The 2024-25 NCAA season has been worth the community’s anticipation. There have been epic performances not only from those who are aspiring to make their mark in the league as a rookie but also from those who have returned to the program with set goals for their careers. One such name that is familiar as a returnee is A.J. Ferrari, who, back in 2021, secured his NCAA championship with Oklahoma State University.

Ferrari’s comeback on the mat was glamorous as he secured his win after a long halt from wrestling. However, the community’s perception of him isn’t entirely positive, as he faces numerous critics. And despite his season-opening bangers, he wasn’t even ranked on the top 10 list of returning wrestlers for the 2024-25 campaign by an award-winning sports broadcaster, making it a controversial decision for him.

Keeping out A.J. Ferrari

So who’s the prominent person that didn’t include a name like A.J. Ferrari in their list? It was Shane Sparks, who’s one of the biggest voices of the sport. On Instagram, b1gwrestling shared his list, which consisted of many prominent names, especially six wrestlers from Penn State, two from Iowa, one from Ohio State, and the last one from Nebraska. 

This also caught many in the community off guard, as despite Ferrari’s numerous accolades, the sports broadcaster’s decision to not include him as one of the top returnees was quite surprising. While all the wrestlers who are mentioned in the list have made their impact, the Cal State Bakersfield wrestler has also made his impact upon arriving on the mat after so many seasons.

For the first time in the current NCAA campaign, Ferrari faced Stanford’s Nick Stemmet. And how did he perform? While the 23-year-old was out of contention, he didn’t lose his touch from wrestling. From the get-go, Ferrari dominated the Stanford wrestler, achieving a 5-0 victory alongside getting ranked No. 1 from InterMat. But how did the celebrations go?

Apart from his actions on the mat, with getting criticized for a long time, the wrestler vented out all his frustrations on his social media post, stating, “All that Talk and Hype for AJ Ferrari to SKUNK ‘the GOAT’ clown Nick Stemmet. The final score? 5 to Nada (5 to 0)—a completely dominant shutout.”

Undoubtedly, these comments from Ferrari were due to the surge of adrenaline he received right after the bout, but did the critics stop just there? The answer is no. Criticism never stopped coming right at the wrestler, but it didn’t affect him much as he knew how to shut it down, which was by delivering his top-notch abilities on the mat.

NCAA champion on a hunt

When A.J. Ferrari skipped the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, he was criticized once again by the haters. However, he kept calm until he faced Michigan State’s Remy Cotton on the mat. And how did their bout go? Ferrari absolutely destroyed him by 14-4. But the hurtful remarks from the community didn’t stop coming.

Currently, the wrestler lacks the interest to participate in these online bouts, preferring to concentrate on his own career. Ferrari is aware of the potential he has in him, and even though he was away for a few seasons, that knack for winning with a dominant style hasn’t faded away.

In addition to his wrestling career, Ferrari is consistently achieving impressive results in his gym sessions. Recently, right before his second bout of the season, he broke his deadlift PR and secured a new record of 605 lbs. Indeed, it was an indirect statement that he’s not out of form but just taking his time to mark his reign of dominance again.