Live Bloodsport 9 Coverage, Stream & Reaction

That’s all for tonight, my friends!

Before we sign off, a few thoughts to close..

It’s fantastic to have Kota Ibushi back in the squared circle and once again, Mike Bailey proved himself to be a top tier performer.

Timothy Thatcher’s victory over Josh Barnett appeared to be something of a statement win for the Pro Wrestling NOAH man and it will be interesting to see if this catalyses further successes in the months ahead.

Marina Shafir did everything in her power to prove Jon Moxley right and looked very impressive against a game Killer Kelly. The onus is now surely on Tony Khan to figure out how to expose this side of Shafir to the AEW audience.

Finally, Jon Moxley once again showcased not only his versatility but his innate ability to make his opponents look good.

Overall, a fun event with much more variety than I had previously noted on Bloodsport shows. Good stuff.

I hope you enjoyed the show on Fite TV and thanks for watching along with us here at ITRwrestling.com.

Wooooooowwww!!!!

I did not see that one coming.

Josh Barnett’s undefeated run at Bloodsport is over courtesy of a well worked kneebar by Timothy Thatcher.

The former UFC man was in serious trouble in the minutes prior, with Thatcher pouring on the submission attempts before finally transitioning to the kneebar.

The two shake hands in the post-match of what was a compelling main event contest.

This is peak catch wrestling, as captured in the below video courtesy of Fite TV..

.@JoshLBarnett has full mount but got too high on Thatcher who was able to escape into a half Boston crab.#Bloodsport9

LIVE on #FITEplus | https://t.co/p4aqPGaZ9t pic.twitter.com/w4NRI4vJJm

— FITE (@FiteTV) March 31, 2023

This one is coming to the boil..

Thatcher seemingly had Barnett dead to rites with a completed kimura, only for Barnett to manipulate a dangling foot for the escape.

Later, Barnett took a nasty spill to the outside as both men looked to be nearing the outer limits of their respective gas tanks.

The NOAH man has, thus far, been the aggressor, with Barnett stuck firmly on the defensive.

Thatcher looked to have had the big man troubled earlier in the bout, with a series of stiff looking knees to the kidney.

Thatcher has his work cut out for him here against the youngest ever UFC Heavyweight champion, ‘The Warmaster’ Josh Barnett.

Barnett looks more trim than he has in recent appearances, which may play a factor should the bout move into deeper waters.

It’s time for our final contest of the evening and out first is Timothy Thatcher, who has recently starred for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan and who also caught some mainstream attention via a decent bout versus Bryan Danielson on AEW Dynamite.

That was great fun whilst it lasted!

Jon Moxley gets the W with what appeared to be a Darce choke – a submission used all too rarely in a pro wrestling setting.

Coughlin made it interesting, delivering a particularly memorable moment by powering out of Moxley’s bulldog choke and reversing it into a torture rack – that was impressive.

Great stuff.

Coughlin came to play, as highlighted in the video below courtesy of Fite TV..

.@JonMoxley lost that triangle choke but adds injury to insult by pushing @AlexCoughlin93 to the outside of the ring.#Bloodsport9

LIVE on #FITEplus | https://t.co/p4aqPGaZ9t pic.twitter.com/KsOqiC9EgW

— FITE (@FiteTV) March 31, 2023

For those wondering, the legs are indeed out as Moxley is rocking the shorts.

Mrs Moxley (aka Renee Paquette) exalted the virtues of her husband’s leg game on her podcast earlier this week and will surely be a very happy lady now that the calves are on full display once again!

As a reminder of the colossal tussle that went down between Smith and Kratos earlier in the evening, check out this clip courtesy of Fite TV..

.@Jr_KRATOS looking to use his weight advantage to neutralize Davey Boy Smith Jr.#Bloodsport9

LIVE on #FITEPlus | https://t.co/p4aqPGaZ9t pic.twitter.com/2t7a5ZjplH

— FITE (@FiteTV) March 31, 2023

The former AEW World champion is up next, taking on late replacement opponent Alex Coughlin, who himself is one of New Japan’s brightest prospects.

Coughlin is built like a superhero and should prove a unique challenge for Mr Moxley.

Wow! That one went back and forth, with Isaacs coming close with a piledriver on Bloodsport.

