Josh Barnett's Bloodsport Bushido - 22/06/2024

 

  

Fuminori Abe vs Yu Izuka

This was a really good opening match. The crowd being non existent first takes precedence but once the action got going, it went out of the mind. These two wrestled a short but intense bout with a lot of cool takedowns and some striking. Izuka's ground strikes weren't the best but he had a few good kicks. Abe had some cool counters and worked best on the defensive. Good match. ***

Hikaru Sato vs Hideki Suzuki

MMA Fighter vs Catch Practitioner. The match-ups we want in Bloodsport. Unlike Abe vs Izuka which was based on speed, this was all about technique and body positioning. These two would try to manipulate each other's body movements to gain advantageous positions. Sato is the smaller of the two but he was trickier and sneakier in his attempts. Sato and Hideki were both on their knees, about to engage in a  grappling battle when Sato threw an awesome kick from his knees to throw Hideki off guard for a microsecond. Brilliant work. Hideki was able to get the win thanks to a fantastic transition into the STF. Awesome match. ***1/2

Erik Hammer vs Takuya Nomura

I think this is where Barnett not being fully attuned with the Japanese scene shows. Nomura was trained by Hideki Suzuki and a win here set up them in the final match would've been great booking and a cool match, but alas it didn't happen. But the match was good though. They made good use of the size difference without making Nomura feel totally small. Hammer had the size and stretch but Nomura's kicks were lethal. And he went all out in making them nasty as fuck too. He injured Hammer's thigh, making the match seemingly turn in his favour, and scored a great suplex on him. Hammer was constantly in danger of the heel hook but saved himself with a big power bomb which was all he needed to win. Good match. ***1/4

Konami vs Maya Fukuda

This was solid for the majority of the match. Like seemingly all the other matches, this offered something different. It was more focused on the attack on the leg by Konami and Fukuda defending against it. The selling was good but then the good selling started to blend too much with Fukuda tiring. Then came some sloppiness from both sides which was unfortunate. That led to a rather lacklustre final moments in a fine bout. Shame. ***

Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Masakatsu Funaki

Somewhat similar to Sato vs Hideki in how it was built around patience and technique, however it lacked the excitement and key spots for me. DBS Jr trying to pass the mount was cool and I dug the finish but this was just unspectacular. **1/2

Rampage Jackson vs Hideki Sekine

This was a badass match on paper but not so much in reality because of age and sagging abilities. However this wasn't too bad. It was simple and short and had a pretty great finish. Not a terrible match to put on after intermission. **1/2

Santino Marella vs Kazushi Sakuraba

What a mighty surprise this was. Santino Marella's background has always been known to me, but seeing it in practice and it leading to an awesome match is something else entirely. Santino has some great takedowns and submission holds. He was aggressive on top, constantly pushing with strength and skill while Sakuraba played the defensive game. It led to some fantastic wrestling with great false finish spots, like when Santino applied a baseball choke that Sakuraba struggled to escape. Sakuraba's counters were great. Very smooth and logical, escaping the arm choke by grabbing Santino's leg was great wrestling. And despite all the great wrestling, Sakuraba showcased his personality by mocking Santino's snake gimmick to throw him off. Sakuraba scores the double wrist lock to win this great match. ****

Timothy Thatcher vs Minoru Suzuki

This had its moments and showed that it could've been good but ultimately they went with the very gimmicky forearm strikes to suit Suzuki's strengths now. If this was put together to suit Thatcher, this may have filled itself out to the potential it had. The wrong Suzuki was against Thatcher though. **3/4

Erik Hammer vs Hideki Suzuki

This was fucking awesome. While I would've preferred Nomura vs Hideki, I think Hammer justified the booking choice with his amazing performance. Not only was he a fucking boss on offence, but his selling was phenomenal too. And that followed up on the Nomura match too. Hideki was fantastic on the defensive as well. He wasn't the dominant one whatsoever with Hammer controlling the match, but his knowledge of how to defend holds were clear. He made sure to defend Hammer's crossface strikes by not only blocking but head movements. Incredibly detailed defensive work. And then the assault on the leg of Hammer felt like it came out of desperation and proved incredibly effective. It ultimately proved to be decisive with Hideki getting the win. GREAT match. ****

Josh Barnett vs Jon Moxley

A worthy main event match. Barnett is getting up there with age but I don't think he's ever really been poor. There have been some not good matches (Johnny Bloodsport) but he puts in a mighty shift in the role, and he did the same here. The last Moxley match was really fun but in a small setting. And despite the crowd, this is a big venue fitting of a rematch. Moxley's attempts to grapple don't always work but he was good here. He kept the pace, generally kept his technique snug and logical with Barnett likely leading the way in that regard. If anything the lack of logic came when Moxley began to bleed. It added tons of colour and visual excitement but it came as a result of a giant swing into the post where Moxley's arm/back took the damage, on the OTHER side of where the cut was. But it'll be harsh to criticise it too much. The wrestling was good. They paced themselves well, blended the pro wrestling theatrics with the no-nonsense grappling style nicely and ended the match with a good finish. Really good match to conclude a great show. ***3/4

Show of the year so far.