RAF 01
| RAF 01: Hendrickson vs. Elders | |
|---|---|
| Promotional poster for RAF 01 | |
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle |
| Date | August 30, 2025 |
| Venue | Wolstein Center |
| City | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Attendance | 3,299[1] |
| Event chronology | |
|
RAF 01: Hendrickson vs. Elders
RAF 02: Dake vs. Makoev
| |
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RAF 01: Hendrickson vs. Elders was a freestyle wrestling event that took place on August 30, 2025, at the Wolstein Center of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.[2]
It was the inaugural flagship event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion, and aired live on Fox Nation.
Background
[edit ]The event began with a tribute to Real American Freestyle (RAF) co-founder Hulk Hogan, who had died in July 2025.[3]
Commentary for the event's live Fox Nation broadcast was provided by Kurt Angle, Bubba Jenkins and Chael Sonnen.[4]
Ben Askren was originally supposed to compete on the card, but had to withdraw after suffering complications from pneumonia.[5]
Holly Holm was the surprise replacement for Kennedy Blades, who was not cleared for the event by NCAA.[2] Most Valuable Promotions granted Holm an exemption to compete as Blades' replacement.[6]
Tito Ortiz challenged Chael Sonnen during the broadcast to a future match, which Sonnen accepted.[7] Mason Parris challenged RAF Heavyweight Champion Wyatt Hendrickson during the broadcast to a match at RAF 04, which Hendrickson accepted.[8]
Results
[edit ]| Main card (Fox Nation) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | United States Wyatt Hendrickson | def. | Egypt Mostafa Elders | Technical fall (14–1) | 2 | 1:08 | [a] |
| Light Heavyweight | United States Bo Nickal | def. | United States Jacob Cardenas | Decision (6–4) | 3 | 2:00 | [b] |
| Women's Middleweight | Mexico Alejandra Rivera | def. | United States Holly Holm | Decision (9–7) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Cruiserweight | United States Kyle Dake | def. | United States Dean Hamiti | Technical fall (11–0) | 2 | 1:57 | [c] |
| Featherweight | United States Real Woods | def. | United States Darrion Caldwell | Pinfall | 2 | 1:29 | [d] |
| Women's Strawweight | United States Sarah Hildebrandt | def. | Mexico Zeltzin Hernandez | Technical fall (11–0) | 3 | 1:24 | [e] |
| Middleweight | United States Evan Wick | def. | United States Jason Nolf | Decision (10–8) | 3 | 2:00 | [f] |
| Lightweight | Mexico Austin Gomez | def. | United States Lance Palmer | Technical fall (11–0) | 1 | 1:02 | |
| Lightweight | United States Yianni Diakomihalis | def. | India Bajrang Punia | Decision (5–1) | 3 | 2:00 | [g] |
| Bantamweight | United States Nathan Tomasello | def. | United States Matt Ramos | Decision (4–3) | 3 | 2:00 | [h] |
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Heavyweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Light Heavyweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Cruiserweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Featherweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Women's Strawweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Middleweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Lightweight Championship.
- ^ For the inaugural RAF Bantamweight Championship.
Source:[9]
Bonus awards
[edit ]The following athletes received bonuses.
- Performance of the Night: Evan Wick
References
[edit ]- ^ "WrestleTix: RAF Real American Freestyle • Aug 30 Wolstein Center at CSU at Cleveland, OH". Wrestlenomics. September 1, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- ^ a b Gilles, Dan (August 30, 2025). "Real American Freestyle wrestling debuts in Cleveland with Hulk Hogan tribute and 8 title matches". Cleveland.com . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Harp, Justin (August 30, 2025). "Nick Hogan Honors Hulk Hogan at New Wrestling Promotion Event". Us Weekly . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Knight, Cain A. (July 17, 2025). "Kurt Angle officially joins Hulk Hogan's Real American Freestyle wrestling". Yahoo Sports . Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ Mindenhall, Chuck (August 29, 2025). "Real American Freestyle set to debut amid adversity and loss". Yahoo Sports . Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ Mindenhall, Chuck (September 3, 2025). "The GOAT of women's combat sports as a whole? Holly Holm has a strong case". Yahoo Sports . Retrieved September 12, 2025.
- ^ Flanagan, Neal (August 31, 2025). "Holly Holm competes in surprise match-up at Real American Freestyle debut event, Chael Sonnen accepts challenge from Tito Ortiz". POST Wrestling . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (August 31, 2025). "FORMER WWE STAR TO COMPETE IN REAL AMERICAN FREESTYLE?, TOP TNA EXEC VISITS AND MORE RAF01 NEWS AND NOTES FOLLOWING DEBUT EVENT". PWInsider . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Howard, Leah (August 31, 2025). "2025 World Team members Woods, Hendrickson, Olympic champion Hildebrandt shine in RAF 01 in Cleveland". USA Wrestling . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
