{"id":112061,"date":"2022-03-29T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T16:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=112061"},"modified":"2022-03-28T16:40:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T20:40:02","slug":"gcw-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2022\/03\/29\/gcw-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-8\/","title":{"rendered":"#TheCollective: GCW Josh Barnett&#8217;s Bloodsport 8 (3\/31\/22)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><em>Bloodsport<\/em><\/strong> returns with its\u2019 eighth edition as part of this year&#8217;s <strong><em>Collective<\/em><\/strong> to begin WrestleMania\u2019s 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&#8217;s take a deeper look at <strong><em>Josh Barnett&#8217;s Bloodsport 8<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Josh Barnett&#8217;s Bloodsport 8 &#8211; Full Card<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson&#8217;<\/li>\n<li>Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick<\/li>\n<li>Masha Slamovich vs. Janai Kai<\/li>\n<li>Ninja Mack vs. Yoya<\/li>\n<li>Alex Coughlin vs. SLADE<\/li>\n<li>Josh Barnett vs. JONAH<\/li>\n<li>Simon Gotch vs. John Hennigan<\/li>\n<li>Timothy Thatcher vs. JR Kratos<\/li>\n<li>Zeda Zhang vs. Marina Shafir<\/li>\n<li>Mike Bailey vs. Yuya Uemura<\/li>\n<li>Bad Dude Tito vs. Royce Isaacs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/HCLO2JW.jpg\" alt=\"Minoru Suzuki Chris Dickinson Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Chris Dickinson<\/strong> is one of the pillars of\u00a0 <em>GCW Bloodsport<\/em> as he appeared at each event starting with the premiere one held under the <strong>Matt Riddle<\/strong> name. He has a 3 &#8211; 5 <em>Bloodsport<\/em> record with three wins over <strong>Andy Williams<\/strong>, <strong>Shane Mercer<\/strong>, and <strong>JR Kratos<\/strong>. He was defeated by <strong>Dan Severn<\/strong>, <strong>Josh Barnett<\/strong>, <strong>Jon Moxley<\/strong>, <strong>Jeff Cobb<\/strong>, and at the last edition of the shoot wrestling competition, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2022\/02\/19\/minoru-suzuki-bloodsport-8\/\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Minoru Suzuki<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suzuki sports a 2 \u2013 0 \u2013 1 <em>Bloodsport<\/em> record, with his first victory coming at the very first event when it was held under the patronage of current <strong>WWE<\/strong> Superstar Riddle. They fought in the main event with Pancrase and UWF &#8211; I alumni winning by a Rear-Naked Choke. The shoot wrestling veteran\u2019s presence on top of the card was felt in the first <em>Bloodsport<\/em> promoted under the aforementioned Barnett, where two mixed martial arts legends fought to a time limit draw. The third Suzuki outing in the <em>Bloodsport<\/em> ring happened last year when he submitted Dickinson by a single-leg Boston crab.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, the history comes full circle as they meet again at <em>Josh Barnett&#8217;s Bloodsport 8<\/em>. Will Dickinson serve Suzuki his first loss inside the <em>Bloodsport<\/em> ring, or self-proclaimed King of Pro Wrestling will continue his triumphal march through all the opposition?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/MXpBOWe.jpg\" alt=\"Jon Moxley vs Biff Busick\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/09\/05\/jon-moxley-wins-gcw-world-championship\/\" target=\"_self\">The current GCW World Heavyweight Champion<\/a> has a 2 &#8211; 1 <em>Bloodsport<\/em> 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 <strong>Davey Boy Smith Jr.<\/strong> at <strong><em>Bloodsport 5<\/em><\/strong> in February 2021 and started his winning streak. However, it ended when Mox took on <strong>Josh Barnett<\/strong> himself at <strong><em>Bloodsport 6<\/em><\/strong> in April 2021. Each of Moxley\u2019s matches served as the <em>Bloodsport\u2019s<\/em> main event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Known as a hardcore brawler who is also willing to turn up things to the ultra-violence level, Moxley doesn\u2019t hesitate to leave his comfort zone and enter the shoot wrestling competition circuit. What\u2019s 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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Biff Busick<\/strong>, who was known as <strong>Oney Lorcan<\/strong> during his <strong>WWE<\/strong> stint, was part of said company&#8217;s mass releases back in November 2021. Since then, he has made sporadic appearances in <strong>Beyond Wrestling<\/strong>, <strong>House of Glory Wrestling<\/strong>, and <strong>Circle 6 Skewered<\/strong>. He will make his GCW debut at <em>Josh Barnett\u2019s Bloodsport 8<\/em>, followed by an appearance at <strong><em>Joey Janela\u2019s Spring Break 6<\/em><\/strong> the day after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will Moxley be able to bounce back after his loss to Barnett and make some critical changes to his life, or Busick\u2019s hard-hitting, no-nonsense brawling style will be enough to score him a win in his debut?