Free Republic

Prior to Saturday night, only five wrestlers had ever won four national titles. By Saturday’s end, the list had grown to seven. Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci won their fourth national titles only three matches apart from one another. The two cemented themselves in history since they were also the first set of teammates to win four NCAA titles in the same year. Starocci was the first to achieve four titles by a matter of minutes, knocking off Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh 2-0. Brooks quickly followed suit with a 6-1 decision over NC State’s Trent Hidlay. Starocci and Brooks, who...

Penn State wrestling has done it again. Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions secured the program’s 11th NCAA championship since Sanderson was hired in 2009 and Penn State’s 12th NCAA championship overall. The program’s first title came in 1953 and, under Sanderson as coach, Penn State has become one of the top dynasties in sports. The Nittany Lions, winners of the Big Ten championship and the Big Ten regular-season crown, entered T Mobile Center in Kansas City as the heavy favorites to secure a third consecutive team title and, while the three-day event concludes Saturday night, PSU has already blown...

In a triumphant display of grit and determination, 18-year-old Audrey Jimenez hit the mat over the weekend and made history by becoming the first girl to win the Arizona state wrestling title while competing against boys. The Tucson teen earned a Division 1 title, but it took more than just hard work and athleticism to get there. She first had to win matches over boys this season before being crowned champion. "The crowd was just super crazy," Jimenez told Scripps News Phoenix. "So that's what made it seem more of like 'Oh wow, like I just won state." While the...

Wrestling veteran Vince Russo predicted that Triple H and other top WWE executives would depart the promotion within a year. Vince McMahon initially retired in 2022. However, he returned to the Stamford-based company in January 2023 as Executive Chairman. The 78-year-old recently resigned from his position and left the promotion amid being sued for sex trafficking by a former employee. Meanwhile, McMahon's son-in-law, Triple H, remains the Chief Content Officer. Speaking on The Brand podcast, Russo predicted that The Game and other former Vince McMahon associates would be let go from WWE within a year following the latter's departure: "I'm...

Masashi Ozawa, best known to WWE and pro wrestling fans as Killer Khan, has died at the age of 76. WWE announced Ozawa's passing Saturday and remembered him for his multiple stints with the company in the 1980s. Khan began wrestling in the United States in 1979 and remained in North America for a large portion of the 1980s. He memorably feuded with André the Giant in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1980, which led to him signing a deal with WWE. Khan was instantly utilized as one of WWE's top villains, feuding with WWE champion Bob Backlund, intercontinental champion Pedro...

WrestleCon reversed its decision to invite WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner to its showcase next month as the pro wrestling world focuses its attention on SummerSlam in Detroit. The wrestling convention initially decided to reinvite Steiner to its show months after Steiner was accused of using "hateful phrases" toward transgender female pro wrestler Gisele Shaw. WrestleCon owner Michael Bochicchio made the reversal Sunday and explained that Steiner apologized after the incident and that he felt like the former wrestler "learned a lot from his huge mistake." WrestleCon backtracked on its invitation. "When we allowed Rick Steiner to return to...

The Iron Sheik, a WWE legend who was one of Hulk Hogan’s greatest rivals during the 1980s, has died, according to a statement posted to his Twitter account on Wednesday. He was 81. “Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling. It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of The Iron Sheik, but we also take solace in knowing that he departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that...

WWE legend Billy Graham has died aged 79 after battling a 'myriad of health issues' while on life support. Graham had been in the hospital for a number of months dealing with a 'myriad of very serious health issues' and had been in the ICU for many weeks, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help him and his family. Graham died Wednesday after being taken off life support with his wife and daughter by his side, his family told TMZ.

“Superstar” Billy Graham, a WWE Hall of Famer and the wrestling promotion’s world heavyweight champion during the late 1970s, is on life support, his wife said. Graham, 79, a former bodybuilder and heavily muscled wrestler whose real name is Eldridge Wayne Coleman, is suffering from a major infection in his ears and skull, his wife, Valerie, wrote on Twitter, comments that were also reported on TMZ Sports. Graham is also suffering from congestive heart failure, diabetes and hearing loss, his wife said. The latest update to A GoFundMe page set up for Graham said the former wrestler “coded.” According to...

An Illinois youth wrestler who sucker punched his rival after losing their fight has been cited by cops following the violent attack. Hafid Alicea, 14, was issued the citation by the Oak Park Police Department on Thursday after admitting to officers he punched his opponent because 'he was angry that he had lost the match,' according to TMZ. It was recently reported that the parents of Cooper Corder, the young man who was on the receiving end of the punch, had decided to press charges. The incident occurred in Oak Park, Illinois, during a third-place, 125–128-pound match at this year's...

