[Viratas]

Kyle Dake Is the GOAT. Team USA Just Made History. And Bo Bassett Might Be From Another Planet.
The Broken Ear | An old-timer’s take on American wrestling, a legend who refuses to act his age, and a young gun who apparently doesn’t have an off switch.

Well, here goes another hot take. Take it for what it’s worth.

Just an old-timer throwing out a few observations, probably irritating a few fan bases along the way, and enjoying the hell out of what’s happening in American wrestling.

There’s something pretty damn exciting going on right now.

A new generation of hyper-aggressive young guns is coming through the ranks, apparently convinced that the best defense is scoring another ten points. Meanwhile, some of the more seasoned veterans, guys who should probably be shopping for comfortable recliners by now, are still beating the absolute hell out of the best wrestlers on the planet.

What a time to be a wrestling fan.

First, Let’s Give Team USA Its Damn Flowers
Five World champions. Nine medalists. A team World Championship.

That, my friends, is the greatest single World Championship performance in the history of USA men’s freestyle wrestling, at least by gold medals and total medals.

Actually looked it up.

Unless JB comes wandering through here to correct me, which, knowing JB, is entirely possible.

But seriously, five golds and nine medals? That’s not a good tournament. That’s a country showing up and kicking some serious ass.

Huge congratulations to every one of those guys.

Spencer Lee gets his Senior World gold. Levi Haines gets his. Kyle Snyder is back on top of the podium. Love seeing that guy continue to get it done. Bo Bassett announces himself to the entire wrestling world, and Kyle Dake does something that quite frankly makes my head hurt trying to comprehend.

Just an unbelievable performance across the board.

But this isn’t going to be a breakdown of every match or every medalist.

This is about one guy in particular.

And here’s where a few people are probably going to get their underwear in a bunch.

Kyle Dake Is the GOAT. There, I Said It.
Yep.

Kyle Dake.

The greatest American wrestler of all time.

Go ahead. Get mad. Fire up the keyboards. Alert the Penn State faithful, the Oklahoma State crowd, the Iowa State historians, and anybody else who’s already halfway through typing a response before finishing this sentence.

Hear me out.

Jordan Burroughs? Absolute badass.

Six World titles. Olympic gold. One of the most dominant wrestlers this country has ever produced.

John Smith? Badass.

Two Olympic golds and four World titles. Six straight years of owning the world. The man practically rewrote the instruction manual for wrestling.

Dan Gable? The original badass.

A legend whose influence on this sport goes well beyond anything that can be measured with medals.

Cael Sanderson? Come on.

159-0 in college. Olympic gold. Four NCAA titles. And now apparently running a national championship assembly line in State College.

All of them deserve a seat at the table.

But here’s the problem.

Not one of them has done what Kyle Dake has done.

Four NCAA championships. Four different weights. Four consecutive years.

141, 149, 157, and 165.

Think about that.

Most guys spend their college careers trying to find one weight where they can be competitive. Dake essentially treated weight classes like hotel rooms.

Stayed a year. Won a national title. Checked out. Moved up.

No big deal.

Then he gets to the international level and apparently decides four weight classes weren’t enough.

World champion at 79 kilograms in 2018 and 2019.

Drops down to 74 kilograms and wins two more in 2021 and 2022.

Then, at 35 years old, jumps all the way to 86 kilograms and wins another World title in 2026.

Four NCAA titles. Five Senior World titles. Seven different championship weight classes. Nearly 50 pounds of championship range over 16 years.

Are you kidding me?

And here’s what makes this so ridiculous. He didn’t just move up as he got older. He moved up, cut back down, and then jumped two international weight classes to win another World Championship.

Against the best wrestlers on the planet.

At 35.

Thirty-five!

At that age, most wrestlers are coaching, complaining about their knees, or explaining to some poor high school kid how much tougher practice was back in the day.

Dake is still collecting gold medals.

And it’s not like changing weights is simply a matter of eating another cheeseburger. Different body types, leverage, strength, speed. Everything changes. Yet somehow, the guy keeps figuring it out.

Now, before the keyboards catch fire, Burroughs has more World titles and an Olympic gold. Smith has two Olympic golds. Gable and Cael have accomplishments that may never be duplicated.

All legitimate arguments.

But what defines the GOAT?

Total medals? Olympic titles? Dominance at one weight? Longevity? Versatility?

For me, it’s the whole package, and Dake’s ability to repeatedly reinvent himself and win championships across that kind of weight spread separates him from everybody else.

Nobody else in American wrestling has put together that particular combination of accomplishments.

That’s not taking anything away from the other legends.

It’s recognizing something extraordinary.

Kyle Dake is the GOAT. That’s my argument, and I’m sticking to it.

Feel free to disagree.

