Top 5 favorite wrestlers to watch

[zzs006]

Doesnt have to be your favorite wrestler but whose style you like and who you love to watch compete.
My list:

1) Jason Nolf- The Matrix. In my top 3 of all-time favorites to watch. Incredible from everywhere and you better not blink because you might miss something amazing! And he keeps getting better.

2) Zain Retherford-Such a different style then Nolf but no less entertaining. Such a terror on top. The meanest guy going on the mat and a great guy off the mat. Can’t wait to see him transition to freestyle full time and put a beating on the rest of the world.

3) Bryce Meridith-So good in all 3 positions. Not as mean as Zain on top but just about as effective. Super fun to watch on his feet because he attacks at a high pace. Attacking at that pace also opens him up to scrambles which he is one of the best in the country at. Super fun every time he is on the mat. Bonus for wrestling at U of Wyo where I myself wrestled for a bit.

4) Yianni Diakomihalis-Only a true freshman but boy can this kid wrestle. So technically sound but can also scramble with the best of them. His flexibility is off the charts. Love seeing him in the full splits while defending a leg attack. Loved the match between him and Meridith earlier this year and hope to see it again at nationals.

5) Seth Gross- one of the funkiest styles going because his defense is so good he doesn’t care if you get in on his legs. Allows him to attack at a high pace on his feet. Also one of the very best on top. He gets the first takedown and the match is over after a series of tilts. Doesn’t hurt you like Zain but puts points up at an extremely high rate. No one seems even close to him at 133 this year. He might bonus his way to a national title.

Love to hear who are your favorites to watch.

 

[PSUcup1]

Zain
Nolf
Cenzo
Hall
Bo

 

[a_mshaffer]

Nolf at the top but I have to put Desanto in my top 5. Really enjoy his attitude on and off the mat (from what I saw)..

 

[TangSoo]

Nolf
Nickal
Zain
Cenzo
Zahid (I hate myself for this)

 

[CropDuster507]

PSU, then...
Desanto
Lujan
Kasper
Eierman
Gross
Guys who score points and take chances, go big, lots of attempts, etc.

 

[goStanford18]

Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson
Pletcher
Cortez

 

[James Toney]

1-Nolf
2-Zain
3-Nickal
4-Desanto
5-Spencer Lee

 

[diggerpup]

Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson
Pletcher
Cortez

Tony Nelson
Mike Evans (took 3rd @ BIGs without a single takedown)
Chris Perry
Nick Heflin (“You’re ruining our sport”)
Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson

 

[KCLion]

DeLuca last night in the last 30 seconds

 

[lobo lion]

Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson
Pletcher
Cortez

They have medications for this.

 

[kingslayer_85]

They have medications for this.

those medications are not legal where I live

My favorite non PSU guys are
Kevin Jack (especially his matches with meridith)
Snyder
Desanto ( love that we have a great representation of Berks Co)
Lee
Z or Kem

 

[pawrest01]

Not going to include PSU wrestlers because it would be the entire list. Top 5 non PSU as follows:

Meredith
Gross
Snyder
Spencer Lee
Yianni

 

[James P. Whitters III]

1. Nolf
2. Bo
3. Gross
4. Zain
5. Nick Lee
6. Cenzo
7. Rogers
8. De Santo
9. Spencer Lee
10. Lizak

Too many favorites to pick just 5.

 

[NittanyLion84]

Tony Nelson
Mike Evans (took 3rd @ BIGs without a single takedown)
Chris Perry
Nick Heflin (“You’re ruining our sport”)
Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson

Somehow you forgot Delgado.

 

[tylersmyth]

I'll do one from every class that isn't the most obvious big name. Guys like Nolf will be on every list deservedly so

125-Sean Fausz
133- Josh Terao
141-Meredith (okay this one is obvious)
149- Justin Oliver
157- Hayden Hidlay
165- David McFadden
174- Taylor Lujan
184- Taylor Venz
197- Ben Darmstadt
hwt- meh

 

[Ban Basketball]

1. Taylor Lujan
2. Max Thomsen
3. Josh Alber
4. Jay Schwarm
5. Drew Foster

 

[Reslo]

Even back in high school, Kolat was a treat to watch. If I may stay in that time period, I also really enjoyed Jeff Prescott and Sonny Abe.

 

[James P. Whitters III]

1. Taylor Lujan
2. Max Thomsen
3. Josh Alber
4. Jay Schwarm
5. Drew Foster

Lujan nearly made my list too! He is very fun to watch compete. Colon is one of my all time favorites as well. UNI in general is a pretty fun team to watch imo. Schwab is doing a great job up there.

 

[El-Jefe]

Somehow you forgot Delgado.

And Stallalonga.

... and nobody claimed Downey.

 

[yakrider]

Tsirtsis
Heil
Sorenson
Pletcher
Cortez

hahahahaha!!!!

 

[El-Jefe]

My favorite non-PSU wrestlers are the ones who beat Ohio State at nationals.

