1996 Olympic Trials - Kendall Cross vs. Terry Brands

[nocabla]

Remember...it was an olympic qualifier...they wrestled THREE times. Clearly the best wrestler prevailed...Kendall Cross! AND he went onn ot win the Olympic GOLD!

[nocabla]

Remember...it was a an olympic qualifier...they wrestled THREE times. Clearly the best wrestler prevailed...Kendall Cross!

[TeBeezY]

I GOT TO WRESTLE WITH HIM AT A CAMP IN HOMER ALASKA!!! :) HE SIGHNED MY SHOE!

[gladfan1989]

These trials were held in Spokane, WA

[tdougherty27]

"The Brands aren't the happiest losers. They're not good losers. That's why they're good." Straight from Dan Gable lol.

[Richland112]

i met him he teaches at my wrestling club

[s0l3surviv0r]

@Richland112 Dynamite all day dude.

[skyskater13]

me too beastly

[beastlyjman79]

I'm a texas usa wrestler and i saw Cross yesterday at state.

[MMAfighter1555]

Brands should have won that. he just made a big mistake in the beginning and just couldnt wrestle back. great match.

[JTJUE101]

@MMAfighter1555

but he didn't win... that one mistake is what separated cross from him

good match still

[MMAfighter1555]

@JTJUE101 yeh, this was the real olympic gold medal match.

[eezerik]

cross got saved a few times. brands scored on the edge of the mat.

[slurwin119]

lol dude obviously Kendall won

Brands lost thats why he crawled off the mat

[uptold]

haha, unorthodox wrestlers represent!

[rmolitor]

I've seen that, but unfortunately I don't have that part of the video.  Not sure where to find that... good stuff though.

[timj5304]

Hey Ryan, why did you not have to part where Gable had to DRAG Terry back onto the mat to shake Kendall Cross's hand?

[wiffostink]

0:58, Cross hooking the leg on the way down, such funk...

[arad412]

did brands lose sorry i know folkstyle not freestyle someone help tell me how brands lost

[jpoontier]

i wonder what the brands brothers record is against cross? And john smith vs. brands twins?

[jpoontier]

@jpoontier counting college and freestyle

[onheylo]

Brands was pinned. Bet he thinks about this daily.

[FridgeBoots]

I wrestled Kendall once and his stance is crazy (really unorthodox.)

[JesusManson323]

0:58 What an awkward throw! And yet it took Brands straight to his back like a high schooler!

[SHEEPSTER1000]

I wonder if Terry Brands can stomach watching this match even so many years later?

[LILjonMAC]

Cross is sitting out on my deck right now, and thejetman7 is correct, he is a great man with a great story

[breww82]

Man...what a match! Great wrestling!

[thejetman7]

i got to meet cross and i got his atograph he was a great man and a fantastic wrestler!

[FridgeBoots]

Agreed he's very down to earth and he's actually willing to get to know people rather than just blow them off as just another fan.

[Demaj11]

man, kendall is just such a great defensive wrestler. he turns his defense into his offense a lot of times, thats so awesome. both of these guys rule, go cross!

[drhawkatk]

didn't cross lose to Metcalf at the trials last year?

[ekkeman]

Totally different era of competitor.

I mean Cross was in the Olympics when Metcalf was a child. Literally a child.

If Metcalf ever was a child. More like a manchild.

[APEXSPIDER]

kendall is using a lot of jiu jitsu top game stuff. like mounting and on top overhook control. this is a great match

[caidosan]

my coach is teaching me some of his stuff.

kendall taught my coach.

[storm82nd]

Kendall Cross 2 time olympic Gold medalist, Is my head coach at Midwest City High School in Oklahoma. He's an AWESOME coach!!!

[cgriffi2]

Obviously he's not, or you dont really know your coach too well. He's a one time Olympic champ. He got 6th in '92

[weekshark777]

What is he doing coaching at a high school??? He should be coaching at the college level AT THE LEAST

[purgerecords]

Strange as it sounds, Kendall Cross and Kenny Monday appear to be asst. high school coaches at a prep school. The school is called Bishop Lynch, located in Dallas.

[ekkeman]

Probly explains why it is one the the best High School programs in the country.

[billthebutcher2]

This is simply fantastic. These guys are both great. Different styles for sure, but they are both at the top of their games. I wish with all my heart Terry Brands could've won it in 2000.

[Apollo77777rune]

my civic's teahcer lived with kendall and is best friends with him, his name is woodburn (woody)

[brands1]

lol even though brands didnt win here, him and his brother are living proof that you dont need a ground game to be world and olympic champions

[Hamertime669]

he crawled off the mat because he gave all he got

[DontCallItFunk]

BEAUTIFUL! :58 SECONDS = FUNK!

[cagefighter76]

kendall kicks but

[1234ajg]

it really pisses me off a little that cross won, brands is better, brands was clearly the more aggressive wrestler, and fans like that

[hiptossu76]

@1234ajg he should have wrestled better. Plus brands has the sportsmanship of a rabid dog.

[anabolicgardo]

that couldve been the olympic gold medal match

[shootnmove]

probably should have been

[lou4brew]

Why did Terry crawl off the mat? Was he hurt or was he being a poor sport?

