Final x is set who makes the team?

[Truzzcat]

57kg: I am mildly concerned with Spencers leg defense particularly when he shuts down his offense. I think luke has seen him enough now that if he tries to sit on a lead again Luke will time him and get to his legs likely much more easily than knox did. If Spencer is on his offense for 6 minutes I will go Spencer in two but if not gimme Luke stinging him late twice. Not sure I would pick Luke to win gold this year but I may be more confident that he medals, where as with Spencer he could absolutely win it all or we could have a repeat of last year.

61kg: I think WTT Jax wins a world title this year. It is going to be a chess match between two great staffs and could come down to who can gameplan for the other guy better with such contrasting styles. I will always lean towards the guy who can put up the most points in a bo3 though so going with Jax I think we medal either way.

65kg: I really still do not know what to make of either guy. Real has the best win of the two by a substantial margin with Sujeet however he has since lost to JO twice and went life and death with ashnault who Basset teched when he was like 17. I remember Spencer talking about how strong Real is which makes me think he can holdup in the handfight and I think a match with a lot of exchanges may force the best out of real compared to what we have seen at RAF. I will go with Real but if Bo goes tech tech I am not overly surprised. Probably a wait and see for me with both guys in regards to medaling, not a ton of confidence.

70kg: I thought Zain looked very good at trials, Its difficult for me to see Ridge generating much of his own offense after watching neith Robideau or Henson really get a lock on his leg. Ridge can create chaos off of Zains shots and I think that is his path to winning but Zain picks his spots and when he goes its usually quite explosive so I like him to win this one and I think he melts some europeans at worlds.

74kg: I have to assume these guys have trained a decent amount together with as much as David has worked with JB. Feels like David needs two takedowns to win each one which will be easier said than done. I have a feeling in my gut that James gets it done. 

79kg: These matches are going to be stupid close and I do not think picking either guy is wrong. I am a huge fan of chance though and would love nothing more than to see him get a medal so I am rocking with chance.

86kg: With all the insanity of the young guys it would be kind of awesome to see kyle win this and based on my predictions have a 30+ year old occupy 70-86. I anticipate we have locked in Zahid though and I believe he is the best in the world and our best option at gold so I am going with him.

92kg: Hoagie 

97kg: Buchannen was riding a ton of momentum and hype then he lost to Silot and that all seemed to be halted. I actually think very highly of Silot he lost to kyle last time they wrestled 10-5 when he was 22 and I do not think kyle is going to take him for a ride from double overs. I'm going with our first new 97kg rep since 2015.

125kg: Wyatt but he gets teched in 1 of the 3 matches.

[Mr. PeanutButter]

Good writeup with real solid points.

Picks:

Lee

420Blazeit

Pseudowood-o

Weird dance moves guy

Pastor Carr

Underwear brand 

Cocaine and chains

Deli meat

Mr. Let me spend 45 minutes of my very expensive kid's camp preaching religion before I go and bang a prostitute (with your money)

Mr. Yeah sure I can do a video podcast interview while driving no need to reschedule 

 

[Sparro]

 

55 -  close. This is make or break for Spencer. I think he knows the urgency of winning and I think he gets it done. If he doesn't win here, I don't think he wins O Trials. Luke is only getting better and some 61kg guys will try at O Trials (Jax?) Spencer wins, I think he wins Worlds. Luke top 3 if he wins.

61 - so tough to call. I lean Jax...the Davino win was impressive. Marcus and Cael have been prepping for Jax for months. Probably goes 3. Probably the best matchup of the WTT. Either way, one makes the World finals.

65 - Real has been an excellent freestyler throughout his career. But he keeps a lot of matches close. But Bo is a different animal. I think Bo's tank is the big factor here.  He will have a couple months to prepare for Real. I think this a Bo sweep. I think 3rd is the ceiling for either guy...with more upside for Bo.

