★ ★ ★ ★ ★
GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8
03/31/2022
Fair Park Coliseum. Dallas, Texas.
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick
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GCW |
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The story of redemption is often not recognized until it's over, not until you have the benefit of hindsight. When you have built up a career of hard work and guts through your own sweat and blood, there's an air of confidence that comes with it- a certainty that you can conquer whatever comes before you. You've spent years carving out a slot for yourself, carefully managing to preserve the image you created for yourself. You spend years working, just as hard and sometimes harder than those around you - you're in the trenches with your brothers in arms. This is the life you've chosen for yourself, your dream, your life's calling.
Then, an opportunity comes calling. A chance to make it, to put your skill to the test in an environment bigger and better than you've ever experienced before. This is what your hard work was for! A chance like this! It's impossible to let it slip through your fingers. So you take that leap of faith, both feet in with full confidence that this is the right move. This is where you are meant to be. But soon, it all starts to fall apart. This image and identity you created for yourself starts to slip away from you. Not through your own actions, you've tried, but it's those around you that are suppressing it. You try and fight it, but it's no use, so you fall in line. You abide and colour in the lines, knowing the trouble of stepping outside of your bounds won't be worth the repercussions that follow.
Eventually, either through stagnation or getting caught in the spring cleaning, you're free. Sent back into the world. Barely given a wristwatch on your way out the door, you're told to find work elsewhere. Easy for them to say, you spent time just being complacent. You couldn't stretch your wings, and suddenly you are thrown from the nest. You either stretch your rusted, stiff wings and fly, or struggle and plummet into the earth. It's a tough choice, but you know you really only have one. You've been there before, you have experience and knowledge you can fall back on, even if it had been stifled for years.
But now, there's the obstacle of perception. Many don't know who you were years ago, the man you were when you were carving that path and crafting a persona that was sought after oh so long ago. They only know who you became. Who you turned into. Not realizing that you've been handcuffed for years, held back and restricted. It's hard for them to see you in any other light, they see only one thing when they look at you and, more times than not, they think you aren't worth a second glance.
So you work twice as hard, double down your efforts, bet on yourself and dig deep to remember who you are. Find the man you once were, kill the man you became, and turn into something bigger and stronger than you've ever been. Shed your skin of perception and give birth to your true form. Show them what redemption looks like, make them see what redemption looks like. Turn yourself into something that can't be ignored any more.
There aren't many opportunities in wrestling for redemption. It's a cruel world that chews up and spits out more damaged souls than it saves, with many final chapters ending in ways that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. But sometimes, there are success stories. There are moments of redemption, and it's not until that final bell sounds, that the blood settles and the smoke clears, we can see the story of redemption in full. For my money, this match tells the story of redemption almost perfectly;
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick - GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8
Jon Moxley (real name Jonathan Good) has become a name synonymous with rebellion. From the very beginning, Moxley was unconventional and liked to go against the grain. Not fitting in anywhere else, he knew he was going to need to make room for himself, rather than find it through traditional means. No greater example of this is that, by his own admission, he knew that he had to become a professional wrestler. His soul was pulling him to the ring, some divine power was telling him that this was where he was meant to be.
Les Thatcher's Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp, it was called. I had been thumbing through the event program, hand-stapled together, which ran down the night's card and promoted sponsors such as Grammas Pizza, when I saw the ad in the back, beneath the HWA logo. This was it. X marks the spot. I was Indiana Jones, and I had just discovered the artifact that would point me to the Ark of the Covenant. A light shone from the heavens. Angels sang. I didn't know what I was looking for until I found it. There was no mistaking it. ... This is where I was supposed to go. The adventure was just beginning. I'd been studying this mythical world from a distance, in a classroom I created with boxes of tapes and dual VCR setups, the PWI Almanac, black-and-white wrestling magazines with color pinups. The answers lay ahead - I was sure of it.
