Bloodsport returns with its’ eighth edition as part of this year’s Collective to begin WrestleMania’s weekend festivities. A solid fight card featuring 11 matchups has been booked as fans gather in Fair Park located in Dallas, Texas. Fans will see some familiar faces, returns, and surprising debuts. Let’s take a deeper look at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8.
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8 – Full Card
- Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson’
- Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick
- Masha Slamovich vs. Janai Kai
- Ninja Mack vs. Yoya
- Alex Coughlin vs. SLADE
- Josh Barnett vs. JONAH
- Simon Gotch vs. John Hennigan
- Timothy Thatcher vs. JR Kratos
- Zeda Zhang vs. Marina Shafir
- Mike Bailey vs. Yuya Uemura
- Bad Dude Tito vs. Royce Isaacs
Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson
Chris Dickinson is one of the pillars of GCW Bloodsport as he appeared at each event starting with the premiere one held under the Matt Riddle name. He has a 3 – 5 Bloodsport record with three wins over Andy Williams, Shane Mercer, and JR Kratos. He was defeated by Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Jon Moxley, Jeff Cobb, and at the last edition of the shoot wrestling competition, Minoru Suzuki.
Suzuki sports a 2 – 0 – 1 Bloodsport record, with his first victory coming at the very first event when it was held under the patronage of current WWE Superstar Riddle. They fought in the main event with Pancrase and UWF – I alumni winning by a Rear-Naked Choke. The shoot wrestling veteran’s presence on top of the card was felt in the first Bloodsport promoted under the aforementioned Barnett, where two mixed martial arts legends fought to a time limit draw. The third Suzuki outing in the Bloodsport ring happened last year when he submitted Dickinson by a single-leg Boston crab.
Now, the history comes full circle as they meet again at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8. Will Dickinson serve Suzuki his first loss inside the Bloodsport ring, or self-proclaimed King of Pro Wrestling will continue his triumphal march through all the opposition?
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick
The current GCW World Heavyweight Champion has a 2 – 1 Bloodsport record with his first bout being a win over Dickinson at a third event back in October 2020. He also won his second bout by beating Davey Boy Smith Jr. at Bloodsport 5 in February 2021 and started his winning streak. However, it ended when Mox took on Josh Barnett himself at Bloodsport 6 in April 2021. Each of Moxley’s matches served as the Bloodsport’s main event.
Known as a hardcore brawler who is also willing to turn up things to the ultra-violence level, Moxley doesn’t hesitate to leave his comfort zone and enter the shoot wrestling competition circuit. What’s more, he found it so much attractive that he has decided to incorporate MMA training into his preparation regimen and made Xtreme Couture gym his second home while living in Las Vegas.
Biff Busick, who was known as Oney Lorcan during his WWE stint, was part of said company’s mass releases back in November 2021. Since then, he has made sporadic appearances in Beyond Wrestling, House of Glory Wrestling, and Circle 6 Skewered. He will make his GCW debut at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8, followed by an appearance at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 the day after.
Will Moxley be able to bounce back after his loss to Barnett and make some critical changes to his life, or Busick’s hard-hitting, no-nonsense brawling style will be enough to score him a win in his debut?
Josh Barnett vs. JONAH
The Warmaster is no stranger to the shoot wrestling competition circuit, as he has been exhibiting his grappling skill since 2003 and made his way through New Japan Pro-Wrestling, U-Style, and Inoki Genome Federation before taking his craft to the other promotions and finally becoming a patron of Bloodsport. He has a 3 – 0 – 1 record, with wins over the aforementioned Dickinson, Moxley, and Tiger Ruas, the latter taking place at Bloodsport 7. The other match was a time limit draw against fellow King of Pancrase, Minoru Suzuki. Despite his age, Barnett is still a force to reckon with and there are no signs of him slowing down.
Powerful JONAH will step into the Bloodsport ring for the very first time. Formerly known as Bronson Reed during his WWE NXT stint, JONAH made his way to IMPACT Wrestling and NJPW Strong, among other independent promotions, following his release from WWE.
Barnett has ample experience both inside MMA and shoot wrestling. All his career, he’s been fighting the top caliber of the heavyweight division. Will the experience be a factor in this matchup, or will JONAH’s sheer power be too much for Barnett to handle?
The Rest of the Bloodsport 8 Card
Timothy Thatcher, a Bloodsport veteran himself with a 1 – 3 record, will be making his return to the ropeless ring to take on JR Kratos who sports a 3 – 2 balance.
John Hennigan will be making his Bloodsport debut in hope of impressing the crowd with a mix of his parkour and amateur wrestling, while Simon Gotch will be looking to improve his 2 – 4 record.
Marina Shafir, who debuted with a win over Masha Slamovich, will square off against Zeda Zhang, who made her debut at this event by defeating KZT.
The aforementioned Slamovich, who also is a champion of another shoot wrestling promotion, Combat Fights Unlimited, will be looking for her first victory inside the Bloodsport ring, same as her opponent, Janai Kai.
Also, strike-based stylist Mike Bailey will be making his debut. With a Taekwondo background, he stands on the opposite end to the rest of the participants, who are ground game focused, and no doubt will be looking to score a Knockout victory inside the Bloodsport ring.
GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8 will take place in Dallas, Texas on March 31, 2022.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8 is set to air Thursday at 4:00 PM EDT on FITE. Tickets are also available via Eventbrite.
