ving up only 76.5 yards rushing.This group is playing to win, Vanderbilt coach D

For any former amateur wrestler trying to make a name for themselves in WWE, it is hard to escape the huge shadow cast by Kurt Angle.An Olympic gold medallist in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Angle transitioned to the world of professional wrestling in 1998, becoming a six-time WWE champion and a household name of the Attitude Era. He paved the way and has been the measuring stick ever since -- no one from the amateur ranks has come close to matching his accomplishments in a WWE ring.Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, the upstart Smackdown Live tag team duo known as American Alpha, could be the first WWE superstars to buck that trend.Kurts a huge inspiration, Jordan admitted to ESPN on a conference call to promote WWEs upcoming European Tour, with Raw and Smackdown heading to Glasgow, Scotland, in November.American Alpha is one of WWEs hottest tag team acts, having enjoyed a meteoric rise from Performance Center obscurity to capturing the NXT Tag Team Championships at Takeover: Dallas over Wrestlemania 32 weekend in April. Given the crowd reactions they received and the quality of matches they put on in WWEs developmental promotion, it was only a matter of time before they earned a call-up up to the main roster. And sure enough, they were duly drafted to Smackdown Live in July.Their amateur backgrounds --?Gable wrestled for the United States at the London 2012 Games, while Jordan attended Indiana University where he became a three-time national qualifier for NCAA at the Division I level -- have seen them draw not just favourable comparison to Angle, but also likened to his former proteges, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. That pair burst onto the WWE scene in 2002 as part of Team Angle and would later call themselves the Worlds Greatest Tag Team, with a gimmick centered around their amateur proficiency.Angle himself is a huge fan of Jordan and Gable. Having departed TNA Impact Wrestling in January, he talked up the possibility earlier this year of a return to WWE as a mentor to American Alpha.Im 47 years old. And thats why those guys would be perfect as my team, like a Team Angle, because they could do the wrestling for me until the big one comes, he said?in March. Ive watched them wrestle and theyre really good. I could do the big matches; the SummerSlams and the WrestleManias. I think that would be a good mix. And it would also give them a great rub, a rub that they need.But Jordan insists he and Gable are intent on forging their own path.I grew up watching Kurt and so Ive studied him a lot and figured out what it is that made him so great, what made him so amazing to watch, Jordan told ESPN. So trying to make sure that I picked up some of those things, but at the same time being myself, because I never wanna try and mimic somebody else. I wanna be myself and be the first Jason Jordan. I dont wanna be the second Kurt Angle.And its the same concept where we always get a lot of comparisons to the Worlds Greatest Tag Team. We wanna be the first American Alpha. We dont wanna be the second Team Angle or Worlds Greatest Tag Team. Weve worked so hard to get to where we are, and we feel like were unique and different. Yes there are similarities but were still different. As much as we look to Kurt, and as much as Ive studied him and been a fan of Kurt Angles, hes been an influence, but its nice to have a little bit of a separation between us.Jordan and Gable are primed for success in Smackdowns tag team division, but it was only fewer than 18 months ago that both were floundering in NXT with no direction. For Jordan, a tag team with Tye Dillinger had failed to catch fire at Full Sail University. They were split up in February of 2015 and both had to go back to the drawing board at the Performance Center again.?It was nothing new for Jordan, who had been with WWE?since 2011 at their former developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He admitted it crossed his mind in the past that he might never make it.There was definitely the thought, said the 28-year-old. I was always confident in my ability, I was always confident in the talent that I had, and I felt WWE was a very good fit for me. After it didnt happen for a couple of years and I had a knee surgery and everything, there were times I had doubts. Not that it wasnt gonna happen, just that maybe it wasnt the right time and maybe I had to take a step back and really find myself before I can move forward and be successful in WWE.But just trying different things and really searching to be myself and be comfortable with who I am and letting the world into my background, and whats gotten me here to this point, that removed all doubt. When I started tagging with Chad Gable, we knew it right away that there was something special here between us. We had this chemistry, and that really allowed me to bring out my personality and be who I am and let everybody see what I have to offer, and that allowed me to bring myself to a whole other level. From that point I feel its been skys the limit.Its been an incredible ride and a lot of fun. It helped me move past that point of having any doubt. Its a struggle, extremely difficult. This is the place to be. Everybody wants to get to there from NXT. Everybody is hungry and chomping at the bit and trying to figure it out. Its very possible you can get lost in the shuffle. I feel like maybe for a little while I was at that point where I was kinda getting not necessarily overlooked, but in the mix, among the middle of pack. Now I feel like I definitely rose to the top there. Its been a pleasure and its been a journey, but I wouldnt trade that for anything in the world.Jordan has endured plenty of personal struggle in his life; he revealed on the WWE Networks Performance Center-based documentary series Breaking Ground last year that all three of his older brothers have been incarcerated.I was always close with them, had ups and downs with them, Jordan said. But theres a brother-like relationship with me and Chad. Its definitely something