The 2022 Rogue Invitational is scheduled for Oct. 28-30, 2022, at the Dell Diamond stadium in Round Rock, TX. After the inaugural contest in 2021, the Rogue Strongman Invitational will return in 2022.
While the roster is not complete at the time of this article’s publication, four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Brian Shaw took to his YouTube channel on Aug. 30, 2022, to reveal that he declined his invitation.
Shaw stated that he received his invitation to the Rogue Invitational before the 2022 WSM contest, which was held May 24-29, 2022, in Sacramento, CA. After completing the third annual Shaw Classic as both a promoter and competitor — he finished second to two-time champion Trey Mitchell — Shaw decided it was time for a break from competition. Check out Shaw’s complete statement in the video below:
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As of Aug. 30, 2022, the confirmed athletes for the 2022 Rogue Invitational are as follows:
2022 Rogue Strongman Invitational Roster (Thus Far)
- Martin Licis — Reigning Champion
- Oleksii Novikov
- Rob Kearney
- Maxime Boudreault
- Trey Mitchell
- Bobby Thompson
- Mitchell Hooper
In 2021, there were 10 strongmen on the Rogue Invitational roster. Shaw isn’t the first strongman to decline his invite to compete. Both Luke and Tom Stoltman also declined their invites.
Presumably, the roster above with both Stoltmans and Shaw would have completed the roster for 2022. Likely, the three invites that have been declined will be offered to other strongmen to fill out the 10-man roster. It isn’t known who else, if anyone, Rogue has offered those invitations to.
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While the 2022 Rogue Invitational roster remains unfinished, Licis can still assess who will be his biggest contender for the title. Tom Stoltman finished as the runner-up in 2022 and is the reigning two-time WSM champion, but he is out.
Novikov was third in 2021 and will return to the Dell Diamond to challenge Licis. Although Shaw is out, at least a pair of former WSM champions — Licis and Novikov — are set to compete in Texas.
Featured image: @shawstrength on Instagram
