Beat the Streets Wrestling (New York) and USA Wrestling will present Final X on Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. Senior World Championships Teams in two Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle. There will be 20 weight classes contested, 10 in each men’s and women’s freestyle.

The U.S. Greco-Roman World Championship Team members will be determined April 23-27 at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., which means there will be no Greco-Roman matches at Final X this year.

The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series at Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2025 Senior World Championships on Sept. 13-21 in Zagreb, Croatia.

This year’s event will be the 15th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise critical funds to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young boys and girls in New York City. BTSNY provides a safe, positive environment for student-athletes to learn essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through the sport of wrestling. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Session times for Final X will be 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time. A variety of options for Final X wrestling-only event tickets are available to the public on Ticketmaster, starting at 11 a.m. Friday. Fans can also make a generous donation to BTSNY while purchasing wrestling-only tickets on Ticketmaster.

BTSNY Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages, which include access to premier seating to Final X and access to the exclusive after-party, are available at btsny.org. For more information on ticket packages, email BTS Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org. Donations and BTSNY Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages directly help BTSNY make a lifelong impact on New York City youth in need.

There are seven U.S. wrestlers who won a medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and four athletes who won a medal at the 2024 World Championships that are eligible to advance directly to the Final X best-of-three series, if they accept their position and compete in the same weight class in Final X. They must declare they will compete at that weight class and accept their direct Final X qualification by Monday, April 15, 2025, USA Wrestling will announce when athletes accept their Final X position.

Once 2024 Olympic and World medalists have either accepted or refused their Final X position, the rest of the field will be determined at the U.S. Open on April 23-27 at The Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas and the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament on May 17-18 at Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

In weight classes where an athlete has advanced directly to Final X, the U.S. Open champion will earn the opposing Final X spot. In weight classes in which no athlete earned an automatic Final X berth, the champions of the U.S. Open and World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will wrestle at Final X.

World Team Trials Challenge Tournament qualifiers are determined based on the approved World Team Trials procedures for each of the Olympic disciplines, which are posted in the Team Selection section of USA Wrestling’s website.

“Beat the Streets is thrilled to host Final X once again for our Annual Benefit, in partnership with USA Wrestling. This event is our largest fundraiser, covering 75% of our annual expenses and enabling us to empower 2,500-plus New York City boys and girls through the sport of wrestling. We are excited to hold Final X at Prudential Center and look forward to witnessing world-class athletes vie for spots on Team USA at the 2025 World Championships,” said Brendan Buckley, Beat the Streets Executive Director.

“Prudential Center is grateful for this opportunity to welcome back to Newark our partners at Beat the Streets Wrestling and USA Wrestling for another high stakes Final X competition,” said Dylan Wanagiel, Vice President, Sports Properties and Special Events, HBSE/Prudential Center. “We are honored to host the best wrestlers in the United States in their quest to represent our country and achieve wrestling immortality, while also supporting the mission of Beat the Streets. As we cement Prudential Center as a premier destination for all combat sports, we look forward to welcoming grappling fans from across the country to the wrestling hotbed of New Jersey for this marquee event.”

“USA Wrestling is pleased to partner again with Beat the Streets New York and the Prudential Center to bring Final X back to New Jersey. Our nation’s best men and women freestyle wrestlers will be showcased, with a berth on the 2025 U.S. Senior World Team up for grabs. Final X is one of the most exciting wrestling events in our nation, with many current or future World and Olympic medalists expected to compete. Wrestling fans are encouraged to come out and enjoy the action, while supporting youth wrestling in New York City. It will be a great showcase of world-class wrestling,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.

The United States is a world power in international wrestling, coming off a seven-medal performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. The athletes showcased in Final X in Newark are expected to be contenders for the U.S. team at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

• If Prudential Center’s tenant, New Jersey Devils, host an NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs game on June 14 the contingency date for Final X would be Sunday, June 15.

Beat the Streets New York raised more than $1.3 million with its 13th Annual Benefit on Saturday at Prudential Center. BTSNY also set an attendance record for its Annual Benefit and Final X with more than 8,000 fans.

For a second straight year, Final X served as BTSNY’s benefit with 29 athletes claiming a spot on Team USA for the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 16-24.

Among the men’s freestyle winners were 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder (97 kg), and 2020 Olympic champions Gable Steveson (125 kg) and David Taylor (86 kg), and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time World champion Kyle Dake (74 kg). Two notable upsets occurred as Zane Richards (57 kg) topped 2021 World champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Gilman, and Chance Marsteller (79 kg) dethroned 2016 Olympic champion and six-time World champion Jordan Burroughs.

In women’s freestyle, 2020 Olympic silver medalist and six-time World champion Adeline Gray (76 kg) won just 10 months after giving birth to twins. World champions Jacarra Winchester (55 kg), Dominique Parrish (53 kg) and Amit Elor (72 kg) also claimed victories.

Two 2020 Olympians led the 10 Greco-Roman winners, as Ildar Hafizov (60 kg) and Alejandro Sancho (67 kg) emerged victorious.

“Moving our benefit to Prudential Center was a big factor in making this our largest event, with $1.3 million raised,” said Brendan Buckley, Executive Director of Beat the Streets New York. “The funds raised during this event enable our programs to operate year-round and continue to make a lifelong impact through wrestling on New York City student-athletes.”

It is the second time the benefit has been held in New Jersey after a virtual event in 2020 in Hoboken. BTSNY held its Annual Benefit at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in 2019 and 2022, and previously at other historic New York locations. The benefit events help BTSNY raise at least $1 million each year to support youth wrestling programs that empower young people in New York City. To provide contributions to BTSNY, visit btsny.org/donate.

For full match results, visit https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/June/10/Final-X-results.

image: Kamal Bey (credit: Robbert Wijtman)