When Wyatt Hendrickson defeated Stevenson for the NCAA heavyweight -wrestling championship on Sunday, people were not joking about how much it was a surprise.
“It was absolutely the biggest surprise in amateur history,” said the WWE legend and the Olympic Wrestling Gold medalist Kurt Angle recently to Fox News Digital.
“It definitely works there with the Miracle Hockey team and Buster Douglas, who wanders Mike Tyson.”
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The Wyatt Hendrickson in Oklahoma State reacts in Philadelphia Minnesotas for the end of a 285 pound game in the final at the NCAA Wrestling Championship on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
That is quite a honor, but angle doesn’t just say that. He is familiar in the wrestling world as the Olympic champion, world champion and NCAA champion.
Angle even quoted the big Herb Brooks when he discussed the fight.
“If she wrestled 100 times, 99 times, Gable Stevenson would have hit him, not only beat him, but did it well,” said Angle. “This was just a damn night. It was Wyatt Hendrickson’s night, and I give him a lot of recognition. He didn’t stop wrestling, and that shows the kind of strength he has. I am sure that he got it from the Air Force.”
Hendrickson, a second lieutenant of the Air Force, welcomed President Donald Trump after the victory after he was draped with an American flag, a moment when Angle seemed as if it were as if it were out of a film.
President Donald Trump, on the right, welcomes Wyatt Hendrickson from the state of Oklahoma, after defeating on Saturday, March 22, 2025 in Philadelphia Minnesotas Gable Steveson during a 285 pound match in the final of the NCAA Wrestling Championship. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Wyatt Hendrickson of the State of Oklahoma State talks about Trump’s appearance at NCAA Wrestling Championships
“He came out the American flag, Mr. America – I know it wasn’t, but it is almost as if it were as if it were a film. It was crazy,” joked Angle. “President Trump is there and congratulates Wyatt after winning. You couldn’t write a better script for a film.”
Angle also speculated that Hendrickson simply wanted the fight in the face of Stevenson’s impressive curriculum vitae.
“I think Gable said: ‘Hey, I won the Olympic Games, I won the NCAAs, I’m good.’ It wasn’t like he had this additional fire in him like Wyatt Hendrickson, “said Angle. “It was a damned thing – I gave Wyatt a lot of recognition, he was hard. But Gables Level rightly about Wyatt. But I give Wyatt the loan, he happened.”
Stevenson tried the WWE and was even seen next to Angle in 2022. He even signed the Buffalo Bills last year, but did not make the team. Angle said that if he tried again this year, he would do the team, but he has another prediction for Stevenson, which he has already described as “the greatest” in wrestling history.
Wyatt Hendrickson reacts from the Cowboys of the state of Oklahoma after defeating Gable Steveson from the Minnesota Golden Gopher during the Championship of Division I on March 22, 2025 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. (Eric Hartline-Mimagn pictures)
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“I think Gable Stevenson will be an impressive fighter in the MMA, be it UFC or Bellator or whatever it is,” said Angle. “He will be an MMA fighter, and if he fights in the UFC, you will see a new UFC champion. Gable is sporty. The child is incredible. So that he is in a heavyweight division, and as sporty as it is, it is amazing that it is amazing.
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