The Bader Show

By Mark BaderSports Wrestling

The Bader Show episodes

July 22 Amit Elor | The Bader Show (Ep. 490)
In May of 2025 Amit Elor wrestled in and won the World Team Trials while she was unknowingly pregnant. She stayed active and worked out the entire pregnancy. In May of 2026, about three and a half months after giving birth, Elor once again wrestled in and won the World Team Trials.
She will compete in the World Championships this fall looking to earn her fourth World/Olympic gold medal. She joins The Bader Show to share her incredible journey.
0:45 - Baby update
1:35 - Finding out she was pregnant
4:05 - Amit wrestled at 2025 WTT while unknowingly pregnant
7:50 - Amit wrestled until 38 weeks pregnant
11:15 - A little too much working out sometimes
13:30 - Doctor’s advice
16:20 - Challenging parts of the pregnancy
21:00 - Giving birth
24:35 - Back to the gym three days later
28:10 - On the mat 2 weeks postpartum!
30:10 - Considering US Open and wrestling at WTT
34:07 - Not as strong this time
37:30 - What to do w baby during World Championships & training camps
41:10 - Pressure from competition is still there
42:30 - 2028? 2032?
44:45 - Content creator extraordinaire
49:00 - Pregnancy food cravings
54:45 - Fan questions
57:25 - How does Amit use AI?
58:45 - Wins and whoopins

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1 hr 7 min
July 15 Trent Hidlay: Final X. Wedding. World Championships. | The Bader Show (Ep. 489)
Defending World Champion Trent Hidlay joins the show after a special Final X wrestle-off against his good friend Mike Macchiavello. Now Trent has his sights set on chasing a second consecutive World Title.
0:00 Intro
0:40 Why Trent Hidlay Missed Final X
2:27 Choosing Between Wrestling & His Wedding
6:21 Mike Macchiavello's Impact On His Career
10:19 The Brutal NC State Practice Battles
15:01 Preparing To Wrestle Your Best Friend
17:20 Was It Awkward Wrestling Mike?
20:37 Final X Win & Wedding Week
23:04 Watching Final X During His Wedding
24:03 Honeymoon In Santorini
25:38 RAF Match Preview
27:29 Thoughts On Snyder vs Sadulaev
29:24 Does Winning Really Make You Happy?
32:51 Hayden Hidlay Returns To NC State
36:46 Nobody Saw This At The World Championships
39:24 The Moment He Almost Gave Up In The World Finals
42:12 Celebrating A World Title In Croatia
43:29 Learning To Fight Through Doubt
45:46 Is Trent More Confident Now?
46:06 Life After Becoming World Champion
#TheBaderShow

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1 hr 8 min
June 23 Wyatt Hendrickson | The Bader Show (Ep. 488)
Wyatt Hendrickson beat World Bronze medalist Mason Parris in two straight matches at Final X to make his second straight World Team. He will represent Team USA at the World Championships later this year.
0:30 - This summer will be different from last summer
2:00 - Wrestling Mason Parris at the Ranking Series tournament
4:15 - Wyatt’s thoughts on Final X matches
5:00 - Wyatt almost got pinned
6:30 - Challenges, reviews & new rules
12:45 - Rewatching a scramble against Parris
14:40 - Extra wrestling at the end of match 2
17:00 - Teammates losing and locker room tone
20:00 - Teammates keeping Wyatt accountable
23:50 - Learned a lot wrestling Bahrain and getting pinned
26:00 - Picturing wrestling Zare
27:30 - Wyatt vs Gable?
28:50 - Sweat it out (Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma)
31:40 - Artificial Intelligence, how does Wyatt use it?
34:00 - The final word - Live the Word
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37 min
June 17 Jon Kozak | The Bader Show (Ep. 487)
Get to know the story behind FloWrestling's international guru, Jon Kozak.
0:50 - Backstory, sports nut & wrestling
7:00 - Relationship with dad and wrestling
9:45 - Wrestling success
12:35 - Broke his leg in a match
18:30 - Felt good about the end of wrestling career
19:00 - Church, Bible college
22:00 - College baseball
24:30 - Jon became a pastor, started a church
26:30 - Became a huge MMA fan
28:15 - JB success brought Kozak back to wrestling
31:30 - The Yarygin FloFilm
33:33 - Starting to create wrestling content
39:30 - Started doing rankings for Flo
42:10 - Final X talk
56:25 - Kozak’s all-time favorite wrestler
57:00 - How does Kozak use AI?
59:00 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow

