How Josh Barr Vs Aeoden Sinclair | WTT Finals 2025

Josh Barr and Aeodin Sinclair both made their way to the finals at World Team Trials, not high schoolers but both pretty young compared to the rest of the field, so that’s cool to see. The future of US wrestling is looking like it’s in a good place.

Not much happens in the first period, except for a shot clock point going to Sinclair. Things heat up a bit more in the second.

1:50 left, Sinclair gives up a shot clock point as well, so it’s 1-1 Barr, who now has the lead. Gotta love refs trading shot clock points and giving someone the lead for no incredibly good reason.

Sinclair has a collar tie, Barr with an inside wrist on the right. Looks like Barr is going for a wrist snap, that move where you fake a lefty shot to get your opponent to step that leg back and then snap the right wrist down and to the left, which would make them trip up a bit because they have nothing to brace on that side, but Sinclair doesn’t budge, kind of just uses that motion to feed himself into a low leg single shot.

So, I know that wrist snap has been a popular thing these days, for highlight reels anyways, but when I first saw it back in like 2010, my old coach Santoro from Lehigh showed it at our summer camp, it only looked like a gag move, for fun only, something you’d do against someone who you’re clearly outclassing and you could do anything you want anyways. It was so silly that he told my kids if they could get it he’d owe them a milkshake. That’s like, on the same level as a headstand cradle, or leg cradle, or Indian Death Trap, for those of you who know what that is. It’s really not meant to be taken that seriously, so to try it at this level, to me just seems silly in general.

Barr tries to kick away, something I don’t recommend doing in neutral, I only see it as a good option if it’s folkstyle and you’re on bottom, there’s no risk. 90% of the time I see guys do this from neutral they give up a takedown 2 seconds later because most good wrestlers are pretty competent at keeping an ankle controlled when they have a good grip on it. This basically just gives Sinclair the takedown, there’s not much to say about it, all he has to do is chase. I would always recommend you fight the position, it’s freestyle, so cover, get yourself to a crotch lock so you can at least threaten that lift, maybe get yourself back to a sprawl if they don’t have a great grip and you can kick your foot back. 3-1 Sinclair.

Couple seconds later, Sinclair still on the hunt, has a collar tie, outside grip on that left arm, Barr clears the tie up, fakes a double, dodges out, as Sinclair covers the angle and digs his way to a single. Starts to come up with it, and this time Barr doesn’t try to run, he attacks the crotch lock I spoke to earlier, finds his footing, lifts and rolls back for the 4 points, feet to back, 5-3 Barr. Sinclair didn’t treat the situation as seriously as he should, he’s in position here to do what Dake did, turn it to a low leg single finish, head into the knee, tripod, circle to double, which would negate everything Barr had going, but he just sprawls back when Barr starts to lift, too little too late.

34 seconds left, Sinclair snaps the head and the arm, looks for a lefty low leg, but Barr steps out of it pretty easily, probably because he catches his own snapdown and so Sinclair goes way farther than he wanted. Barr cuts the corner, gets a low leg of his own, pulls it to a double, keeps both legs together, gets his takedown. 7-3. A really nice reattack out of Barr here. Not much else to say.

Sinclair continues to chase and look for things, but isn’t able to get anything, so Josh Barr wins 7-3, landing himself into Final X.