- via "Mox" (2021)
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| From Cliff Morgan's library. |
Knock, knock, knock ... I waited on the steps about 60 seconds. No response. Now I felt stupid, self-conscious. I'm awkward in situations like this under normal social circumstances, but this is even more nerve-racking, like trying to join some kind of secret society. Is there a secret knock? Am I not supposed to knock on the door? Now I feel like an intruder, unwanted. I know they're in there. This must be a kind of etiquette; that's why they're not answering. Unless they didn't hear me. Maybe they're ignoring me. Shit. What if I've done something wrong and if I knock again I'll make it worse? I became nervous, my feet shuffled, a bead of sweat formed on my brow. I should just bail. I messed up somehow. ... Nah, fuck that. I've come this far, I will not be denied! ... Jesus! Would you just F'n relax dude! Just knock again.
I clench my fist and try again, harder this time: knock, knock, knock!
I hear voices. Shit, they heard me! I could feel my skin getting red. Just chill, dude you're bein- the door swung open and a head burst out. The wild eyes hit me like a searchlight. I felt like a raccoon caught in a trash can, the way this guy looked at me. He didn't say anything - he didn't have to. I was obviously an intruder, and this was highly irregular. I'd stepped in some sort of shit. What's worse, this wasn't some secretary. This wasn't a concierge. ... The square, chiselled jaw, hulking shoulders and the trademark black unibrow. He stood still, but his image jumped out of the doorway at me and nearly knocked me back down the steps. He was a cartoon character, a superhero. This was a scene from F'n Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This was Matt Stryker. Holy shit. I collected myself and stammered, "Uh, I called on the phone before. I'm here to check out the school."
It was as awkward as you can imagine, me at 17, about to have a stroke and all, but a smile appeared on Stryker's face. His guard came down, his annoyance with his interruption abaited.
"Oh, cool, Come on in!"
Relief. Then; Holy shit, I'm in!!
"You came in the back door. The front door's on the other side," he said and laughed.
- via "Mox" (2021)
And just like that, he was in. Jonathan Good became Jon Moxley, a rough, quiet kid from Cincinnati that lost more jobs than he kept to pursue his wrestling dream was on the slow road to fame. His early years of wrestling were spent working for smaller independent promotions like Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), and Northern Wrestling Federation (NWF). He travelled all over to hone his craft, specializing in hardcore and death match wrestling. The Jon Moxley we would come to know cut his teeth (pun not intended) in the blood soaked, glass covered rings of CZW.
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| Just another day in the Combat Zone. CZW |
There isn't really one rivalry, show, or opponent that defined Moxley's independent run. One could argue his most infamous match was his "Tables, Chairs & Silverware" match against Brain Damage at CZW's Tournament of Death VIII. Easily CZW's most violent event, it was often held in a field so they could avoid getting in shit from whatever venue they tried to hold this event at. Considering someone actually died (for seven minutes) in the Tournament of Death, they probably made the right call there. The image of Moxley getting his gaping head wound opened deeper and deeper by a fucking sawsall is legendary, establishing Moxley as someone who was more than ready and willing to go the extra mile for his art.
Moxley stuck around in the indies for a few more years, with 2011 being the last year anyone would see Jon Moxley. For all of his death match and hardcore expertise, Moxley wasn't afraid to get down on the canvas and roll around with his opponents, having some fairly strong wrestling skills hidden up his blood soaked sleeves. Nobody was really sure what WWE's version of Jon Moxley would look like, but it was an absolute certainty, they wouldn't be seeing the same wrestler they were familiar with for the past 7 years.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Biff Busick's (real name Christopher Girard) career is one that isn't very well documented. He was a beloved indie wrestler, cutting his teeth in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Chaotic Wrestling (CW), Top Rope Promotions (TRP) and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). He wasn't a champion decorated with title reign after title reign, a litany of five star matches, or a name that was synonymous with a brand. What Biff did have, however, was heart, grit and an enduring perseverance. The song "Bro Hymm" by Pennywise became Busick's anthem, a song about loss, friendship, and the promise to keep someones memory with you forever. Crowds would fill buildings with the song when Busick would enter, a declaration of their support for their guy.
 |
| Soaking it all in. Beyond Wrestling |
In contrast to Moxley not really having a defining indie moment prior to signing with WWE, Biff does. At the 2015 Beyond Wrestling event "Beyond Greatest Rivals Round Robin," Timothy Thatcher, Drew Gulak, Eddie Edwards, and Biff Busick fought in a round robin tournament (as in, all men will face one another during the tournament, scoring points instead of advancing in brackets). It was a hard fought tournament, with Both Busic and Edwards coming up to a point a piece in the two opening matches, scoring a fall against Gulak and Thatcher, respectively. Busick and Edwards continued their winning ways later in the night, with both men now having two points each.
