Ben Askren, the Hartland native, made a jaw-dropping return to the mat on his 42nd birthday a year after undergoing double lung transplant surgery, headlining Real American Freestyle’s RAF 11 event in Milwaukee. Organizers said the sold-out show drew about 7,000 people to the UWM Panther Arena on July 18, the largest crowd RAF has seen since it debuted late last summer. That’s a massive turnout for a legend, proving just how much pull Askren still has.
The Local Heroes Who Showed Out
While Askren’s one-match return was a proper sendoff, the Wisconsin partisans had three other local favorites to cheer for, and they delivered. Keegan O’Toole, a four-time WIAA champion and two-time NCAA champion at Missouri, thought his days of wrestling in Wisconsin were over after high school. Nope! He came back and defeated Christopher Minto of the University of Nebraska with a solid 14-9 win. O’Toole, now an assistant coach at Missouri, was absolutely stoked, saying he “did not care about anything other than the experience of it” and was just happy to watch his influential coach wrestle. University of Wisconsin associate head wrestling coach Tony Cassioppi got bloodied in his heavyweight match against Egyptian Mostafa Elders, but he pulled out a 6-2 victory, showing some serious grit. Aeoden Sinclair, a Mizzou junior and Milton native, fought hard but took a 6-3 defeat to Bulgarian Magomed Ramazanov.
Real American Freestyle Is Building Something Different
This event wasn’t just about individual matches, it was a major statement for Real American Freestyle itself. Izzy Martinez, the longtime wrestling and MMA coach who serves as RAF’s chief operating officer and primary matchmaker, explained it’s all about the organization’s vision. “We’re growing a sport and we want to help a lot of kids along the way,” Martinez said. The idea is to create a path for wrestlers after college, so they don’t always have to jump into other fighting sports. They need to see “the kids that grew up in the same neighborhood” on these cards. It’s working, too, because RAF 11 had that big crowd, proving that local connections sell tickets and build a following. The show itself delivered a spectacle with swirling lights, pyrotechnics, and a dance beat, blending the feel of combat sports with pro wrestling. Co-founded by the late Hulk Hogan, and with WWE figure Eric Bischoff leading production, RAF brings together college champions, Olympians, and crossover MMA athletes like Colby Covington, who wrestled Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event, all adding name recognition and that crucial trash talk.
The buzz from RAF 11 in Milwaukee shows this league is serious about growing the sport. Seeing home-grown talent thrive and a legend like Askren return means a ton. Martinez’s vision of creating a post-collegiate path for wrestlers is clearly resonating. This isn’t just about one sold-out night, it’s about the future of wrestling, and what a future it looks like.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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