When 3x All-American Wyatt Hendrickson stepped onto the mat at the seventh flagship event of the RAF (Real American Freestyle) on March 28 to defend his Heavyweight Championship title. And Hendrickson didn’t disappoint as he defeated Trent Hillger 6‑2. However, his confidence soared even higher while celebrating with the title draped over his shoulder as he challenged a Super Bowl winner to an exhibition wrestling match.

In the post-fight interview, National Champion Hendrickson made his intentions clear. “I wanna see some of the football players come out here,” he said. “Tristan’s a big boy, but I wanna challenge him right here at RAF, baby. Where you at, boy?” And the challenge didn’t go unanswered.

Tristan Wirfs walked to the stage, shook Wyatt Hendrickson’s hand, and referenced the shocking upset Hendrickson caused over Gable Steveson. “Listen, we know you beat Gable. We know you’re Captain America,” Wirfs said. “You ain’t wrestled 340. I know the Bucks wouldn’t have a problem with me whooping your a**.”

At 6’5″ and around 320 pounds, Wirfs clearly had the size advantage over Hendrickson, who stands 6’2″ and 250 pounds, but the crowd could feel the tension building. Hendrickson grinned. “We can get some big boys like this to get a real taste of wrestling…” The crowd went wild. After all, Wirfs has deep wrestling roots.

As we know, wrestling has always been part of Wirfs’ story. In high school at Mount Vernon, he won the Iowa Class 2A State Heavyweight Championship in 2017, cutting 30 pounds to compete while finishing 21‑3. That same talent carried him in college, where he started 33 games and earned first-team All-American honors and was named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2019.

Even in the NFL, Wirfs was a four-time Pro-Bowler and earned two AP First-Team All-Pro honors. As an Offensive Tackle, Wirfs’ job relies on strength, leverage, and footwork to block defenders-  skills which translate directly to wrestling, which gave him the upper hand.

“I don’t think the Bucs have a problem with it. We’ll get out of here, and I’ll go get my single. We’ll scrap a little bit. I’ll take that belt home with me,” Wirfs said, showing he’s ready to step onto Hendrickson’s mat and bring the fight. But Wyatt Hendrickson’s confidence didn’t come overnight, as it came after beating the Olympic champion.

Wyatt Hendrickson pulls off an epic upset against the Olympic Champion

During the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships finals, Wyatt Hendrickson pulled off one of the most talked-about upsets in recent history by defeating Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson with a final score of 5-4.

In the start, Hendrickson had been trailing for most of the match, but with less than 30 seconds left, he executed a double leg takedown that flipped the outcome. And Steveson, the overwhelming favorite, and the crowd were left in shock as Hendrickson secured the victory. Seeing this, even wrestling legends took notice as Kurt Angle, an Olympic gold medalist and WWE Hall of Famer, called it “absolutely the greatest upset in amateur history.”

Interestingly, this win marked a big moment in his college career as it helped him to make a name for himself to wider prominence as a wrestler to watch at the national and international levels. At the time, Wyatt Hendrickson was also in the midst of fulfilling his five-year Air Force service commitment, but he was granted a sabbatical from that duty through 2028 so he could pursue his training and now aim for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.