Jump to content

Most Hyped Matches All-Time


ENoblewrestling

Recommended Posts

So with the big Red Lee match possibly looming I started to think about other matches over the years that had a ton of buildup. I'm sure there are many more but one that stood out to me was Shaffer vs Vega. That match was at either the first or second finals that I had went too. Does anyone know what they were ranked nationally when that match took place? It seemed like that match was similar to this match in terms of the accolades of the wrestlers.

Micic and Lee was pretty hyped up too, I know I'm missing a ton of them, what other matches had a lot of hype heading into this weekend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eppert vs. Wright match got a lot of attention due to the rivalry. They faced each other like 12 times with Wright having won slightly more of the match-ups. Three of those matches were under the lights for the state title. Eppert won the first title, Wright won the next year. Going into the last match there was a lot of hype of who would get the last word since Eppert was graduating. Eppert won in a close 3-2 decision on an escape, to claim the state title. Wright goes on the next year to win his second state title.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vega and Shaefer in 97 wasn't about their accolades but more about their personal rivalry.  In 95 Vega beat the number one ranked kid Smiley in the quarters and was beaten by the freshman Shaefer in the semis.  In 96 they met Saturday morning with Shaefer leading Vega threw him to his back for 5 with seconds to go in the match for the win.  I don't think I ever heard Market Square Arena so loud.  Then in 97 to both meet undefeated in the finals I can remember the crowd coming to their feet as they entered the mat.  A great rivalry that continued into college with both gaining victories over each other.  Fair to say if it wasn't for each other Vega would've been a 3x champ and Shaefer a 4x.

Edited by regionfather10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know it hasn't been talked about much, but I'm really looking forward to a potential Woods / Parris match-up at 220.

 

As a homer, I'm also looking forward to Cael McCormick and BAM at 152.

Edited by Forrester
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tsirtsis v Quiroga, Micic v Lee to name a few.  I don't know how much you guys on here got into it, but last year's matchup between Brandon James v Joe Lee was a decently hyped up match.  Especially since James could only defeat Lee by a few points at the Ball State duals. I knew going into the state finals that Joe Lee had a legitimate shot at beating the dominant James. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dude, back in ('95?) James Leavell vs David Maldanado was far more hyped than Red vs Lee. Rematch of previous state finals where both guys came in undefeated. MSA was rockin'.

The hyped match for 95 was the James Leavell and Vernon Cannon.  These two wrestled like five times.  Cannon only won one I believe, but they were all close.  These two were so good that they went different weight classes at Senior Nationals...both won. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw all of the matches mentioned on this thread and Red vs. Lee takes the cake for me as being the biggest high school match Indiana will have ever seen.  It's possible Jason Tsirtsis was slightly more highly regarded than Red as a national recruit, but Red is the second biggest recruit to come out of Indiana, at worst.  And Lee has to be the most highly regarded national-level recruit to ever enter an Indiana high school match an underdog.  Leavell/Maldonado and Schaefer/Vega are probably the only other two matches where both guys were probably Top 10 in the country--possibly top 5--at the moment of the match.  But rankings were much less accurate and cross-pollination of the best wrestlers nationally was much less then.  There have never been two guys so universally recognized as tops in the nation at the moment of their match facing off as we'll hopefully see in Red/Lee tomorrow night.

Edited by maligned
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.