How do you suppress the instincts of a champion? It is impossible, but when faced with a major setback, sometimes cocooning seems like the best option. However, for someone as monumental as Jordan Burroughs, a comeback was the only way out. After failing the 2024 Paris Olympic trials, the 6x World Champion confronted the harsh reality of high expectations. Burroughs has been the face of wrestling in America, often considered second to ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali. Therefore, Jordan Burroughs’ story of rising from the ashes feels like a personal win for many of his fans.

Fans were ecstatic, exclaiming, “Surprise, surprise, the king is back!” as Jordan Burroughs returned to the mat. This announcement came in August, around a week after the curtain call on the Paris Olympics, where Burroughs was commentating on the wrestling events. Obscurity surrounded his return to the game after his Olympic dream crashed this past April. However, the 36-year-old knows how to pick up his scattered pieces, thus returning and reclaiming the World Team Trials in Omaha.

Jordan Burroughs’ heartfelt message on winning back his love for wrestling

The former Olympian has now qualified for the 10th time to represent Team USA at the UWW World Championship. Jordan Burroughs holds an unmatched WC record with six world titles and three bronze medals in nine appearances. His long-time prominence in the championship makes it hard to imagine him ever not competing again after retirement. Therefore, now that Burroughs is once again set to represent the Star-Spangled Banner, the hopes of the great nation lie on his strong shoulders.

The Omaha trials were packets of emotions for the champ. It took Jordan five months to recover from his setback, and the results—well, you can see it for yourselves! During the post-match interview, Jordan Burroughs, drenched in his sweat of hard work, bared his heart out before the media. Burroughs shared that if he stayed diligent in his habits, he would be able to make a conscious decision about whether he wanted to wrestle or not. However, if he didn’t show up and train, his body would decide for him, as the adage goes. “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” especially when you’re 36 years old with five kids at home. Burroughs also reacted and recalled the moment when he was heckled for losing the Olympics Trial at Penn State, stating, “Penn State College they thought that they killed me. They couldn’t.”

He added, “It’s easy to lose it, so I just continued to show up, practice, and you know there were a lot of days where if you would have come in and seen me and knowing who I am and what I represent, you would have been surprised at my lack of effort, my lack of zeal, my lack of excitement for being in the wrestling room doing something that I love.” The trial setback and the harsh booing from the crowd surely took a toll on Jordan Burroughs’s well-being. There’s no saying what a disturbed mental state can do even to the greatest athletes of our generations.

“But it took me a long time to be, to fall in love with this sport again. It took a lot of external circumstances, but ultimately it took a lot of introspective thinking as to how I want to stand my career.” All we can say is welcome back. The champ’s lost faith in wrestling came back in time to bring him to the World Championship trials. Moreover, Jordan Burroughs’ mighty return to his style with the same and more vigor says that he’s here to stay. Therefore, even if his critics try to pin him down again, Burroughs’ is surely to bounce back and smear a god-tiered win on their faces.

However, the brutal reality check that the wrestler faced in April can never be erased. Is a failed trial enough to judge whether an athlete of Jordan Burroughs’ stature is ‘finished’ or not? Surely, the fans sitting in the crowd have high expectations; thus, when met with disappointment, they couldn’t contain their frustration. Let’s take a quick look at the incident.

Fans take a rude stance on witnessing Jason Nolf demolish Burroughs’ 2024 Olympics dreams

Jordan Burroughs’ presence at the Olympics wrestling trials at Penn State was already a part of a controversy. Fans showed hostility toward the 6x world champ at the Bryce Jordan Center after remarks about targeting Carter Starocci’s knee. This tension escalated during his match against Mitchell Mesenbrink, where Burroughs’ aggressive tactics drew boos from the crowd. His eventual loss to Jason Nolf added to the negativity surrounding him.

The situation quickly elevated to take an ugly turn after Burroughs’ loss when a fan taunted him in the tunnel, claiming his career was over. He confronted the fan, asking, “Hey, what have you done?” Nebraska coach Mark Manning criticized the fan’s behavior as “classless.” The interaction highlighted the animosity that had built up around Jordan Burroughs during the event. This unprecedented fan interaction surely caused great agony to the master 74 kg freestyle wrestler. Following this episode, Burroughs withdrew from the mat until recently, when he announced his comeback.

It’s great to see an athlete of this caliber take over backlash and setbacks with the same grit he shows in the wrestling arena. Hopefully, a seventh title is on the way, as anticipation now builds on Jordan Burroughs’ World Championship performance. Will he stand up to the expectations? We’ll get to know soon.