The finals, and the main event of the show, was a between Busick and Edwards. An emotional Busick came to the ring for what would be his final indie match before leaving for WWE, the crowd singing along as loud as they could to "Bro Hymm." It was a hard fought match for Busick, but he came out on top. He took the time to thank the people that got him here and helped him along the way, everyone in attendance knowing this would be the last time they'd be seeing this version of Biff. Surely, everyone was hopeful that he'd find success in the biggest wrestling company in the world, but just as many had to know that there was a pretty small chance that was going to happen.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Signing with WWE's developmental territory at the time, FCW, in May of 2011. As Moxley told it, he was being fast tracked through FCW. They had plans for him and wanted to hit the ground running.
The next step was to debut on FCW television. Dusty Rhodes was the creative vision, and I loved Dusty, as did everyone. I loved just chillin' in his office listening to stories and waxing creative. He said he wanted Seth Rollins vs. the newly minted Dean Ambrose ("Dean, James Dean ... AMBROSE! Dean Ambrose is strong baby"). Dusty said, "Good enough for me." Dean Ambrose was born, although it was a little awkward using a new name at first. Dusty said he wanted Ambrose/Rollins to be his Pacquiao/Mayweather. We would begin working the house shows immediately, "off-Broadway," to build our chemistry. My first match with Seth, who'd come to be synonymous with me as a partner and one of my greatest opponents, was in Largo, Florida, in front of fewer than 50 people, and that's being generous. We'd never worked together before, and it was something of an indie dream match. He was ROH Champion and I was CZW champ, two diametrically opposed promotions, and we would now meet on neutral ground.
- via "Mox" (2021)
Moxley, now Ambrose, wrestled only 57 matches in FCW, making his WWE debut by working alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to destroy Ryback at Survivor Series 2012. The trio, known as the Shield, were seen as a group of mercenaries that operated under their own jurisdiction. They would emerge through the crowd and swarm people, one target, a tag team, a group, it didn't matter. The Shield was a force of nature. Initially conceived as a group to watch the back of then WWE Champion CM Punk, the group debuted as a trio of take no prisoners killers that were out for blood.
We've been creating what The Shield would eventually become on the fly, making it up as we went along. The first night at Survivor Series, our mission was to destroy Ryback. After we hit his finisher on then-WWE champ CM Punk, but before he could make a cover. Punk had put it in our ear that people might be in Ryback's ear telling not to sell for us. As would be the case in these scenarios going forward, our philosophy was, there's three of us and one of him. Of course, Ryback is a sweetheart, bit our mindset was this guy was standing in our way. We were seeing red, velociraptors locked on target, The instant we were let loose from our pens, we sprinted from the back of the arena, fangs out, and descended on the ring in a hurricane of steel-toed boots and fists. Seth and I were practically falling over each other to get to this guy, driven mad by hunger.
We beat the fuck out of Ryback. I remember pulling his foot out from underneath when he tried to get up, we completely smothered him. Earlier in the day, workshopping the best way to put this big bastard through a table, I remember saying something about maybe we could do a kind of Dudley-style power bomb. From there, we created the Shield Triple Power Bomb, Initially it was just a pragmatic solution to serve out purposes for the night, it would become our trademark and most destructive weapon in the game. The first night they gave us black turtlenecks to go with our pants and heavy boots. By now we had started wearing tactical vests and raiding army surplus stores for anything that looked cool. We ordered lighter combat boots from 511 tactical that made us faster and more nimble. WE had morphed into this paramilitary SWAT team. We looked fucking cool, man.
