Charlie Dempsey, the proud son of William Regal and the only man in WWE NXT who looks like he eats grappling manuals for breakfast, is officially booked for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIII—his fourth consecutive appearance at the event that turns wrestling rings into fight clubs and ropes into afterthoughts.
Josh Barnett took to X (formerly Twitter, now legally defined as a chaotic announcement board) to hype up Dempsey’s return:
“A modern wrestler who seems like someone who has stepped out of the past… lighting suplexes, limb wrenching submissions… Charlie Dempsey – Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport XIII.”
Translation: He’s technical, he’s violent, and he’s showing up again to make sure someone’s arm bends the wrong way.
For those just tuning into the Suplex Symphony of Sadness that is Dempsey’s Bloodsport history:
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✔️ Bloodsport X: Defeated Matt Makowski with elegant brutality
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❌ Bloodsport XI: Lost to Royce Isaacs (rumor has it, he hasn’t stopped chain-wrestling since)
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✔️ Bloodsport XII: Outgrappled Tracy Williams in November
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🔜 Bloodsport XIII: The man returns. Probably barefoot. Probably scowling.
Dempsey isn’t going alone, either. WWE is rolling deep into this year’s event like it’s the underground fight scene in a Fast & Furious sequel:
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Natalya makes her Bloodsport debut, likely bringing the dungeon with her.
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Karmen Petrovic is back, having already survived Bloodsport XII without spontaneously combusting.
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Karrion Kross, a man who stares like he’s auditioning for Mortal Kombat, is returning for the first time since 2019.
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Pete Dunne also debuts, and the thought of Dunne and Dempsey in the same venue has already broken three wrists through the power of suggestion.
And that’s not all—Gabe Kidd (NJPW), Timothy Thatcher (former WWE), and Jonathan Gresham (former TNA) are all booked, ensuring that Bloodsport XIII, held during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas, is gonna be one part wrestling event, one part underground kumite, and two parts joint pain.
Mark your calendars: April 17, Pearl Theater, Las Vegas. No ropes. No nonsense. Just grappling, submissions, and an ever-growing list of people wondering why Dempsey still hasn’t smiled once on camera.