G’Angelo Hancock retired from wrestling and nobody is talking about it. There was a press release stating that he would be replaced at 97 kilograms by Wisconsin sophomore Braxton Amos for this year’s Greco World Championships, but that’s about it.

This is of particular interest since Hancock is the current face of USA Greco. His bronze at the 2021 Worlds was the only medal for the United States after making an appearance at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Hancock, 25, was only getting better. Now he’s gone. And no one seems to care.

If you dig deep you’ll learn that Hancock transitioned to professional wrestling and is currently at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Bye-bye, G’Angelo. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Greco.

When was the last time a high-level athlete retired weeks before the biggest competition of the year? Imagine a football player reaching the Super Bowl and packing it in a few days after winning the NFC Championship. Or, a tennis player reaching the Wimbledon finals and deciding to call it a career.

It just doesn’t happen. If it did, the media would analyze it for weeks.

Wrestling retirements are tricky because they often don’t stick. It’s the same with boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. Maybe we collectively roll our eyes because we know they could be back.

Remember when Rulon Gardner placed his shoes on the mat after winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics only to attempt a comeback at the 2012 Olympic Trials? How about when 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo retired from Mixed Martial Arts in 2020 and is expected to fight again after entering the USADA testing pool? Or when Cael Sanderson won the 2004 Olympics and returned to make the 2011 World team?

Wrestling retirements are funny because most never leave. Tom Brands won the 1996 Olympics, rented a car in Atlanta, drove home, and mowed his lawn. He moved into his role as an assistant at Iowa under Dan Gable and never looked back.

Tom’s brother, Terry, hinted at a return after winning a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics since the 2001 Worlds were scheduled for New York City (they were moved to Bulgaria after 9/11) but stopped competing without any fanfare. John Smith won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics and continued his career as Oklahoma State’s head coach.

It might be different for today’s wrestlers since retirement can increase social media clout and public standing. We are in a golden age of American wrestling with Jordan Burroughs, Adeline Gray, Kyle Dake, David Taylor, and Helen Maroulis leading the way. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where they will not post something on social media when they leave competitive wrestling.

Burroughs has already indicated that 2024 will be his last competitive year so we have been primed for what’s to come. Good thing for us, our best wrestlers have made a career out of the sport and they are sticking around into their 30s.

The Hancock situation is a little odd, though. Granted, Greco-Roman, which has made leadership changes the past few months at the National Team level with the departure of Matt Lindland, isn’t nearly as popular as its freestyle counterpart — and Hancock doesn’t have a college career that we can latch on to. It just seems strange that we let this moment pass without asking questions.

Why would our best Greco wrestler of the last five years walk away? What was his motivation? Does Hancock still feel good about the sport? Will he stay involved with wrestling? What happens if WWE doesn’t sign him to a contract? Could we have done anything differently?

Perhaps retirements are a thing of the past and we should focus on the next phase of someone’s career. Hancock is a charismatic and talented athlete in an underground sport that doesn’t get much domestic love.

This may have been the best possible move for Hancock. We just need to understand why.