Wyatt Hendrickson is on top of the world after his big NCAA championship win over Gable Steveson. (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
Wyatt Hendrickson is still riding high off his incredible NCAA championship win over Gable Steveson.
Down on points going into the last minute of the NCAA Division I heavyweight finals, Hendrickson pulled off arguably the greatest upset in collegiate wrestling history with his come-from-behind win over Olympic champion Steveson, who hadn’t given up a takedown all NCAA season until Hendrickson’s fateful finish. The moment instantly launched Hendrickson to the forefront of the wrestling landscape, and while he was unable to hear the broadcast of the match in the moment, Hendrickson has already rewatched and re-listened to the call countless times from wrestling legends Daniel Cormier and Jordan Burroughs, who lost their minds in the commentary booth alongside everyone else in attendance.
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“That was the best thing ever,” Hendrickson said on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “There was no better commentary than that right there. I’ve been telling people what he said, that whole moment and that video, I will never forget that. [Cormier] is just losing his mind. It is amazing. I rewatch it — every single time, I’m not kidding, I still get goosebumps. I’ve seen that probably hundreds and hundreds of times, but it just brings that emotion and feeling of what it was like in the moment of that match.
“I’m definitely going to have that feeling with me for the rest of my life, and of course, hearing [Cormier’s] voice just screaming.”
Any time an elite wrestler of Hendrickson’s caliber emerges, doors open aplenty in the combat sports world — and rightfully so. Hendrickson, however, still hopes to accomplish big things in wrestling before he takes his talents elsewhere, while also maintaining his commitment to the U.S. Air Force.
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The 24-year-old’s next target is the 2028 Olympics. After that, he’ll reassess and consider ventures like MMA or professional wrestling, which he’ll begin gradually exploring throughout the coming years.
“I think there’s a lot of exciting stuff that could possibly happen,” Hendrickson said. “As a member of the United States Air Force, I will actually be able to go back — I plan on serving for at least five more years after my wrestling career. This country has done so much for me, I think it’s only right for me to give back to you guys. So right now all my classmates in the Air Force academy are kind of picking up the slack because I’m obviously wrestling right now, and I’m trying to spread the word of the great sport of wrestling, and obviously, the Air Force and the good opportunities they offer. But for the immediate future, I’ll be going to work in a job that’s not wrestling for five years.
“After that, I might [test the waters elsewhere]. The cross-training is probably going to start now, and I think the sky is the limit when it comes to deciding what I want to do after my Air Force career.”
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Hendrickson noted that he’s “messed around” a bit regarding some boxing and jiu-jitsu training in the past, but his primary focus has obviously been on becoming the best wrestler he can be.
A detour toward professional wrestling has historically been a potentially lucrative path for athletes in Hendrickson’s shoes, with notable names like WWE’s Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar or Chad Gable as prime examples. Steveson himself even briefly wrestled in WWE before returning to the amateur mats.
Hendrickson’s coach at Oklahoma State University, Olympic champion and wrestling legend David Taylor, told Uncrowned that Hendrickson could flourish in WWE should he so choose. Yet despite Taylor’s sentiment, Hendrickson currently likes the idea of an MMA career over one in the squared circle.
“I love MMA, I love everything about it,” Hendrickson said. “One thing that is in my mind is I love punching people in the face, but obviously getting punched in the face sucks, getting hit in the head. I do have a little history with some concussions, and there might be some caution there, but I really think I need to get some gloves on and see how it feels. It’s no joke. Getting punched by somebody who knows how to punch in the head and knocked out isn’t super fun, so as long as I can do whatever I want to do safely, I’m obviously going to do what I can.”
