Daniel Cormier of the Oklahoma Slam is said to be a young Melvin Douglas.
Douglas was the dominant force in the U.S. in the upper weights for much of the 1990s. He was an eight-time U.S. Nationals champion (1988, 1993-1998, and 2000). He won a World title in 1993 and also competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. In 1994, he was honored as the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year.
The similarities between Douglas and Cormier are striking. Both have similar builds. Both have similar wrestling styles. And, according to Douglas, both have similar demeanors on the mat.
“The key is this, Cormier hates to lose,” Douglas told TheMat.com last summer. “Dave Schultz told me one time, ‘You’ve got those wrestlers who win, and those wrestlers who know how to win.’ He said I was one of those who knows how to win. Cormier gets out there and he’s going to win. If he gets behind, he’s going to come back hard. That’s what I see in him,” Douglas said.
So how does Cormier feel about the comparison?
“I love it,” said Cormier. “Melvin is a champion. He is a four-time World medalist, World Champion, and two-time Olympian. Whenever you get compared to a guy like that, it’s just a huge compliment. It’s one of the best compliments that I can receive. It’s an amazing honor just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Melvin.”
The 26-year-old Cormier reached the Real Pro Wrestling finals at 211-pounds by defeating Nick Preston of the Pennsylvania Hammer in the quarterfinals, before dispatching Chad Lamer of the Iowa Stalkers in the semifinals.
He will now face Tommy Rowlands of the New York Outrage in the RPW finals, which will air on PAX TV on May 15. Cormier, who recently defeated Rowlands in the finals of the U.S. Nationals, has a great deal of respect for the former two-time NCAA Champion from Ohio State.
“Tommy is a tall, long guy,” said Cormier. “He uses his leverage well. He’s a champion. He’s a real good competitor, a guy who has been successful his whole career, and he’s going to continue to be successful at this level. His will-to-win is what makes him such a good wrestler.”
Cormier, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, was two-time junior college national champion at Colby Community College before transferring to Oklahoma State in 1999.
“Once Oklahoma State showed interest in me, it was pretty much a no-brainer,” said Cormier. “I knew that I wanted to compete after college, and in order for me to do that, I knew that I had to go to Oklahoma State. So I didn’t really even consider any other schools.”
Cormier compiled a career record of 53-10 while at Oklahoma State. As a senior, he finished as a runner-up at the NCAA Tournament to four-time undefeated national champion Cael Sanderson of Iowa State. He lost to Sanderson six times throughout his college career.
“Whenever I wrestled against Cael in college, I used to think to myself, this guy is going to be one of the best of all-time,” said Cormier. “So I knew that if could go out there and compete with him, there is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to compete with everyone else on the international level. Looking back, not winning that NCAA title was disappointing. But in the grand scheme of things it probably made me a better wrestler.”
Cormier has been the top freestyle wrestler in the U.S. at 96 kg (211 pounds) for the past two years. He has won numerous international events including the Sunkist Kids Open, Dave Schultz Memorial, Pan American Games, and the Boutiatyr Grand Prix in Russia. Cormier, though, has yet to medal in the World Championships or Olympic Games. He was fifth at the 2003 World Championships and fourth at the 2004 Olympic Games.
His short term goal is to win the 2005 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Long term, he hopes to strike gold in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Cormier feels that he is in the perfect environment to accomplish his goals. His training partner for the past two years has been 23-year-old rising star, Mo Lawal, the former Oklahoma State All-American and RPW finalist (also for the Oklahoma Slam) who recently claimed his first U.S. Nationals title at 84 kg. He is being coached by his former college coach, John Smith, a two-time Olympic and four-time World gold medalist.
“You learn so much just from being around him,” said Cormier of Smith. “The way he acts. The way he carries himself. And in terms of wrestling, you can’t help but learn from him. He’s the greatest wrestler that we have ever put out on the mat. He’s a great coach who gives us confidence in our abilities. He takes care of us. He also taught me to become a man.”
Cormier is currently working as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State, but has no aspirations of becoming a college head coach in the future. After his competitive career is over, he would like to move back to his home state of Louisiana and possibly start a youth wrestling club.
But for now he is enjoying competing in RPW.
“It’s a privilege competing in Real Pro Wrestling,” said Cormier. “I love it. It’s an opportunity for us to make some money doing what we love. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I had a great time doing it. Hopefully it does well so that we can continue doing it in the future.”
Story By Staff Writer, RPW Home Office
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