70 - Great matchup. I think Ridge is just breaking the surface of his freestyle potential....and love his direction. I think he gets it done. Really tough to pick against Zain..but the close matches at WTT challenge make me lean toward Ridge in 3. Tough sledding at Worlds. Good draw is needed for Ridge....but if it's Zain and his experience I could see him placing.

74 - Tough. I don't think James knew who would be at the challenge to prep. I think the WTT weight here was not great. No MM or Duke. I think this is close but the Carr performance at Worlds previously (very impressive) makes him my choice over Green. His gas tank vs Jayden concerns me . I am a Jersey guy so it is tough to pick against Green. Neither place at Worlds.

79 - Silver medal at Worlds Haines is tremendous. Incredible for some someone that was still in college. My head says Haines but my heart says Chance. Bronze or DNP at Worlds.

84 - This and 61 are the best matchups. 2 world champs. I think father time and weight have caught up with Kyle. But he has had a year to prep with Cael and Casey for Zahid. I think David will have Zahid focused. 2 close matches with a Zahid win. Both guys would/will place.

92 - I think this is Hidlay to the Worlds 2-0. Mike is a familiar opponent that is close with Trent. 2 controlled matches for Trent. I think Trent is great but had a nice draw at prior Worlds and may not place. Hope I am wrong. 

97 - Buchanan has had a great post college run, but in his most recent performance he get exposed. This is Kyle all day. 2-0 and probably not close. Tough to call Kyle at Worlds. Depends on draw. Gold ceiling, silver/bronze likely.

125 - Wyatt beats Parris 2-0. Probably biggest mismatch of WTT. I don' think either place here but think there is potential to place at Olympics. 

 

 

 

 

 

[BruceyB]

4 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

57kg: I am mildly concerned with Spencers leg defense particularly when he shuts down his offense. I think luke has seen him enough now that if he tries to sit on a lead again Luke will time him and get to his legs likely much more easily than knox did. If Spencer is on his offense for 6 minutes I will go Spencer in two but if not gimme Luke stinging him late twice. Not sure I would pick Luke to win gold this year but I may be more confident that he medals, where as with Spencer he could absolutely win it all or we could have a repeat of last year.

61kg: I think WTT Jax wins a world title this year. It is going to be a chess match between two great staffs and could come down to who can gameplan for the other guy better with such contrasting styles. I will always lean towards the guy who can put up the most points in a bo3 though so going with Jax I think we medal either way.

65kg: I really still do not know what to make of either guy. Real has the best win of the two by a substantial margin with Sujeet however he has since lost to JO twice and went life and death with ashnault who Basset teched when he was like 17. I remember Spencer talking about how strong Real is which makes me think he can holdup in the handfight and I think a match with a lot of exchanges may force the best out of real compared to what we have seen at RAF. I will go with Real but if Bo goes tech tech I am not overly surprised. Probably a wait and see for me with both guys in regards to medaling, not a ton of confidence.

70kg: I thought Zain looked very good at trials, Its difficult for me to see Ridge generating much of his own offense after watching neith Robideau or Henson really get a lock on his leg. Ridge can create chaos off of Zains shots and I think that is his path to winning but Zain picks his spots and when he goes its usually quite explosive so I like him to win this one and I think he melts some europeans at worlds.

74kg: I have to assume these guys have trained a decent amount together with as much as David has worked with JB. Feels like David needs two takedowns to win each one which will be easier said than done. I have a feeling in my gut that James gets it done. 

79kg: These matches are going to be stupid close and I do not think picking either guy is wrong. I am a huge fan of chance though and would love nothing more than to see him get a medal so I am rocking with chance.

86kg: With all the insanity of the young guys it would be kind of awesome to see kyle win this and based on my predictions have a 30+ year old occupy 70-86. I anticipate we have locked in Zahid though and I believe he is the best in the world and our best option at gold so I am going with him.