- via "Mox" (2021)
The trio ran through WWE until a Seth Rollins heel turn shattered The Shield and sent Reigns and Ambrose to find their own way. A 3 time Intercontinental Champion, 2 time RAW Tag Team Champion, 1 time United States Champion and 1 time WWE World Champion, Ambrose did pretty well for himself on his own. He was popular with the crowd and, his championship reigns as proof, seen as someone worth investing in by the higher ups. He wrestled main event matches, squared up with some of the very best on the roster, even wrestling over 200 matches in 2013, 2015 and 2016. It's pretty safe to say that, for a while, Ambrose and WWE had a hand-in-glove relationship, and it seemed like he'd be with the company for years to come.
But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. A number of stop-start pushes, big promises going nowhere, oftentimes turning him into a comedy character and an angle that, from top to bottom, was disrespectful to all involved were what eventually pushed Ambrose over the edge. He heard from Chris Jericho about this company called "AEW" in early 2019, the idea caught his attention, but his career up to that point was leaving him with doubts.
I also had no idea how the fans would react. I remembered back to when I first realized I wanted to leave WWE, and it occurred to me that if I did show up at a Ring of Honor, for example, I might be violently rejected. Those fans are there because they are seeking an alternative to WWE. If the fucking guy from Raw with the ketchup and mustard shooters showed up, I thought they'd shit all over it. I wondered if I was now so synonymous with horseshit WWE creative that it would be impossible for me to ever be accepted anywhere.
Booked into oblivion in WWE and blackballed from the rest of the industry. Done.
That was my fear.
I almost wanted to warn AEW: Thank you for your interest, but, trust me, you don't want to do this. I'm damaged goods, and if you bring me in I'll ruin your promotion before you even get it off the ground.
- via "Mox" (2021)
Eventually, Ambrose was given what he wanted. Opting to run out his current contract, Ambrose, I guess now just Jon Good, was finished with WWE on April 30th of 2019. From there, most everyone knows the story. Debuting at AEW's first pay-per-view, Double or Nothing 2019, Jon Moxley ran in during the Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega main event. He quickly became the Ace of AEW, carrying the company on his back more than once when they looked to be struggling to stay afloat. He was the MVP of the COVID era and stepped up when Punk put the company in a tailspin, establishing himself as one of the top names in professional wrestling.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Signing with WWE in September of 2015, Biff Busick adopted a new name, Oney Lorcan. From there, Lorcan wrestled nearly exclusively for NXT, a promotion that was seen as the evolution of FCW. A developmental brand that showcased both popular indie names, such as Lorcan, while also giving trainees a chance to get used to wrestling in front of a crowd and TV cameras. It was effectively a third brand, even if it wasn't viewed as one for many years, with many fans exclusively watching NXT as it was a more wrestling focused show. The idea of getting to watch some of their favourite indie names now wrestle under the WWE umbrella was a tantalizing thought, giving birth to many dream matches.
Lorcan mixed it up with Kalisto, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries and Andrade Almas to name a few, getting most of his in-ring time from untelevised live shows, or House Shows as they would be called. Out of the 86 matches he wrestled for WWE in 2016, his first full year with the company, 6 of them were televised. 2017 was better, with 14 of his 70 matches being televised, but he wasn't always coming up on the winning end. For those two years alone, he barely passes 50% as far as a win/loss record. Winning half the time isn't necessarily bad, but it doesn't exactly instill confidence.
2017 wasn't all bad, however, as he found success when forming a team with a man he was previously feuding with, Danny Burch. Better known as Martin Stone, Burch was a 15 year veteran at this point in his career, spending the majority of his time in the UK while also travelling the globe to wrestle for countless promotions. Burch wasn't up to a whole lot for his first years in WWE, still wrestling across the United States and Europe between NXT matches.
It was this partnership that proved to be the most successful for both Lorcan and Burch, with a team being forged out of respect and stiff shots. When interviewed, both men gave similar answers as to why they decided it was time to stand side-by-side;
“The relationship between Oney and I is simple. It’s built around one word: respect. After we had our first match together on NXT, he gave me another chance, one more match, one more time, when he didn’t have to. He’d beaten me, but he’s a man and a competitor and thrives on competition.”
