How could such an upset not even get the slightest of media coverage?

How did something like this not make the cover page for sports illustrated? The answer is because wrestling has lost its sovereignty in the world of sports due to what the media has made it out to be. Sure, Gardner received a warm welcome from his townsmen, by giving him a celebratory parade upon his return back home (Lawton, 2006). But if asked, no one would know who Rulon Gardner was, or Alexander Karelin for that matter. But someone would know who Michael Jordan or Pele was; because of the world-wide hype is media attention they got, and neither basketball nor soccer have been degraded through the world of entertainment.

Wrestling is now viewed as joke. Nonetheless it’s slowly redeeming itself through the expanding popularity of professional fighting, which is like pankration. Although great wrestlers like Alexander Karelin and Rulon Gardner will never be recognized for their accomplishments, perhaps one day through the rising reputation of wrestlings fight to gain true meaning again. These wrestlers will be looked back upon, and put on the pedestals that they should have been put on years ago.

So...what's the big deal here?

“The wrestling behemoths stood side by side during introductions, displaying two distinct versions of 286-pound physiques. On the left was the lean and sculptured Siberian with the Ray Nitschke snarl, and on the right, with his hands clasped before him, was a hefty slab of prime Wyoming beef that looked like a shy kid with too much baby fat” (Sandomir, 2000, pg.1). The wrestling commenced, and the two men went at it, they pushed and poked each other relentlessly, but Karelin could not gain any advantages, in grabs or holds. “Nothing worked. Karelin lifted Gardner twice, but Gardner's bulkiness, that huge chest, that center of gravity, kept him grounded” (Sandomir, 2000, pg.1). Then Karelin mad a severe mistake. At the start of the second round, Karelin was in a wrap up with Gardner when the Russian accidentally released his lock, which gave an automatic point to his opponent (Gardner) (Sandomir, 2000).The nine minute wrestling match had ended, and it was one of the most startling upsets in Olympic wrestling history. “Gardner had defeated Karelin, 1-0, in overtime of the 130-kilogram (286-pound) final, blocking Karelin's attempted march to a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal” (Sandomir, 2000, pg. 1).

and Karelin????

Alexander Karelin, he is said to be “the greatest wrestler in Olympic history, of unimaginable combination of size and strength without parallel in this sport of giants” (Mackay, 2004, pg. 25). The Russian stands at 6’4”, 295lbs, and 7% body fat. “A three-time Olympic champion, he had not lost in 13 years and had not conceded a point since 1993” (MacKay, 2004, pg.25). He was supposed to take his fourth gold medal home in the 2000 Sydney Olympics games. Karelin had not lost a single Greco Roman match since 1987, winning nine world championships to go along with his three Olympic golds (Ward, 1).

Who exactly is Rulon Gardner?

Gardner’s a farm-boy from the sticks of Wyoming (2000). After his gold medal debut in the Sydney Olympics Games Gardner was sought out by the WWE. “Gardner says his future lies with amateur wrestling, despite the WWF's persistence: ‘They call almost every day. They've offered me anywhere from $250,000 for one (pay-per-view) show to $1 million for a one-year contract’” (2000, pg. 28).

Gardner had a win in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games that might as well been a shot heard ‘round the world, in wrestling news. Rulon pressed on in the bracket and draws Karelin’s name in the semi-finals. After nine minutes of grueling, hard wrestling Gardner came out on top 1-0. This was the biggest upset many had seen in ages (Lawton, 2006).

However, there are few WWE icons who do know what it takes to wrestle on a real mat.

Kurt Angle, a WWE icon, “was one of the most successful amateur wrestlers of the 1990's, winning a gold medal for freestyle wrestling in the 1996 Olympics and capturing six United States championships” (Bierman, 2004, pg. 2). Not only that but before his Olympic debut, he was NCAA Division 1 champion. Angle is a prime example of a wrestler who knows how to really wrestle, but settled for big bucks in the entertainment industry. “When Kurt Angle would tell people that he wrestled; they would often bring up professional wrestlers like Hulk Hogan rather than Olympic stars like Dan Gable. ‘ I’m an Olympic wrestler,’ Angle would tell them. ‘Don't degrade me like that’” (Bierman, 2004, pg. 2).

Another former WWE icon, Brock Lesnar, is currently a UFC contender; however before all this he wrestled at the University of Minnesota and was a heavyweight NCAA finalist in 1999 and an NCAA champion in 2000 ( Bierman, 2004). Bierman goes on to talk a little bit about how Angle initially turned down the WWE, but then found himself getting sick of doing speeches, and talking at wrestling camps, so he then moved on and signed a multi-million dollar deal with the WWE (Bierman, 2004).

In today’s society the aspect of entertainment has definitely overpowered the true athletic skill needed for this sport. If you look at the WWE nowadays, that’s all that people watch it for, the entertainment. “Most of the world is barely aware of the amateur wrestling described by Mr. Kreidler. Great interest is paid to the sport's satanically possessed stepbrother: the scripted, costumed and slick-chested professionals of Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment, whose stars write best-selling memoirs (Steve Austin), become action movie hunks (The Rock) or get elected governor of Minnesota (Jesse Ventura)” (Sandomir, 2007, pg,7). Sure some of these “wrestlers” are some of the most physically fit people on television nowadays. Some of them are all jacked up on steroids and pro hormones. But most lack the true skill it takes to really and truly go out onto a mat and wrestle.

Once upon a time

Wrestling didn’t start off as wrestling; it started off as Pankration, which was a stylized way of fighting, like the WWE is nowadays (Glueck, 2004). Through the passing time of Greek culture’s Pankration was tweaked and was formed into actual wrestling. Taking a look at wrestling today and back then, it is a lot different as a sport, but not so much as an entertainment factor. Romans loved watching violence as a form of entertainment, like gladiator fights and most other events that took place in the Coliseum (Mechikoff, 2005). Wrestling was still viewed as a popular and respected sport, because it was favored by the gods (Mechikoff, 2005). However wrestling slowly but surely became an entertainment sport, and people began to stop focusing on the athletic skill needed to compete in this sport.