USA Wrestling has updated its new "Bout of the Week" which has been posted as a video file on-line on  TheMat.com Audio/Video website .

The featured match this week is the 2007 Doug Schwab vs. Chris Bono championship series match in men's freestyle wrestling at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. at the United States Marine Corps U.S. World Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev.

This was a battle between a proven veteran star, Bono, who had been on three previous U.S. World Teams against Schwab, a wrestler who was having the best tournament of his career after many years of paying his dues. It also went down to one of the sport's top rivalries on the college level, as Bono competed at Iowa State and Schwab hailed from the University of Iowa.

Chris Bono is a native of Florida, a three-time state champion who made his name known on the national level. He went to compete in college at Iowa State, winning the 1996 NCAA title and earning three All-American honors for legendary coach Bobby Douglas.

Doug Schwab hailed from wrestling rich Iowa, a high school state champion who was recruited to compete for the storied University of Iowa program. Schwab was a 1999 NCAA champion and won three All-American honors, wrestling for the legendary Dan Gable and his successful predecessor Jim Zalesky.

Bono became a talented freestyle wrestler, but spent a few years in the shadows of longtime rival Lincoln McIlravy, who beat Bono out for the spot on the 2000 Olympic Team and won a bronze medal.

It was 2001 when Bono was able to rise to the top within the United States, claiming a spot on the U.S. World Team but failing to place at the World Championships. Again in 2002, Bono made the U.S. World Team, but was unable to compete when the U.S. team did not attend the World Championships in Iran due to a threat of violence against the team.

The following year, Bono saw his spot at the top taken away by the surprising Jamill Kelly, who came out of the pack to win the World Team Trials and claim the No. 1 spot. Again in 2004, Kelly remained on top, capturing the Olympic Trials and going on to win an Olympic silver medal. Bono was fourth in the Olympic Trials that year.

Schwab began pursuing international freestyle on the Senior level, and was competitive in a very deep weight class. In the years leading up to the 2004 Olympic Trials, Schwab placed either fifth or sixth at the Team Trials event. 

In 2005, after Kelly left the competitive field, Bono battled his way back to the top, winning the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials, but failing to medal at the World Championships. In 2006, Bono was the national champion but did not make the World Team, as the surprising Bill Zadick captured the weight class, then went on to win a World gold medal for the USA. During those seasons, Schwab remained competitive in the weight, with his best finish being a bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. Nationals.

In 2007, Bono served his first year as the head wrestling coach at the Univ. of Tennessee - Chattanooga, and did not compete during the winter freestyle season. He came back to the mats at the U.S. Nationals and surprised many by capturing his third career U.S. Nationals title. It is very rare for a Div. I coach to also be able to excel as an international athlete, so Bono's feat was widely heralded. In the same U.S. Nationals, Schwab, who works as an assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Iowa, finished seventh.

The 2007 World Team Trials in Las Vegas featured a one-day tournament in each weight class. As national champion and multiple World Team member, Bono was able to sit out and wait for the winner of the Challenge Tournament. 

Schwab, seeded sixth, ran off an amazing streak of wins during the morning session, defeating No. 3 seed Jared Lawrence, No. 2 seed Zack Esposito and No. 1 seed Jared Frayer all in a row. 

In the championship series, the Bono against Schwab series was very close and extremely competitive. Bono won the first match, 2-1, 3-0, with Schwab winning the second bout 2-1, 2-1. The deciding third bout went all three periods, with Schwab scoring a takedown with 15 seconds left in the last period for an amazing 0-1, 1-0, 1-1 victory.

Doug Schwab will be competing in his first World Championships for the United States this upcoming week in Baku, Azerbaijan, seeking to win a medal. 

This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history. Posted in the archive section of the Members Only web page was the 2007 Joe Heskett vs. Casey Cunningham championship series finals match in men's freestyle wrestling at 74 kg/163 lbs. at the United States Marine Corps U.S. World Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev. Many other entertaining and historic matches are in the archive section for the Bout of the Week.