Jagger's Friday Mailbag - 4/12/2024

Before we get going here I just want to send my regards to the great John Smith who retired yesterday after 33 seasons at the helm of Oklahoma State. I’ll leave the more sentimental stuff to the professionals, but it truly is the end of an era. It was a weird Thursday as OJ Simpson died yesterday. Both had a wild 1994 as Coach Smith won his first title as head coach and OJ had that whole thing with the car chase. Perhaps it’s best we just move on to the questions. 

Is this JB’s last stand? Or will he rise up and cash in his money in the bank briefcase and go to France? Brandon from NJ 

Certainly, you have to think that this is the last hurrah for Jordan Burroughs, but I’m not so sure that’s true. I reckon he’s factoring in a few different outcomes towards his decision to leave his shoes on the mat. Let’s say he makes the team and gets on that plane to France. If flies back with gold then he’s probably shoeless. That’s obviously the ideal way to go out. Even a loss in Paris likely seals the deal on the magnificent career of one Jordan Burroughs. But what if he doesn’t make the team? Does it all end a week from now in Pennsylvania? Why can’t he try for another title at 79kg later in the year? No, I don't believe Jordan will be trying to make the Olympic team in 2028. Even for JB, that’s a tall task for a 40-year-old man. You can’t tell me he’s not still a top-two contender for that spot. It all plays out the same way whether you make the team, win a title, or lose at trials. I predict that one way or another this isn’t the last weekend that we see Jordan Burroughs on the mat. 

What do you predict will be the three biggest "WOAH!" moments at this year's trials? Thicccolas 

I’ll break this down into three different categories of “Whoa” based on excitement and surprise. 

80’s heartthrob Keanu Reeves classic “Whoa” 

A subtle whoa that lets the viewer know he’s taken aback by what he just saw. It doesn’t blow him away because he’s too cool for that. But he is stunned. This will be my reaction if Pat Downey shows up and beats a few guys. 

90’s heartthrob Joey Lawrence “Woah!” 

You can’t believe what you’re seeing. Just overloading your brain. Confused, even. You won’t believe this is really happening. Basically any moment of wrestling during the first few rounds. The sheer level of talent in these brackets is too much for one to handle over the

course of two days. You could do a weight a weekend for the next couple of months and I’d be fine with it. 

Hip-hop heartthrobs The Beastie Boys “Sabotage Whoa” 

The biggest whoa you can get. The kind you scream loudly for an eternity because your brain just broke. Like seeing one of the high school kids come out on top at 57kg. I know these kids are beyond their years in talent but Nick Suriano is here. Daton Fix is in the bracket. Thomas Gilman and all his accolades. Spencer friggin’ Lee! Some dude named Vito doesn’t even have to show up until the semifinals. Get through all these guys and I’ll simply bend the knee. 

Who were you most impressed by at the Last Chance Open and are you ready for #WrestlingShirtADayinMay? Jim Dutrow 

Well, the easy answer is Jax Forrest winning the damn thing. But hats off to David McFadden for fighting back like he did. The Virginia Tech product via New Jersey got hit with the Jagger Curse by breaking his ankle a mere few weeks after I met him. Proving once again you should never meet your heroes. Especially when that hero is a chain-smoking middle-aged man who’s only there because he inexplicably named a night after himself like a fool. But seriously, go listen to his interview after the tournament. It’s worth a watch. 

May you say? Brother, my birthday is in May and they really seem to be coming up a lot faster than they used to. So even though I get closer to death with every shirt, I’m still fired up about it. 

Should we rebrand the last chance qualifier as the money in the bank tournament? Rhino 

Oh, no doubt. But there’s a caveat to this. If you win the MITB Open, you can’t enter trials. You have a three-month window to cash in your briefcase on the winner and take the spot. You see Kyle Dake resting in a field backside directly facing the sun? Drag Angel Rivera with you and try to roll him up for a fall. Is that David Taylor lying on the beach and way too enthralled in a fantasy football magazine? Lock in a leg lace and go for it. But you have to choose to take your chances with that or the classic way of winning the tournament. It can’t be both.

If you do not qualify for the Olympic team mailbag, will you abscond to Team Italy? Burger King of Kings 

Man, the last thing I need to do in August is Olympic-level mailbagging. That’s vacation time. 

Who are the top five wrestling follows on Rokfin? The original Mark Hall who wrestled at Buffalo 

I don’t really have an answer for you. My advice is to support Coach Scott Green. A Jagger Guy of the highest order. And probably the best man for the job at your alma mater. And likely the best man at many a wedding.