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GCW JOSH BARNETT BLOODSPORT XV REPORT
APRIL 17, 2026
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
AIRED LIVE ON TRILLER TV+
The rules for the fights were read. All of the fighters were introduced. Charlie Dempsey and then Josh Barnett introduced the show on the mic.
(1) MATT MAKO vs. ANGEL VERDUCZCO
Mako kept going for arm submissions on the mat, but Verduczco was able to escape. Malo got a leg submission, but Angel managed to get out of a nasty looking predicament. Mako escaped a single-leg crab and they reset at the 5 second mark. Angel hit a big right and Mako staggered, but recovered. Mako caught Angel with a kick to the head. Mako hit a suplex and got the mount and rained palm strike down on Verduczco. The ref checked on Angel and he tapped.
WINNER: Matt Mako at 5:41.
(Radican’s Analysis: The action was intense from bell-to-bell. The newcomer Verduczo showed he could go with Mako, but fell short in the end.)
(2) ULKA SASAKI vs. JOE DASHOU
They went back and forth on the mat during the early going. Dashou was able to prevent Sasaki from taking him down. Dashou went in for a takedown, but got caught for a knee and he was out.
WINNER: Sasaki at 5:16 via KO.
(Radican’s Analysis: Dashou was in control, but got caught with a knee right on the button and got knocked out.)
(3) ZACK SABRE JR. vs. RAY JAZ
Ray looked good here, but Sabre countered him late and got a combination headscissors/arm trap submission for the win.
WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr. in 6:30.
(Radican’s Analysis: Ray acquitted himself well against the established Sabre in this match.)
(4) JANAI KAI vs. MIYU YAMASHITA
Kai got a sleeper and clasped her hands behind her back for extra leverage, but Yamashita countered and hit some knees to the head from the clinch. Kai hit a pair of big kicks to the head that sent Yamashita to the floor. Yamashita barely beat the 10 count. She ran right back into the ring and Kai blasted her right away. She went down, but stayed in the fight. Kai ducked a kick and hit one of her own. Both women missed spinning kicks. Yamahashi then connected with a heel kick and it was good for the KO.
I’m not sure if something happened late when both women missed kicks. I thought perhaps Yamashita’s kick was way too light to sell, so they repeated the finish. Kai kind of just took the second heel kick for the finish.
WINNER: Miyu Yamashita at 5:30 via KO.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a good back and forth fight with another KO finish out of nowhere. It looked like something wasn’t quite right with the finish.)
(5) ROYCE ISAACS vs. SHANE MERCER
These are some big dudes. They went right to the mat and both men jockeyed for an advantage. Isaacs broke free of Mercer’s grip and they came to a stalemate. Isaacs hit some big knees and then tried to work a choke on Mercer’s back. Mercer got on top, but Isaacs hit some elbows to his head from the bottom. Mercer got on top, but Isaacs easily switched positions and got on top. Isaacs caught Mercer with an elbow and ended up slipping to the floor at the five minute mark. Isaacs got a knee bar in the middle of the ring, but Mercer kicked his way out of it.
Mercer hit a wrist clutch exploder and tried to get Isaacs’s back. Isaacs blocked it, but Mercer hit a standing backflip slam. WOW! Mercer hit some punches, but Isaacs fired right back and went after Mercer’s arm. He then hit a leg capture suplex. He got on top of Mercer and hit some punches and elbows. He then grabbed an arm bar. Mercer teased tapping, but stopped. Isaacs kept working on Mercer’s arm. Mercer finally got up and lifted Isaacs up. He then hit a modified DVD. Mercer grabbed a choke. Isaacs fired back with a DVD of his own. Isaacs grabbed a dragon sleeper and Mercer slapped.
WINNER: Royce Isaacs at 9:06.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was easily the best fight on the show so far. They went back and forth and both men seemed on the verge of losing at times only to escape defeat at the last second. The constant teases of a finish added drama to the end of the match.)
