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World Champion Kennedy Blades has just made a major move in her career. Just two weeks after winning the 2025 US Open, the wrestler announced her commitment to an exciting new league.
Blades is one of the most promising wrestlers on Team USA. At just 21, the American has already tasted success on the international stage, having won gold at the 2021 World Junior Championships and silver at the 2023 World U23 Championships and the Paris Olympics.
Most recently, Blades signed with Real American Freestyle, the first professional freestyle wrestling league in the sport. The league is backed by the likes of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, amongst others. The news of Blades joining the RAF was shared on the official Instagram page of the league.
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Outside of Blades, several big names have signed with Real American Freestyle, including World Championships bronze-medalist Zahid Valencia, Olympic bronze-medalist and four-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks, and four-time World Champion Kyle Dake.
Kennedy Blades reflects on the future of women's wrestling
Kennedy Blades is one of the most dynamic wrestlers Team USA has seen over the past few years. Recently, the 21-year-old reflected on the future of women's wrestling, telling Nick Kosko on his YouTube channel that she sees the sport "booming" in the next few years.
“I definitely see women's wrestling basically booming in five years. I hope that there's multiple Big 10 schools, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, all those schools are looking at getting a women's program. Obviously you have to start a club first but I mean a lot of them are already having clubs. So yeah, I have a really good feeling especially with the next cycle. It's going to be tough, it's going to be intense and I'm really here for it.”
She went on to add that she hopes the inclusion of women's wrestling in the NCAA further grows the sport and gives young women more opportunities.
“I hope that some girls can even say ‘I'm a four-time NCAA champ’ like all this stuff. Because a lot of barriers are being broken down at such a fast rate that I just can't imagine seeing how many schools are going to have women's programs. So that's what we're pushing for sure. I hope it happens sooner than later and yeah it's going to be great.”
So far in 2025, Kennedy Blades has delivered some impressive performances. In April, she won the US Open title and followed it up with a victory in the 68 kg weight class at the Pan American Wrestling Championships.
