GCW Bloodsport X results: Radican’s report on Baszler vs. Slamovich, Nemeth vs. Bailey,

GCW BLOODSPORT X
APRIL 4, 2024
PHILADELPHIA, PA
AIRED LIVE ON TRILLER +

Announcers: Lenny Leonard and Dan Barry

The rules for the matches were read by the ring announcer. Massages are stopped by knockout, submission, or ref stoppage.

The fighters for Bloodsport X were introduced one by one.

(1) AKIRA WAY vs. VICTOR BENJAMIN

Way has a deathmatch background and is giving up a decent amount of size to Benjamin. Benjamin hit some big knees to Way’s midsection and then some big blows to the head. Benjamin continued the assault with a couple of kicks to the head.Akira told Benjamin to bring it with the kicks. Benjamin hit several, but Way ended up baiting him into a dragon screw. Akira hit a choke suplex and held on with a crossface. Benjamin ended up dragging Way to the apron and he suplexed him onto the concrete floor.

The fans booed and chanted for Akira. Akira managed to get back into the ring, but Way caught him with a spinning kick and the ref dove in and stopped it.

The fans booed the finish.

WINNER: Victor Benjamin in 6:00. (***)

(Radican’s Analysis: Some of Benjamin’s kicks looked a little light, but overall this was a good hard-hitting back and forth contest. The fans were very much behind Way and disappointed in the finish.)

(2) NIC NEMETH (0-0) vs. MIKE BAILEY (0-2) 

The fans were hot and chanted for both men. Bailey got slightly louder chants. Nemeth got a takedown right near the edge of the ring and Bailey took a nasty spill to the floor. It didn’t look like Nemeth intended for Bailey to spill to the floor from a storyline standpoint. Nemeth got a second big takedown near the edge of the apron and Bailey spilled to the floor again and the announcers began to question Nemeth’s motives.

Bailey got back into the ring and went to town on Nemeth with strikes. He got a cross-arm breaker and the fans fired up big time. Nemeth struggled as the fans chanted for him to tap. He tried to flip out of the hold, but Bailey held on.

Nemeth escaped and got a choke a short time later. Bailey went to the ringpost and Nemeth let go and hit a Zig Zag and went back into a rear-naked choke and it was over.

WINNER: Nic Nemeth (1-0) in 6:00. (***)

(Radican’s Analysis: This was fun while it lasted. Speedball became the fan favorite quickly, as Nemeth used some questionable tactics early on.)

Nemeth moves to 1-0 and Bailey’s record drops to 0-3.

Both men shook hands after the fight was over.

(3) LINDSAY SNOW (2-1) vs. LADY FROST (0-0) – Women’s Tournament Opening Round match 

Snow got a takedown, but quickly had to duck a big head kick when Frost got back to her feet quickly during the early going. Frost caught Snow with a kick and she went down. Frost got a rear-naked choke a short time later, but Snow slammed her way out of it and hit some big strikes. Snow then got a quick knee bar for the win.

A replay aired of the finishing sequence.

WINNER: Lindsay Snow (3-1) in 3:00 to advance to the Bloodsport Women’s Tournament Finals..

(Radican’s Analysis: This was good while it lasted, but we got the quick MMA style finish with Snow getting a knee bar out of nowhere. )

(4) MARIA SHAFIR (3-0) vs. JANAI KAI (0-2) – Women’s Tournament Opening Round match 

Kai hit a head kick and Shafir went down, but Kai couldn’t put her away. Kai hit a thrust kick to Shafir’s jaw a short time later, but Kai could not finish her with a followup attack. Shafir got a takedown and locked in Mother’s Milk for the win.

WINNER: Marina Shafir (4-0) in 4:00 to advance to the Bloodsport Women’s Tournament Finals.

(Radican’s Analysis: Kai rocked Shafir multiple times, but could not put Shafir away. Shafir got Kai to the ground and was able to quickly submit her.)

