Nine wrestlers are among the top favorites for the title of king at the Swiss Wrestling Festival. The overview.
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- The Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festivalwill take place in Mollis GL on August 30 and 31.
- A total of 270 wrestlers will be competing for the title of wrestling king.
- A total of nine wrestlers are among the top favorites to win the festival.
Samuel Giger
A Samuel Giger in top form can defeat anything and anyone. The Thurgau native showed this at Unspunnen 2023, when he confidently secured victory at the festival with six wins, including throwing Fabian Staudenmann on his back in the first round.
However, Giger has not yet managed to make the really big exclamation mark this year. Despite five wreath victories, his performances at the Nordostschweizer (6th place) and the Innerschweizer (4th place) raised questions. Some voices criticized his lack of agility, while wrestling king Nöldi Forrer missed the "atomic shortness" of the north-eastern Swiss.
Despite any question marks, one thing is clear: Giger is one of the hot contenders for the title of king - but he is not alone on this list ...
Fabian Staudenmann
In May 2025, blue Sport trained with Fabian Staudenmann. Is the Bernese heavyweight now ready for the big coup? Without ifs and buts: yes. Staudenmann is at the top of the annual rankings, having won five wreath festivals this year.
Like Samuel Giger, however, Staudenmann has not always been flawless. At the Bern Cantonal, for example, he lost two courses and finished the festival in 6th place. But even top men like Staudenmann (and Giger) sometimes have less good days - that can and must happen on the way to becoming a wrestling king. Staudenmann repeatedly emphasized in his interviews that he wants to continue to learn and improve.
Joel Wicki
The wrestling king delights. After an injury break in June, Joel Wicki is back - and how. He flexed his muscles at the Innerschweizer, screwing Werner Schlegel spectacularly into the sawdust during the first swing. In the final round, he only needed a single face against Pirmin Reichmuth to secure a commanding victory. He was also a force to be reckoned with on the Brünig and took the victory.
Initial question marks about Wicki's sprightliness after he finished last year's wrestling year in 7th place at the 2024 Federal Anniversary Festival have been dispelled.
What also speaks in Wicki's favor: He can do federal wrestling festivals. In 2019 he was in the final round, three years later he crowned himself king. "He is the defending champion and will be highly motivated," said wrestling king Matthias Glarner on blue Sport. "He's someone who adds a little pepper to the soup." Not only blue Sport, but also Glarner himself believes Wicki has "very, very much" to gain in Mollis.
Michael Moser
At the start of the 2024 wrestling season, blue Sport still described Moser as a talent. A year later, the talent that he still is has become a serious contender for the title of king. Moser has what it takes to screw any heavyweight into the sawdust. Fabian Staudenmann and Adrian Walther have already had to believe it this year, and at the end of June Samuel Giger was no match for the 20-year-old from Bern at the Northeast Switzerland Wrestling Festival. The fight against the Thurgau native ended in a draw.
Moser delights the wrestling world. "We're happy that Michu is a Bernese at the end of August (at the Swiss nationals in Mollis, ed.)," says Adrian Walther, for example, after his victory over Moser in the final round at the Emmental. Fellow association member and final round participant from ESAF 2022 Matthias Aeschbacher is also full of praise: "He swings much better than me."
Moser has collected nine wreaths in the current season, with a tenth likely to be added in Mollis. However, with three wreath victories, Moser is far more than a candidate for the federal wreath. He has fought his way into the circle of royal favorites.
Werner Schlegel
He came, saw and won. After an operation on his left ankle, Werner Schlegel only started the wreath festival season at the end of June and was immediately successful at the NOS in St. Gallen. The explosive Toggenburg wrestler is absolutely capable of winning the title of king.
Damian Ott
Ott is in impressive form. The Kilchberg winner has won three wreath festivals this season, two of them at sub-association festivals. His knee also seems to be cooperating after he slightly injured it at the Thurgau cantonal competition at the beginning of May. Ott underlined his strength at the Northwestern Swiss in particular. He defeated three Swiss nationals, defeated Fabian Staudenmann and took the victory.
Armon Orlik
The Grisons native completes the quartet of favorites from north-eastern Switzerland. No matter where Orlik competes, he is one of the favorites. In 2016, he already had a firm sniff at the title of king. However, he was defeated by Matthias Glarner in Estavayer-Le-Lac. He also narrowly missed out on victory at a really big event last season. He was beaten by Fabian Staudenmann in the final round of the anniversary wrestling tournament in Appenzell.
Orlik has only lost once so far this season. At the Glarner-Bündner, he was on his back against Damian Ott in the first round. With five maximum marks in succession, he ultimately crowned himself the winner of the festival. Orlik also won the Zurich cantonal competition.
Pirmin Reichmuth
Is there a wrestler that Pirmin Reichmuth can't put on his back? No. Together with Joel Wicki, he forms the top of the Central Swiss squad and, on a good day, will have a serious say in the title of king.
Out of a total of six wreath festivals in 2025, he won one with the Lucerne Cantonal. He last stepped into the sawdust ring on the Brünig. He will be in top form in Mollis.
Adrian Walther
The man from Bern wants to win the first major title of his career. He came very close to triumphing at the Unspunnen in 2023. Walther lost the final round against Samuel Giger, who was outstanding at the time.
At two meters and 125 kilograms, Walther is a model athlete. He indulged in the full program for the Swiss Confederation. He competed in eight wreath competitions and won the Emmental in July.