- Danny Burch via. 411Mania.com
“I like that Danny hits just as hard as I do. From now on, all we can do is work hard and stay focused on winning future matches. Up to this point, I see my NXT career as a failure. For more success, I must hit harder. Simple as that.”
- Oney Lorcan via. 411Mania.com
One of their biggest moments, arguably, would be their show opening match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2018. In a blisteringly good tag team match against Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong of the Undisputed ERA, Lorcan and Burch set out with something to prove that night in Chicago. They beat the piss out of O'Reilly and Strong, taking it just as good as they dished it out. Despite losing, the crowd was firmly behind the two, giving them their flowers as the left for the back.
But after that? There's not a lot to talk about really. They spent about equal time teaming together and wrestling on their own, with Oney appearing on 205 LIVE to compete for the Cruiserweight Championship. When 2020 rolled around, they took the NXT Tag Team Championships off of The Undisputed ERA, with Bobby Fish standing alongside Roddy for this tag match. They found themselves embroiled in a feud with the UE, culminating in a WarGames match alongside commentator Pat McAfee and Pete Dunne.
They vacated the titles at the start of 2021 and... thats where Lorcan's story ends! His last match with the WWE was a three minute loss to Xyon Quinn, going out much the same way he came into the company, with a whimper. The highlights from Lorcan's NXT run were small and fleeting, never given a lot of time to spread his wings and show what he was really capable of. The Biff Busick that indie fans fell in love with was stifled and all but killed the moment he walked into WWE.One can only assume that after Christopher Girard was released and sent back into the world, he felt he was damaged goods. That his reputation and image was tarnished so severely, there wouldn't be a company in the world that would want to sign "Oney Lorcan."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
When Good left the WWE, he hit the ground running. His first match as Jon Moxley saw him win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title. Already debuting for AEW in May, he wasn't on AEW TV regularly until the end of 2019. Come February of 2020, right before the world started to crumble from the pandemic, Moxley won the AEW World Championship off of Chris Jericho and carried the fledgling company on his back. He was a fighting champion and defended his title every chance he got, putting in the work to keep AEW afloat and establish this title as something worth caring about. In 2021, he defeats Matt Cardona to win the GCW World Title, arguable the fourth biggest promotion in America.
Girard, on the other hand, had a 90 day no-compete clause to sit out after being released from WWE, meaning the earliest he would be allowed to wrestle would be the very end of December 2021. His first match back was in February 2022, back to using his old name of Biff Busick. He wrestled for a handful of indies against opponents like Brody King, Wheeler Yuta, and Kevin Blackwood, with his biggest challenge coming up at the end of March.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Originally known as "Matt Riddle's Bloodsport," the show was birthed out of a desire to fill a void in the wrestling business. Looking to bridge the gap between MMA and Pro Wrestling, Bloodsport featured worked-shoot style matches with a modified ruleset. Pinfalls don't count and there are no ropes, the only way you win is by submission, knock out, or TKO. Being an indie that showcased a variety of wrestling styles, GCW was a natural fit to host the first Bloodsport events. It wasn't until the third event that GCW became the home for Bloodsport, with MMA legend Josh Barnett taking over after Riddle signed with WWE, a "once every few months" attraction was born.
Bloodsport shows always attracted a lot of buzz, with popular indie names and up and comers squaring off with former MMA fighters and catch specialists. It really was a mixed bag of matches whenever you went to a Bloodsport show. One match could feature vicious striking exchanges and be over in a flash, while another could be a 20 minute, closely contested grappling exchange, the likes of which would make the most technically sound shed a tear. By the time Busick showed up to compete, Bloodsport was 8 shows deep and was well established. Moxley had already competed in two other events, winning both matches.
Moxley had already proven he was a force to be reckoned with. His time away from WWE as a travelling mercenary proved he was more than just "Dean Ambrose," a guy who wouldn't have survived 2 minutes in a Bloodsport ring. He was tough as nails, mean as they came, and always itching for a fight. Like a caged tiger eyeballing a gazelle a mile out, ready to kill the second he was set free.
