{"id":53833,"date":"2019-09-10T22:13:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T02:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=53833"},"modified":"2019-09-10T22:13:43","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T02:13:43","slug":"preview-gcw-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-ii-9-14-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/09\/10\/preview-gcw-josh-barnetts-bloodsport-ii-9-14-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: GCW – Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport II (9\/14\/19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Game Changer Wrestling<\/strong> presents the third installment of the Bloodsport<\/strong> series – and second hosted by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett<\/strong> – for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport II<\/strong><\/em>, the follow-up to a great card over this past WrestleMania week. It’s a shoot-style event, combining catch wrestling, MMA and Strong Style pro wrestling to create a hard-hitting and explosive night of pro wrestling. You can catch\u00a0GCW Josh Barnett\u2019s Bloodsport II<\/em>\u00a0live on Fite.tv\u00a0<\/a>this Saturday night. Sadly, Josh Barnett’s original opponent for the evening, AEW and NJPW star Jon Moxley<\/strong> (formerly WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose) has had to withdraw from the event on account of the staph infection that pulled him from AEW All Out<\/strong><\/em><\/a> on August 31.<\/p>\n

Zachary Wentz vs. Anthony Henry<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A surprising announcement, as Zachary Wentz<\/strong> is best known today as one of the fun-loving Rascalz<\/strong> in IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong>. But before he became a professional wrestler, Wentz was himself an amateur MMA fighter, so it will be interesting to see how he fairs in a more shoot-style environment. But he\u2019s got the backing of several pro wrestlers who know just how tough Wentz actually is. Anthony Henry<\/strong>\u00a0is part of one of the top tag teams in the US indies in\u00a0The Work Horsemen<\/strong>, alongside former WWN Champion\u00a0JD Drake<\/strong>. The duo are former\u00a0EVOLVE<\/strong>\u00a0Tag Team Champions and current reigning tag team champions for\u00a0Freelance Wrestling<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AWE)<\/strong>. But both men are quite capable singles fighters \u2013 Anthony Henry had actually quit wrestling in the mid-2000s to pursue an MMA career and is the reigning\u00a0Full Impact Pro<\/strong>\u00a0World Champion, holding it over 300 days<\/p>\n

Lindsay Snow vs. Sumie Sakai<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida,\u00a0Lindsay Snow<\/strong>\u00a0is a student of former 2x Ring of Honor World Champion\u00a0Jay Lethal<\/strong>\u00a0who got her start in 2016. A regular in the Florida indies with\u00a0Full Throttle Pro<\/strong>\u00a0wrestling and\u00a0Coastal Championship Wrestling<\/strong>, she\u2019s also worked with\u00a0Shine Wrestling<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0RISE Wrestling<\/strong>. The inaugural\u00a0Ring of Honor<\/strong>\u00a0Women of Honor World Champion<\/a>,\u00a0Sumie Sakai<\/strong>\u00a0was the first women to compete for ROH back in 2002. Before moving to the US to pursue the US indies, she competed in her native Japan in the late 90s for\u00a0Jd\u2019 Star, All Japan Women\u2019s Wrestling<\/strong>,\u00a0Fuyuki Army, Michinoku Pro<\/strong>, and many more. Sakai is a legend amongst women\u2019s wrestling, both in the US indies and Japan, and will be bringing her brand of strong style to Bloodsport II<\/em>.<\/p>\n

JR Kratos vs. Erik Hammer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe God of War\u201d\u00a0JR Kratos<\/strong>\u00a0is a West Coast indie talent who has been a powerhouse since he started out in 2012. A regular with\u00a0All Pro Wrestling (APW)<\/strong>, he\u2019s a 2x APW Universal Heavyweight Champion who has also worked with\u00a0Alternative Wrestling Show (AWS), Supreme Pro Wrestling (SPW)<\/strong>\u00a0(he\u2019s a 3x SPW Heavyweight Champion) and various other West Coast indies, including\u00a0PCW ULTRA<\/strong>, where he\u2019s been featured in the tag team\u00a0Border Patrol<\/strong>\u00a0alongside\u00a0Colt Stevens<\/strong>. This marks Kratos\u2019 second Bloodsport appearance, defeating\u00a0Simon Grimm<\/strong> (formerly Simon Gotch in WWE) this past April.\u00a0Erik Hammer\u00a0<\/strong>is a legit catch wrestler who has competed globally in Catch Tournaments. The official training partner of Josh Barnett, he’s also competed for Antonio Inoki<\/strong>‘s Inoki Genome Federation (IGF)<\/strong> from 2008 through 2015.<\/p>\n