A Missouri Republican state lawmaker posted video on social media that he said showed a group of young kids repeatedly chanting “Let’s go Brandon” in unison at a youth wrestling tournament in Independence last week. The video was posted on Twitter by state Rep. Aaron McMullen, an Independence Republican. McMullen said on Twitter that the video was filmed at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, which hosted the Adidas Wrestling Nationals, a K-12 tournament. In the video, the group of kids are seen smacking a wrestling mat between the chants. The phrase has been adopted as a rallying cry in conservative...

Andy Kaufman is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2023, Variety has learned. Kaufman will be inducted alongside this year’s fellow honorees that currently include Rey Mysterio and The Great Muta. Kaufman is best known for his career on the stage and screen, most famously starring as Latka Gravas in the hit sitcom “Taxi” from 1978-1983. He made his mark on the world of professional wrestling, however, when he declared himself the Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World, offering money to any woman who could pin him as part of his act. This famously...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State (10-0, 3-0 B1G) will host Iowa (12-0, 5-0 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 27, in the second BJC Dual of the year for head coach Cael Sanderson's squad. The Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes face off at 8:30 p.m. in another B1G Network national telecast in the Jordan Center. This is Iowa's first trip to Penn State since the 2017-18 season. Penn State is coming off a superb two-win weekend in State College. The Nittany Lions dominated Michigan 30-8 in the first BJC Dual of the season last Friday, winning eight of ten matches including three...

Saudi Public Investment Fund making an offerThe Wall Street Journal reported just days ago that Vince McMahon was returning to WWE to sell the company. Now, it seems that he is set to sell the company to Saudi Arabia. It has only been a few months since the leader had stepped down as executive chairman due to a sexual harassment scandal. On doing so, he had handed over the reins of the entertainment giant to his daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Triple H, although he remained the majority shareholder. Following a statement from WWE, it was confirmed last night that McMahon,...

Apart from all the leathermen, drag performers and nudists milling about, the scene at last month’s Bearrison Street Fair in SoMa could have been straight out of Wrestlemania VI. Early in the afternoon, the first of several professional tag-team matches was a contest between a local powerhouse and some challengers from Malibu. Money Power Re$pect, an up-and-coming duo composed of Marco Mayur and Fabuloso Fabricio, went up against MyloBoo Barbie and Barbie Boi to see who would walk out with Full Queer Wrestling’s title belts—and who would exit past the portable toilets with heads hung in humiliation. This was an...

Sara Lee, a former WWE "Tough Enough" winner who performed on the company’s NXT brand for nearly a year, has died, her mother announced on social media. Lee was 30. Lee’s mother, Terri, made the shocking revelation on her Facebook account. Lee participated in the sixth season of WWE "Tough Enough" in 2015, which is a reality series run by the pro wrestling company to determine who would get a WWE contract. She won the event with Josh Bredl, who wrestled as Bronson Matthews. She was assigned to NXT and trained at the WWE Performance Center before moving onto NXT....

DETROIT, Mich. – Penn State entered the NCAA Championships semifinal round with six wrestlers and a 10.5- point lead over host Michigan in Little Caesars Arena. When the session was over, five Nittany Lions advanced to the finals, and the lead over Michigan extended to 23.5 points. Penn State finalists are No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (133), No. 1 Nick Lee (141), No. 1 Carter Starocci (174), No. 2 Aaron Brooks (184) and No. 1 Max Dean (197). The only PSU wrestler in the semifinals to lose was No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (285), who fell to 2020 Olympic champion Gable Steveson...

Chinese health authorities reported the first deaths from COVID-19 in more than a year. The country’s National Health Commission disclosed two deaths in Jilin province, bringing China’s official death count to 4,638.

Some upsets this morning. Should only get better. Concludes w/ Championships on Saturday night.

WWE legend Scott Hall will be taken off life support, his friend and fellow NWO founder, Kevin Nash, announced on Sunday. “Scott’s on life support. Once his family is in place they will discontinue life support,” Nash wrote in an emotional tribute to Hall on Instagram, adding an old photo of the pair laughing together. Hall was put on life support after he suffered three heart attacks Saturday during complications from hip replacement surgery, according to PW Torch. Hall, 63, was at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga. to repair a broken hip after he sustained a fall. Hall has...