(5) MATT MAKOWSKI (2-1) vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY (0-0)

The announcers noted that Makowski was facing an opponent he hadn’t prepared for. Dempsey took Makowski down and went after his leg before tying him up in a nasty combination arm submission, but Makowski managed to escape. Dempsey took Makowski down and went right after Makowski’s arm. Makowski hit several strikes. He went for a rear-naked choke, but Dempsey fought his arms off.

Dempsey hit a nice takeover out of the cravat. Makowski went right after his arm again, but Dempsey freed himself and hit some forearms, but Makowski managed to block them. Both men ended up separating before going back at it. Dempsey got rocked and went down after an enzuguri. Makowski went for Chaos Theory, but Dempsey blocked it and hit an uppercut and a German. He then got a double wrist lock and Makowski tapped.

WINNER: Charlie Dempsey (1-0) in 7:00. (***¾)

(Radican’s Analysis: Fantastic hard-hitting match with some great submission wrestling. Dempsey is a tremendous technical wrestler, which is no shock given who his father is.)

(6) FUMINORI ABE (0-0) vs. TAKUYA NOMURA (0-0) 

This is a matchup between tag team partners. Both men came out to the same music. Both men are dressed in black and look similar. This is only their second singles match. Abe won their previous match in 2023. They traded slaps and Abe decked Nomura with a big slap. Nomura got to his feet after they went at it on the ground and nailed Abe with several big kicks to the front and back.

Nomura came up bleeding after a headbutt. Abe nailed him with some big kicks to the back. Nomura blocked a kick and hit a suplex and the fans applauded. Abe got an octopus submission. Abe managed to escape and they went back and forth trading blows. Abe capped the sequence with a big running headbutt and the fans applauded.

Both men got up and traded blows. Abe decked Nomura with a high kick. Abe went for an Irabu Punch, but Nomura cut it off with a huge clothesline. Abe got a heel hook a short time later. Nomura tried to slap his way out of it, but he couldn’t. Nomura hit a headbutt to break free. He then hit some big elbows to Abe’s head, but the ref didn’t stop it. Nomura got a choke and Abe began to fade. The ref saw him dropping to the mat and called for the finish.

WINNER: Takua Nomura (1-0) in 8:00. (***½)

(Radican’s Analysis: The use of headbutts made it hard for me to enjoy this at times, but other than that, this was a great hard-htting back and forth contest.)

(7) LOU NIXON (0-0) vs. ERIK HAMMER (4-0) 

Nixon caught Hammer with a short knee and he stumbled to the mat, but stayed in the fight. Nixon got on top of Hammer and hit several strikes, but Hammer slipped out the back door. They were tied up on the mat and they began trading slaps with their legs tied up. Both men hit each other at the same time and went down. Hammer hit a deadlift German and wrenched back on Nixon’s arm and it was over as the ref called for the bell even though Hammer lost his grip. They tried to cover and say Nixon’s arm popped out, but the finish appeared to not go right with the ref calling for the finish even though Hammer had lost his grip on Nixon’s arm before reapplying it.

WINNER: Erik Hammer (5-0) in 5:00. (**½)

(Radican’s Analysis: The finish didn’t come across well, but overall this was very good otherwise.)\

(8) ROYCE ISAACS (2-4) vs. MINORU SUZUKI (1-1-1) 

Suzuki and Isaacs ended up on the apron and Suzuki got an arm bar. They battled for position in the middle of the ring and Isaacs got a leg submission. Suzuki managed to free himself and they backed off before going back at it. Suzuki got a choke and went for the Gotch style piledriver and the ref dove in and called for the bell.

WINNER: Minoru Suzuki (2-1-1) at 6:00. (***)

(Radican’s Analysis: This was really fun while it lasted. I love the ref diving in to call for the match right after the Gotch Piledriver.)

Suzuki blew off a handshake from Issacs after the match.

(9) TIMOTHY THATCHER (2-2) vs. AXEL TISCHER (0-0) 

They went back and forth on the mat. Thatcher got a bow and arrow submission at one point. Tischer escaped and ended up on top of Thatcher and he hit a couple of strikes, but Thatcher got on top of him and hit an elbow from the closed mount. They got to their feet and Tischer hit a brainbuster. He took a moment to regroup before going back after Thatcher, who grabbed a Fujiwara arm bar and it was over.

