Josh Barnett Explains How He Was Able To Book WWE Talent For Upcoming Bloodsport Event

WrestleMania weekend has become known for much more than just WWE's biggest annual event. There are the events that WWE themselves host like the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, a "WWE NXT" Premium Live Event, and the now famous "WWE Raw after Mania," but outside of WWE, multiple promotions flock to the city that WrestleMania is being hosted in to offer some alternative forms of entertainment for the fans to check out, and Josh Barnett's annual "Bloodsport" event has become a staple of the weekend.

Presented by GCW, Bloodsport is the shoot-fight inspired show that features wrestlers from around the world in matches that look more like UFC fights and less like WWE matches. Someone who knows about both of those worlds is Shayna Baszler, who was recently announced as a participant in this year's Bloodsport X, despite being under contract with WWE. Appearing on "Under the Ring," Barnett explained how Baszler's appearance came to be. "I guess the easiest way to describe it is through my relationships with people there."

Barnett explained he knows that there needs to be a level of trust when it comes to borrowing talent from another promotion given how much is at stake financially, but after seeing how much cross-promotion that has gone on in wrestling in recent times, he is very happy to have someone like Baszler be part of his event. "I know that Shayna's going to do fantastic. I should know, I've been training her [for] her entire career." Baszler will take on TNA's Masha Slamovich at Bloodsport X in what many fans consider a cross-promotional dream match on a card that also features wrestlers from AEW, NJPW, and NOAH.

Please credit "Under the Ring" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.