Wyatt Hendrickson pulled off arguably the greatest upset in NCAA wrestling history with a stunning comeback win over Olympic champion Gable Steveson on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
Heading into the finals, Steveson, who captured the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, hadn’t given up a single takedown all season as well as the NCAA tournament that started this past Thursday. He looked like he was on his way to a third national title after he scored an early takedown on Hendrickson and appeared he would hold off any late comeback.
That all changed with less than 30 seconds remaining in the final period when Hendrickson got a hold of a leg and didn’t let go until he delivered a takedown on Steveson. The Oklahoma State wrestler held onto the position until time expired as Steveson looked absolutely gutted sitting on the mats while Hendrickson began his celebration.
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier was calling the action for ESPN and his reaction said it all.
“Oh my goodness! Wyatt Hendrickson just beat Gable Steveson!” Cormier shouted. “Oh my god! That’s crazy! Oh my goodness. This is the craziest moment in NCAA history! I’m just happy I could say I was here to watch. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that surprised at a wrestling match.”
The final score was 5-4 for Hendrickson.
The result is made that much bigger considering Steveson effectively returned to college for his final year of eligibility solely to win another NCAA title after he left the University of Minnesota to pursue a new career when he signed with WWE. Unfortunately, Steveson’s professional wrestling career didn’t pan out and he briefly tried his hand at professional football after signing with the Buffalo Bills but he was cut before the season started.
That led to Steveson returning to college and he ran roughshod over the competition all season long until he ran into Hendrickson on Saturday.
“Today, I took the gold medal, I’m No. 1,” Hendrickson said. “I was telling myself I know I can do this. God gifted me. All week I’ve been looking at David and Goliath and no one thought David could take down Goliath but I did.”
Hendrickson, who is currently a member of the Air Force, transferred to Oklahoma State for his final year of eligibility where he worked under Olympic champion David Taylor in his first year as head coach. Now his college career comes to an end as an NCAA champion and he can proudly tout a win over Steveson on his resume.
Here are the full results from the 2025 NCAA Wrestling National Championships:
184 pounds: Carter Starocci (Penn State) def.. Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), 4-3
125 pounds: Vincent Robinson (NC State) def. Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State), 2-1
133 pounds: Lucas Byrd (Illinois) def. Drake Ayala (Iowa), 3-2
141 pounds: Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) def. Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 12-9
149 pounds: Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) def. Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), 1-0
157 pounds: Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) def. Joey Blaze (Purdue), 4-2
165 pounds: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) def. Mike Caliendo (Iowa), 8-2
174 pounds: Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State) def. Keegan O`Toole (Missouri), 4-1
197 pounds: Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) def. Josh Barr (Penn State), 5-2
285 pounds: Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State) def. Gable Steveson, 5-4
