On another busy wrestling weekend, the unique format of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport returns for a 12th edition, headlined by the namesake taking on MVP.
It will be the current AEW manager’s first action since July 2022 when he was still in WWE. Barnett is 2-1 in Bloodsport his year and is coming off a victory over Bad Dude Tito in July.
WWE NXT will be represented as Charlie Dempsey returns for action against Akira, Myles Borne battles Royce Isaacs, and Karmen Petrovic goes one-on-one with Sumie Sakai.
In a clash of former TNA champions, former World Champion Josh Alexander battles past rival and former X-Division titleholder “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich will battle fellow roster member Lei Ying Lee while another TNA star — Jody Threat — battles Death Riders enforcer Marina Shafir.
In a clash of tag team partners, Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini of Violence is Forever.
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According to Dave Meltzer’s Daily Update, Akira will be off today’s Bloodsport XII show with an injury that he suffered last night in Illinois. Tracey Williams has been announced as Akira’s replacement; Williams will now take on Charlie Dempsey instead.
Big “BLOOD-SPORT!” chant from the crowd at the top of the show. The ring announcer ran down Bloodsport rules before each of tonight’s wrestlers walked out to the ring, one by one. And we got one more “BLOOD-SPORT!” chant after everyone on the card was announced and lined up in the ring.
Lou Nixon (1–1) defeated Calvin Tankman (2–4) via TKO
The crowd gave Tankman a “WELCOME BACK!” and a “TANKMAN!” chant.
Right out of the gate, Tankman leveled Nixon with a massive Avalanche that sent the Brit out of the ropeless ring. Nixon was back in the ring quickly trading kicks and palm strikes with the larger Tankman.
Tankman slammed Nixon to the mat before Nixon locked Tankman in an ankle lock. Tankman punched his way out of the hold.
Nixon later caught Tankman with a running elbow that he followed up with a few stomps for the TKO win. Nixon picks up his first-ever win in Bloodsport.
David Modzmanashvili (1–0) defeated Matt Makowski (2–4) via TKO
Modzmanashvili, who made his Bloodsport debut tonight, walked out to the Georgian national anthem. The announcers said he was previously in the Olympics wrestling for Uzbekistan. He’s a massive human being.
Early in this Modzmanashvili landed an explosive double-leg takedown on Makowski that woke the crowd up. Makowski was able to move into a triangle choke attempt before Modzmanashvili muscled out of Makowski’s guard as he went for an ankle hold. Makowski laid in a few shots to Modzmanashvili’s head.
Modzmanashvili would later launch Makowski with a German suplex that left Makowski outside of the ring. The crowd let out a “HO-LY SH**!” chant and the moment was even replayed on the broadcast.
Whenever Makowski had Modzmanashvili on the ropes, the crowd started to boo. They fell in love with this guy by the end of the match, which Modzmanashvili won with a massive Vader-like power bomb. The ref called for the TKO finish.
The crowd would then chant “PLEASE COME BACK!” and “DA-VID!” afterwards (because good luck on trying to chant his surname). Modzmanashvili is victorious in his Bloodsport debut and left a dent in the mind’s of all who watched him today. A star is born, ladies & gentlemen.
Karmen Petrovic (1–0) defeated Sumie Sakai (1–1) via TKO
Petrovic is a Bosnian-born karate champion who now works for WWE. Sakai has only participated in one Bloodsport event but has been on the scene since 1997, and has become one of the most respected figures on the US independent scene in the past decade or more.
Petrovic is tall and flashy and demonstrated her distinct style of striking up front, albeit struggling to connect with some of the roundhouse kicks she was throwing. Sakai would take her down in the first minute or so with a basic headlock takedown to kesa gatame hold.
Petrovic did the inverted enzuigiri kick to Sakai, the one similar to RVD’s famous spot. She’d get into top mount position and threw a few palm strikes before Sakai reversed control. Sakai dominated on the mat and in any grappling scenario these two got into.
