Bloodsport 12: Barnett and MVP grapple on stellar show

Thomas Starr

MVP and Barnett grappled at Bloodsport 12
MVP and Barnett grappled at Bloodsport 12

Bloodsport is the great grandchild of the many “shoot style” promotions that popped up in Japan during the eighties. If you watch old UWF matches or any of the other incarnations (UWFi, RINGS, Pancrase, etc.) the style employed on the Bloodsport shows is remarkably similar. In short, it is a worked mixed martial arts promotion with a heavy emphasis on grappling.

These events have become a showcase of different talents from all the major promotions of the world. This card alone had contracted wrestlers from WWE, AEW, and TNA. It also included the pro wrestling debut of Davit Modzmanashvili, a Silver Medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2012 Olympics, who stood out for his appearance alone, but then showed off some throws that won over the crowd.

Bloodsport twelve was a good show and the best version of Josh Barnett’s vision yet. He and MVP were the main event and delivered a worthy match between the two biggest names on the card. But there were at least three matches that were better than the main event and erased the line between working and believability.

Kevin Ku vs. Dominic Garrini

This was the match where the show began to pick up. Garrini has a legitimate Jiu Jitsu background and Kevin Ku looks like a tough guy and seemed to have at least trained in grappling.

With Bloodsport’s focus on grappling, these two are built for this type of show. The match took only three minutes, but it looked like a fight, and they managed to tell a story in the match while not breaking into pro wrestling melodrama. These two are tag team partners on the indies who, in theory, would not want to injure the other in a match. They ended up getting their competitive juices flowing, however, and up the violence before the finish.

Charlie Dempsey vs. Tracey Williams and Marina Shafir vs. Jody Threat

These are my picks for the best matches of the night. I had written about how it would be hard to top Dempsey vs. Williams, but Shafir and Threat put together a beautiful match as well.

Dempsey vs. Williams was all grappling. They both fluently glided between holds and positions and it never looked like a pro wrestling match, but it also was not boring.

I can say the same accolades about the Shafir vs. Threat match, although they used a little more pro wrestling in their match. Threat even hit a dive, which thankfully was the only one on the show.

Josh Alexander vs. Mike Bailey

This was the crowd’s favorite match, which is not faint praise because the crowd was into everything. Bailey has a legitimate Tae Kwon Doe background and uses a lot of kicks in his matches. Alexander is a grappler who even wears headgear during his matches. They told a basic grappler vs. wrestler story and told it well.

There was more pro wrestling in this match than the others, but both men did an excellent job of not making it look out of place. Alexander even attacked Bailey outside the ring, throwing him on the floor. It was unclear why that is not a disqualification, which is my only quibble with an otherwise fantastic match.

Davit Modzmanashvili

Having an Olympic Silver Medalist on the card brought a lot of legitimacy to the show. If you have not seen this man, you need to. He is listed at 6’3 and 250 pounds, but he looked even bigger than that.

The crowd got behind Davit early in the match, because of his throws. The raw power of this man was incredible. Matt Makowski, his opponent, has a legitimate MMA background but seemed half the size of Davit and it felt like he was going to have his back broken from the throws. Modzmanashvili is someone you need to check out.

Chronological order of matches:

Lou Nixon vs. Calvin Tankman

Okay match. The strikes were not even at a sparring level. Tankman was limited to a couple of throws in the match, but Tankman was dominated by Nixon. This is a match you can skip.

Winner: Lou Nixon

Matt Makowski vs. David Modzmanashvili

This is the debut I already mentioned. It is a must-see just for this beast’s power.

Winner: Modzmanashvili

They replayed Ricky Starks on GCW’s Dream On. The guy is a star.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Sumi Sakai

Petrovic is a black belt in karate and a Gold Medalist from the Commonwealth Games and Canada Games. Having said that, her kicks were not the most impressive here. It had more to do with her opponent who is over 50 years old.

Winner: Petrovic

Kevin Ku vs. Dominic Garrini

The crowd was singing “Zombie” after these two entered to the song.

Winner: Dominic Garrini

Charlie Dempsey vs. Tracey Williams

An expert’s class in how this style can work.

Winner: Dempsey

Marina Shafir vs. Jody Threat

As good as the previous match. They mixed in more suplexes and throws. Threat hit a dive, which was the only one of the night so it stood out. Jon Moxley at the ringside.

Winner: Shafir

Masha Slamovich vs. Lei Ying Lee

Lei Ying Lee is the former Xia Lee in WWE. This was a good match. Masha excels in this style, which surprised me because I always thought of her as a deathmatch wrestler.

Announcer disputed finish because of an illegal hair pull leading to the finish.

Winner: Slamovich

Myles Borne vs. Royce Isaacs

Borne is another WWE talent. This was a good match. However, Isaacs threw some of the worst forearms you will see. He picked up his second win in a row over WWE talent. The announcer said to “get an ID on that man.”

Winner: Isaacs

Mike Bailey vs. Josh Alexander

Really good match. See above.

Winner: Alexander

MVP vs. Josh Barnett

Good match. Flat finish.

Winner: Barnett

Barnett and MVP did an interview after the match. Barnett ended up calling out any challenger for a match at GCW’s January 19th show.

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