Busick, on the other hand, was still getting his feet under him. Barely 6 months removed from being "Oney Lorcan," the world wasn't sure what this iteration of Biff would look like. Would he be the wrestler of old? Would he be a WWE version of Biff? Or would this Biff be something wholly unique? Nobody was sure, but everyone was ready to find out.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Landing in the semi-main event slot of an already stacked card, featuring Jonah vs. Josh Barnett, Simon Gotch vs. John Hennigan and Timothy Thatcher vs. J. R. Kratos, there was a buzz in the air as the fans in attendance knew what was next. Jonah and Barnett wrapped up their match and headed for the back, a few moments of silence before a low hum came over the speakers. The snippets of chatter between band mates at the opening of the song. The galloping bass urges the crowd to rise to their feet and look towards the curtain. The once familiar, now remembered opening "woah" chorus of the song swelling throughout the audience. More voices joining in as the seconds pass as people point a single finger to the sky, a simple but signature gesture that Busick made his own.
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| Biff rules. GCW |
Bringing his attention back to the match, Busick turns to face the entrance way, focusing in on where his opponent will be coming from. The arena is bathed with red lighting as Moxley parts the curtain, hoodie up and water in hand. He wouldn't look too out of place coming down to the octagon in UFC. The arena erupts in cheers, the "MOXLEY! MOXLEY! MOXLEY!" chants overtaking the room. He's fired up and ready to go, rolling in the ring and pacing back and forth, his eyes locked on Busick. Their introduced for the match as Moxley takes a knee in the corner, saying a silent prayer before going to war.
Busick is stoic and focused. His body coiled and ready.
Moxley is feral and seething. Loose and begging for a fight.
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| The calm. The storm. GCW |
The bell rings and the crowd shows their support in the form of a "BOTH THESE GUYS!" chant breaking out.
Their stances lower as the move in towards each other, with Busick shooting in for a single leg on Moxley before pivoting around to take the back. Mox is able to shift his weight and flip Busick around into a side headlock, with Biff shooting his legs out to snatch Mox by the head. He's able to squirm out as both men return to their feet, the earliest moments of this match resulting in a draw-back to square one.
They meet again with Moxley shooting in to take the leg of Biff, this time however, Mox gets caught with a single underhook attempt from Busick, holding Mox in place as he stanches the right leg of Biff. Mox is able to drive Biff to the mat and move in past his guard to get a side mount, trapping Biff's head between bicep and forearm. Biff's arms are close to his chest, trying to keep a distance between he and Mox as his attacker shifts to a full mount, and then to a triangle attempt as he rolls Biff over to a kneeling position. Moxley is more than just a hard nosed bastard who's not afraid to spill a pint or two of blood, he's spent a good amount of time rolling around on the canvas training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu-in fact, he'd even go on won a gold medal at it the next year.
Biff is able to escape and tries to take the back, but Mox shifts around to take Biff's back instead, changing tactics when he tries to go for a choke outright, instead opting for a forearm across the face. Probably more painful, but not something that will end a match as quickly. He cranks back and forth before repositioning himself to be higher up on Biff, sitting on his low back. From there, Mox rises up and drives forearms into the back of Busick's neck. Biff doesn't stay down in a compromised position for long, however, quickly shifting around as to get back to his feet and fight for control, only for Mox to just rip Busick off the canvas and back down, stomach flat out again.
Biff is able to fight out and get on top of Mox, but he isn't able to get into any real position. With Mox getting to his knees out of Busick's top mount, he holds him in a front facelock and holds on tight, maintaining his grip as Moxley stands up. He snatches Busick up by the legs, relieving some of the pressure from the choke as he marches towards the centre, looking to break the hold through sheer force. With sudden impact, Moxley drives Busick spine first into the canvas, hoping that the impact would open Busick up and break his grip, but Biff holds on tight, almost turning Moxley's offence into a self-inflicted DDT.