WINNER: Timothy Thatcher in 7:00. (***½))

(Radican’s Analysis: This was a very even back and forth mat battle with some hard-hitting mixed in until Thatcher fot the Fujiwara Arm bar out of nowhere for the submission win.)

Both men shook hands after the match.

(10) SHAYNA BASZLER (w/Jordynne Grace) (0-0)  vs. MASHA SLAMOVICH (1-2) (w/Zoey Stark) 

They went to the mat and came to a stalemate during the early going. The fans chanted back and forth for both women as they traded blows and kicks in the middle of the ring. Slamovich went for a choke, but Baszler slipped out and got on top of her. Masha got on top of Baszler and tried to set up a cross-arm breaker. She stomped on Shayna’s head, but Baszler managed to escape and get on top of her.

Baszler got a rear-naked choke with the hooks, but Slamovich escaped and went for a choke of her own. Slamovich caught Baszler’s arm and hit a pump-handle suplex and grabbed a rear-naked choke, but Baszler escaped and eventually went for an ankle lock. Slamovich hit several kicks from her back, but Shayna fired right back with several kicks to the head and a curb stomp to cap it off. WOW!

WINNER: Shayna Baszler (1-0) in 8:00. (****)

(Radican’s Analysis: The crowd heat for this fight and the action from bell-to-bell was tremendous.)

The fans booed Baszler like crazy at the end of the match, as Masha won them over during the match.

(11) MARINA SHAFIR (4-0) vs. LINDSEY SNOW (3-1) – Women’s Tournament Final

Snow is looking to win her second tournament in Bloodsport. The crowd was quiet after being really into the previous match during the early going. Snow escaped a cross-arm breaker attempt and they came to a stalemate. Snow gator rolled into a single leg, which looked tremendous. Shafir tried to escape with some blows, but they didn’t have much of an effect. Shafir got to her feet and blocked a kick attempt, but Snow took her legs out and got her back on the mat.

Shafir slammed Snow down. Snow fell down on her knees and Shafir hit her with a head kick that sent her out of the ring and the ref called for the bell. WOW

Winner: Marina Shafir (5-0) in 8:00 to win the Bloodsport Women’s Tournament. (**¾)

(Radican’s Analysis: This was a nice change of pace, but the finish came out of nowhere just when the match was getting good.)

(12) JOSH BARNETT (4-1-1) vs. JOHNNY BLOODSPORT (2-1)

Bloodsport had his right arm wrapped. Barnett slammed him down right on that arm during the early going. He went for a half crab. Bloodsport rolled to the apron and asked for a break, which Barnett granted. They ended up on the mat again. Barnett dragged Bloodsport to his feet and dumped him to the mat with a suplex. He hit Bloodsport right in the face with a spinning heel kick. Barnett deadlifted Bloodsport up into a gutwrench bomb and dumped him right on the apron and it was good for a ref stoppage.

WINNER: Josh Barnett (5-1-1) in 8:00. (***¼)

(Radican’s Analysis: Good fight here, but nothing was topping the Baszler vs. Slamovich match. They had some good exchanges and the finishing sequence came out of nowhere and looked brutal.)

Josh Barnett got on the mic after the match and thanked Bloodsport. The mic wasn’t working great, but Barnett said thank you and shook Bloodsport’s hand. He thanked the fans for coming and mentioned they had just finished ten events. He said on June 22 at Sumo Hall they would present the next event with several notables including Minoru Suzuki and Rampage Jackson amongst others. Holy s–t! Barnett asked the fans to come with them to Tokyo. The fans applauded the announcement to end the show.

Overall thoughts:(8.0) The fights were brisk and fun. There wasn’t a bad fight on the card and they did a good job of towing the line between a realistic fight and pro wrestling. I’ll have more thoughts on the show on Radican Worldwide in the near future at PWTorch VIP.

The replay is definitely recommended on TrillerTV+.

Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com