Matt Makowski vs. Rory Gulak<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With it being a shoot-style tournament, Bloodsport has always attracted former MMA fighters into the event and Bloodsport II <\/em>is no exception. The first one in 2018 saw Matt Riddle, \u201cFilthy\u201d Tom Lawlor, Dan \u201cThe Beast\u201d Severn<\/strong>, and\u00a0Pancrase<\/strong>\u00a0founder (and NJPW star)\u00a0Minoru Suzuki<\/strong>, while the first Josh Barnett incarnation this past spring saw the Bloodsport debuts of former UFC fighters\u00a0Frank Mir, Phil Baroni<\/strong>, and the debut of Barnett. This year\u2019s next former MMA fighter is\u00a0Matt \u201cWeapon X\u201d Makowski<\/strong>, who competed professionally from 2007 to 2010, fighting for\u00a0EliteXC<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Bellator<\/strong> amongst others, compiling a 6-2 record.\u00a0Rory Gulak<\/strong>, brother of WWE Cruiserweight Champion\u00a0Drew Gulak<\/strong>, has been one of the US indies top technical wrestlers since he debuted in 2008. He’s competed in some top tier contests with such promotions as\u00a0Beyond Wrestling, CHIKARA, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Black Label Pro<\/strong>, and\u00a0EVOLVE Wrestling.<\/p>\n

Simon Grimm vs. Anthony Carelli<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A jiu-jitsu expert who trained at former UFC fighter Seth Petruzelli\u2019s\u00a0MMA Jungle Gym, Simon Grimm <\/strong>is former WWE Superstar Simon Gotch <\/strong>of The Vaudevillains<\/strong>, who departed from the WWE in 2017. Since then, he’s reinvented himself as more of a pure technical grappler as Grimm, working with the likes of Ring of Honor, Black Label Pro, GCW and others, including a two year run as a regular with Major League Wrestling (MLW)<\/strong>, where he runs the stable, CONTRA. Best known to most wrestling fans as WWE Superstar\u00a0Santino Marella<\/strong>, this Canadian grappler is best known for his comedic work. But don\u2019t let his adorable accent and antics fool you \u2013 the man behind the gimmick is a capable technician. Trained in Japan at the original\u00a0BattleArts<\/strong>\u00a0by legendary Japanese wrestler\u00a0Yuki Ishikawa<\/strong>, he was also dabbling in MMA when he became a Superstar out of obscurity with WWE in the 2000s. A World-class judo fighter, Anthony Carelli will probably be the standout of Bloodsport II<\/em>, simply because most people will be surprised just what the Milan Miracle is actually capable of.<\/p>\n

Allysin Kay vs. Nicole Savoy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former IMPACT Knockouts Champion\u00a0Allysin Kay<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 also known as\u00a0Sienna\u00a0\u2013 becomes the first woman to enter the franchise. A scrappy and intense competitor her entire career, the reigning NWA World Women\u2019s Champion and former\u00a0Shine<\/strong>\u00a0Champion will be looking to make a statement at\u00a0Bloodsport II, as one of the indies toughest competitors.\u00a0Nicole Savoy<\/strong>\u00a0is the reigning\u00a0SHIMMER<\/strong>\u00a0Champion, a title she\u2019s held for 648-days. A seven-year pro with SHIMMER,\u00a0RISE, Queens of Combat, Bar Wrestling<\/strong>, and many more, in 2018 she had a successful tour with\u00a0Stardom<\/strong>\u00a0in Japan. She also took part in the inaugural WWE Mae Young Classic in 2017.<\/p>\n