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1 hr 9 min
June 03 Enock Francois & Kevin Jack | The Bader Show (Ep. 486)
IMG Academy is one of the most prestigious schools in the country and specializes in sports. They have started a wrestling program and Director of wrestling, Enock Francois and head coach Kevin Jack join the show to talk about their school, the vision and the future.
0:45 - What is IMG Academy?
3:15 - Sports education institution
5:45 - IMG is starting a wrestling program
8:15 - Why was Enock sold, immediately?
9:50 - Wanting to reflect a D1 program
11:00 - Head coach Kevin Jack
13:00 - Director of wrestling / Athletic director for wrestling
17:00 - What will IMG’s competition schedule look like?
21:30 - How are they putting a team together?
23:00 - The financial component with tuition, financial aid
27:30 - Five years down the road
30:00 - Enock learning under Rob Koll, thinking outside the box
35:00 - New ways to be creative at IMG
40:20 - Creating something and building trust from scratch
41:30 - They will be competing next season
43:30 - The final word
#TheBaderShow
IMG Wrestling questionnaire: https://forms.imgacademy.com/view.php...
IMG Wrestling Camps: https://shop.imgacademy.com/pages/boo...

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49 min
June 02 Mike Macchiavello | The Bader Show (Ep. 485)
Mike Macchiavello won his third US Open title and is headed back to Final X for the second time. He will face returning World Champion and friend, Trent Hidlay, whose wedding he will attend this summer.
0:50 - Why the headgear in freestyle?
2:00 - The young guys are so tough and hungry
4:30 - Internal emotions tied to wrestling
8:20 - How Macch and Trent Hidlay became friends
11:00 - Trent was Macch’s Final X training partner in 2023
11:30 - Feeling Trent improve over time
13:40 - Realizing Trent could be an opponent
14:30 - “See you at Final X” - they joked
19:00 - Emotionally preparing to wrestle a friend
21:00 - Macch and Trent wrestled in Zagreb this past February
27:00 - Gameplanning for Trent Hidlay
28:30 - Trent and Macch talk lately?
31:15 - Wedding talk, when’s the Final X wrestle-off?
33:40 - Watching Trent win a World title last year!
38:00 - How does Macch use artificial intelligence?
41:45 - Who is Macch’s all-time favorite wrestler?
44:35 - Wins and whoopins
48:06 - Macch will be on staff at West Point
49:15 - Macch looks like Jorge Masvidal
51:45 - Macch’s final word
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55 min
May 20 What Happened At Tarleton State? Grant Leeth | The Bader Show (Ep. 484)
Grant Leeth helped start the club wrestling program at Tarleton State in Stephenville, TX with the understanding they would be working toward becoming division 1. This week some statements came out that seemed contrary. Grant joins the show to give his perspective on the situation.
0:55 - Starting a wrestling program at Tarleton State
3:25 - Check all the boxes
4:40 - Raising money
6:25 - Allan Rogers, the big donor
7:00 - Wrestling facility
8:15 - The vision and ribbon cutting ceremony
10:10 - The coaching situation
12:50 - Highlights and success on the mat
14:25 - Communication with the administration
18:00 - Preparing to support D1 programs for 5 years
19:15 - Need a D1 conference
22:45 - Time for kids to find a new home
23:00 - False rumors that wrestling is completely done at Tarleton
24:15 - Leeth no longer wanted to be part of the program
25:30 - Could Tarleton women’s program become D1 soon?
28:40 - Need more fundraising
29:35 - Nothing in writing
31:00 - Was it ever real?
32:55 - What’s next for Grant Leeth?
35:10 - How could Leeth have handled things differently?
37:55 - It truly seemed like D1 was going to happen
39:15 - The emotions of Grant Leeth right now
43:25 - Grant Leeth’s final word
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47 min
May 06 Bo Bassett | The Bader Show (Ep. 483)
Bo Bassett just won the US Open at 65kg in both the U20 and senior divisions. He is already on the U23 world team and looks to make it on the U20 and senior teams as well.