Back on their feet, Petrovic would catch Sakai with a roundhouse to the head, finally, and followed with a nice back suplex. This didn’t phase Sakai, though, who’d keep attacking with a juji gatame arm-breaker hold. She couldn’t cinch it in, so Sakai rolled Petrovic and tried finishing her off with a LeBell Lock submission, but Petrovic slipped out, quickly, first with a kick to the back of the head before a basement-style Trouble in Paradise for the TKO win. This was good.
Dominic Garrini (2–0) defeated Kevin Ku (0–1) via submission
These two are tag team partners under the name Violence Is Forever. This was Ku’s first time in Bloodsport, while Garrini appeared on one of the early Bloodsport events.
Garrini immediately tried diving in with an X guard aiming to take Ku’s back but Ku wouldn’t give it up. Garrini quickly locked Ku in a straight ankle lock, taking Ku to the mat. He shifted to a heel hook while Ku tried one of his own. The two began trading slaps on the mat, then back up on their feet. Garrini would start chopping Ku down with kicks before Ku caught with a dragon screw legwhip.
Late in this one, Ku charged at at Garrini in the corner, but Garrini caught Ku with a power bomb—it was as though Ku was going to jump Garrini into his guard, I guess, or maybe do a shining wizard, I don’t know—but Garrini power bombed Ku, then locked him in a twister for the immediate tap. The crowd liked this.
Charlie Dempsey defeated Tracey Williams via submission
This was excellent.
Fast grappling between these two at the top of this. Williams had less than 12 hours notice before this match. He and Dempsey are coincidentally a perfect match for each other, for some reason. I think it’s a mixture of wrestling style plus body type or size. The crowd sounded split 50–50 between both guys.
It never felt like either wrestler could gain the upper hand, that’s how evenly matched it was. At one point Williams used a Mongolian chop to break Dempsey’s guard. Dempsey went for the inverted Muta lock/cravat until Williams slammed his way out of it. Dempsey landed a number of European uppercuts and elbows; Williams laid in hard strikes of his own. Dempsey kept going for footlocks and facelocks but Williams had an answer for everything. He made great use of the cravat throughout the match.
Williams went for an STF on the edge of the ring but Dempsey slid out of that and later put Williams down with a side gutwrench suplex.
Dempsey fought hard for the double-arm suplex and finally connected with it, then rolled through and locked in a Fujiwara armbar that Williams reversed, which forced Dempsey to move to an ankle lock attempt before Dempsey would finally deadlift Williams with a German suplex; Williams answered that with an HBK-style teardrop suplex on Dempsey.
Dempsey landed another gutwrench suplex, but Williams was quickly back in the game, locking Dempsey in an STF in the middle of the ring before Dempsey escaped, then threw Williams in a Fujiwara armbar for the tap. The crowd gave them a “BLOOD-SPORT!” chant afterwards. Again, this was really good.
Marina Shafir (6–0) defeated Jody Threat (0–2)
Threat came to the ring with serious fire. Both she and Shafir have prior MMA experience in addition to pro wrestling.
Shafir came to the ring with Jon Moxley. The crowd was super happy with his surprise appearance.
These two were great on their feet together, good grappling between these two at the beginning of this. Threat was able to throw Shafir with a single-arm suplex early on, but Shafir would then keep Threat neutralized on the mat.
Shafir would later execute what looked to be what I’ll call a surfboard-slam, and it looked wild.
I enjoyed some of the subtle genius in some of the spots in this. I loved when Shafir couldn’t wheelbarrow suplex Threat, so instead, she spun Threat to the side, creating something more akin to a dumping throw. Then, when Shafir had an inverted triangle locked on Threat, Threat would stand up, clutch Shafir’s head and do a “Kryptonite Krunch” a la Nova in ECW, but presented in the most logical and least-intelligence-insulting way as possible.
Shafir landed hard palm strikes to Threat’s ribs while she tried fighting out of Threat’s guard. Threat was able to take Shafir’s back which seemed to impress Shafir, who was smiling as Threat attempted to choke her.
