Real American Freestyle will celebrate its one-year anniversary by returning to Cleveland for RAF12 on Saturday, August 22, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, with the event streaming live exclusively on FOX Nation as part of the league’s extended broadcast partnership.
RAF is positioning its twelfth event as a homecoming, bringing the league back to the arena where it staged its first full-scale fight-night show and introduced its unscripted professional freestyle format to a national audience. Branded as “wrestling’s new main stage,” RAF has built its concept around Olympic-caliber freestyle wrestling contested under USA Wrestling rules, presented with production values that mirror major combat sports promotions.
RAF12 in Cleveland: Freestyle League Celebrates Breakout First Year at Rocket Arena
Founded in 2025 by CEO Chad Bronstein alongside Israel “Izzy” Martinez and Eric Bischoff, RAF was created to give elite wrestlers a professional platform with transparent stakes, event-based storytelling, and the opportunity to build careers beyond the amateur system. The league operates out of Florida and runs a traveling event schedule, with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse one of the major arenas in its rotation.
Across its first year, RAF has positioned itself as a commercial combat sports property, with events built around Olympic medalists, World Champions, NCAA standouts, and crossover names from MMA. The league’s debut season featured a roster reported at around 40 athletes, supported by backing from venture firms including Left Lane Capital and Cassius, which helped fund expansion into national venues and media.
The anniversary messaging around RAF12 leans on a breakout first year that has included national arena dates, a regular event cadence, and a growing catalogue of shoulder programming and documentary content on FOX Nation. FOX Nation and RAF agreed a long-term extension earlier this year that keeps the streaming service as the exclusive home for live RAF events, giving the league a stable distribution base as it scales.
For RAF, returning to Cleveland ties the brand closely to a city that already sits at the center of the wrestling calendar. With the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland this week, the league’s announcement is timed to coincide with one of the sport’s key domestic events and a concentrated fan presence. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, offers an arena-scale stage with an existing track record for major sports and entertainment broadcasts.
Bronstein, who has spoken in multiple interviews about wanting to present freestyle wrestling in a way that appeals to casual sports fans, has framed RAF’s arena events as proof of concept that high-level, unscripted wrestling can anchor a modern live show. Bringing RAF12 back to Cleveland positions the city as a recurring hub for the league while highlighting a fan base already familiar with collegiate and international wrestling.
Beyond the live cards, RAF has moved into trading cards, fan engagement zones at events, and youth-focused initiatives that include clinic-style experiences with rostered athletes, aiming to create a full-year ecosystem around freestyle wrestling. The FOX Nation partnership includes documentary and behind-the-scenes content that follows athletes through training camps and competition weeks, helping build personal brands and deepen fan connection.
With RAF12 set as the one-year marker back in Cleveland and a long-term streaming deal in place, the league enters its second season pitching freestyle wrestling as a consistent, arena-ready product with a defined home for both live events and on-demand storytelling.