Bo is committed to wrestle at Virginia Tech and will move there this summer and prepare to be in the line up for the Hokies next year at 141 or 149.

0:50 - Junior Hodge Trophy Winner
1:45 - Wrestling two brackets at US Open
4:15 - Iowa, wait no, Virginia Tech
9:45 - Breaking down wrestling 2 brackets at US Open
13:30 - Bo vs Aden Valencia (Match breakdown)
24:00 - Final X & U20 best of three
29:00 - Challenges Real Woods presents
33:30 - Jax Forrest
36:00 - Rest and recovery
38:00 - Near-term and mid-term future for Bo
40:15 - 141 or 149 at Virginia Tech
41:45 - Reaching beyond wrestling
43:50 - Sweat it out (5 questions to make Bo sweat)
49:10 - How does Bo use AI?
50:30 - All-time favorite wrestler
51:10 - Wins and whoopins
#TheBaderShow

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58 min
April 15 Ben Askren & Donny Pritzlaff | The Bader Show (Ep. 482)
Ben Askren and Donny Pritzlaff had a contentious rivalry back in 2007 and 2008. The two have gone on to become successful coaches, Askren with his AWA academies and Pritzlaff as head coach at Columbia University.
The two join the show to talk through their past as competitors and share knowledge as coaches. In the end we see two former rivals become friends.
1:00 - Ben the content creator praised Donny the coach
1:35 - Ben watching Donny’s college career
3:00 - Donny learning who Ben was
4:05 - The mishap when Ben was recruited to Wisconsin
5:45 - Donny on Ben’s college career
7:45 - What it was like wrestling Donny
9:00 - What it feels like to wrestle Ben
9:50 - Warming up with the clinch pushouts everyday for a year
12:30 - Was it personal?
15:00 - Askren wants to know Pritzlaff’s coaching secrets
16:00 - Competitor vs paper boy
20:30 - Askren’s take on belief and confidence
22:20 - Don’t teach moves, put them in positions & figure it out
24:45 - Ben & Donny are now friends!
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28 min
April 08 Pac 12 Realignment | The Bader Show (Ep. 481)
Recent college wrestling conference realignment has seen a rebirth of the Pac 12 as several teams leave the Big 12 to join the Pac 12. Chris Pendleton and Neil Erisman, head coahces at Oregon State and Little Rock have been a part of the Pac 12 for some time now. SDSU leaves the Big 12 for the Pac 12 and Nate Engel is the director of strategy for Pac 12 wrestling.
The four wrestling minds join the show to share their excitement for the opportunities that lie ahead.
1:05 - The role of college conferences
2:00 - Chris Pendleton on Pac 12 changes since 2014
3:25 - How football and money has impacted college conferences
4:30 - Pac 12 experience for Little Rock
6:00 - SDSU experience in the Big 12 and why they are leaving
9:55 - Having voting rights in the conference
13:00 - When, how and why this conference alignment got going
17:15 - We need to be proactive instead of reactive
20:30 - Coming together and think outside the box
21:30 - What happens to the Big 12?
27:30 - How important conference championships can be for Mid Major schools
30:30 - Shifting more toward dual meets
36:15 - Having options and throwing all ideas out there
40:45 - Importance of collaboration
42:45 - Pendleton’s closing words
44:20 - Ability to host conference championships
48:15 - Damion Hahn’s perspective shift after leaving Minnesota
51:15 - Damion Hahn on the late great J Rob and how innovative he was in wrestling
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57 min

About The Bader Show

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Mark Bader and friends interview the biggest names in the sport of wrestling. Hear from your favorite wrestlers and coaches about their experiences in life through the sport. Become inspired,…