Stephen Neal (far right) with Tom Arnold, Randy Couture, Billy Baldwin, and Stephen Neal on the red carpet at the United 4 Wrestling event in LA (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"Dual meets are awesome. You line up the teams. It is not the normal tournament style. You don't have to wait for a few hours to see the wrestlers you want to watch. You watch the matches, back-to-back-to-back. You get to see the whole USA team, the Iranian team, the Russian team. You have the lineups and know what key matches to watch for. It is a different experience and very exciting," said Neal.
Neal is a native Californian, who placed fourth in the California State Wrestling Championships for San Diego High School, and won a Junior National freestyle title for Team California. He went on to compete for Cal-State Bakersfield, where he was a two-time NCAA champion, three time NCAA finalist and four-time NCAA All-American, competing at heavyweight.
Neal understands the pride that California takes in its wrestling, something he would like to see on display at the Forum both days of the World Cup.
"We have a lot of pride within California wrestling. We are one of the better wrestling states in the nation. We have had great champions come from California. We need to show our support for this event so we can keep bringing back the best wrestling to our state. We need to show our California pride by showing up in a big way," said Neal.
In 1999, Neal won a gold medal for the United States in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships, held in Ankara, Turkey. He was also a 1999 Pan American Games champion in Winnipeg, Canada. He was also a U.S. Nationals champion, a runner-up at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and winner of a number of medals in foreign tournaments. Neal has been inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
"It is a tremendous honor to be on the American team. There is no higher honor than to represent your country. Our military fights for what we stand for as a nation. As athletes, we also compete for what our nation stands for. It is truly an honor to have the American flag on your singlet and uniform," said Neal.
After completing his wrestling career, Neal pursued a career in professional football, even though he did not play college football. Neal played 10 years as a guard for the NFL New England Patriots before retiring in 2011. Neal was part of three Super Bowl winning teams in 2002, 2004, and 2005 and has three Super Bowl rings.
He earned his first career start in his second NFL game on Oct. 13, 2002 vs. Green Bay. After missing the 2003 season due to injury, Neal returned in 2004 to wrestle away a starting position at right guard. Neal started 81 of the 86 career regular-season games in which he appeared. He also started in each of the 12 postseason games in which he played with the Patriots. It was his job to protect quarterback Tom Brady and open holes for many New England Patriot running backs, something he did with excellence.
Neal credits his wrestling background for allowing him to develop into a successful pro football player with a long career.
"There are two different skill sets, physical and mental. It was the mental skills which let me stay longer in the NFL. As a wrestler, I understand the concept of hard work and toughness. I had to use my physical skills, including balance and leverage. But the mental skills made a big difference. I did not want to get beaten in my position. Once I got the technique, it was my mental skills that helped me to stick around," said Neal.
Neal truly enjoys the new rules of international wrestling which are more exciting to watch.
"The rule changes have made it an exciting style. The score can change in a heartbeat. Points are being scored like never before. A big lead can disappear just like that. Throw in the dual meet format, and it is even more exciting," said Neal.
He looks forward to spending some time with the American team, and meeting the wrestlers who have followed in his footsteps on Team USA.
"I feel tremendously honored to be around the guys. I've known (Olympic champion) Jake Varner since he was a little kid. I have met (Olympic champion) Jordan Burroughs, and see his has a kid of his own. It will be great to meet the new U.S. wrestlers competing for us now and in the future. Little Aaron Pico, he is a beast. It is fun to reflect back to my time as a wrestler, and will be fun to see them all compete," said Neal.
Neal has issued a challenge to all California wrestlers to come out to see the World Cup and to support not only Team USA but all of the nations there.
"This is a tremendous honor and opportunity to see the very best in the world. They are not only the best wrestlers, they are also among the best athletes on the planet. Californians will be able to watch them in their own backyard. Wrestlers need to take every opportunity to see the different styles and techniques of all the different nations," he said.
All-Session tickets are available, as well as Single-Day tickets through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com
A group discount offer for clubs is also available. There is a 20% discount for all USA Wrestling members. Both offers can also be found at www.wrestlingworldcup.com
There will be two sessions of wrestling action each day of the Freestyle World Cup. On Saturday, April 11, there will be sessions held at 3:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. On Sunday, April 12, the first session is at 11:00 a.m., with the First Place and Third Place Championship Duals set for 4:15 p.m.
For more information on the Freestyle World Cup, visit www.wrestlingworldcup.com.
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