[customfitch]

Feeling pure shame.

[spectremis]

apparently you've never wrestled before. maybe he was TIRED.

[sanitary103]

bradywrestler, you're missing the point...cross put him to his back..sure he lost the takedown game but cross executed the moves

[BRADYWRESTLER]

Brands is a much better wrestler than cross,cross won only because of those two back point moves brands was taking cross down crazy

[takky9298]

That's the game of Freestyle.You gotta get those exposure points. Kurt Angle couldn't have won the Gold if he hadn't learned how to get them. He said so in his book.

[spectremis]

yeah you're right, if it wasn't for the fact that cross scored more points than brands, brands would've won.... retard. you are what the score says you are.

[brands1]

I think they scored the throw 5-2, but still how was it 5? 3 for the throw, 1 for holding for 5 seconds, but what about the extra point? maybe for getting behind even though it was out of bounds and he had no clear control

[takky9298]

If you watch it you see that after the throw, Terry manages to squirm to his knee before Cross twists him back down. The ref might have seen it as Terry escaping back point criteria and thus counted that as a second exposure. Freestyle scoring can be pretty subjective and lots of matches ride on the ref's decision.

[skatrpunk182]

that was an amazing match.

usa had the sickest bridge!

[superkdogg2]

The throw should have been 3 -2, brands actually starts the move, underhook to a single. I don't know how that is 5-0.

[hiptossu76]

@superkdogg2 starting a move doesn't give you the points. Cross countered and turned which made the move his.

[AryanAmerican]

I went to a camp this past week and Kendall Cross was a clinician there, he is a very good teacher. I think he was probably the best coach there; Steve Martin was good too, but Martin isn't a very nice guy.

[Notbadphonedaddy]

You're telling me dude. I went to a camp with Martin myself, and all he ever does is yell and scream the whole time. When I went to a camp in Mexico, Missouri for the "great Bridge Granby" camp I'd hang around Carl Perry, Daniel Frishkorn and Justin Staylor all day. When Steve Martin showed up, I left, lol.

[cpbassin]

to all the people who say that terry is all aggression no technique are saying that the most aggressive person on earth would be among the best in the world. You freakin idiots, terry wrestles hard and uses great technique to execute the takedowns. It's hard enough to penetrate on the best wrestler in the world..a whole other ball game taking them down. Brands > Cross.

[spectremis]

i agree with everything except the part about brands being better. cross won and is a gold medalist. terry didn't win and is a bronze medalist. he has a different "don't stop style". you have your style and then you build technique around it or vice versa. you don't go as far as terry has gone by just being aggressive.

PS anyone know the exact score of this match?

[GonnaPass8thGrade]

terry was an animal at attacking, cross didn't defend to well against them like he normally does....but has some nice funk

[Eblount07]

I have met Brands at a camp in Cleveland and let me tell you, hes not a "dumb beef cake." The man dedicated his whole life to wrestling and wanted to be the best in the world, that is why he responded the way he did. Brands also has amazing technique, wrestler1985 obviously has never seen the man wrestle.

[Pwner112]

i've met both of these guys at two diferent camps, compared to cross brands is a "dumb beef cake"

[addicc]

Im glad gumby won. Brands is such a cry baby, and also a dumb beef cake

[addicc]

you also have to admit that Cross hit the home run throw at the beginning. Man what a gutsy throw.

[brands1]

This was an amazing match, cross's throw is so funky, each time i see it i have to watch it at least 3 times to realize how he did it, but you cannot knock brands, those who says he has no brains or technique, think again, at the world level brands consistantly takes down his opponents with relentless leg attacks, that takes alotta technique 1 for getting through the hands, an 2 finishing the leg attack plus i tihnk brands technique shows through his hand fighting

[superdave198]

The real gold medal match was Cross and Sissaouri. Sissaouri was ripped off against Brands in 1995 when Brands did not even get one technical point.

[THEECF]

Anyone who thinks Brands one this just doesn't know the rules of freestyle; simple as that. He threw him and turned him off a head lock +1 back points. It is pretty simple fellas.

[wrestler1985]

terry has no brains, no tehcnique just aggression where Kendall has all three off those things, and those of you who dont believe Kendall should of won obviosly dont have any understanding of olympic wrestling

[skretvedt]

This is an awful heartbreaker. Brands dictates the entire match. Anyone unfamiliar with how wrestling is scored would be outraged. Kendall does a great job using Brands' aggressiveness against him though.

[Notbadphonedaddy]

Tom Brands, the brother of the wrestler(Terry) also won the 1996 Olympic Gold. Terry went on to win the 2000 Bronze medal.

[rawbob11]

Kendall was an amazing wrestler though,, goes on to win the Olympics that year defeating Gia Sassouri of Canada in the final....Brand dominates for years afterwards

[thesniper12379]

That is a heartbreaker for the guy in blue.

[Pierre173]

WTF usa should of won

[just2wrestle]

USA did win, this was the US Olympic Trials. Both were Americans.

[Pierre173]

I meant the guy with the american flag singlet. In my opinion he should of won. But the other one did good tho

[spectremis]

thankfully it isn't about your opinion..its about the score.