2016 Agony In AmesOct 24, 2016 by Ryan Holmes
Top 5 Can't-Miss Matches At Agony In Ames
Top 5 Can't-Miss Matches At Agony In Ames
Agony In Ames will feature a thrilling set of matches on Saturday, October 29, at 6 PM CT.
Agony In Ames has a host of matches on tap that will surely delight fans the entire night. But as I look through the lineup for Saturday in Ames, Iowa, there are certainly matches that pique my interest a bit more than others.
With that, here are my can't-miss matches at Agony In Ames.
#2 Austin Gomez vs. #11 Alex Thomsen
Surely, the edge goes to Gomez in this one, but this will be a great test for Alex Thomsen. Thomsen has taken some losses at both Super 32 and in Fargo that have us scratching our heads a bit after we watched him in an epic battle with Nick Raimo in the Fargo finals two years ago. Thomsen has that high-level ability, but we haven't seen it quite some time.
Gomez, on the other hand, has really elevated his wrestling. He gave Daton Fix a pretty nice battle at Who's #1 and really showed he can battle with the best of 'em. Like I said, he's got the advantage, but I'm more intrigued to see if the Alex Thomsen who wowed us on the Fargo stage will return.
#2 Travis Ford-Melton vs. #10 Brody Teske
Don't let the rankings fool you on this one. Brody Teske is a goer. This battle of Fargo runner-ups will be fun to watch because of the energy and full throttle attacks that they bring to the mat. Ford-Melton showed off his skills against No. 1 Adam Busiello in Fargo before Colton Yapoujian slowed him down in the finals.
Teske is the man with the gas tank that doesn't quit. He was on the verge of taking a serious loss to Josh Saunders when he deployed a series of attacks that shocked everyone and gave him the win after being on the brink of defeat.
This is going to be one hell of a match with a ton of fireworks.
#5 Joey Melendez vs. #8 Joey Harrison
This match could be very similar to Teske/Ford-Melton. Harrison will be coming in with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after a letdown at Super 32.
Melendez wrestles with an attitude that makes him dangerous. Outside of that, there's not much to say about these guys. They will definitely put on a match that won't disappoint.
#7 Austin O'Connor vs. #2 Jarod Verkleeren
We've done plenty of breakdowns of both guys over the past few weeks. We've seen them both wrestle at Super 32, where Verkleeren ended up winning the title at 145 while O'Connor placed fifth at 152.
Verkleeren is like a stick of dynamite with a really long fuse. He has some explosive moves, i.e. his super duck, but you have to wait a while for the explosion to happen. He's got the ability to dictate the pace of a match and is extremely hard to score on.
O'Connor is a bit different. I've seen him go after guys, stay in their faces the entire time and be smothering, but he can also hang back and be conscious of when he will attack and how he will attack. I think that if he goes after Verkleeren and can finish his shots cleanly, he can make things very interesting.
J. Verk can scramble, so finishing clean is a must for O'Connor. But if Verkleeren can do what he does and dictate the pace of the bout, it will be another notch in the win column for team super duck.
#11 Kordell Norfleet vs. #15 Max Lyon
Norfleet replaces Jack Jessen, who was originally slated to take on Max Lyon. I'll be honest and say that I don't know much about him, so for me this is intriguing because I want to see him compete. Lyon is tough for sure. We saw him take out Jelani Embree this summer at Junior Duals. He proved that he can go with the best, and judging from Norfleet's resume, he's a handful.
Stay tuned to FloWrestling on Saturday, October 29, for LIVE streaming of Agony In Ames.