92kg: Hoagie 

97kg: Buchannen was riding a ton of momentum and hype then he lost to Silot and that all seemed to be halted. I actually think very highly of Silot he lost to kyle last time they wrestled 10-5 when he was 22 and I do not think kyle is going to take him for a ride from double overs. I'm going with our first new 97kg rep since 2015.

125kg: Wyatt but he gets teched in 1 of the 3 matches.

57kg: I have no idea what to make of Spencer at this point. IMO he kind of wrestles like a coach these days. He picks his spots and scores, but he doesn't wrestle hard for 6 minutes. He seems much more content to hang out with a lead now than he used to when anything less than a tech was a disappointment. I don't think he is even close to what he was at his peak, but even with his regression, he's still one of the best in the world. It just feels like if someone is really on at this point, then he becomes vulnerable because he doesn't seem quite as quick or able to endure a hard pace for the full six minutes. Again, 27 is old at 57kg (especially 27 with repaired knees) where speed and quickness is so important.

61kg: I'm just going to be honest, I don't want to see Marcus on the world team. I am and will stay sour on him after the college season this year. He refused to wrestle with Davino for 3 straight matches, was the beneficiary of multiple questionable calls by the refs, and I just really struggle to root for someone who's main tactic seems to be to wait for his opponent to get out of position rather than create his own offense. That being said, I like Jax in this matchup. If he learned from his last match with Davino and can keep his composure if he gives up early points, I think his offense and scrambling ability will be enough to outscore Blaze.

65kg: I am taking Bo in two dominant wins to zero. There are zero signs that Real has improved since worlds and if anything, signs point to that performance being an outlier. He lost to Valencia last year, and very nearly lost to him again, and Bo just beat a much better version of Valencia and destroyed the rest of the field at the Open.

70kg: I agree with your analysis but I don't think Ridge needs to get to Zain's legs to score. His ability to expose his opponents from a ton of different positions could be the difference here. Zain is extremely tough, but his offense looked pretty limited this weekend and I believe that Ridge will get the spot in 3 matches.

74kg: I this weekends version of David Carr beats James Green right now, and this wasn't all that close to peak Carr IMO. I think Carr just wants to get on the team and will be locked and loaded for both Final X and Worlds. Carr in 2 matches.

79kg: This is going to be an extremely boring match between two grinders. I'm going to go with Chance winning two close ones in three bouts. 

86kg: I am extremely excited to see what Dake looks like with another year adjusting to the weight and preparing for Zahid. I'm going to stick with Zahid until I see otherwise though. Dake is only getting older, and Zahid's ability to strike quick will continue to be a problem.

92kg: I think Trent is probably the second biggest lock to make the team behind Snyder.

97kg: Snyder ez.

125kg: I agree with you. I think this series goes three matches and both guys have moments where they look horrible. Neither guy likes to wrestle a clean match. I'm kind of torn here, but I'll take Wyatt for this series.

[MPhillips]

@Truzzcat Just being edgy with 97...

[Truzzcat]

10 hours ago, MPhillips said:

@Truzzcat Just being edgy with 97...

Kyles not the only one into edging!

[MPhillips]

1 hour ago, Truzzcat said:

Kyles not the only one into edging!

Heads and tails above the other jerk offs...

[peanut]

57- LL

61- Blaze

65- Woods

70- Zain

74- Carr

79- Haines

86- Zahid

92- Hidlay

97- Snyder

125- Wyatt

 

Edited May 16 by peanut

[peanut]

14 hours ago, BruceyB said:

57kg: I have no idea what to make of Spencer at this point. IMO he kind of wrestles like a coach these days. He picks his spots and scores, but he doesn't wrestle hard for 6 minutes. He seems much more content to hang out with a lead now than he used to when anything less than a tech was a disappointment. I don't think he is even close to what he was at his peak, but even with his regression, he's still one of the best in the world. It just feels like if someone is really on at this point, then he becomes vulnerable because he doesn't seem quite as quick or able to endure a hard pace for the full six minutes. Again, 27 is old at 57kg (especially 27 with repaired knees) where speed and quickness is so important.

