The men laced up their shoes, the rings are stacked. The world of US wrestling is on fire. The traditional Final X is reaching its ultimate stage. The names have already been announced for the 2025 World Champion Trials. Bo Bassett, David Carr, Amit Elor, and others locked their spot in the quintessential race, but there is more to the list. Final X will pick up the 2025 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes, ten in each discipline, will be contested by the athletes to get the prize. Tighten your belt for a fiery showdown in men’s 61 Kg. Two-time world medalist Vito Arujau is set to unleash a thrill.
61 kg has been Vito Arujau’s domestic comfort zone over the past two years. He brought home a gold at his weight class at the World Championships in 2023 and paired it with a bronze-medal outing last year in Tirana, Albania. Arujau, 25, made justice to his father’s legacy, holding two-time age-group World silver medals and two-time Senior Pan American championships. He automatically qualified for Final X by earning a medal at the 2024 Senior World Championships. He is just one step away from smashing the squared circle Saturday, June 14, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
2024 World bronze medalist + 2023 World champion @vArujau has accepted his automatic bid to Final X and will battle for the men’s freestyle 61kg spot on the 2025 U.S. World Team. #FinalX2025 @BeattheStreets | @PruCenter
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) April 14, 2025
Get ready with the popcorn to munch on and expect a lit show while Vito Arujau butting heads with Jax Forrest for a ticket to the Prudential Center. The two have not met each other from opposite ends of the ring on the Senior level. Both did enter the 2024 World Team Trials, with Arujau winning the event and Forrest coming in third place. The latter, however, lacks a step behind his opponent in terms of the Final X experience. This will mark Vito Arujau’s third appearance in the event, while Forrest hasn’t yet made his debut. But it will be far from a lopsided clash. Jax’s performance was the story of the US Open last month. So, flipping the script wouldn’t be a surprise.
However, Arujau, the blueblood wrestler carrying the esteemed two-time world champion Vugar Orujau genes, has had a completely different motive to hit the bracket.
Vito Arujau contradicts his own views on the victory-driven motive
Vito Arujau didn’t choose wrestling. Rather, it would be safe to say wrestling chose him when he was just a toddler. In several interviews, the menacing wrestler in the ring said that his dad used to take him to wrestling practice and sit him beside, as they had no babysitter at home. However, he didn’t dabble around in the mat until he turned five. The rest is a beguiling history. But despite flexing a flurry of awards and medals, the wrestler holds his love for the sport as his utmost priority. It’s not the stage; it’s the zeal that it brings.
The 61kg grappler noted in a past interview, “If I said that, like, in the moment, I don’t know, like, I don’t really know what my goal is. I don’t know if there’s like, do this and I’m done now. It’s a little different because I just won the Worlds too. It’s like, was this it? And I was like, no, this isn’t it. You know, so I think I’m just wrestling because I like it.”
That’s what it should be, right? Nothing but a raw passion, longing for the game, drives you to the sky and forward thereon, never back. However, that doesn’t mean Vito Arujau can’t be a hungry beast at times, going to every corner of the world to clinch a win. He can, especially when it’s gold. “I never dreamt about being on stage yet, and for some people it’s everything, right? It’s their entire reason for wrestling. But my dream is always to be an Olympian and a gold medalist.”
Fear the beast or let him fly with colors. The choice is yours. But count the consequences.
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