Kenny Monday - Wrestling’s Quiet Assassin :: Ep 18 The Full Tilt Podcast

Olympic gold medalist and three-time Olympian Kenny Monday sits down to go full tilt on a lifetime in wrestling. From getting beat up as the smallest kid in the Tulsa YMCA room to conquering the brutal Tbilisi tournament and winning Olympic gold, Kenny breaks down the mindset, rivalries, and turning points that shaped his career.He shares inside stories on his legendary battles with Nate Carr and Dave Schultz, what it took to finally crack the “Russian code,” and how he’s now rebuilding Division I wrestling at Morgan State, an HBCU with deep history in the sport. We also get personal: raising wrestling sons, coaching in today’s NIL era, and why this is the best time ever to be a wrestler.If you enjoy this episode, hit subscribe, drop a comment with your favorite story, and tell us which wrestling legend you want to hear from next!www.thefulltiltpodcast.comTimed highlights: 0:00 Custom Community ad and Full Tilt intro0:49 Why Kenny Monday was a “must have” guest2:20 Growing up in North Tulsa and discovering wrestling at the YMCA5:19 Getting beat up daily as the smallest kid – and the power of “don’t quit”9:11 His mother’s belief and building a lifelong belief system10:25 Oklahoma as a wrestling hotbed and the Park System dual meets13:16 Junior Olympics/Tulsa Nationals and early rivalries22:10 Winning Junior Nationals as a freshman and high school dominance26:20 The only blemish in high school and rivalry with Mike Sheets28:47 Choosing Oklahoma State over Oklahoma and early college struggles39:12 The worst beating he ever took in a practice room44:40 The Kenny Monday vs Nate Carr rivalry – 11 matches and mutual respect55:45 Learning freestyle and getting humbled in Russia58:52 Surviving and then winning the brutal Tbilisi tournament1:20:35 Beating world and Olympic champions: Variev, Fadzaev, and others1:35:12 The politics, weigh‑in controversy, and World Team trials gauntlet1:43:57 Hyperextending his elbow days before the 1992 Olympics1:49:41 Which year was “peak” Kenny Monday?1:56:25 Training with John Smith and the evolution of the low single2:06:55 Rebuilding Morgan State wrestling and joining the EIWA2:15:06 Coaching his sons and the pressure of being “Monday’s kids”2:25:18 The Copenhagen nightclub dance contest story#Wrestling #KennyMonday #FullTiltPodcast #Olympics #MorganState #NCAAWrestling #NateCarr #DaveSchultz #WrestlingHistory