Wrestling has been a fixture of the Olympics since 708 B.C. and is considered by many to be the oldest competitive sport. So when the International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to cut freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from the 2020 games, it came as something of a shock. "I think this is a really stupid decision," the Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the New York Times. "It has been in the modern Olympics since 1896. This is a popular sport."
Fans worldwide can still enjoy freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. But while there's a slim chance the IOC could reverse its decision by adding a 26th sport to the 2020 Games, the days of spandex singlets appear to be numbered -- at least on the Olympic stage. To give the sport a proper send-off, we look back on some of wrestling's gnarliest, most brutal moments.
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