The Magic Man seems to have lost his magic! David Taylor perhaps had one of his worst Worlds this year. After calling out Abdulrashid Sadulaev in 2020, at the eleventh hour, Taylor’s performance simply dropped. When Taylor came out of retirement, he put on his singlet. The hopes were high. The match began, and Taylor went on for a single. But with a counter from Sadulaev, no points were scored. Then comes another snap and front headlock!

Sadulaev gains momentum at this point. He also gets a 2-0 lead. By the break, the match was pretty much against Taylor unless he had a trick up his sleeve. To everyone’s disappointment, he did not have one. Taylor tries again, only to be met with Sadulaev counters. Sadulaev went on to win 7-0. While Sadulaev is on his way to the finals, Taylor has begun his last chance to have a place on the podium. The battle for bronze has begun, and this time, the Magic Man is showing some magic.

Magic Man is back with some magic for the repechage

Earlier today, Taylor put on his singlet for a repechage match against Abubakr Abakarov of Azerbaijan. Taylor put on a show as he went on to beat Abakarov with a score of 3-1. Now, that’s a good start for David Taylor. Soon after, the next repechage battle was set to happen between Taylor and  German wrestler Lars Schaefle. As the clock ticked, the air grew thick with anticipation. However, if his run at the World Championships has told the world something, it is that it is only the eleventh hour that the Magic Man’s Magic fails! And the fights coming in the repechage are not going to be easy!

But what happened next was truly a moment for the ages. David Taylor did not just beat Lars; he wrote history. The match began in Taylor’s favor, and by the break, he was leading 5-1. The beast that came onto the mat after the break was truly magical. A few takedowns later, the match ended with an 11-1 score, with Taylor moving to the Bronze match! Now, that is going to be a spectacle. Any guesses on who the opponent is?

In the next match, David Taylor will go up against Iranian pride and two-time World Champion Kamran Ghasempour. The stakes are higher than ever as Taylor fights for the bronze. He, after all, has all of Oklahoma State watching him! But that’s not all; there’s another factor making this Bronze medal a whole lot more important. And no, it is not OSU!

David Taylor’s chance to do something his mentor couldn’t!

It is no news that David Taylor transformed into the Magic Man during his time at Penn State. But it was his coach that deserves some of the credit. Cael Sanderson trained Taylor for 15 years! With Sanderson and Taylor, Nittany Lions saw the rise of perhaps one of the biggest names in wrestling history. And when Taylor stepped out of retirement to wrestle yet again, he was, in fact, doing something that had been done before by his mentor. It was almost as if he was living out the Sanderson dream.

Cael Sanderson also has a history of coming out of retirement. In 2011, Sanderson, after winning the Big Ten Championships as a coach at PSU, did something monumental. Sanderson struck a deal with his prodigies that if they won the NCAAs, Sanderson would donne his singlet again. NCAAs were won, and Sanderson was back. He went on to participate in the World Championships. Unfortunately, he did not medal. In fact, he finished fifth! As David Taylor takes on the repechage matches. He stands a chance to do something even the great Sanderson couldn’t!

Step out of retirement and win! If David Taylor manages to even win a Bronze, he would have something that even his legendary coach couldn’t. Additionally, Taylor once said, “I think it’s a great thing any time that we can put the brand of the program out in the wrestling world.” Well, that dream is going downhill rather quickly if the Magic Man doesn’t come out with some new tricks! The pressure is on; it is time to make the last championship of a great legacy count!