How you feel about the election outcome is dependent on where you live and who you wanted to represent you. Some lost representatives they liked, while others gained some they hope will be their advocates in Congress.
The big-ticket prize hasn't been awarded (as of Friday morning), but it looks like the United States will almost certainly have a new president in January.
How will that affect wrestling?
Nothing is certain, but if there is proper implementation and distribution of a vaccine then we can expect a return to normal life by the end of 2021. That includes schooling, work, dining, and of course wrestling practice and tournaments.
Good management by the new president could also mean a vaccine that is distributed worldwide fast enough to ensure a safe Olympic Games in 2021 and allow our sports greatest days to be shared with the world.
If the economy improves, we might get some more money in the ecosystem that supports our star athletes.
There are a number of ways in which new, clear leadership might help wrestling, but it will always come through the lens of helping the nation at-large. The best we can hope for is that we can come together and accept small sacrifices in the short term to ensure that we have a functioning society to enjoy in 2021 and beyond.
To your questions …
Q: Did you watch the Flo 8-Man Challenge? If so, any takeaways?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Sadly, at the time I was only able to read the highlights as I was busy building a small deck for my trashcans, which had been put off for too long. However, I went back and watched them on demand.
The takeaway is that AS EXPECTED Keith Gavin is a monster not to be trifled with, but at 35 years old is long in the tooth for a weekend of bashing heads with men in the mid-20's. The other takeaway is that Myles Martin is a threat to disrupt the hierarchy at 86 kilograms for the 2024 cycle. I'm not sure that he's tested his style at the highest level and adapted it towards beating David Taylor, but you can see that his defensive positions from the mat are now offensive, and that from his feet he steers clear of extra exposures.
Myles Martin won the Flo 8-Man Challenge at 195 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)You saw that in the finals with his shot selection in the first period against Taylor Lujan. Rather than get his head out in front of him, or extended in a sprawl on the mat, Martin stayed compact and sought angles. The armpit drag was sharp, but the no-touch, knee pull single with head outside and no extension of his body was brilliant. It reminded me a little of what you see from Aaron Pico and Bajrang, where they can attack but completely limit their exposure to counter attacks. Even the outside single he attempted halfway through the period was done with his head completely up.
That is a style meant to cause a scramble-happy Taylor some problems in 12-24 months.
So, Martin is the big takeaway. Strong, composed, and always in position. He's going to be a problem at 86 kilograms.
Q: What do you make of Kamal Bey's suspension by USADA? He explained it on Twitter.
-- Mike C.
Foley: Makes sense. There is no completely fair way to apply drug testing to athletes out-of-season and during a pandemic. However, most athletes aren't finding themselves in this mess and there are simple ways to avoid these issues so long as you communicate with USADA and give them the information they require.
I've personally never had their attentive eyes following me around the nation so I can only speculate on what that frustration must feel like, but I'm certain that at some point filling out a whereabouts form feels unnecessary and intrusive. Still, those are the rules.
This is a terrible development for Bey and I feel bad for him and his loved ones that he won't be at the 2021 Olympic Games. As bummed as we are for him, I think that he has a shorter window to Paris in 2024 and will only grow as a competitor.
Wishing him the best of luck.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
McCain Concession Speech
Bob Good, who won the Virginia 5th district, had the most on-brand wrestling advert of all-time. I'm very disappointed that I didn't know about this ad during the election. I've failed at my expertise -- the intersection of wrestling and politics.
Q: Has COVID been good for U.S. freestyle wrestling? Are the various one-night cards finally forcing wrestling to come up with a non-tournament format that works? Is the dual meet dead given the boxing/MMA style promotions COVID has encouraged?
-- @NHoughSnee
Foley: The professional leagues will always have room during downtime in the calendar. This COVID-drive dead period prior to the Olympic Games is especially fertile soil by which the various RTCs and other broadcasters can access talent and get positive financial return. The lack of an international event schedule is awesome for the business model. However, that is somewhat short term, as the events will return in 2021 and take more than a few of the top names off the league mats and into the international season.
