Rare Wrestling Shoes Resource Center

G-Response wrestling shoes were made as a response to the discontinuation of the Adidas Grapplers.  All 3 pair that I own have tongues that are dated with the year of 1999, making these shoes over 2 decades old.  G-Responses have a classic Adidas look, with the large 3 stripes.  This was a popular style for the…

Adidas Grappler wrestling shoes, commonly referred to as “Grapps”, were made in the late 1990s.  These shoes were discontinued after being produced.  Rumors today are that the heal was too low on the shoe. 2 of the 4 Grappler Colorways: Grapplers came in four colorways.  They were: White & Black Red, White and Black Gold,…

Pursuits, commonly referred to as P1s, are the first of 2 versions of the Pursuit wrestling shoe line.  This shoe was released around the turn of the century and is one of the most popular shoes of its time.  P1s were worn by Athletes such as 2000 Olympic Champ Brandon Slay and Olympic Silver Sammie…

Pictured above from top to bottom are 1995 Takedown Supremes, Takedown Supreme 2s, and Takedown 5s.  The most recent version of the Nike Takedown line is Takedown 5s, but the line started back in 1995 with the original Nike Takedown Supremes.  The newest takedowns, Takedown 5s, were worn by Olympic Champion David Taylor in his…

Pic credit to: https://www.instagram.com/drewrestler_shoes/ Custom wrestling shoes are exactly what they sound like, they’re shoes that are customized by the owners or professionals who specialize in this art to be unique to the person ordering them.  This could be swapping out an old sole on a shoe with a new sole from another shoe after…

Nike Footsweeps were designed to compete with the Adidas Combat Speeds in the mid 1990s.  They feature a split sole that was only used on a handful of Nike shoes ever released. These shoes are designed with a lightweight mesh and synthetic upper.  They also feature a non-slip sockliner for enhanced stability. Below are what the two…

Elite Internationals were made by Adidas in the late 1990s.  I haved owned 5 pair of these, all dated to 1995 on their tongues.  Below are images of the two colorways with links to pairs I own/have owned.  There are two versions of the purple, white and yellow colorway, which are both pictured below. About…

Adidas Combat Speeds are one of the most iconic shoe lines of all time.  Pictured above are 8 of many model/colorways of Combat Speeds.  The leftmost red and black pair are originals.  The black and white pair and all blue pair are colorways of the most recent release, Combat Speed 5s. Combat Speeds have been…

Big wrestling shoes can be extremely difficult to find.  About a year ago, I had an Athletic Director at a school in Minnesota reach out to me asking if I knew where they could find a pair of size 17 wrestling shoes for an athlete.  This took “Rare” wrestling shoes to a whole new level,…

A question I commonly answer on social media and through my website is “What are the best wrestling shoes?“ This question comes sometimes from those new to the sport and sometimes it comes from high-level wrestlers looking for the rarest pair of shoes out there. For this reason, I divided this post into 2 sections.  You…

Nike inflicts are one of the most sought after lines of wreslting shoes on the market in 2020 and likely will be for years to come.  Inflicts can be set apart by “the inflict wave”, or the pattern on the bottom of the shoe.  Nike inflicts all feature the same soles as well that very…

Rulon Wrestling Shoes – A Complete Guide Rulon wrestling shoes were released in the early 2000s and named after the 2000 Olympic champ Rulon Gardner.  Rulon Gardner was known for dethroning Aleksandr Karelin of Russia in the Greco-Roman Olympic Finals in 2000.  Karelin was unbeaten for 13 years in international wrestling and had won 3 Olympic titles,…

Former wrestling prodigy Cary Kolat was one of few wrestlers to ever receive a shoe deal from Nike.  Kolat was a 2000 U.S. Olympian, as well as a world finalist and 2x NCAA champ. In college, he attended Penn State University where he earned All-American honors twice.  He then transferred to Lock Haven and won…