The early moments of a most Bloodsport matches tend to be wars of attrition and feeling out processes. Some go straight into third gear, with both competitors swinging for the fences from the word go, others are closely fought right down to the final bell. It should have been obvious to just about everyone that this match would eventually turn into a war of fists and kicks, but the early moments are a lot more grounded and tight than I'm sure many expected.
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| Picture perfect. GCW |
In an immediate contradiction to my last paragraph, Moxley holds both arms of Busick before standing above him, crushing the neck and should of Biff with heinous kicks. Over and over, his leg like a piston until Biff shifts his position and snatches the leg of Mox to take him down, rolling over his back to get a side headlock. Fighting up to his feet, Moxley makes the most out of the position he's in. Popping his hips and firing back like a coiled spring, Mox drives Biff head first into the canvas with a back suplex, one of the first big pieces of offence in this match.
Biff rolls to his knees and Moxley charges across the ring on his knees, meeting Biff on the other side and striking him in the head with forearm after forearm, elbow after elbow, trying to further rattle and scramble his brains. He takes a few steps back before charging back in, sending Busick tumbling to the floor with a big knee strike to the face. Mox circles the ring before meeting Biff on the outside, snatching him by the head and driving up with more punishing knees before taking him up, over, and down to the hard floor below with a vertical suplex.
Mox rolls back inside after the drop, leaving Biff to recover on his own. He stumbles to his feet and catches himself on the apron, leaning back across it with his crimson stained head out for the world to see. The knee of Moxley was more than effective-it looked to have busted open the left eyebrow of Busick pretty significantly, with a not-insignificant amount of blood already leaking from the wound. He crawls back inside, looking worse for wear, but he refuses to give in. With a sound that wouldn't feel out of place at a gun range, Biff chops Moxley in the chest so hard he falls over; not Moxley, but Biff. Absorbing the shot, Moxley asks for more, waiting for Biff to rise to his feet at the hundreds in attendance join him on their feet.
 |
| A soul set on fire. GCW |
Pulling Biff up off the canvas into a version of the camel clutch, Mox twists the head of Biff as he sits on his back, the blood from his wound pouring over the forearm of Mox in a thick stream of crimson. Modifying on the fly, Mox snatches the left arm into a crossface chickenwing, falling back to take Biff off his feet and into the waiting, lethal arms of Moxley. The blood is leaking off of the clean shaven head of Biff and onto the shoulder of Mox to the point where you could easily be convinced Moxley had taken a bullet to the collarbone. Biff twists around and meets Mox face to face, driving down with forearm shots to the throat. But Mox, to his credit I suppose, is never afraid to get down and dirty; grabbing the head of busick, he pulls him in and bites the open wound, sending Biff reeling and rolling to the canvas.
Moxley is far and away Busick's most daunting challenge to date. He's already won the AEW World Championship, done everything to carry the company on his back, and has established a tough-as-nails group in the Blackpool Combat Club. None of Busick's prior matches quite compare to what he's in store for here. Not his barn burner tag match against the Undisputed ERA, not his hard hitting affair with Timothy Thatcher, not even his time in WarGames. But Busick's isn't one to shrink from a challenge; he will happily stare death itself in the face and as for more.
 |
| Blood into mist. GCW |
Both men are stained with blood, all from the body of one man, trading forearms and knees in the centre of the ring, when another shot reverberates through the arena. Firing off a vicious slap to the face, Biff stuns Moxley as he goes for a double wristlock of his own! Trying to fight out, Mox shoots rabbit punches into the ribs of Busick, which works for a second, but not the way Mox was hoping. Breaking the hold and snatching Moxley by the throat, Busick glares at him with a bloody face filled with hate before slapping the ever loving hell out of Moxley to stun him again, going right back to the double wristlock.
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| A strike laced with malice. GCW |
With Mox caught in the centre and nowhere to go, he does the only thing he knows how to do better than anyone, rebel. Slowly and with purpose, Mox straightens his back and brings his free hand up high, sticking his middle finger in the bloody, seething face of Busick. Biff breaks the hold and snatches Mox by the jaw, lacing him over and over and over again wit slaps to the face, his own act of defiance in a physical form. Mox fires back with a slap of his own, but it well and truly does the completely opposite of what he was intending.