After that, so many to choose from ...

Will instead note: when is the last time we had 3 true freshmen at 3 different schools, all trying to break the scoreboard? And could be more, at more schools, if not for some shirting.

 

[greenmanRD]

I'll make a non-PSU list, since with PSU will make that harder:

1. Kyle Snyder - even though he is so far ahead of the field at HWT, he is a truly all-time great wrestling right now, wish we saw him more tbh
2. Austin Desanto - this kid is a fireball, wish he was here
3. Spencer Lee - another great, will probably regret this later when Iowa is closer to the title picture in Spencer's last three years, but he's such a dominating wrestler
4. Yianni Diakomihalis - I guess I like a lot of young wrestlers?
5. Bryce Meredith - it would be cool to see him get over the line this year

 

[nitlion6]

And Stallalonga.

... and nobody claimed Downey.

I am waiting to see if he (Downey) is real or not.

 

[nitlion6]

I'll make a non-PSU list, since with PSU will make that harder:

1. Kyle Snyder - even though he is so far ahead of the field at HWT, he is a truly all-time great wrestling right now, wish we saw him more tbh
2. Austin Desanto - this kid is a fireball, wish he was here
3. Spencer Lee - another great, will probably regret this later when Iowa is closer to the title picture in Spencer's last three years, but he's such a dominating wrestler
4. Yianni Diakomihalis - I guess I like a lot of young wrestlers?
5. Bryce Meredith - it would be cool to see him get over the line this year

Spencer will be wrestling next year and they won't be any closer.

 

[pointingdogsrule]

1. Bo
2. Bo
3. Bo
4. Bo
5. Bo

 

[Ban Basketball]

Lujan nearly made my list too! He is very fun to watch compete. Colon is one of my all time favorites as well. UNI in general is a pretty fun team to watch imo. Schwab is doing a great job up there.

Lujan is indeed. He's the new Funkmaster Flex (name formerly given to Askren), but with a lot more freaky pinning combinations than Askren seemed to use.

 

[diggerpup]

Somehow you forgot Delgado.

Damn.
How did I forget the Ol’ Anklebiter ?

 

[pawrest01]

1. Bo
2. Bo
3. Bo
4. Bo
5. Bo

Since you didn't add last names, I took a guess as to who all the Bo's were. Curious to see how many I got right lol.
1. Bo Nickal ?
2. Bo Pipher ?
3. Bo Jordan ?
4. Bo Donahue?
5. Bo Jangles?

 

[ev_flores0331]

Damn.
How did I forget the Ol’ Anklebiter ?

What's with the disdain towards Delgado? Unranked out of high school but molded himself into a 2x champion and looked to score from his scrambles. Didn't push into his opponents because he wasn't a NaTo or IMar-type guy, he preferred to wrestle from space. Is it because he didn't want to take bad shots against a super lengthy Megaludis (had the wingspan of a pterodactyl) and constantly looked for angles against a much faster and incredibly explosive Garrett? Cut the guy some slack, fellas. I thought he had a great strategy to compensate for his lack of speed and explosion.

 

[Ban Basketball]

What's with the disdain towards Delgado? Unranked out of high school but molded himself into a 2x champion and looked to score from his scrambles. Didn't push into his opponents because he wasn't a NaTo or IMar-type guy, he preferred to wrestle from space. Is it because he didn't want to take bad shots against a super lengthy Megaludis (had the wingspan of a pterodactyl) and constantly looked for angles against a much faster and incredibly explosive Garrett? Cut the guy some slack, fellas. I thought he had a great strategy to compensate for his lack of speed and explosion.

Amen. It was a legitimate style that worked. Takes nothing away from Megaludis.

 

[Cowbell Man]

Anyone named Terao.

 

[Cowbell Man]

Since you didn't add last names, I took a guess as to who all the Bo's were. Curious to see how many I got right lol.
1. Bo Nickal ?
2. Bo Pipher ?
3. Bo Jordan ?
4. Bo Donahue?
5. Bo Jangles?

Could be Bo Derek? I would watch her wrestle and probably immediately be a favorite

 

[Cowbell Man]

Amen. It was a legitimate style that worked. Takes nothing away from Megaludis.

As long as it’s within the rules it is legitimate. And it obviously it worked. However if it’s offensive to watch and discourages actual wrestling, the rules often get changed. Delgado was a part of the ankle dive movement that led directly to Dean Heil types and directly to a rule change. My disdain for Delagado has everything to do with the style and lack of aggression and nothing to do with Megaludis. He spent most of his neutral going..... backwards. That refs did not enforce stalling is an additional bone to pick, but I could not appreciate Delgados style. His athleticism and speed, which was just asserted didn’t exist, was impressive. Much like Perry.....if they would have put all of their talents on display, I think they would have been amazing. Instead, I just wished they would evaporate from the mat.

 

[nerfstate]

Yeah sorry. Delgado was a yawnfest. I guess I'll admit he was good at it, but still: YAWN.

