The dramatic tension in the world of wrestling creates the very essence of the sport whether it is between schools, or the wrestlers involved. For instance, the ‘Greatest Rivalry in College Wrestling’ between Oklahoma State and Iowa. The stories go back to the late 70s with coach Tommy Chesbro at the helm and later Dan Gable’s commitment to continue the rivalry. And then there are the athletes. Headlining in today’s dates are the names: Gable Steveson and AJ Ferrari—two undefeated wrestling phenoms. Still, the debate over who reigns supreme and who must get their hands on Hodge this year has never been more intense.

The topic started five years ago with the two top names of the sport sliding down the internet beef lane. It all started when Ferrari took a jab at Jordan Burroughs for his political views in November 2020. But out of nowhere, it was Steveson who targeted the then freshman and brought him back to earth warning, “Don’t come to Hwt with this attitude.. Sincerely, your new father..” Ouch! Some smack talk we got there! But the young OSU athlete did not back down either. He responded just as quickly by tweeting, “Don’t come to Hwt 😂 Do you need another Italian kid to bump up and stop you from winning an NCAA title? I wouldn’t be the first. Slow down there. You can hold it together Gable. 💪🏽” No doubt, with the two hammers of college wrestling going at each other, the fire was ignited. But it simply did not end there.

The two went back-and-forth on social media with the 2x NCAA champ going as far as saying that he will finish Ferrari’s career. Response from the CSU star? Sincerely, wow! Mr. Fast Twitch poked the bear to cut down and go against him in the 197 lbs category. “I wonder what Gable would look like if he got on a diet 🤔 Wait… That’s too much to ask for.” And this came after he had already warned Olympic gold medalist: “In your dreams. You don’t want the smoke.” Although these two have moved on with both focusing on their own careers for now, the fans have not. They still want to see this clash happen no matter who jumps from their divisions and a recent exchange on X about these two undefeated stars has once again set everyone ablaze.

In a now-deleted tweet, Justin Basch said, “We’re talking 93% bonus vs 100% bonus, Starvingbox, that’s not ‘remotely as dominant? And, @carterstarocci has easily the best win of the year out of all 3.” The question here arises: how did Basch come into the debate? Well, he responded to a tweet by ‘Starvingbox’ that read, “Not even remotely as dominant as Mitchell or Gable and you know it. You know it, Justin. And yet you lie to us. The Carter bias is EXPLICITLY for his resume, not this year (not that he’s ever been hodge-level dominant).” The root of this entire debate was when Basch did not include either Gable or AJ in his favorites for the Hodge. How do Steveson and Ferrari compare on the mat anyway?

If we talk about the overall wins in wrestling, Gable Steveson dominated the mat with a score of 93-2 (75.57% bonus this year), whereas AJ Ferrari is 41-1(59.88% bonus this year). However, it feels a little like comparing apples to oranges given that Gopher star has played more than twice the total number of matches. At the same time, Basch’s choice, Carter Starocci, is running on 108-4 but only 59.92% bonus. That way, Steveson should be counted as the dominant one on the mat. Also, not to forget, with a perfect 10-0 record, Gable Steveson is now ranked #1 in the 285-pound division.

The Indiana native is an unstoppable force in collegiate wrestling as a senior wrestler for Minnesota in the Big Ten conference. He took over #12 Rutgers’ tenth-ranked Slavikouski for his 60th straight win. As of now, AJ Ferrari and Gable Steveson have not faced each other in a wrestling match given that their categories remain separated. So until the showdown, their wrestling records do all the talking.

The 24-year-old Gophers star backed up Minnesota’s 44-0 victory over Campbell in November with a 21-3 technical fall, marking his first return to action. Following a hiatus from wrestling, Ferrari made a triumphant comeback by defeating Stanford wrestler Nick Stemmet 5-0. Now, as the debate is going on again, most of the wrestling fans are rallying for Steveson over Ferrari.

Top Comment by Rnac

Dumb article. Ferrari vs. Steveson will never happen. ES needs to let go of trying to report on wrestling.

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Debate

Amid the AJ Ferrari-Gable Steveson debate, fans have a favorite

Gable Steveson’s dominance on the mat remains a constant, and fans are making it clear—there’s no real competition. “Carter beat a true freshman by a one-score match. Gable is the answer. He teched the Rutgers dude days after Kerk beat him 2-0. He teched the dude who won the all-star match in his first match in years. Gable all day!” Rutgers’ Yaraslau Slavikouski got the better of Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet and emerged as the winner with a 2-0 decision on January 24. Weeks later, in early February, the reverse happened when Minnesota’s wrestling star won with a score of 25-3 against Slavikouski. And how! It looked like the Gopher simply moved some Ikea furniture with a double-leg takedown in the third period for 60 straight wins.

Another emphasized that no one has truly tested Steveson yet, noting, “It’s not Gable’s fault the schedule doesn’t have him against OSU or PSU yet. His closest match was a major against Feldman, I believe. Hodge is clearly between Mesenbrink or Gable. Mesenbrink is light years ahead of the next best.” Defeating Nick Feldman is no little joke! After all, the Pennsylvania native finished his high school career with an impressive 142-17 win-loss record. However, Mitchell’s numbers are making a strong case for him as well. With a 16-0 on year record and 43-1 career win-loss stats, the Penn State sophomore has a higher bonus at 81.82 than the Minnesota senior.

For those still unconvinced, history speaks for itself. The wrestling fan wrote, “Gable toyed with Mason Parris every time they wrestled, and Parris won the Hodge the next season in a still very good HWT division. Gable was just that much better than EVERYBODY for 3 years, 4 counting this year.” Many would say that Parris is a beast, but they will also say that Gable is simply a monster. Parris snatched away the 2023 Hodge Trophy with 38 of 64 first-place votes and 11,036 fan votes, double of the runner-up Starocci’s 6,172. But before that, he went down at the hands of the Olympic champion. Weighing at 265 lbs, who knew he was that quick?! Remember how he spun around and quickly grabbed Mason’s left leg to separate the lead for good at 5-2 and then win with a 6-2 on the board two years ago at the Final X?

That’s not just dominance—that’s generational greatness. Yet, some argue that PSU bias plays into the debate, calling out Basch directly: “You’re a great guy, Basch, but we all know you’re a PSU homer.” The comment further reads, “You think you can base the hodge on one ‘best win. And that win doesn’t even count. It’s Gable or Messenbrink. Maybe they’re close to even now. And it will come down to who is more dominant in the journey.”

Ultimately, it’s not just about stats—it’s about the aura Steveson brings to the mat. “People never shoot on Gable,” one fan pointed out. “They know it’s a given he’ll score. Every match, the other person is just trying not to get embarrassed. Ferrari definitely stalled. I agree.” Gable Steveson has earned such a reputation for himself over the years. The records speak for him. While Ferrari has undeniable talent, the consensus seems clear: Steveson is the benchmark, and until someone can truly challenge him, the debate feels one-sided.