"You were and are definitely on steroids"- AJ Ferrari drops teasing message as Bo Nickal weighs in on steroid usage in NCAA wrestling

AJ Ferrari reacted to Bo Nickal cryptically calling out Meyer Shapiro's claim that several wrestlers use steroids. Ferrari was on the run for his first NCAA title with Cal State Bakersfield but succumbed to Stephan Buchanan of Iowa State, winning the bronze finish.

Ferrari previously competed with Oklahoma State University, winning the Big Ten and NCAA Championships title in 2021. He was the top recruit in the country when he committed to Oklahoma, but his journey was cut short after he was held guilty of sexual assault.

Ferrari committed to Cal State Bakersfield in 2024 and vied to rack up more National titles in his tenure with the new college program. He competed in the 197-pound bracket at the 2025 NCAA Championships, soaring past rivals in the initial rounds but losing to Iowa State's Stephan Buchanan to settle for bronze.

Shortly after, he hilariously called out UFC wrestler Bo Nickal as the latter posted a picture of himself competing for Penn State, where he won three NCAA Division I titles, asking whether his success came after taking steroids.

AJ Ferrari's remark read:

"@NoBickal you were and are definitely on steroids lol - just like me and Greg Kirklevet and everyone else that has great genetics and put work into their craft lol."

This came after Cornell's Meyer Shapiro claimed that several athletes take steroids to get an edge over opponents on the mat. Expressing his desire to compete at a lower weight category, he said:

"As much as I want to wrestle 165, I could be a 149-pounder if I want to be. Some guys, they're taking steroids, and some they're not taking steroids. Wink wink. It's just crazy."

Shapiro took fifth position in his respective weight class at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

AJ Ferrari reflects on his defeat at the 2025 Nationals and anticipates stronger finishes in the upcoming seasons

Ferrari fighting at 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship - (Source: Getty)

AJ Ferrari was amid an impressive season at the OSU when he stepped on the run for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He competed at the US Olympic team trials in 2021 but lost in the first and the consolidation round, ending his maiden Games bid.

The same year, he earned two titles at the NCAA level but was left with just a bronze in his next attempt, this time with Cal State. Ferrari's loss at the 2025 NCAA Championships didn't dishearten him. Rather, it allowed him to focus on goals in the coming seasons.

""I may have not accomplished my goal, but I am more grateful for God teaching me to understand that the Lord has bigger plans than my own, and that I must learn this lesson that God taught me from this weekend. This is just a half-way mark of my college wrestling career…" he captioned.

Ferrari won the Pac-12 title in his first season with the Cal State Bakersfield.