Wrestling phenom Bo Bassett has laid out his strategy to beat Real Woods at the upcoming Final X best-of-three series, which includes extreme focus on setting the right positions, followed by high-paced scrambling. Bassett, who is currently riding high on success, has had a sensational run since capturing the senior and U20 men’s freestyle titles during the 2026 U.S. Open Championships.
Hailing from Pennsylvania, Bassett shot to early success after a dominant run at Bishop McCort High School with a 170–0 record in folkstyle wrestling. After turning 14, he became the youngest wrestler to have won a gold medal in freestyle at the 2021 World Cadets Wrestling Championships. At the 65kg US Open Championships finals, Bassett tore his way to victory after getting a 10-0 technical fall victory over Joey McKenna, thereby qualifying him for a spot at the Final X.
Bassett is set to go up against the three-time NCAA Division I All-American, Real Woods, at Final X on June 19 for the 65 kg senior world team spot. Bassett recently spoke about his technical prep for the upcoming bout and highlighted several key aspects that could get him a win:
“I know that Real starts pretty fast. there’s not many matches he doesn’t come out and get a lead. He wrestles really hard, so I have a lot of respect for him, but I also know that the match is 6 minutes, and I want to take him to deep waters as quick as possible.”
“I want to make him extremely tired, more tired than he’s ever been is the goal and that’s gonna take a really high pace and a lot of wrestling positions. I think the more wrestling positions the better, the more scrambles the better, and I’m just really excited for the opportunity.”
Since a bad call or a fluke can end a wrestler’s day in a single-elimination match, Bassett was full of praise for the best-of-three format, as it forces both athletes to adapt to different styles, which ultimately proves who the real winner is.
Bo Bassett Talks About Training Adjustments When Knowing His Opponent in Advance
Bo Bassett has acknowledged the privilege of knowing who his opponent at the Final X is going to be, which has now given him ample time to figure out what style of training will best suit his goal of winning. During an interview, he said:
“It DEFINITELY HELPS. I’ve had a little bit of experience in this situation of knowing that it’s gonna be one opponent, so you need to approach it differently. Today we were doing focused positional practice, and going over the positions that I gotta be ready for and just really excited to wrestle woods,” he said (39:17).
Bassett further acknowledged Woods’ accomplishments in wrestling while praising his run at the recent RAF event.
Final X is scheduled to be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 19.
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