61kg: I'm just going to be honest, I don't want to see Marcus on the world team. I am and will stay sour on him after the college season this year. He refused to wrestle with Davino for 3 straight matches, was the beneficiary of multiple questionable calls by the refs, and I just really struggle to root for someone who's main tactic seems to be to wait for his opponent to get out of position rather than create his own offense. That being said, I like Jax in this matchup. If he learned from his last match with Davino and can keep his composure if he gives up early points, I think his offense and scrambling ability will be enough to outscore Blaze.

65kg: I am taking Bo in two dominant wins to zero. There are zero signs that Real has improved since worlds and if anything, signs point to that performance being an outlier. He lost to Valencia last year, and very nearly lost to him again, and Bo just beat a much better version of Valencia and destroyed the rest of the field at the Open.

70kg: I agree with your analysis but I don't think Ridge needs to get to Zain's legs to score. His ability to expose his opponents from a ton of different positions could be the difference here. Zain is extremely tough, but his offense looked pretty limited this weekend and I believe that Ridge will get the spot in 3 matches.

74kg: I this weekends version of David Carr beats James Green right now, and this wasn't all that close to peak Carr IMO. I think Carr just wants to get on the team and will be locked and loaded for both Final X and Worlds. Carr in 2 matches.

79kg: This is going to be an extremely boring match between two grinders. I'm going to go with Chance winning two close ones in three bouts. 

86kg: I am extremely excited to see what Dake looks like with another year adjusting to the weight and preparing for Zahid. I'm going to stick with Zahid until I see otherwise though. Dake is only getting older, and Zahid's ability to strike quick will continue to be a problem.

92kg: I think Trent is probably the second biggest lock to make the team behind Snyder.

97kg: Snyder ez.

125kg: I agree with you. I think this series goes three matches and both guys have moments where they look horrible. Neither guy likes to wrestle a clean match. I'm kind of torn here, but I'll take Wyatt for this series.

Zahid out scored his opponents at worlds last year 49-0. He is our best wrestler and our biggest lock to make the team.

[nhs67]

I think Woods-Bassett is going to be a lot closer than people think.

 

Bassett committed to Iowa.  I guarantee you he trained with Woods at least once or twice.

T&T, despite having potentially cost us our GOAT'S Freestyle career before it even really started (see Lee, Spencer), are actually very good coaches and I do think they will be able to coach Woods better to beat Bassett than Bassett's dad will be able to to beat Woods.  Bassett is the embodiment of the 90s 'Hawkeye style' that the Brands brothers perfected.

I am not comfortable picking either.

Edited May 16 by nhs67

[Gantry]

Woods, in both free and folk, loves to get a quick early TD and rack up top points in the first 90 seconds or so. He tends to take his foot off the gas after that, not outright gassing but his scoring rate is much lower in the second half of matches. 

I feel like that isn't an ideal strategy to beat Bassett, he'll have to be looking to score more than he normally does in the second period. Get that early TD, maybe a turn and look for counter TDs in the 2nd when Bo starts charging and maybe gets a little sloppy. 

It's a fun contrast in styles and one of the matches I'm most looking forward to. 

[Gantry]

3 hours ago, peanut said:

Zahid out scored his opponents at worlds last year 49-0. He is our best wrestler and our biggest lock to make the team.

Since that though he got teched at the Zagreb Open and looked REAL bad in a loss to Keck at RAF. I'm not saying he's not the favorite over Dake but we haven't seen that unstoppable version of Zahid in awhile now. 

Edited May 16 by Gantry

[Le duke]

I think Woods-Bassett is going to be a lot closer than people think.
 
Bassett committed to Iowa.  I guarantee you he trained with Woods at least once or twice.
T&T, despite having potentially cost us our GOAT'S Freestyle career before it even really started (see Lee, Spencer), are actually very good coaches and I do think they will be able to coach Woods better to beat Bassett than Bassett's dad will be able to to beat Woods.  Bassett is the embodiment of the 90s 'Hawkeye style' that the Brands brothers perfected.
I am not comfortable picking either.