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Timothy Thatcher<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ikuhisa Minowa<\/strong> made his debut in 1996 at the\u00a0Lumax Cup<\/em> tournament before starting with Pancrase<\/strong> (the MMA company founded by Minoru Suzuki<\/strong> & Ken Shamrock<\/strong> in the early 1990s) in the 1997\u00a0Neo-Blood Tournament<\/em>. Minowa started off poorly in his MMA career, going 1-8-1, before finding his groove \u2013 by 2000, he rebounded with an 16-4-5 run. In 2000, he fought for UFC at\u00a0UFC 25<\/em> in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Joe Slick<\/strong> when the doctor stopped the fight. He\u2019s continued to fight for multiple MMA promotions, including PRIDE, DREAM<\/strong>, and DEEP<\/strong>, compiling a career 64-42-8 record. Timothy Thatcher<\/strong>\u00a0returns for his third Bloodsport appearance and will hopefully find his first win. At\u00a0Matt Riddle\u2019s Bloodsport<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>in 2018, he lost to\u00a0Nick Gage<\/strong>, and earlier this spring at the first\u00a0Josh Barnett\u2019s Bloodsport<\/em>, he lost to Japanese veteran\u00a0Hideki Suzuki<\/strong>. But just because he\u2019s 0-2 at Bloodsport, doesn\u2019t mean Thatcher remains one of the toughest men in the sport. He\u2019s a veteran of Germany\u2019s\u00a0Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw)<\/strong>, where he\u2019s part of\u00a0Ringkampf<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0WALTER<\/strong>\u00a0and was\u00a0EVOLVE<\/strong> Champion for 596 dominating days. This could be the match of Bloodsport II<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Davey Boy Smith Jr.<\/strong>\u00a0returns for his second\u00a0Bloodsport<\/em> event after having one of the matches of the night this past spring in a slobberknocker against Killer Kross. The third-generation star, trained by his grandfather\u00a0Stu Hart<\/strong>\u00a0as well as legendary UK technician\u00a0Billy Robinson<\/strong>, is well versed for these catch\/shoot style tournaments. Former MLW\u00a0World Heavyweight Champion and former UFC fighter \u201cFilthy\u201d\u00a0Tom Lawlor<\/strong>\u00a0makes his second\u00a0Bloodsport\u00a0<\/em>appearance, having faced\u00a0WALTER<\/strong> at the first one last year. He\u2019s become one of MLW\u2019s breakout stars in the past year and continues to shine, but getting back to his MMA roots in a shoot-style event will be a lot of fun for the fans and wrestler himself.<\/p>\n

Josh Barnett vs. Chris Dickinson<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Host Josh Barnett has been an MMA fighter since 1997, fighting for the UFC, Strikeforce, PRIDE<\/strong>\u00a0and even\u00a0Ken Shamrock<\/strong>\u00a0and Minoru Suzuki\u2019s\u00a0Pancrase<\/strong>. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion transitioned into pro wrestling in 2003, training with Billy Robinson and working with NJPW.\u00a0\u00a0Chris Dickinson<\/strong>\u00a0has been both a tag team specialist and one-man wrecking machine throughout his career. He was a member of\u00a0Catch Point<\/strong>\u00a0in EVOLVE Wrestling, winning the EVOLVE Tag Team titles alongside\u00a0Jaka<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Doom Patrol<\/strong>, as well as being one of the main threats in\u00a0Beyond Wrestling\u00a0for years. A perfect combo of speed, power and technique, this is Dickinson\u2019s third straight\u00a0Bloodsport<\/em>\u00a0event, losing to\u00a0Dan \u201cThe Beast\u201d Severn<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0Matt Riddle\u2019s Bloodsport<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0last year and defeating \u201cThe Butcher of Buffalo\u201d\u00a0Andy Williams<\/strong>\u00a0at Josh Barnett\u2019s first\u00a0Bloodsport<\/em>\u00a0this spring.<\/p>\n

Nick Gage vs. Killer Kross<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo: GCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nick Gage returns for his second Bloodsport <\/em>event, having competed at Matt Riddle’s inaugural event, where he defeated Timothy Thatcher by KO. The reigning GCW World Heavyweight Champion is the undisputed King of American Hardcore and it will be a savage contest as he faces a Killer. Killer Kross returns for his second Bloodsport<\/em> event, having made his series debut earlier this year at the first Josh Barnett event in the franchise (the first one was actually launched with Matt Riddle<\/strong> in 2018). He faced off against MLW\u00a0and former NJPW star\u00a0Davey Boy Smith Jr<\/strong>. in one of the surprise best matches of the night, that showed Kross could compete at an even higher level.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned to the\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for 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. Catch\u00a0GCW Josh Barnett\u2019s Bloodsport II<\/em>\u00a0live on Fite.tv<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Game Changer Wrestling presents the third installment of the Bloodsport series – and second hosted by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett – for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport II, the follow-up to a great card over this past WrestleMania week. It’s a shoot-style event, combining catch wrestling, MMA and Strong Style pro wrestling to create a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":53865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[2,5274,6],"tags":[611,699,4327,2921,2190,1194,2015],"class_list":["post-53833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-gcw","category-north-america","tag-allysin-kay","tag-davey-boy-smith-jr","tag-josh-barnetts-bloodsport","tag-killer-kross","tag-sumie-sakai","tag-timothy-thatcher","tag-tom-lawlor"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53833","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\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}