The wrestling world is heartbroken after the beloved wrestling prodigy PJ Duke’s loss at the U20 World Championships. The Penn State recruit went through the early matches with ease. He obliterated his competition with a combined 32-1 score. Duke defeated Zelimkhan Mutsukhaev of Poland with a quick 10-0 victory in his very first match at the championships this season.

Duke then went on to beat Aden Sakybaev of Kyrgyzstan with another 10-0 score! And his third match before the semi was against Ankh Altangerel of Mongolia, beating the latter 12-1. Despite all the brilliant wins, it all boiled down to his match against Magomed Baitukaev from AIN. The match ended with a nail-biting 5-5 tie, with Baitukaev moving to the finals.

But at the end of the match began the brewing of a controversy. The fandom is questioning a crucial point given to Baitukaev due to a “step out.” Step-out is essentially when a wrestler forces their opponent out of bounds, earning them a point. The rule, however, has layers. If the attacking wrestler steps out first without completing their action, the opponent scores. But if they lift their opponent and step out with both feet, the bout stops, and no points are awarded. Got it? Neither did some fans!

“How and why was this a 1-point ‘step out’?” questioned one fan. Another went on to point out that Baitukaev took extensive “lung timeouts,” hinting that there was some leniency shown. One chimes in with a controversial take: “What is currently stopping a guy who is gassed from repeatedly taking fake injury breaks?” While another directly called out Baitukaev, stating, “Exactly he couldn’t handle pj’s pace. He won but that was a big part of it laying around like a sis.” As one fan puts it, the “horrific” controversy continues to rage, and now, Duke will be battling for the bronze medal. Was the step out a misjudgment, or was it the game? One thing is for sure: the fandom is definitely wrestling with the points. But what’s next for Duke?

What’s next for PJ Duke?

For PJ Duke, his next chapter will unfold at Penn State with the upcoming collegiate season. The number one recruit of the class of 2025, Duke, is being led by the legendary Cael Sanderson. Under whom, Penn State started the year with a bang with the 2024 Big Ten and NCAA championships. Penn now has a squad brimming with talent. The Nittany Lions are in red-hot form! And Duke is no doubt a dominant force on this squad. His recruitment journey alone was a testimony to his greatness.

When the 2025 recruiting season kicked off, Duke’s phone would not stop ringing. With over 30 calls on day 1 alone! But Duke knew what he wanted, and he went ahead and got it. And that was Penn State. The 2024 promises to be one to watch out for! The collegiate wrestling scene is heating up like never before, and Duke doesn’t have a lot of time to lick his wounds. Penn State’s dominance is undeniable, but Oklahoma State is not far behind, making major changes and preparing for the upcoming season.

Oklahoma State is gearing up with wrestling legend David Taylor coaching their team. This could potentially change the wrestling legacy of OSU forever. Taylor himself, despite being a Penn State star, has returned to OSU. Taylor is eyeing Bo Bassett to join his team. Bo, however, has not decided upon where he will be living out his collegiate dreams. Both Penn and OSU are on his condensed list of 20 schools.

Bo has also, much like Duke, lost out on the championship title in the eleventh hour. Bo lost the 2024 U20 Championships semi-finals to Japan’s Makoto Hosokawa. With this loss has also arisen the question of, will Bo decide to learn from the ‘magic man’ or will he go the Penn way? As Duke prepares for the upcoming collegiate season, it promises to be a thrilling one.