NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman and our colleague and correspondent Malaak Shabazz provide coverage of the main event of MidwoodMania IV, which was held Saturday, April 27, at the Campus Road Gymnasium of Midwood High School in Brooklyn, New York.

MidwoodMania IV featured ten wrestling matches under American folkstyle and freestyle rules. The last three matches for the first time were tag team folkstyle matches, with three, four-minute periods and only one tag allowed per period, and only during a break.

In the main event, the 55-year-old Midwood Coach George Hero scored a last-second takedown over Anthony Chu to lead his team, along with Chris Amro, to a 13-12 come-from-behind victory over Chu and Brian Anderson. Amro, Chu, and Anderson are currently college wrestlers for NYU.

Right after the final match, along with Malaak Shabazz, we spoke with Coach George Hero, Anthony Chu, Brian Anderson, Chris Amro, NYU assistant wrestling coach Mike Torriero, and several others about their experience at this event.

Coach Hero paid tribute to Anthony Chu.

"Let me tell you, Anthony is powerful. He can move for a big man. It was the first time in my career that I was actually outweighed," said Coach Hero. "So this was a new experience."

We discussed the successful debut of real, tag team folkstyle wrestling, and how that increased the action and scoring in the three matches held in that format. We discussed the need for more wrestling programs both for women and alumni wrestlers, the need for innovation and creativity in marketing and advertising wrestling, and much more.

Some photos of MidwoodMania IV can be seen here.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Anthony Chu, Brian Anderson, Brooklyn, Chris Amro, Coach George Hero, Eddie Goldman, Malaak Shabazz, Midwood High School, MidwoodMania, No Holds Barred, NYU, tag teams, wrestling