However, the former WWE man somehow kept his wits about him and managed to utilise a gator roll into a guillotine for the tap out victory.

Didn’t see that one coming – flowers for Mr Bloodsport, please!

Isaacs was the betting favourite going into this but man, it’s been an evenly fought contest thus far.

Johnny Bloodsport is certainly making a decent account of himself in what is an unfamiliar setting for the high flyer.

Out comes the most polyonymous man in professional wrestling history, the former John Morrison, Johnny Bloodsport!

His opponent tonight is New Japan star Royce Isaacs, who has gradually been gaining traction as part of the New Japan STRONG stable, Team Filthy.

Here are some highlights, courtesy of Fite TV, from earlier in the night, when business really began to pick up for ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey and Kota Ibushi.

This one will be worth a re-watch, that’s for sure.

No words are needed. What a performance by @SpeedballBailey and @ibushi_kota.#Bloodsport9 pic.twitter.com/EJz8ngAJBF

— FITE (@FiteTV) March 31, 2023

A brief firefight ensued with Smith getting the last word.

The two giants head back down to the mat where the fresher Bulldog was able to lock on a crossface for the hard-won submission.

That played out very differently to how many expected but made for compelling viewing nonetheless.

Man alive! Davey Boy Smith with the powerbomb to Kratos!

But the New Japan man is not finished yet and fires back with a spectacular flying kick, leaving both men reeling on the mat.

Somewhat surprisingly, this bout has been almost entirely contested on the mat so far, with the two behemoths trading holds and positions as opposed to power moves and strikes.

Very interesting – thus far you’d have to give it to Kratos on points, but the big man’s gas tank may be suspect..

Next up, it’s hulking New Japan star JR Kratos versus former WWE star Harry Smith.

These are two giant athletes, each with serious knockout power, so perhaps best not to blink..

Bad Dude Tito’s Bloodsport record was not the best coming into the evening but the TMDK member upset the odds with a victory over young Uemura.

This one was pretty unique, with Uemura even executing a dive to the outside at one point – quite the rarity at a Bloodsport event!

Jeff Cobb is our first competitor of the evening! The Olympian will be facing Scotland’s Calder McColl, who has been a pro since 2004.

Wow! That was super competitive while it lasted but an ill-fated triangle attempt by McColl was reversed into a Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson style slam, followed by a huge right hand for good measure, and that’s all for our first contest of the evening.

Up next, two of the larger competitors on the card – it’s Calvin Tankman vs Erik Hammer.

MLW fans may be familiar with Tankman, who has has an impressive run and has held the promotion’s tag straps.

His opponent, Hammer, enters with a perfect 3-0 record in Bloodsport.

These two came to fight!

That was a fast and furious blend of strikes and mat scrambles, but Hammer’s flexibility on the deck ultimately helped him seal the deal, locking up a kimura of sorts on the prone Tankman for the tap out victory.

Marina Shafir takes on Killer Kelly next.

Shafir was in the news earlier in the week, as Jon Moxley highlighted her previous Bloodsport exploits as being indicative of her potential in AEW and beyond.

Jon Moxley Heaps Praise On Unlikely AEW Female Star

Moxley was right, Marina Shafir is an entirely different animal on the Bloodsport mat.

That one threatened to be a one-sided blow out but fortunately, Kelly was able to weather the early storm and make things competitive.

However, the AEW star ultimately wrestled the advantage back, following a minor display of hubris from the IMPACT star, before eventually locking up a triangle variation for the submission win.

The moment is here – Kota Ibushi makes his return to the ring following two years on the shelf through injury.

Ibushi has mentioned on social media that his previously injured shoulder had flared up in the past couple of days, so it will be interesting to see whether that plays a role in this contest.

While all eyes may be on Ibushi, ‘Speedball’ has been on one hell of a hot streak over the past few months and certainly has the martial arts prowess to make things difficult for the Japanese star.

Well, you don’t see that everyday..

Stuck on bottom during an in-depth grappling exchange, Bailey used his significant leg strength to elevate Ibushi into the air and down to the floor.

Not ideal for someone with a bad shoulder!

The action picked up in a hurry following a prolonged period on the mat.

Both men traded strikes and kicks before Ibushi caught Bailey with a Regal Plex followed by a V-Trigger knee for the knockout victory.

Best bout of the night thus far, and great to see Ibushi back doing what he does best.