The announcement of the return of the Wrestling Dual would have taken some fans way back. Back then, it was a tradition; it was prestigious. And winning it meant bragging rights over the year. Between the USA and Russia, it’s always the case, being two nations whose wrestling history goes back centuries.

So, even though the 2025 Dual was an exhibition attempt to restart the grand tradition, it still very much counts as seeing the US and Russian wrestlers taking on one another to get a win for their countries. This time, however, Team USA has to come back from Budapest with a defeat, after a fighting 6-4 loss to the opponents. Saturday Night Lights shared the news on their X handle on July 22, with the individual results.

The 4 winners on the US side were DJ Hamiti, Marcus Coleman, Mike Macchivello, and Jay Aiello. The 2025 event didn’t feature any members from the US World Seniors Team due to go to Zagreb to compete in the World Wrestling Championships. In comparison, the 1996 Dual featured the biggest names in US wrestling at that time. Well, it also mattered that it was taking place just before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The 1996 Team featured NCAA legend Pat Smith, who won his bout 5-2. And who can forget the wrestling legend Tom Brands and his famous leg lace in the Dual against Zalimkhan Akhmadov to get a 2-point exposure? Brands won his bout by an advantage of more than 10 points. And he would follow it up with a gold medal at the Olympics that year. This time, 29 years later, the story went a bit differently.

But the US wrestlers can still hold their heads high. When many didn’t give the makeshift team a chance, they made a competitive bout out of the Dual.

Despite defeat, Team USA impresses against Russia

One of the biggest talking points has to be D.J. Hamiti’s win. Earning a 12-8 win was impressive for the Cowboys senior. Of course, he is the 2025 NCAA champion in the 79 kg weight class. But in the Dual, Hamiti took down a 2024 World Military Championships silver medalist in Mokhmad Nasirkhaev. Another positive came from Mike Macchivello. The 30-year-old showed the quality depth of the US Wrestling roster as the NC State alum got a 10-6 win over Amanula Gadzhimagomedov in the 92 kg weight class.

The deep roster for Team USA has been tested thoroughly in the past week. They couldn’t get many wrestlers to compete in the Dual as the Ranking Series was held just days before on July 17. World Team members Trent Hidlay, Levi Haines, and David Carr were in the United World Wrestling Event. Of them, Carr got a bronze while Hidlay went all the way in the 92 kg.

Luke Lilledahl may not have won his bout in the Wrestling Dual. But he clinched a gold for his country in the Ranking Series in the 57 Kg category. And Jay Aiello was even more impressive. He clinched a bronze at the Ranking Series, and won his bout against Konstantin Pshenichnikov at the Wrestling Dual by an 8-1 decision. The fans got to see some big performances despite the absence of heavyweights like Wyatt Hendrickson and Zahid Valencia. Well, this only means good news is awaiting in Zagreb.