G. Wyatt Schultz

June 6, 1953 – August 21, 2021

Technological advancements abound in every aspect of life these days, and wrestling along with its media coverage has seen significant changes over the past 25 years. G. Wyatt Schultz helped pioneer those changes in wrestling as both a publisher and photographer, always keeping the sport in the limelight. 

Schultz of Cedar Rapids is one of only a handful of Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees honored for his tireless work promoting the sport. As the owner of The Predicament magazine and website, as well as a noted photographer, he played a vital role in wrestling media for decades. 

Schultz developed his love for the sport while wrestling in high school at Postville, Iowa. “Good? No… I was a little above average… that’s about it… but I liked it,” he recalled. 

Schultz became involved in the media side of wrestling in 1996 at the encouragement of a wrestling friend. He phoned Ron Seaman of Emmetsburg, the owner of The Predicament at that time, and volunteered his services as a photographer for events in eastern Iowa. His relationship with The Predicament continued under the next owner, Jim Steiert, and he later partnered with Tom Owens and Matt Pfiffner until taking over sole ownership in 2011.

Schultz says wrestling has “overall gotten better, more technical” over the years, though he isn’t a fan of athletes specializing in just one sport.

Other major changes in recent years include the development of Trackwrestling, which has allowed for the easy transfer of information through computers and the internet. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have also revolutionized how wrestling information is distributed.

The Predicament and Schultz recognized the need for an online presence as early as 2000, when the website was launched. Since then, the print version of the magazine has moved entirely online. While Schultz acknowledges some of these changes as positive, he is not a fan of the message board on the website. “There are some good discussions there, but there are also things said that people wouldn’t say if they were talking face-to-face,” he explained.

Schultz also noted how digital photography and advancements in camera sensors have transformed wrestling coverage. During the three-day high school state tournament, for example, he might take 3,000 photos – something that would have been highly impractical in the film era.

Wyatt has received numerous accolades for his contributions to wrestling media, for his exceptional local impact on wrestling and his tireless devotion to the sport.

Schultz, a 2022 inductee, was originally set to be inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020 alongside Tom Hogan, Tom Huff, and Chad Zaputil, but the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 banquets.