(6) MASASHI TAKEDA vs. PETE DUNNE
The announcers said Takeda would try to turn this into a brawl, but then mentioned that Dunne is comfortable in that environment. They also mentioned that Takeda is comfortable on the mat as well. Takeda got Dunne’s back and Dunne hit some back elbows. Takeda told him to bring it and Dunne hit several elbows, but they didn’t have any effect. Takeda then continued to work for a submission from the rear. Both men had their legs tied up and they traded slaps.
They agreed to stand up and continue to trade slaps to the face. Dunne hit a big forearm, but Takeda sent him down to a knee with a big slap to the face. Takeda then got an arm bar, but Dunne slipped out. Dunne went for a jumping arm submission, but Takeda turned into an exploder and the fans fired up. Both men traded rapid fire strikes. Takeda caught Dunne with a short punch and he went down. Takeda tried to finish him and Dunne got up and ate a knee and went down. Dunne fought back from his back and got a triangle choke. He hit several elbows. He then cranked Takeda’s arm, but he wouldn’t tap. He then really cranked back on an arm submission and he tapped.
WINNER: Pete Dunne at 8:30 via submission.
(Radican’s Analysis; These fights are getting better as the show went on. This was really good with both guys going at it on the mat and then agreeing to trade strikes. Dunne looked to be knocked out several times, but after taking a knee late. He went for multiple arm submissions before getting Takeda to tap.)
Takeda flicked Dunne off after the match.
(7) FUMINORE ABE vs. ERICK STEVENS
Abe went for a leg lock, but Stevens hit a headbutt. Stevens was bleeding from the forehead. He got on Abe’s back and worked a crossface, but Abe countered it into a cross armbar. Stevens got on top of Abe and hit several punches. Abe began to bleed from the mouth like crazy. Stevens grabbed a choke, but Abe went for Stevens’s eye. The ref did nothing about it.
Abe got on top of Stevens, but he escaped with a throw and went for a cross armbar. Abe stood up and stomped Stevens right in the face. Stevens got an arm in choke. Abe got to his feet and elbowed out of the hold. Abe then got on top of Stevens and hit several headbutts and it was good for the win.
WINNER: Fuminore Abe at 6:37 via ref stoppage.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a really good fight, but the big question I have is why was Abe allowed to rake Stevens’s eyes to gain the advantage without any penalty when he was in rough shape and on the verge of losing.)
(8) TIMOTHY THATCHER vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY
They went back and forth trying to get the upper hand before coming to a stalemate. Thatcher took Dempsey down and began looking for an advantage on top. Thatcher isolated an arm and blasted it with a knee. Dempsey fired back with a knee to the ribs and grabbed an arm submission. The pace picked up and Dempsey hit a gutwrench suplex, but Thatcher was back on the attack a short time later.
Dempsey hit a dragon screw later in the match and went after Thatcher’s leg. He battled to get a STF, but Thatcher blocked it and hit a Saito suplex. Both men traded slaps to the face. Dempsey slapped Thatcher and sent him flying to the floor. Thatcher got back into the ring and they began trading uppercuts. Dempsey got on top of Thatcher from behind and hit a bunch of elbows. He then grabbed a chicken wing variation and he tapped.
WINNER: Charlie Dempsey at 10:40 via submission.
(Radican’s Analysis; This was good, but it felt like something was missing to take it to another level. It felt like they could have added more drama to the match, as there’s been some good teases of matches ending during other matches only for them to continue, but that didn’t happen here. This was still a good match, but it could have been better.)
(9) SHAYNA BASZLER vs. NATTIE NEIDHART
Neidhart had a ton of people in her corner. Baszler missed a stomp on Nattie’s elbow, but then hit a knee to her face. Both women cranked on each other’s legs on the mat as the five minute mark passed. Nattie turned Baszler over into a sharpshooter, but she got out of it quickly. Baszler got a choke from the back, but Nattie rolled through with a choke of her own. She turned it into a rear naked choke. Neidhart hit several punches, but Shayna did not give up. Basler came up bleeding heavily from the nose or mouth. Baszler stood up with Nattie on her back and gave the middle finger before she threw herself and Nattie into all of Nattie’s corner people on the outside. Holy s–t!
