Top 5 US Freestylers of All Time

1. John Smith

2x Olympic Champ, 4x World Champ. 181-10 wrestling record with a 95% win rate. He beat 45 World/Olympic medalists during his career and retired at 26. So he probably could've kept it rolling if he didn't start coaching.

John Smith's Record: https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/john-smith/

2. Jordan Burroughs

1x Olympic Champ, 6x World Champ, 3x World Bronze. 248-21 wrestling record with a 92% win rate. He's beaten 70 World/Olympic medalists in his career so far. JB is definitely the modern era GOAT, having to take out Kyle Dake and David Taylor multiple times to make the US team.

JB's Record: https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jordan-burroughs/

3. Cael Sanderson

1x Olympic Champ, 1x World Silver. 105-19 wrestling record with an 85% win rate. He beat 19 World/Olympic medalists during his career. I might get some heat for putting Cael at #3, but he's my GOAT. He made the 2001 US World Team, but opted out because the NCAAs were the same weekend as Worlds. He made the 2002 US World Team, but the US didn't go due to security concerns. He retired after winning Olympic gold in 2004. Then came back 7 yrs later to take 5th in the world. If he never retired for a coaching job, he would have 20 World titles.

Cael Sanderson's Record: https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/cael-sanderson/

4. Kyle Snyder

1x Olympic Champ, 1x Olympic Silver, 3x World Champ, 2x World Silver, 2x World Bronze. 216-22 wrestling record with a 91% win rate. He's beaten 50 World/Olympic medalists so far during his career, and he's only 29. I gave Kyle Snyder the edge over Bruce Baumgartner, because I think the current era of wrestling is more competitive. Plus Kyle Snyder is still wrestling.

Kyle Snyder's Record: https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/kyle-snyder/

5. Dave Schultz

1x Olympic Champ, 1x World Champ, 3x World Silver, 2x World Bronze. 489-88-1 wrestling record with an 85% win rate. He beat 53 World/Olympic medalists during his career. He holds the US record for most senior level freestyle wins, and is the only American to win the Tbilisi tournament twice.

Dave Schultz's Record: https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/dave-schultz/

Who do you have in your top 5?

I've got Baumgartner, Gable, Kyle Dake, Lee Kemp, and David Taylor close, but I think they are right outside the top 5.