Preferably without beginning the explanation with, “Well, at Penn State…”

Just kidding, Nittany Lion fans.

Mostly.

And Then There’s Bo Bassett. Good Lord.
Now let’s talk about the other end of the age spectrum.

Bo Bassett.

What in the hell is this kid running on?

Seriously.

If you didn’t watch his matches at Worlds, do yourself a favor and go back and watch them.

This kid is a machine.

Not the kind that slowly grinds somebody down and wins 3-1.

Nope.

This is the kind that comes out firing, keeps firing, and apparently hasn’t been programmed to understand that human beings occasionally need to rest.

His quarterfinal against former World champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov was absolutely nuts.

Down 10-3 at the break. Fell even further behind. One point away from getting teched.

And what does Bassett do?

Comes storming back and wins 14-13.

Just ridiculous.

Then he techs his semifinal opponent 12-2 and wins the World final 9-1.

At 20 years old.

In his first Senior World Championships.

Somebody check the batteries on this kid.

There’s a little John Smith in his technique, a little Brands-style intensity, and a whole lot of something that can’t be taught.

He’s aggressive. He’s fearless. And perhaps most importantly, he’s fun to watch.

Remember when wrestling was supposed to be entertaining?

This kid apparently got the memo.

Now, before somebody starts engraving his name on the next ten World Championship trophies, there’s a long road ahead. Staying healthy, evolving, making adjustments, and dealing with the world’s best year after year isn’t easy.

But man, Bassett has all the ingredients.

Who knows where this kid’s career ends up?

He might be the guy everybody’s arguing about in the GOAT conversation 15 years from now.

And frankly, that would be pretty damn cool.

Was a little disappointed he didn’t make it back for the Southeast Open. That would’ve been fun to see.

But after winning a Senior World Championship, maybe he had better things to do.

Like celebrate.

Or finally take a nap.

Although I’m not convinced this kid actually sleeps.

American Wrestling Is in One Hell of a Good Place
Look at the combination of talent right now.

Veterans like Dake and Snyder continuing to win World titles. Spencer Lee and Levi Haines reaching the top. Young guns like Bassett coming in with absolutely no fear of anybody.

For all the complaining that goes on about wrestling, and there’s always plenty to complain about, it’s hard not to appreciate what these athletes are doing.

The present looks pretty damn good.

And the future?

Well, if Bo Bassett is any indication, the future might be completely insane.

So There It Is. Dake’s the GOAT.
Call it an unpopular opinion.

Call it recency bias.

Call it an old guy getting a little too excited after watching an incredible weekend of wrestling.

Whatever.

Every generation has its legends, and there’s no shortage of great ones in American wrestling.

But when you look at what Kyle Dake has accomplished, the longevity, the adaptability, the ability to keep winning no matter what weight class he walks into, it’s hard not to shake your head and appreciate just how special this guy really is.

The sport has produced plenty of champions. It’s never produced another Kyle Dake.

So raise a glass. Slam a beer. Give the man his flowers.

And while you’re at it, keep an eye on Bo Bassett.

Because the old guard is still kicking ass, and the next generation is already trying to kick the door down.

What a time to be a wrestling fan.

Anyway, that’s the hot take.

Love it. Hate it. Tell me I’m nuts.

Just come prepared to defend your argument.

And congratulations again to every member of Team USA. What an incredible performance.

Dake’s the GOAT. I’ll stand by it.

Peace out.

---

That’s to keep your whining ass shut. You want off this ranch, you got it. I’ll drive your ass to the train station myself.

[RYou]

I’m leaning toward Dake., but I’m still faavoring Jordan Burroughs and his record at world championships. My reasoning:

Dake

4 NCAA championships – 141,149,157, 165 – 4 different weight classes

5 World titles – 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2026, but at 3 different weight classes – 79 kg, 79, 74, 74 and now 86KG.  His first 141 lbs, the latest at 86 Kg / 189 lbs. That’s almost 50 lb. spread over 16 years.

John Smith

Smith had 6 world and Olympic titles, all at 62KG/137lbs.

Bruce Baumgartner

Baumgartner had 5 world titles and 2 Olympic gold, all at heavyweight.

Jordan Burroughs

Burroughs has 2 NCAA championships-157 and 165, 1 Olympic Gold and 6 world titles at 74 and 79 KG.  That’s a 17 lb spread

Burroughs and Dake are close, but Dake lacks the coveted Olympic Gold.

I’ve always wondered what Sanderson would have achieved with an extensive international career.  Since he opted out to coach fairly early and given his success as an NCAA and freestyle coach, I’ll leave him with the greatest coach of all time, particularly since 4 of his PSU*recruits medaled at the 2026 world championships and 2 others in his Nittany Lion club won gold.

🔥1 Fire

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