15 July 2022
Victory in Austin: Team New Wave won five out of five matches tonight here in Austin at the finale of the Whose Next grappling reality show hosted by @flograppling Big Dan Manasoiu began the action with a submission win over a very tough Tristan Overvig from the Daisy Fresh team. Then Mike Rakeshan, one of the most popular characters from the show, defeated Sewer Rat via Kesa Gatame asphyxiation. Giancarlo Bodoni won a unanimous decision against the extremely talented B Team standout Jay Rodriguez in the most exciting bout of the evening with both athletes showing brilliant attack and defense. Nicholas Meregali then defeated world champion Breylor Grout via submission with a beautifully executed Kata Gatame strangle after a splendid display of positional dominance that showed his development in no gi jiu jitsu. Then main event Gordon Ryan stepped up to take on the current heavyweight WNO champion and the man who has dominated no gi heavyweight competition the last twelve months, Pedro Merinho. Mr Ryan was determined to show the power of his pinning game which he did in fine style - taking an athlete of the level of Pedro Merinho who is very difficult to control and sticking him to the mat is very difficult indeed, but Mr Ryan did it for fifteen uninterrupted minutes whilst maintaining a draining asphyxiation that wears down even the toughest opponents. With five minutes left he decided to end the match with his characteristic back strangle. Five out of five wins - four out of five submissions - these guys are talented! I hope you all enjoyed the show!! Thank you as always to @roka for giving us the training facility that makes it possible to prepare for these events
John Danaher