In honor of tonight’s NCAA Wrestling Finals, we (via Flowrestling, who deserve praise for digging up this footage from the 2000 NCAA tournament highlight tape) bring you a jaw dropping moment from UFC, WWE and NCAA heavyweight champion’s time competing for the University of Minnesota.
In the 275 pound semifinals of the 2000 NCAA Championships, Lesnar faced another physically impressive big man in the University of Pennsylvania’s Bandele Adeniyi-Bada. Though much of Lesnar’s fame stems from his strength and imposing physique, this clip shows that his almost delicate agility makes him truly unique. See below.
Adeniyi-Bada shoots a head-inside single to his right, and the offensive attempt initiates am improvised defensive scramble from Lesnar which culminates in what appears to be a cartwheel. As Lesnar’s tumble finishes it’s rotation, he plants the UPENN wrestler on his back with a half nelson. In the blink of an eye, Lesnar would earn a victory by fall, and a spot in his second NCAA finals, where he would become a national champion.
Fans would later refer to this cartheel-like maneuver as “the wheel of death”, and even to this day stands as one of the most memorable scrambles in modern wrestling.
If you turn to the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships Finals on ESPN tonight (March 21, 2015) at 8:00 pm, you may see something just as amazing.
About the author