Woods is at Michigan, dog.

If Woods can watch a couple minutes of tape and avoid the Bassett Bumrush ™ that he does at the start of nearly every match, he’ll win.

Bassett is a guy who wins when he can build a lead and keep the momentum going. If you can keep him to a point or two through the first period, he gets frustrated and starts making mistakes. Blaze did this to him at 65kg trials last year. Just held center, dealt with the pressure and then took Bassett for 4 points when Bassett got too sloppy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JBluegill133]

18 hours ago, BruceyB said:

57kg: I have no idea what to make of Spencer at this point. IMO he kind of wrestles like a coach these days. He picks his spots and scores, but he doesn't wrestle hard for 6 minutes. He seems much more content to hang out with a lead now than he used to when anything less than a tech was a disappointment. I don't think he is even close to what he was at his peak, but even with his regression, he's still one of the best in the world. It just feels like if someone is really on at this point, then he becomes vulnerable because he doesn't seem quite as quick or able to endure a hard pace for the full six minutes. Again, 27 is old at 57kg (especially 27 with repaired knees) where speed and quickness is so important.

61kg: I'm just going to be honest, I don't want to see Marcus on the world team. I am and will stay sour on him after the college season this year. He refused to wrestle with Davino for 3 straight matches, was the beneficiary of multiple questionable calls by the refs, and I just really struggle to root for someone who's main tactic seems to be to wait for his opponent to get out of position rather than create his own offense. That being said, I like Jax in this matchup. If he learned from his last match with Davino and can keep his composure if he gives up early points, I think his offense and scrambling ability will be enough to outscore Blaze.

65kg: I am taking Bo in two dominant wins to zero. There are zero signs that Real has improved since worlds and if anything, signs point to that performance being an outlier. He lost to Valencia last year, and very nearly lost to him again, and Bo just beat a much better version of Valencia and destroyed the rest of the field at the Open.

70kg: I agree with your analysis but I don't think Ridge needs to get to Zain's legs to score. His ability to expose his opponents from a ton of different positions could be the difference here. Zain is extremely tough, but his offense looked pretty limited this weekend and I believe that Ridge will get the spot in 3 matches.

74kg: I this weekends version of David Carr beats James Green right now, and this wasn't all that close to peak Carr IMO. I think Carr just wants to get on the team and will be locked and loaded for both Final X and Worlds. Carr in 2 matches.

79kg: This is going to be an extremely boring match between two grinders. I'm going to go with Chance winning two close ones in three bouts. 

86kg: I am extremely excited to see what Dake looks like with another year adjusting to the weight and preparing for Zahid. I'm going to stick with Zahid until I see otherwise though. Dake is only getting older, and Zahid's ability to strike quick will continue to be a problem.

92kg: I think Trent is probably the second biggest lock to make the team behind Snyder.

97kg: Snyder ez.

125kg: I agree with you. I think this series goes three matches and both guys have moments where they look horrible. Neither guy likes to wrestle a clean match. I'm kind of torn here, but I'll take Wyatt for this series.

It seems like Lee's MO now is to score a bunch in the first 30 seconds and then if he doesn't end it early, content to hang on for the rest of the match and it has recenty been coming back to bite him.  Whatever, he's an olympic silver medalist so he knows a lot more than any of us do, but what I can't stand is this new "attitude" after his matches and during interviews, where he is all pissed off and annoyed saying he needs to score more and stop coasting....bud, its been the same thing for a couple years now. If you know the problem, let's go and fix it....I think the youths say, "don't talk about it, be about it" (some tongue in cheek in this post)

[de4856]

Lee

Forrest

Bassett

Zain

Carr

Haines

Valencia

Hidlay

Snyder

Hendrickson 

[pokemonster]