Barely even stunned, Biff slips in behind Moxley and snatches him in a half nelson, ripping him off the canvas with a nasty suplex. Back on his feet in seconds, Biff backs to the opposite side of the ring as Moxley slowly rises, only to have his jaw clattered with a big Biff european uppercut! Seizing on the opportunity, Biff leaps into a mount and rains down punches on the crown of Moxley, doing everything he can to keep him down and out. Remember; Bloodsport rules are submission, KO, and TKO, pinfalls mean nothing in this ring. Its kill or be killed.
Trying to get away, Mox rolls to his side but gets caught with one of his own moves; the Bulldog choke. Biff has it in tight, wrenching back as Moxley scrambles to change his position. He's able to make it to his feet, holding onto the right leg of Busick as he does so to try and keep some semblance of control. Using it like a ripcord, he steps back before pulling himself in off the leg of Busick, firing off with a throat-collapsing lariat that turns Busick inside out.
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| Goodbye, head! GCW |
With Busick down now, Mox mounts and rains down punch after punch, Biff barely able to keep his guard up to protect himself. As the agonizing seconds wear on, it looks more and more like this match is over, but just before the referee can make the call, Biff latches onto the torso of Moxley to put the brakes on his offensive flurry. A rear naked choke from Mox is turned into a cross armbreaker, but Biff refuses to let his arm go free, pulling himself to his feet to defend against it. Somehow, someway, Bigg is fighting back.
Turning the tides on Mox, he grabs him by both wrists and stomps boots into the head and chest! His grip slips on the one wrist as he struggles to stay on his feet, and Moxley capitalizes, driving a boot straight into the air to catch Biff under the chin. He falls to a knee before collecting himself and charging back in, but Mox is a step ahead. He ducks the punch of Biff and shoots behind, grabbing him in a half nelson this time before driving him into the canvas with a suplex. Tit for tat, but Busick is still on his knees, fighting to stay alive. A discus lariat is enough to fold Biff over, allowing Mox to hook him in and take him over with the Death Rider! That should do it!
But Biff stays alive.
A choke is locked in, with Mox twisting around into his signature Bulldog Choke. The crowd is chanting "BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF!" as Moxley releases the choke to drive knees into the head of Busick, over and over, as vicious as ever. He takes a second to collect himself, staggering back as exhaustion starts to take over him too. Biff, at the opposite corner, is seated on his knees, hunched over but still alive. In a last act of defiance, he gives Moxley the double bird salute, a silent challenge of "give me your fucking best, you son of a bitch."
Charging forward, Moxley drives one final knee through the skull of Busick, dropping him like a shot.
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| Biff will never die. GCW |
The referee checks on Biff, and he's knocked out cold. The bell rings, and Moxley wins.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For just a hair over 10 minutes, this match packs a lot in and tells a perfect little story that few other matches get across in twice the time. Almost from the word go, Biff is fighting from beneath. The head wound weakens him severely and effectively puts a ticking clock on this match; Biff can only survive as long as his blood stays with him. From a visual perspective, it's one of the best crimson masks I've ever seen. The visuals in this match have been with me since I first watched it and I doubt they will ever leave me.
But from a storytelling perspective, Biff's utter resilience and refusal to give in is second to none here. He gives Mox his best and eats the very best his challenger has to offer time and time again. Never someone that was put in a position to have this kind of match against this calibre of wrestler while in NXT, Biff showed he's got more going on than a catchy theme song and an endearing personality. He not only can take a severe licking, but dish one out just as well too.
Biff may not have gotten the recorded victory here, but he won something else entirely. Respect. An arena full of people that already knew who he was, more than half of them had his back and sung his song. But by the time that final bell sounded, he had the entire building in his corner. Everyone in there saw him fight harder than he's fought before and take Moxley as far as anyone else has taken him. Biff came into this match with a mountain sized chip on his shoulder, and left with the weight of the world taken off his back.
For this, and so much more, Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick at GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8 is a 5 star match.
Until next time, be well, and stay safe.
Cliff Morgan
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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