The Rumble on the Rails in New York

With the possibility of wrestling, losing its spot in the Olympics, wrestling teams from Iran, Russia, and United States come together in New York. These three teams will convene on Wednesday for a momentous exhibition in The Big Apple. This exhibition is an event dubbed by the international governing body of wrestling as “World Wrestling Month”.

Just February this year, the International Olympics Committee suggested removing wrestling from the Olympic program in 2020. The exhibition is part of their objective to highlight the international appeal and popularity of wrestling. The pre-meet conference of the event will be at the United Nations. NBC Sports Network and universal Sports will provide a live telecast of the event.

In the statement of the FILA’s acting president Nenad Lalovic, she said, “"In this crisis, we all stick together. Wrestlers maybe can do, sometimes, what politicians cannot. We love our sport, and we are united to save it." FILA is the international governing body of wrestling. Iran, Russia, and US share the same passion for the sport. And the issue of the International Olympics Committee with wrestling rekindled their commitment to the sport.

According to Yahoo! News, it is the Americans that won more Olympic medals than other countries. Meanwhile, Russia is considered as the world’s premier wrestling nation. In the most recent London Olympics, the country received 11 medals. Four of these medals are gold. No other country has claimed medals which are more than six.

The entire nation was enraged. Even Russian president said out in March, "The removal from the Olympic program of traditional forms of sports, which were its basis from the beginning and were in the program of the Olympic Games even in the time of ancient Greece ... is unjustified."

Wrestling also holds a special place in the Iranian culture. Wrestling is even often considered as Iran’s national sport. In the previous London Olympics, Iran bagged three gold medals. Moreover, it was in Tehran, Iran where the international wrestling community first came together, following the decision of the International Olympics Committee. Iran, Russia, US, and the rest of the world’s top 10 wrestling nations conferred on how to act in response to the decision.

More than the pride, wrestling officials hope that the International Olympics Committee would see how the sport united three powerful but often conflicting countries. Eventually, this makes wrestling worthy of one spot in the Olympics. USA Wrestling Executive Director said, "It is an exciting opportunity for wrestling to show the world its ability to bring together nations of different political, cultural and geographic backgrounds." The Rumble on the Rails, as they call the New York exhibition, will be held at Grand Central Terminal.