A dominant win, one that saw her defend her middleweight title, usually defines a wrestler’s night. But what happens when a moment outside the mat gets caught on camera and goes viral for the world to see? For Kennedy Blades, that’s exactly the situation she found herself in just hours before she defended her middleweight title against Milana Dudieva. The 22-year-old would eventually go on to beat the Russian, but a “scary” viral clip instead drew the spotlight.

The 22-year-old Olympic silver medalist is known for her suplex move, and after being asked by Fox reporter Abby Hornacek, Kennedy Blades agreed to do the move on the 31-year-old reporter. Unfortunately, the video quickly spread online, and critics slammed Blades for potentially harming the reporter.

“Um, I think she, I did the technique corre- uh, correctly,” Blades said, in a video posted on X. “A lot of people, I just see a lot of comments that are like, you know, I, I hurt her or something. But, but like, there’s technique to everything, right? So I did, if I didn’t turn at the end, I mean, she would’ve landed on her neck.

“But, um, I can’t believe it blew up. It’s everywhere. It’s a Barstool, TMZ, like it blew up, but it’s great, you know? Attention, more attention to the sport, that’s what we need, so.”

Criticism on social media quickly escalated, even though Hornacek got up and high-fived the wrestler after the move. The 31-year-old Fox News reporter was interviewing Blades before the Real American Freestyle wrestling event, where Blades defended her middleweight title, when she asked the wrestler for a demonstration of her signature move.

For the unversed, if done incorrectly, the suplex could have resulted in serious injury to Abby Hornacek. It’s a throwing move where a wrestler picks up their opponent and throws them backwards, slamming them into the mat. But as a professional, Kennedy Blades ensured that she executed it safely so that no harm would come to Hornacek, having performed the move multiple times.

Not only that, she is the current Real American Freestyle middleweight champion, having defended her title twice in the last four months, and has an Olympic silver medal to her name. Furthermore, Blades has won multiple Grand Prix gold medals, is the current reigning NCAA Women’s Wrestling champion, and won a bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, proving her mettle.

In fact, even Hornacek defended Blades, revealing that Blades and her team had coached her through the whole move.

Abby Hornacek defends Kennedy Blades and calls her a total pro

If anything, Abby Hornacek insisted that she was the one who asked Kennedy Blades to perform the move on her during the interview. The 31-year-old was covering the Real American Freestyle wrestling event, where Blades starred, for a segment on Fox & Friends before the event.

And after being swiftly flipped and landing on the ground, albeit a little awkwardly, Hornacek rolled over and was back on her feet almost immediately. She then laughed, gave Blades a high-five, and continued the interview. In the aftermath, when asked by her fellow co-hosts if she was all right, the 31-year-old reporter had nothing but kind words to say.

“You know, I actually feel great, you guys,” Hornacek said. “I think Griff was the one that, who said it, um, I was pulverized, pulverized. I– is what I felt like. But Kennedy Blade is a true professional, and look, they… I showed up, and this was my idea. I wanna set the record straight because I got a lot of comments like, “Oh, you know, Kennedy put you in danger.”

“She really didn’t. I said, “Please, Kennedy, can I please do this?” And she was so sweet, just the kindest soul I’ve ever met. But they told me, “Tuck your chin.” And I was like, “Am I gonna land on my back? Am I gonna land on my stomach?” And they go, “You’re gonna land on your back.” And then I kinda landed on my stomach. I don’t know. It was, it was wild, you guys.”

But yes, on the one hand, the situation could have turned out far worse. However, Hornacek’s admission and Blades’ response ultimately shut down the backlash, reinforcing that Blades and her team controlled the move and kept it consensual.

In the end, what started as a “scary” viral moment turned into exactly what both Abby Hornacek and Kennedy Blades wanted: attention for the sport without any real harm done.