you ever have the chance to watch this dual meet live, you will not be disappointed.
Olympics
The last must see event on this list is the Olympics. Winning an Olympic gold medal is the absolute pinnacle in the sport of wrestling. It only happens once every four years and there are less weight classes available to compete in than the world championships. This means more insanely good wrestlers in each weight class are competing against each other. Watching the pure excitement and joy when someone wins a gold medal is something spectacular to witness. Then seeing the gold medal placed around the neck of the winner while they are standing on the podium with facing their flag while the national anthem of their country plays is amazing to witness.
So mark these events down somewhere and be sure to try you best to experience them if you ever get the chance.
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