special and Im glad to be a part of it. Its pretty obvious to see -- a lot of people see that. Its not like, lets see where it goes. Were dedicated to staying together and making sure, when you look at WWE history, that we want to be ones that stand out; that this tag team American Alpha, they are arguably the best tag team, period. In order to do that you have to have that legacy. Were building that legacy now. Were looking forward to continue building on it. Long story short, we plan on staying together for a very, very long time.Jordan put attending dental school on hold after graduating college, in order to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, and admitted winning the NXT tag team titles was just reward for all of his hard work and sacrifice.?That was an amazing feeling. So many times throughout my life that Ive worked so hard for a thing, then been so close to achieving the goals that Ive set, and fallen short sometimes, he said. To have people constantly telling me, Dont worry, hard work pays off, hard work pays off -- you hear it, and you wanna see the results, so that you can truly believe them.And that was just literally everything coming together where it was, You know what? Everybody was right. Im so happy that I didnt get lazy, that I didnt get complacent, and I continued to put in the effort, continued to put in the hard work, and tried to make sure that no matter what happened, at least I can walk away saying that I gave it my all.But for everything to finally work out, to achieve our goal and achieve our dream, and to win the tag team championships in NXT, it was the best feeling of my career to that point.Cheap Jordan 10 For Sale . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Cheap Authentic Air Jordan 10 . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. http://www.cheapairjordan10.com/ . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Authentic Air Jordan 10 . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Wholesale Air Jordan 10 China . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Florida Gators arent in the mood to pick apart a road win in the Southeastern Conference, especially after last weeks ugly loss.No matter what they might need to fix.Jordan Scarlett ran for a 4-yard touchdown with Eddy Pineiro adding a pair of field goals as No. 23 Florida held off Vanderbilt 13-6 Saturday.A wise man once said, `you even have to bring your ugly babies home from the hospital, and that was ugly, Florida coach Jim McElwain said. In fact that might have been what someone told my dad when I was born. But I feel really good that our guys found a way to win.Florida (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) came up with two interceptions and two sacks on a day where the Gators defense otherwise struggled against one of the nations worst offenses with three starting linemen missing most of the game.Ralph Webb ran for 110 yards as Vanderbilt outgained Florida 265-236 in total offense. The Commodores (2-3, 0-2) had a final chance to force overtime until Nick Washington intercepted a Wade Freebeck pass with 54 seconds left sealing the Gators win.The Gators never trailed and led 10-3 after Scarlett scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Pineiro kicked a 42-yard field goal as the half expired. Pinero added a 26-yarder with 8:17 left.Florida had a chance to pad its lead after Vanderbilt punter Sam Loy fumbled the snap and lost the ball with 5:07 left with the Commodores trailing 13-6. But Austin Appleby fumbled the snap on second-and-goal at the Vanderbilt 1 with 2:56 left giving the Commodores one last chance.Its beyond me how you fumble the ball on a quarterback sneak at the end of the game, McElwain said. It happened, and yet our defense stepped up. They had to step up twice.THE TAKEAWAYFlorida: This set up as the perfect trap game for the Gators between Tennessee and LSU against an opponent theyve dominated over the years. The Gators had the majority of the 30,565 fans in Florida colors and still came out sluggish. Still, the Gators take home their third straight win and 25th in the last 26 games in thiis series.dddddddddddd McElwain complimented the turnout by the Gators fans.I really think it had an effect on one of those third downs when they were coming out of their end zone, McElwain said.Vanderbilt: The Commodores finally showed signs of the stingy defense that ranked in the top 30 nationally in a lot of categories last season. Better yet, Webb gashed a defense that had been giving up only 76.5 yards rushing.This group is playing to win, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. Were not satisfied with moral victories. There are no moral victories in football. This team is growing up and playing extremely hard.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Gators barely stayed inside the Top 25 after being routed by Tennessee . Voters will have to decide how impressive Florida was against Vanderbilt.THE REPLACEMENTSThe Gators played most of the game without three starting defensive lineman. Senior defensive tackle Joey Ivie missed the game with a thumb injury that will sideline him at least a month. Defensive ends Bryan Cox Jr. and Jordan Sherit played sparingly with injuries. Without them, sophomore defensive tackle Khairi Clark made his second career start, and defensive ends CeCe Jefferson (sophomore) and Jabari Zuniga (freshman) saw extensive time.Obviously, we were missing some guys, but I feel like we played well, Gators defensive tackle Caleb Brantley said.DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTVanderbilt had forced only two three-and-outs in each of the Commodores past three games. The Commodores opened this game forcing the Gators three-and-out on their first two drives. Adam Butler also had two sacks on one drive for a defense that hadnt managed more than one sack in each of the past three games.UP NEXTFlorida: The Gators return home to host LSU, the only SEC team to beat the Gators during the regular season last year in winning the Eastern Division.Vanderbilt: The Commodores visit Kentucky still looking for their first SEC win. ' ' '