I feel we had one of these threads a while ago, not sure. If we're talking recent history I gotta give some love to Dylan Ness, and of course, our man Q.

 

[El-Jefe]

What's with the disdain towards Delgado? Unranked out of high school but molded himself into a 2x champion and looked to score from his scrambles. Didn't push into his opponents because he wasn't a NaTo or IMar-type guy, he preferred to wrestle from space. Is it because he didn't want to take bad shots against a super lengthy Megaludis (had the wingspan of a pterodactyl) and constantly looked for angles against a much faster and incredibly explosive Garrett? Cut the guy some slack, fellas. I thought he had a great strategy to compensate for his lack of speed and explosion.

As opposed to looking to score from his own attacks.

It's not that he didn't want to take bad shots against Nico. It's that he didn't want to take any shots.

But, hey, don't take our word for it. Very few wrestlers have ever had to tell the fans at nationals they don't have to watch if they don't like my style.

 

[funkisfun12]

At the moment......
1. Nolf- I find myself re-watching his matches over and over to try and figure out "how in the hell did he do that?".
2. Zain- There's something about seeing someone being able to inflict pain at will to anyone his own size that makes me chuckle.
3. Nickal - No fear. Not an impressive physical specimen, yet still overpowers his opponents. You never know what you're going to see, ala Nolf.
4. Kyle Snyder -A "small" HW who can dominate huge men with leg attacks, and overpower them as well. I guess there's a reason that he's a World and Olympic champ. He's friggin good.
5. DeSanto - The kid just never stops wrestling.
5.5 McRib-Mainly because it's so rare to actually see him wrestle, and when he does, he gets laced around the mat like a rolled up rug by my #3.

 

[ev_flores0331]

As long as it’s within the rules it is legitimate. And it obviously it worked. However if it’s offensive to watch and discourages actual wrestling, the rules often get changed. Delgado was a part of the ankle dive movement that led directly to Dean Heil types and directly to a rule change. My disdain for Delagado has everything to do with the style and lack of aggression and nothing to do with Megaludis. He spent most of his neutral going..... backwards. That refs did not enforce stalling is an additional bone to pick, but I could not appreciate Delgados style. His athleticism and speed, which was just asserted didn’t exist, was impressive. Much like Perry.....if they would have put all of their talents on display, I think they would have been amazing. Instead, I just wished they would evaporate from the mat.

As opposed to looking to score from his own attacks.

It's not that he didn't want to take bad shots against Nico. It's that he didn't want to take any shots.

But, hey, don't take our word for it. Very few wrestlers have ever had to tell the fans at nationals they don't have to watch if they don't like my style.

To be fair, Cortez said the same thing to fans of his own team, and Delgado took more shots than Megaludis in their finals match until the last 30 seconds but Megaludis kept going to a three-point stance.



I'm not being argumentative, just stating the facts as I see them.

On the topic of this thread, Nolf is in my opinion the most creative wrestler right now.

 

[Cowbell Man]

To be fair, Cortez said the same thing to fans of his own team, and Delgado took more shots than Megaludis in their finals match until the last 30 seconds but Megaludis kept going to a three-point stance.

View embedded media

I'm not being argumentative, just stating the facts as I see them.

On the topic of this thread, Nolf is in my opinion the most creative wrestler right now.

Fairly assessed EV. Appreciation for the evidence. I remember that match well. Unfortunately that match was an abberation to his other matches.

And Nolf. “Must see” wrestling.

 

[RoarLions1]

Good thread. Other than the obvious non-serious posts, the lists of wrestlers with "styles" we enjoy watching are compelling.

76 teams, and I count about 30 total wrestlers in the lists above. Maybe it's that the OP requested we list 5...so how about your top 10, or 15, maybe even 20? If we can't get that many, what's it say about our sport?

Nolf, Retherford, Nickal, Hall, Joseph, N. Lee, S. Lee, Lizak, Fausz, Gross, Terao, DeSanto, Micic, McKee, Meredith, Jack, Eierman, Diakomihalis, Oliver, Kemerer, Hidlay, Lavalee, Martinez, Walsh, Rogers, Z. Valencia, Lewis, Lujan, Darmstadt, Rasheed, Snyder...

 

[ev_flores0331]

If Delgado’s opponents, would have decided not to take any shots, most of his matches would have ended regulation 1-1 and headed into OT. Not many people are interested in watching that type of match.

Against 2x champion Matt McDonough: "The shots have all come from Delgado this match"



Back to the original topic, my five favorites to watch:

1) IMar (love how he powers through opponents, especially how he won his first title for his dad!)
2) Austin Desanto (awesome story, completed his own Vision Quest in high school!)
3) Kyle Snyder (best p4p in the world and giving up a ton of weight to some of his opponents)
4) Seth Gross (great redemption storyline)
5) Jason Nolf (he'd be my number one if he wrestled for any other team, seems to have a mean streak a mile wide on the mat, haha!)