Pat Downey had plenty to say after his loss to Penn State wrestling star Carter Starocci at this last weekend’s Olympic Wrestling Trials in Happy Valley.
A lot of it had nothing to do with Starocci or the match.
Downey caused a stir on X (formerly Twitter) with comments he made about women’s wrestling. This led to a virtual sparring session with college women’s wrestler Natalie Vecchio.
but if no one sees it did it even happen 💀🏴☠️🪦
— 🅿️D3️⃣ (@PatDowney) April 19, 2024
Are you trying to get kicked out of another RTC or something?
I think these women would rather chill with their multiple world medals than go within 6ft of you, let alone “@ me bitches”
— Natalie Vecchio (@natalievecchio1) April 19, 2024
Downey had some headline-worthy comments on Starocci, too, after not being able to hold on to a 4-1 lead and losing 12-4
For Downey, who pointed out that this was the first time he made “scratch” weight for an event in more than two years, he would have not only beat Starocci, but tech-falled him, had he been “fresh.”
“I mean, no doubt about it,” he told reporters after the bout. “But, I mean, I’m limited with what I have. So I’m trying to conserve and use energy sparingly.”
Starocci responded the next day.
“Yeah, I mean, if I was 6 foot 4 and I was 280 pounds and I went to bed early and I didn’t talk to any girls, I’d be in the NFL,” Starocci said, drawing laughs from the gathered reporters, “you know what I mean? So, there’s all types of ‘what ifs’ and all this other stuff, so at the end of the day, you have to show up and show out, and he didn’t do that.”
Starocci, who fell to Trent Hidlay in the quarterfinal and then forfeited out of the trials, feels this type of hype he and Downey generated before the bout is good for wrestling.
“I like it, though, you know what I mean?” he said. “Because it’s all part of the entertainment, I think, as a sport. In wrestling, they do a terrible job with growing the sport and all that extra stuff, so I think there’s ways to go about it. I think he’s a little over the top with it, but I mean, again, I think it’s better than nothing.”
More than 72 hours after that match, Downey had more to say with an, uh, interesting Instagram post.
“#MCM all up in that @carterstarocci bussy jit thicc asl #NODiDDY 🤫🗣️🗣️🗣️ #OILCheck can’t wait to run it back out w out #TheFix & proper camp to get me back into world class wrestling shape,” Downey wrote, with the post being accompanied by photos from the bout and set to the song “My Girl Trans” by ILOVEMAKONNEN
For those wondering, a “bussy” is a term used to describe “a mash up of the words boy and pussy used to refer to a man’s anus,” per Yahoo Sports.
He then said he’d post a breakdown of the match “for those who missed it live on @peacock.
During his post match interview, Downey did compliment both Starocci and Penn State wrestling.
For Downey, Starocci, who suffered a serious knee injury less than a month before winning his fourth national title, was “a lot weaker than I thought he’d be” but made up for it with a high pace.
“That’s with the cardio,” Downey said, “that’s what you feel out there when you’re moving, kind of react to this guy constantly.
“Credit where it’s due. You know, he had a good pace.”
Downey also complimented Penn State. He the program and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club are “arguably the best in the world.”
“They could put a team together as a world team or an Olympic team,” he said. “They could compete with Team USA and Russia.”
But Downey seems to embrace the role of being a villain, and certainly has been living up to that reputation over the past several days.