As for a single league? I'm doubtful that concentrating significant investment and risk will attract anyone that the sport wants involved. The localized structure we see emerging where fan bases can execute for their own audience is much more sustainable. It feels a little bit more like what you see out of high school football where there can be a sellout for the right game in Texas, but nobody at a collegiate game up the street. The passion at the local level is key to keeping these events financially viable.
The tournaments are not the way forward, unless its super simple to watch, single day, and non-stop action. Way back in 2015 I was at a grappling tournament in Rio and inspired by the single night 8-person event with 4-man round robins on each side. I'd applied it to the thought of an international Grand Prix, but as we've seen there is an appetite for local tournaments with similar structure. Here is that question and answer from 2015. (I've been doing this WAY longer than I remember!)
Q: Has anybody ever tried to have a pro wrestling tournament? Make it golf-style results, top X amount of finishers in each weight class get guaranteed money. It seems to me that when companies pick certain wrestlers to wrestle for money or try to create leagues, they come off as too manufactured. Everybody likes a tournament where the underdog can pull upsets and the winner is the actual best of that weight class. If sports like running, sailing, golf, spelling bees, etc. can get air time and sponsors, wrestling should be able to get them easily, in my somewhat unbiased opinion. Start off small and over time increase the money as popularity grows and so will the wrestlers and sponsors. This seems like a more stable platform for pro wrestling than coming up with semi-arbitrary dual meets. Your takedown tournaments would work in this format as well.
-- Tom V.
Foley: I have the solution: The Weight Class Grand Prix System.
You invite the top, most marketable wrestlers in the world for a one-day weight class grand prix. Two groups of five with the top finishers in the group going for a cash prize. Sponsorships, livestreaming and media coverage would be easier than ever to access as the model has already proven effective in other sports, including the Copa Podio in jiu-jitsu.
For example, the USA could host the 74 kilos Grand Prix in New Jersey. Get a well-outfitted 4K seat arena with VIP areas, beer sales and some good in-arena effects. Invite Burroughs, Dake, Howe and Taylor who are all guys from the region, throw in Tsargush (Russian from Brighton Beach) and any Iranian you choose (as we've seen, they travel very well). Now make the prize to win $100K and you will have a media frenzy.
There would need to be 18 Grand Prix events and some of these would need to be doubled up within a country, but by spreading the wealth and making the event about one weight class, it's likely that the talent will concentrate for the experience, attention and cash.
I still believe this is one of the most entraining and sustainable ways to fund professional wrestling in the United States.
Q: We are already into November and there still seems to be so much uncertainty about the NCAA wrestling season. When do you think we will start seeing some more concrete plans or a schedule?
-- Mike C.
Foley: What if I told you that nobody knows the answer to your questions?
The NCAA is trying its best, but like United World Wrestling and the IOC there are a number of relationships, contracts, and publicity exposures to consider before green lighting any plans to take to the mats. Not to mention that the NCAA's focus is split three ways: 70-percent to football, 28.5% to basketball, and 1.5% to the rest of the sports. That's not a dig, that's just the reality of running a (non-profit, wink-wink) business with immediate needs and a changing landscape.
The outsider opinion is that the season might be reduced to a few tri-meets and a 16-man NCAA tournament. However, given that the first chilly weeks of the year has delivered the largest number of single-day cases and most daily deaths since April, there is a very real possibility that the season might become a victim. The Super 32 and other regional level tournaments are run for-profit and have the approval of the local governments. The NCAA has to make decisions using a much more complex set of considerations.
I wouldn't expect a national lockdown or anything of the sort, but I do think that there will be a readjustment made to the amount of exposure to each other most citizens can handle. Who knows? With better mask wearing and some common-sense leadership from the top it could turn around in the new year.
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