Pete Dunne match set for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV
Pete Dunne’s opponent for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV has now been revealed.
It was announced today that Dunne vs. Masashi Takeda will take place at the April 17 event in Las Vegas. Takeda is a Japanese wrestler and MMA fighter who has specialized in death matches. During his career, he’s competed for promotions like Big Japan, All Japan, FREEDOMS, and GCW.
For our first match-up announcement, we see a bout between an MMA born, "Crazy Kid" taking on a Catch based, "Bruiserweight."
— 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 (@JoshLBarnett) March 18, 2026
A kind of match up you'll not see anywhere else, and a fight you know is going to set the ring on fire.
Masashi Takeda takes on Pete Dunne at Josh… pic.twitter.com/hZDYVERJjc
This is the first match officially booked for the Bloodsport card, which will stream live on TrillerTV+ with a start time of 6 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Pacific on the Friday of WrestleMania week.
Since WWE started to allow some of its talent to compete at Bloodsport, Dunne has worked two shows with a 2-0 record. Both of those matches took place in 2025 with him defeating Jonathan Gresham and Timothy Thatcher.
Dunne currently plays the character Rayo Americano in WWE but will be wrestling as himself at Bloodsport. In WWE, he’s part of a faction with El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) and Bravo Americano (Tyler Bate).
Takeda’s last Bloodsport appearance was a 2019 victory over Gresham.
Here is the list of announced talent for the April 17 show:
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV participants —
- Josh Barnett
- Yuji Nagata
- Ulka Sasaki
- Timothy Thatcher
- Pete Dunne
- Shayna Baszler
- Erick Stevens
- Fuminori Abe
- Ray Jaz
- Angel Verduzco
- Joe Dashou
- Masashi Takeda
- Matt Mako
- Royce Isaacs
- Miyu Yamashita
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.