A pit with padded walls, maybe? It might be challenging to watch, though.Somebody (jokingly I think) mentioned cages. Another mentioned scoring by rounds like boxing. David's post match interview got me thinking. He talked about his style as being more 'finesse' based.
I've been trying to compare our sport to boxing. Nobody whined (much) when Muhammad Ali danced and avoided direct contact with Frazier, Liston and Foreman. He's still one of the all time greats and could score in flurries. But he was in a small ring and could be cornered with good footwork and quickness by his opponent.
This is a big stretch, but could wrestling do something similar? It would eliminate just about all stalling issues and set up great matchups of differing styles. Imagine Cody vs Lewan confined to a small space. Or David looking for his opening while avoiding Messenbrink's bullrush. Could be fun!
A reinforced plexi barrier around the mat?
I agree that having a physical barrier around the mat would be a fun way to remove the option of fleeing the mat and promote more constant action. I doubt it would be adopted, but you never know!
@Cyclone Pfan mentioned a "JV meet" to open dual meets. I think a full-on opening meet might drag things on a bit too much, but I love the idea of featuring a couple of "Opening Acts," say a couple of redshirt matches, that don't count on the official record but give some guys on the team a taste of the big show. Having the coaches agree on some intriguing non-starter matches to showcase up-and-coming guys throughout the season would be great.
I like @crablegs idea of a point system from the dual season jumpstarting NCAA team scoring at the individual tournament. This definitely incentivizes wrestling duals and rewards teams with a deep and well-developed roster.
I don't know who mentioned it, but using a point system for seeding makes sense too. This rewards the guys that actually wrestle throughout the season. You gotta wrestle the matches to earn your seed. This is more or less how they do it on the international level too.