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LAS VEGAS – The average sports fan who thinks about professional wrestling probably has the idea in their head that everything in the industry is similar to WWE: a four-sided, wired, four-sided ring with muscle-laden men and women performing highly choreographed moves with no violence or blood involved.
While that might be true for most of the events taking place in Las Vegas in the lead-up to WrestleMania 42, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV promises hard-hitting action and an event like no other.
For one thing, there are no ropes around the ring in Bloodsport. Two competitors enter the intimate place looking to hit each other. Fighters face each other one on one with rules similar to those of mixed martial arts. The winner is determined by knockout, referee stoppage or submission.
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Josh Barnett stands in Victor Henry’s corner before a bantamweight bout against Charles Jourdain during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, on Nov. 2, 2024. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Barnett helped establish what the event is today when he took over production of the event under Brett Lauderdale’s Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) banner. He told Pak Gazette Digital that he embarked on a journey to create coincidences that may never happen anywhere else.
“I think one thing about wrestling, or anything, is that once something is established at a given time, it starts to become the established standard, or the rope standard, where you find it almost completely everywhere and nothing else,” he explained. “And it’s always nice to have something else to offer that still falls into the same category as professional wrestling. So with Bloodsport, it’s not just what’s commonly known in the business as a shoot or as MMA or sort of a more realistic style, but mostly, I think the issue is that wrestling is being stripped down to its rawest, purest form.
“For me, I want Bloodsport to be a place that, regardless of what you think about it, you should probably try to capture the fans first, but I built Bloodsport in a way, the most attractive to the fighters, so that they want to be there and be a part of this, especially because if, in my opinion, we could do what I hoped, there would be very high-caliber fighters from all over the world that would be willing, or athletes in general. That would be willing to do BloodSport, even though we are an independent program, because it’s me.
PANDEMONIUM: PRO WRESTLING BEGINS WRESTLEMANIA WEEK WITH CONTINUOUS ACTION IN LAS VEGAS
Charlie Dempsey and Joe Hendry compete during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on August 12, 2025. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)
“And I would take advantage of that in the sense of doing something that they found so desirable that they didn’t do it, that they really just wanted to do it considering it’s a much smaller sandbox than what they’re used to and I thought from there that’s where you’re going to get the fans, you’re going to be able to do things here with athletes and matchups that you can’t find anywhere else and no, it’s just never going to happen. You’re not going to find Masashi Takeda versus Pete Dunne. Also, that’s not possible anywhere else. It’s never going to happen. And things of that nature, but being something much more raw and aggressive, we are the most shocking event in professional wrestling for a reason.
Finding a professional wrestler that fits the mold of what Barnett is looking for is not easy to come by.
However, the event has been successful in attracting wrestlers and even MMA fighters to the mat. WWE stars such as Dunne, Nattie Niedhart and Charlie Dempsey, All Elite Wrestling champion Jon Moxley and even Barnett himself have participated in BloodSport in the show’s history.
Barnett relishes the opportunity to allow other professional wrestlers to show a different side of themselves that fans may not have been able to see elsewhere.
WEST COAST PRO WILL SHOWCASE WRESTLING IN ITS ‘RAWEST FORM’ WITH Rising FEMALE STAR HEADLINEING ITS MAIN EVENT
Josh Barnett looks on during New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 19 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“It’s really important that you have a proper understanding and skill set before you engage in any type of combat like this. And honestly, I mean that keeps the talent pool small, which I knew was going to be an issue before this, but that’s okay,” he told Pak Gazette Digital. “I also saw it as an opportunity to maybe show wrestlers that people haven’t seen as much or weren’t as aware of simply because they fit like a hand and a glove into this, and maybe on some of the other shows, or the more typical wrestling shows, they feel more restricted and can’t use this side of themselves or it doesn’t register as well in that other environment.
“Here they can be something completely different. It’s been the case that a lot of people who even come from WWE, you’ll see them on BloodSport. It’s like, ‘Wow, who is this person? I’ve never seen them before.’ Well, that’s always been there, it’s part of who they are and where their ability as a fighter comes from. It also allows us to bring in MMA fighters on occasion, when possible, like Frank Muir or Rampage Jackson.”
Barnett will be among those in action in what promises to be an incredible lineup.
Matt Mako vs. Ángel Verduczo
Ulka Sasaki vs. Joe Dashou
Zack Saber Jr. vs. Ray Jaz
Erick Stevens vs. Fuminori Abe
Miyu Yamashita vs. Janai Kai
Shane Mercer vs. Royce Isaacs
Masashi Takeda vs. Pete Dunne
Timothy Thater vs. Charlie Dempsey
Nattie Neidhart vs. Shayna Baszler
Josh Barnett vs. Yuji Nagata
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Zack Saber Jr. enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the Edion Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan on February 11, 2026. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
“I think there’s a lot of potential for some notable matches on this card with the level of talent involved. And not all matches are going to look the same in any way, shape or form.”
Bloodsport XV is scheduled for Friday at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas at 3 pm PT.
