The 22-year-old Aaron Brooks defeated Zahid Valencia at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, winning 10-6, after trailing 6-0.

A month earlier, Brooks claimed his third consecutive NCAA title as a member of the Penn State wrestling program.

Brooks’ Final X opponent will be David Taylor, the 86kg gold medalist at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The win was Taylor’s second world championship. He also claimed a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Brooks also made the trip to Japan that summer, but only to serve as a training partner for Taylor.

Subscribe to FloWrestling and the FloSports app to watch Final X Wrestling 

Gable Steveson Could Join The Most Exclusive Club In Wrestling

2023 Final X Matchups

This year’s edition of Final X Presented by Tezos will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 10. The event will feature the top two wrestlers at every weight class in a best-of-three series, with the winners making the 2023 United States World Team. 

The world team will travel to Belgrade, Serbia, to compete at the 2023 Senior World Championships from Sept. 16-24. 

Check below for the current matchups for Final X and a brief explanation of how each wrestler qualified for the 2023 event.

Here’s what to know about Aaron Brooks:

David Taylor brought Aaron Brooks as his practice partner to the Tokyo Olympics.

What has changed about their training situation since that time? pic.twitter.com/i81ovw1wKe

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) May 25, 2023

Aaron Brooks Familiar With The Winner’s Circle

Like many of the standouts headed for Final X 2023, Brooks excelled at the high school level, collecting four Maryland state championships while attending North Hagerstown High School. 

He finished his career with a 163-2 record, which included going 68-0 as an upperclassman. 

Aaron Brooks Rose To Stardom With Penn State Wrestling

It didn’t take long for Brooks to make an impact at Penn State. 

In his freshman year, despite the cancellation of the NCAA Championships, he was able to secure his first Big Ten title, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor and All-American status.

NCAA Champions & All-Americans At The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships

His three Big Ten titles and three national championships all have come at 184 pounds.

The other side of Aaron Brooks

Brooks is well-known for his spirituality and often speaks of his beliefs and religion in interviews. 

Aaron Brooks Wrestling Ranking 

In the most recent Domestic Men’s Freestyle rankings on FloWrestling, Brooks ranked second in the 86kg weight class. 

Here are the top 5: 

1. David Taylor
2. Aaron Brooks
3. Mark Hall
4. Trent Hidlay
5. Brayden Thompson

Here are the complete rankings.

How Wrestlers Qualify For Final X Wrestling 2023

A wrestler can qualify for Final X in one of three ways.

First, all 2022 senior world medalists automatically qualified for Final X. There were seven wrestlers in men’s freestyle, six in women’s freestyle and zero in Greco-Roman who met this criterion.

Next, all champions from the 2023 US Open (held April 26-30) automatically qualified for Final X.

Finally, for the weights that didn’t have a returning world medalist, the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament (May 20-21) champion will earn a spot in Final X. 

Men’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 57 kg: *Thomas Gilman vs Zane Richards
• 61 kg: Vito Arujau vs Nahshon Garrett
• 65 kg: *Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee
• 70 kg: *Zain Retherford vs Tyler Berger
• 74 kg: *Kyle Dake vs Jason Nolf
• 79 kg: *Jordan Burroughs vs Chance Marsteller
• 86 kg: *David Taylor vs Aaron Brooks
• 92 kg: Michael Macchiavello vs Zahid Valencia
• 97kg: *Kyle Snyder vs J’den Cox
• 125 kg: Gable Steveson vs Mason Parris

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Women’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 50 kg: *Sarah Hildebrandt vs Audrey Jimenez
• 53 kg: *Dominique Parrish vs Katie Gomez
• 55 kg: Alisha Howk vs Jacarra Winchester
• 57 kg: *Helen Maroulis vs Xochitl Mota-Pettis 
• 59 kg: Michaela Beck vs Jennifer Page
• 62 kg: *Kayla Miracle vs Adaugo Nwachukwu
• 65 kg: Mallory Velte vs Macey Kilty
• 68 kg: Forrest Molinari vs Emma Bruntil
• 72 kg: *Amit Elor vs Joye Levendusky
• 76 kg: Kennedy Blades vs Adeline Gray

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Men’s Greco-Roman Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 55 kg: Brady Koontz vs Dalton Duffield
• 60 kg: Dalton Roberts vs Ildar Hafizov
• 63 kg: Hayden Tuma vs Xavier Johnson
• 67 kg: Robert Perez III vs Alejandro Sancho
• 72 kg: Justus Scott vs Patrick Smith
• 77 kg: Kamal Bey vs Aliaksandr Kikiniou
• 82 kg: Spencer Woods vs Ryan Epps
• 87 kg: Alan Vera vs Zachary Braunagel
• 97 kg: Josef Rau vs Christian Dulaney
• 130 kg: Cohlton Schultz vs Adam Coon

How To Watch Final X Wrestling 2023 

Final X will stream live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app. 

FloWresting will also serve as home of match archives and provide the latest news from Final X.