The TGGL finds itself back at it again in their most recent extravaganza, The Cleveland Carjitsu Kingd Tournament, held annually in lovely North Eastern Ohio. This year, the kings found themselves in scenic Middleburg Heights, Ohio, live from the front seat (and perhaps the roof?) of a 2000 Dodge Durango.
As the action got underway, we found ourselves with an exciting first match up, Baeppler v Neeley. Luke Baeppler, fighting out of Tackle Jiujitsu, would be going up against James Neeley of Stout PGH.
Both men spring to life early on in the match, in a race to get out of their respective seatbelts, but it would be Neeley who proved more driven to the win in this carjitsu match, finishing the round via RNC submission in the backseat, after a hardfought scramble through the vehicle’s totality.
Next up in the Durango, we’d see Prograppler’s own Dan “Cowboy Dan” Hughes facing off against One Up BJJ’s Lance Grifo. Hughes is no stranger to mid-nineties SUVs, and is a veteran of the previous Carjitsu Kings Tournament, being eliminated in the second round by a masked luchador known only as Herman Melville. Let’s see if he can do a little better this go through.
Hughes would find himself to the seatbelt release first, gaining a decisive edge in the initial scramble. Back to the ceiling of the vehicle, Hughes would press down on Gifo, securing the seatbelt in his farside hand, and looking to finish early. Lance would not surrender without event, however, and manages to keep a hand on the inside of the belt, buying precious moments. However, his fingers didn’t last forever, and Hughes would secure the first round victory (and the $5 Sheetz giftcard).
Following Hughes v Grifo, we would have Tackle Jiujitsu’s Marty Rehor facing off against this tournament’s dark horse character, a man known only as “Travis”.
Both men would find the seatbelt release at about the same time, but it appears like Rehor was just a little bit quicker on the fly here, as he moves directly into a mounted position atop young Travis. Travis manages to keep his head above water and out of the seatbelt, to his credit, and the two manage to languish in the front driver-side seat for a solid scramble, grappling with the doors in the process. Ultimately, it would be the door that would spell out Travis’ undoing, as Rehor expels Travis out of the door for a victory via ring-out.
Following Marty’s win over Travis via ring-out, we would see Tackle Jiijitsu’s Kyle Vlcek facing off against our most handsomely dressed competitor of the tournament, an outsider known to the world as “Alex”.
Early on, we would see an interesting defense by the newcomer, Alex. Rather than race to undo his belt, he opts to try and restrain Kyle’s belt near the shoulder. The tactic would not prove to be particularly effective in this fielding, as Vlcek would proceed to just bull his way through the man’s frame and into the backseat, splaying Alex over the center console. Alex would mange to maneuver fully into the back in an attempt to create some space, but it would prove to be not enough, as Kyle presses his attack. Opening the door, Vleck would initially threaten to expel Alex from the back passenger door, however settles into knee-on-belly, and secure the tap from there.
This event was electric! So much fun to compete in, and the TGGL does a great job of keeping the comp fun, but respectable. Follow for more of Round 1 coverage of the TGGL’s Cleveland Carjitsu Kings Tournament! And, as always, thank you for grappling!