Baszler was bleeding, but she grabbed a choke on the floor. Nattie drove her into the ringsteps to break the hold. Nattie got back into the ring, but the ref said Baszler didn’t make it and called for the bell. The fans did not like that. They chanted let them fight. Nattie flicked off Baszler and they began fighting. Both corners got into the ring to separate Neidharat and Baszler.
WINNER: Nattie Neidhart at 8:05 via countout.
The fans booed Neidhart winning via countout.
(Radican’s Analysis; This was awesome. Baszler got busted open accidentally and the fans got rabid as the match escalated. The spot where Baszler threw herself and Nattie into the cornermen at ringside was crazy. There’s definitely money in a rematch between these two given the finish.)
(10) YUJI NAGATA vs. JOSH BARNETT
Both men have a history together in Japan. They went right to the mat to kick things off. Neither man could get the upper hand and they came to a stalemate. Negate worked for position from the back on the mat as the five minute mark passed.Barnett had Nagata’s back, but he went after his ankle. Barnett suddenly backed away and sold his ankle.
Barnett took Nagata down and grabbed an ankle submission. Nagata screamed, but didn’t tap. Barnett cranked on Nagata’s ankle. Nagata managed to break free and he rolled to the floor. Barnett got a hold of Nagata’s leg and really hurt Nagata. He stomped away at Barnett and sold his leg. Nagata caught Barnett with a big throw. He then hit a rolling kick that he used to take out Barnett in Japan 23 years ago. He hit an arm trap exploder a short time later.
Nagata grabbed facelock and Barnett screamed. He finally managed to slip out of the hold and Nagata sold frustration. Barnett caught a kick, but Nagata hit a headbutt to free himself. Barnett caught an enzuguri attempt and took Nagata down. He went for a German, but Nagata countered it into a Fujirwara arm bar. Nagata’s eyes went white as he applied pressure on Barnett’s arm. Nagata continued to crank on Barnett’s arm, but Barnett managed to flip himself on top of Nagata to free himself.
Nagata went for a kick, but Barnett blocked it and hit a big lariat. Barnett hit a throw with Nagata in a headlock, but he no-sold it. Nagata told Barnett to bring it and they began trading strikes. Barnett hit a heel kick. He then got on top of Nagata and hit several punches and the ref stopped it. That’s the same move Nagata beat Barnett with 23 years ago.
WINNER: Josh Barnett at 13:39 via ref stoppage.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a great fight. They played off the history between both men in Japan to set up Barnett getting his win back 23 year after Nagata beat him in The Tokyo Dome. They had some great exchanges and did everything from striking to suplexes to submissions to hard-hitting action.)
Barnett said he felt like he got run over by a truck and then a train. Barnett spoke in Japanese to Nagata. He said if it wasn’t for Nagata, there would be no Bloodsport. Barnett thanked the fans for coming to the show. He said some of the greatest wrestlers ever have come to him to do Bloodsport. He said he doesn’t even have to ask because they want to do it. He said he had been doing it for seven years now.
He said they had done shows all over the globe. Barnett said it has been a hell of a tide. He said at this point, they’ve done a lot of things, but this door is closing. He said he’s calling it a day while they still have their pride and integrity. He said it’s not a bad thing because he’s had the best people behind him. He mentioned Brett Lauderdale being a big help to Bloodsport.
He said he’s ending things for the foreseeable future. Barnett thanked the fans for all their support. He thanked Brett again. He then thanked the wrestlers. He said maybe someday in the future they would be back. Barnett bowed to all four sides of the ring. The fans chanted “Thank you Josh” to end the show.
Quick thoughts: I definitely recommend the replay. I’ll have more thoughts on the show this weekend on Radican Worldwide!
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch and Bluesky: @SeanRadican
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