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/6OhyTqa.jpg\" alt=\"Josh Barnett vs JONAH at Bloodsport 8\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Josh Barnett vs. JONAH<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 <strong>New Japan Pro-Wrestling<\/strong>, <strong>U-Style<\/strong>, and <strong>Inoki Genome Federation<\/strong> before taking his craft to the other promotions and finally becoming a patron of <em>Bloodsport<\/em>. He has a 3 &#8211; 0 &#8211; 1 record, with wins over the aforementioned Dickinson, Moxley, and <strong>Tiger Ruas<\/strong>, the latter taking place at <strong><em>Bloodsport 7<\/em><\/strong>. 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powerful <strong>JONAH<\/strong> will step into the <em>Bloodsport<\/em> ring for the very first time. Formerly known as <strong>Bronson Reed<\/strong> during his <strong>WWE NXT<\/strong> stint, JONAH made his way to <strong>IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> and <strong>NJPW Strong<\/strong>, among other independent promotions, following his release from WWE.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barnett has ample experience both inside MMA and shoot wrestling. All his career, he&#8217;s been fighting the top caliber of the heavyweight division. Will the experience be a factor in this matchup, or will JONAH\u2019s sheer power be too much for Barnett to handle?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Rest of the Bloodsport 8 Card<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Timothy Thatcher<\/strong>, a <em>Bloodsport<\/em> veteran himself with a 1 \u2013 3 record, will be making his return to the ropeless ring to take on JR Kratos who sports a 3 &#8211; 2 balance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>John Hennigan<\/strong> will be making his <em>Bloodsport<\/em> debut in hope of impressing the crowd with a mix of his parkour and amateur wrestling, while <strong>Simon Gotch<\/strong> will be looking to improve his 2 &#8211; 4 record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Marina Shafir<\/strong>, who debuted with a win over <strong>Masha Slamovich<\/strong>, will square off against <strong>Zeda Zhang,<\/strong> who made her debut at this event by defeating <strong>KZT<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The aforementioned Slamovich, who also is a champion of another shoot wrestling promotion, <strong>Combat Fights Unlimited<\/strong>, will be looking for her first victory inside the <em>Bloodsport<\/em> ring, same as her opponent, <strong>Janai Kai<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Also, strike-based stylist <strong>Mike Bailey<\/strong> 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 <em>Bloodsport<\/em> ring.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>GCW Josh Barnett&#8217;s Bloodsport 8 will take place in Dallas, Texas on March 31, 2022<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> 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&#8217;s Bloodsport 8 is set to air Thursday at 4:00 PM EDT on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fite.tv\/watch\/gcw-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-8\/2paxj\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FITE<\/a>. Tickets are also available via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/gcw-presents-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-8-tickets-274479795457\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eventbrite<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bloodsport returns with its\u2019 eighth edition as part of this year&#8217;s Collective to begin WrestleMania\u2019s 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&#8217;s take a deeper look at Josh Barnett&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4054,"featured_media":112082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5274,6],"tags":[8274,785,3510,4395,5915,1285,4327,6925,620,1705],"class_list":["post-112061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gcw","category-north-america","tag-biff-busick","tag-chris-dickinson","tag-john-hennigan","tag-jon-moxley","tag-jonah","tag-josh-barnett","tag-josh-barnetts-bloodsport","tag-masha-slamovich","tag-minoru-suzuki","tag-simon-gotch"],"modified_by":"Robbie Sutter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4054"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}