Five minutes had passed when Shafir really began to dominate—right before Threat exploded, throwing Shafir to the floor, then diving on her from the ring into the crowd.
Threat would later catch Shafir with a German suplex; Shafir answered that with a seoi nage throw before powerslamming Threat and getting her to submit to Mother’s Milk, her forward-facing choke sleeper submission. This was good and I don’t think I’m alone in wanting for a rematch. Marina Shafir is still undefeated in Bloodsport competition.
Masha Slamovich (3–3) defeated Lei Ying Lee (0–1) via TKO
Slamovich got on the mic before the match and said this was going to be for her TNA Knockouts Women’s Championship.
FYI Lee is formerly known Xia Li of WWE and this was her Bloodsport debut.
They were tentative to start with. Slamovich would invite Lee to the mat by sitting in seated open guard, but Lee would manage to gain top position quickly. Slamovich rolled to the floor and broke Lee’s leverage.
The crowd sounded split between the two wrestlers in this. Lee was able to stay on top but Slamovich wouldn’t give up position, continuing to attack Lee’s ankles and feet.
Slamovich landed a Northern Lights suplex and rolled through with an armbar. Lee would later land a release Fisherman’s Buster, then rolled into mounted position and unleashed a flurry of strikes. She’d then catch Slamovich’s kick and turned that into an STF hold. Lightening quick.
Slamovich was quickly out of the hold and had a sleeper on Lee before spiking lee with an awesome head-and-arm suplex. Lee would answer back with a fall-away slam-into standing attack.
Moments later, Slamovich would catch Lee’s kick attempt, then landed a big knee to Lee’s face before pouncing on her with ground-and-pound before the ref called for the bell. Nice match with a ‘realistic’ finish. Verisimilitude! Slamovich now has an even Bloodsport record.
Royce Isaacs (4–5) defeated Myles Borne (0–1) via submission
Bloodsport stalwart, one half of the West Coast Wrecking Crew Mr. Royce Isaacs is coming off a hot win over Charlie Dempsey at the last Bloodsport event in July. Dempsey was at ringside for this bout in Borne’s corner.
Borne is another young WWE NXT guy. He and Isaacs jockeyed for position in the beginning of this, and no one seemed to really have the upper hand. The pace of this match and the Slamovich vs. Lee match are noticeably more deliberate and methodical, and seemingly more “even,” so to speak.
Isaacs had Borne locked in kesa gatame hold while he teed off on Borne’s head with strikes until Borne escape with an ankle lock attempt that he’d turn into top control, somehow, sneakily.
At the five-minute mark, Isaacs had Borne locked in an arm-triangle flat on the mat, but Borne was eventually able to slide out.
Moments later, Isaacs launched Borne with an exploder suplex before locking in a back kneebar. Back on their feet, the two traded elbows before Borne threw Isaacs with a front suplex and then locked on a rear-naked choke before getting slammed back-first into the mat, Isaacs breaking the hold. He followed up with a deadlift German suplex before pummelling Borne with elbows, then locking in a modified STF. He’d then move into a side headlock before Borne countered and back suplexed Isaacs to the mat before trying to submit Isaacs himself. Isaacs responded with a big Samoan Drop style throw before choking Borne out. Isaacs is on a Bloodsport roll, knocking out WWE’s Myles Borne as Charlie Dempsey watched at ringside.
Josh Alexander (1–1) defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey (1–4) via submission
Really good match between the two Canadians in the semi-main event. Neither could connect with anything until Alexander finally caught one of Speedball’s kicks, then slammed him hard to the mat. As they grappled toward the edge of the ring, Bailey protected himself and went for a possible triangle choke as he held Alexander in his guard, before Alexander broke the hold by shrugging Bailey off of him and out of the ring.
Alexander would again be in top position in Bailey’s guard as he went for a few submission attacks. Alexander used his power to counter much of Bailey’s grappling and mat offense.