2 hours ago, JBluegill133 said:

It seems like Lee's MO now is to score a bunch in the first 30 seconds and then if he doesn't end it early, content to hang on for the rest of the match and it has recenty been coming back to bite him.  Whatever, he's an olympic silver medalist so he knows a lot more than any of us do, but what I can't stand is this new "attitude" after his matches and during interviews, where he is all pissed off and annoyed saying he needs to score more and stop coasting....bud, its been the same thing for a couple years now. If you know the problem, let's go and fix it....I think the youths say, "don't talk about it, be about it" (some tongue in cheek in this post)

yeah I'm not sure about Spencer and his mental fortitude. He's probably the best in the world, definitely would be if he didn't ruin his body at Iowa, yet he makes huge mental blunders. No way in hell should he ever be losing matches over sloppy hail Mary headlocks. I still pick him to win. 

[pokemonster]

Pretty disappointed in 70kg this year. Zain was a snoozefest and did close to nothing in two matches. I don't see him doing well at world's. Ridge looks promising... I didn't expect him to be that freestyle savy. If he can keep progressing, I'd like to see him on the team. 

We'll see which Zahid comes out. If it's the one from last year, he wins. If it's the one who got teched by Parker, Dake will win. Hoping the Parker match was a fluke and he wasn't taking RAF too seriously at that point. 

[LJB]

yeah... real has been at michigan for almost 2 years... his entire senior free run...

Lilledahl is ready to make the jump... that is my heart talking...

Jax wrestled so much better at WTT than Vegas... Blaze could also shut him right down... 

Real over Bassett by man strength... 

all of the above could just as easily be coin flips...

 

 

[nhs67]

6 hours ago, Le duke said:

Woods is at Michigan, dog.

If Woods can watch a couple minutes of tape and avoid the Bassett Bumrush ™ that he does at the start of nearly every match, he’ll win.

Bassett is a guy who wins when he can build a lead and keep the momentum going. If you can keep him to a point or two through the first period, he gets frustrated and starts making mistakes. Blaze did this to him at 65kg trials last year. Just held center, dealt with the pressure and then took Bassett for 4 points when Bassett got too sloppy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I knew he was at CKWC.  I saw red when I got on the 'trained together' thought process because Spencer was talking about training with him recently.  That doesn't mean they trained recently, just that Spencer was talking about it recently. 

Still not sold they did not train together at some point.

I change my mind.  Bassett, mid to low diff, 2-0.

[ScottishSteel]

Lilledahl over Lee in 2
Forrest over Blaze in 3
Woods over Bassett in 2
Zain over Ridge in 2
Green over Carr in 3
Marstellar over Haines in 3
Zahid over Dake in 3
Hidlay over Mike Macc in 2
Snyder over Buchanan in 2
Parris over Hendrickson in 3

[SplitTheG]

57kg - Lee over Lilledahl in 2

61kg - Forrest over Blaze in 2

65kg - Bassett over Woods in 2

70kg - Zain over Ridge in 3

74kg - Carr over Green in 2

79kg - Levi over Chance in 3

86kg - Dake over Zahid in 3

92kg - Hidlay over Macc in 2

97kg - Snyder over Buchanan in 2

125kg - Wyatt over Parris in 2

[AnklePicker]

Lee

Jax

Bassett

Zain

Carr

Chance

Dake

Hidlay

Snyder

Wyatt

 

[AnklePicker]

And can you please keep fighting for 10 weights in the Olympics?  These weights seem perfect.  

[Ragu]

On 5/16/2026 at 8:35 PM, pokemonster said:

Ridge looks promising... I didn't expect him to be that freestyle savy

He placed at Fargo like 6 times in HS, people were surprised by his folk savviness when he got to college. Free is his preferred style most definitely  

[MPhillips]

On 5/16/2026 at 5:13 PM, Le duke said:

Blaze did this to him at 65kg trials last year.

If he's the only one, maybe it's a Blaze thing...