Josh Barnett explains how he booked WWE's Shayna Baszler for Bloodsport

Last week, a surprising announcement was made with it being revealed that Shayna Baszler will be competing at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport X.

This is the first time that a WWE wrestler has been allowed to work a WrestleMania week indie show. Dave Meltzer reports that Paul "Triple H" Levesque has a different mindset on these things than Vince McMahon did, and Levesque made the decision to let Baszler work Bloodsport.

While appearing on the Under the Ring podcast, Josh Barnett said he was able to book Baszler for Bloodsport because of the relationships he's cultivated over the years:

I guess the easiest way to describe it is just through my relationships with people there [WWE]. That’s really what it comes down to. And with anybody, when speaking of a promotion, you’re always going to want, If you’re going to do anything outside of it, you want a certain level of trust and consideration given to you. And it’s hard to lend your toys out when there’s so much money put into them and the product itself.

In general, of course, we see cross-promotion happening out there in the world of wrestling, but it’s really a big deal when you think about all the different things involved with it and the value of some of the athletes that are going back and forth. But fortunately, through relationships I’ve cultivated over the years, something like having Shayna Baszler at GCW Bloodsport is - it’s a reality now. And I’m just super happy and honored to be able to do it. And I know that Shayna’s going to do fantastic. I should know, I’ve been training her [for] her entire career.

Baszler is facing Masha Slamovich at Bloodsport. It's a WWE wrestler vs. a TNA wrestler on a show that's being presented by Barnett and indie promotion Game Changer Wrestling.

Bloodsport will air live on TrillerTV+ starting at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, April 4. The show is being held at Penns Landing Caterers in Philadelphia.

Nic Nemeth vs. Mike Bailey, Josh Barnett vs. Johnny Bloodsport (John Hennigan), and Minoru Suzuki vs. Royce Isaacs are among the other matches that will be taking place at Bloodsport. The show features MMA-inspired pro wrestling matches that can only end by knockout or submission.