By John Rizzuti
©2006 InsideTexasWrestling.com
All rights reserved

(Warning: This article contains lots of satire which is unusual in the sport)

In a little over a month from now, the grand and gracious city of Dallas will host the 41st Annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, November 20, at the Dallas Convention Center. When an event has been going on for 41 years, it’s probably time for some changes; some hot new ideas, different angles, dynamic storylines and characters, painting the scenery, shifts in the sand, swerves, good guys and bad girls. You know; not the same old, same old. Something borrowed, some blue, something different, something new.

But, then again you’re working with wrestling, the oldest and perhaps the single most tradition-rich sport there is. Changes? They’re few and far between. In wrestling, unfortunately, convention rules. (Where is J Robinson when we need him?) Other than the professional variety of our sport, where one Vincent Kennedy McMahon has amassed (at last count) some $1.6 billion dollars – a veritable mini-fortune!

Call me crazy or call him dim-witted, that is serious money. Most of it came from that really lame intellect of his – completely swerving from any kind of tradition, other than that of one young P.T. Barnum. Think the XFL or a “bra and panties” match or hey, even “juicing.”

Fast forward with me to the above noted College All-Star event which no doubt will be big news for us country folk here in Texas, when the big boys of wrestling converge here for a couple of days to put on The Big Show.

Last time that happened was in June of 2000 when the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for wrestling were held here to a record-setting three-day throng of 50,000. (It always amazes me that by far the biggest crowd ever at a USA Wrestling event was right here in Dallas, yet those guys are putting events in Sioux City? Must be the water. Never been back to the place that blew the sport away.)

Idea number one. CATFIGHT!

So, let’s break tradition and think different. Let’s open the doors on creativity and see what happens. First we’re going to have a couple of females tangle. And we’re not talking about oil-based mud wrestling! One young and successful Randi Miller of Arlington will get the nod to be the first female to ever wrestle at the All-Star meet. Now I call that cool. Randi has done very well for herself and deserves the shot. Now if you want to really push the envelope why not let her woman-handle a guy! A word of advice. You don’t want to mess with a Texas girl.

Askren facing off against Hendricks? Here’s an idea I love!

A close friend of mine told me that several years ago during a dream-team match (the all-star high school match at the end of the season) where Johny Hendricks out of Edmund, OK beat up on Ben Askren of Heartland, Wisconsin. It was the 2002 Classic and the final score was Hendricks 7, Askren 5 at 160.

Would it be great if these two could somehow tangle again at this All-Star meet? I know this: each one thinks they can beat the other, so it would be a war! Personally, I would see a newsmaking, crowd-riveting, match with the wild-man of the mat, Ben Askren of Missouri dropping down or moving up to face the evil-genius NCAA kingpin Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State.

Everyone knows that Ben won the championship and tournament MOW last year at 174. We all know what kind of monstrous scrambler and offensive powerhouse butt-kicker this guy is. Forget the NCAA MOW award last year; his hair alone is wilder than Paris Hilton’s private diary.

Just imagine. Ben drops to 165 to get a shot at the ever-so popular Hendricks. Or Hendricks moves up to 174!

Ever since last year when Hendricks won his NCAA title with a disputed and controversial win over the top-seeded Churella-boy from Michigan. His post-match “T.O.”- like antics didn’t sit well with the 17,000 people in the crowd (except for the 3000 Cowboy fanatics in the joint). He dodged a bullet, some say and his cocky, wide-eyed self- admiration just wasn’t the shout heard ‘round the world.

According to my sources, invitations have been sent to most-deserving Matt Herrington of Penn (Penn has about 20 guys named Matt. Is this a wrestling thing? If so, why not name them Mat?) and Ben at 174 and Hendricks of OSU and his real-close friend Mark Perry of Iowa at 165.

Work with me here: How about Ben Askren and Hendricks tangling at 165 and Herrington and Perry squaring-off at 174? Or the vice versa? How about Hendricks moving up to 174 to face Askren and Perry goes at 165 against another foe? Besides haven’t Perry and Hendricks wrestled enough?

No matter what weight, these fiery combatants will surely present all of us with seven minutes of hellacious wrestling!

Want to think different some more? I say we pit the Dallas-based Bishop Lynch High School team against the best 15 guys we can find from all over Texas in a High School all-star meet. With B-L you have several guys (somewhere between five and six) who are ranked nationally and a team that would love to take on the best of the best of the best. I say we do it and see what happens!

I have more ideas for a Part II. How about Bubba “The Love Sponge” doing the announcing? Plus, I would pay real money, big money to see Will “The Thrill” Rowe wrestle C.P. Schlatter. My money goes on The Thrill all the way.

But before we do Part II let’s finish Part I with the likely lineups for the 41st NWCA All-Star Classic: most all except three have CONFIRMED!

125 The Purple Haze Sam Hazewinkle (OU) vs. Troy Nickerson (The Big Red)

Hwt Cole “The Krusher” Konrad (Minnesoota) vs. Bode “The Nigerian Nightmare” Ogunwole (Harvard)

Just can’t wait to pen Part II. Stay tuned!

Until next time!

John Rizzuti
Managing Editor
InsideTexasWrestling.com

Comments? Feedback? jrizzuti@aol.com