Actual American Freestyle will rejoice its one-year anniversary by returning to Cleveland for RAF12 on Saturday, August 22, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, with the occasion streaming dwell solely on FOX Nation as a part of the league’s prolonged broadcast partnership.
RAF is positioning its twelfth occasion as a homecoming, bringing the league again to the sector the place it staged its first full-scale fight-night present and launched its unscripted skilled freestyle format to a nationwide viewers. Branded as “wrestling’s new important stage,” RAF has constructed its idea round Olympic-caliber freestyle wrestling contested beneath USA Wrestling guidelines, offered with manufacturing values that mirror main fight sports activities promotions.
RAF12 in Cleveland: Freestyle League Celebrates Breakout First Yr at Rocket Area
Based in 2025 by CEO Chad Bronstein alongside Israel “Izzy” Martinez and Eric Bischoff, RAF was created to provide elite wrestlers knowledgeable platform with clear stakes, event-based storytelling, and the chance to construct careers past the novice system. The league operates out of Florida and runs a touring occasion schedule, with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse one of many main arenas in its rotation.
Throughout its first 12 months, RAF has positioned itself as a business fight sports activities property, with occasions constructed round Olympic medalists, World Champions, NCAA standouts, and crossover names from MMA. The league’s debut season featured a roster reported at round 40 athletes, supported by backing from enterprise companies together with Left Lane Capital and Cassius, which helped fund enlargement into nationwide venues and media.
The anniversary messaging round RAF12 leans on a breakout first 12 months that has included nationwide area dates, an everyday occasion cadence, and a rising catalogue of shoulder programming and documentary content material on FOX Nation. FOX Nation and RAF agreed a long-term extension earlier this 12 months that retains the streaming service because the unique house for dwell RAF occasions, giving the league a secure distribution base because it scales.
For RAF, returning to Cleveland ties the model carefully to a metropolis that already sits on the heart of the wrestling calendar. With the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland this week, the league’s announcement is timed to coincide with one of many sport’s key home occasions and a concentrated fan presence. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, house of the Cleveland Cavaliers, affords an arena-scale stage with an current observe report for main sports activities and leisure broadcasts.
Bronstein, who has spoken in a number of interviews about desirous to current freestyle wrestling in a method that appeals to informal sports activities followers, has framed RAF’s area occasions as proof of idea that high-level, unscripted wrestling can anchor a contemporary dwell present. Bringing RAF12 again to Cleveland positions the town as a recurring hub for the league whereas highlighting a fan base already conversant in collegiate and worldwide wrestling.
Past the dwell playing cards, RAF has moved into buying and selling playing cards, fan engagement zones at occasions, and youth-focused initiatives that embody clinic-style experiences with rostered athletes, aiming to create a full-year ecosystem round freestyle wrestling. The FOX Nation partnership contains documentary and behind-the-scenes content material that follows athletes by means of coaching camps and competitors weeks, serving to construct private manufacturers and deepen fan connection.
With RAF12 set because the one-year marker again in Cleveland and a long-term streaming deal in place, the league enters its second season pitching freestyle wrestling as a constant, arena-ready product with an outlined house for each dwell occasions and on-demand storytelling.