Bailey locked Alexander in a headscissors, but Alexander quickly rolled out of that before rolling forward with a waistlock flowing right into back control. Yet another “SPEED-BALL!” chant broke out at this point.
Speedball opened up with his palm strikes when the five-minute call sounded. It still felt like there was a stalemate between these two with neither gaining leverage over the other. The crowd sounded mostly split, too.
Bailey delivered a rolling savate kick to the stomach before a few knees and a giant German suplex into a rear-naked choke. Well done. Alexander broke the hold and again muscled out of the hold, standing up with Speedball still attached to his back. This did not break the hold, though, as Bailey stayed locked to Alexander’s waist.
Alexander fought into Bailey’s guard position and tried peppering him with hard shots, which would eventually lead Alexander to launching Bailey with a German suplex of his own that would actually put Bailey onto the floor.
Speedball came back into the ring and exploded with tae kwon do kicks before they went back to the floor where Alexander slammed Speedball with a German suplex onto the hardwood floor.
Back in the ring, Bailey launched into another flurry of kicks including a high roundhouse to the head. Alexander then whipped his headgear off (!) and the two got back into wild fisticuffs as the crowd erupted. Speedball went for a triangle choke, suddenly, but Alexander reversed that into a power bomb-backbreaker before tapping Speedball with an ankle lock for the win. Fantastic finish. Fans in the front row were slamming their hands on the mat and the place broke out into a “THAT WAS AWESOME!” chant. The two shook hands afterwards.
Josh Barnett (7–1–1) defeated MVP (0–1) via submission
Former WWE and NJPW superstar MVP made his Bloodsport debut here. He’s now a BJJ black belt under Gracie Barra. He sounded to have a lot of fans in the crowd for him at this.
The match had a 20-minute time limit compared with the regular 15-minute limit that regular Bloodsport matches have.
The two went back and forth for the first five minutes or so. MVP is a natural at the “Bloodsport style.” A few minutes into the match, he had Barnett in a straight ankle lock, but Barnett was able to spin out and escape.
Barnett teased MVP and did MVP’s basketball shot gesture, and the story was this pissed MVP off so they got into more of a fistfight from here, with MVP throwing some body shots while Barnett hammered down elbows.
MVP had good top control over Barnett as he worked the top wristlock, but Barnett was able to roll through and break the hold. MVP was able to throw Barnett with a double-underhook suplex before attacking his legs again with the straight ankle lock. Barnett fought back with ankle attacks of his own, and the two pummeled for control in 50/50 position for a while.
Barnett would break MVP’s standing headlock control with his own double-wristlock control. MVP countered that. MVP threw a few haymakers and elbows before taking Barnett to the mat with a big shot.
He and Barnett traded top position and ground-and-pound attempts, back and forth. Barnett dragged MVP to the middle of the ring and cinched in a half-crab before transitioning to a bully choke and then a rear-naked choke which made MVP pass out; the ref called for the bell and the TKO finish. MVP choked the ref when he woke up, thinking he was still in the fight.
This was really good and nostalgic in a way if you’re a fan of older New Japan. This was exactly the type of match these two would have had with each other in the ’00s.
Afterwards, MVP explained how he trained with Barnett starting from 11 years ago and thanked him. “I’m good—he’s GREAT,” he said of Barnett. Barnett told MVP how proud he was of him and implied how much of a threat MVP would be in AEW. Barnett gave a great speech at the end said there was no company that could imitate what Bloodsport does. He also announced he’s going to be at Hammerstein Ballroom for GCW in January and called out anyone to face him. His opponent will be announced at a later date.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun event with a lot of cool, unique matches, as per usual. I think Dempsey vs. Williams was the standout match on the show, but not by all that much. Everything was either good or very good. The Bloodsport event itself finds its voice more & more with every show they put on, too. Overall, this is worth checking out in that it’s a great jumping-on point for those unfamiliar, while it’s yet another solid show top to bottom, as most Bloodsport regulars have come to expect.
