Coughlin, Rush, Rocky, Dickinson & Moxley highlight Bloodsport card
(Images courtesy Nick Karp/Bloodsport)
Thursday April 8 saw the sixth Bloodsport event take place in Tampa Florida, with NJPW STRONG roster members well represented on the card that was headlined by IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley facing NJPW alum Josh Barnett.
The first NJPW representative on the night was the LA Dojo’s Alex Coughlin, who took on Royce Isaacs in a rematch from a prior meeting at Bloodsport 4. While Coughlin’s neck issues that had sidelined him through much of 2020 had affected the Dojo member in that prior outing, here Coughlin was physically sound and mentally strong. Transitioning out of Isaacs’ armbar, Coughlin was able to sink in a half Boston Crab to secure what had to be a deeply satisfying victory.
The seventh bout of the evening was a junior heavyweight encounter that saw Lio Rush pick up the victory over Yoya. In a high paced, hard hitting matchup, Rush got the win with an Anaconda Vice that might have Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Master Wato taking notice from Japan; can Rush carry that momentum against super heavyweight competition when he faces Brody King in the New Japan Cup USA semifinals Friday night?
In a surprise dream match, Rocky Romero took on the legendary Chavo Guerrero Jr. in the ninth bout of the evening. Romero has always been very vocal about the influence Los Guerreros have had on his career, but ended up taking some harsh lessons from Chavo; a Northern lights Bomb ending Mr. Azucar’s night via TKO.
The semi main event of the evening saw Chris Dickinson take on Shane Mercer. Though Dickinson crashed out of the first round of new Japan Cup USA to Brody King, he relied on his judo mastery and expert arm control to submit Mercer with an armbar at Bloodsport, as he seeks to rebuild momentum.
The final match of the card saw Jon Moxley take on MMA and pro-wrestling veteran Josh Barnett. This bloody and brutal encounter ended with Barnett seizing the arm of Mox and unleashing kicks that would eventually see the match end via TKO. Though Moxley has proven dominant, the win for Barnett might be seen as a boon for Yuji Nagata. Many years ago after all, it was Nagata who defended IWGP heavyweight gold against Barnett in the Tokyo Dome, and after Moxley called out Blue Justice for an IWGP US Heavyweight Championship defence, could Nagata now be given the confidence to respond to that challenge? Only time will tell.
