{"id":43962,"date":"2019-04-11T18:42:41","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T22:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=43962"},"modified":"2019-04-11T18:56:28","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T22:56:28","slug":"preview-ecwa-super-8-4-20-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/04\/11\/preview-ecwa-super-8-4-20-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: ECWA – Super 8 (4\/20\/19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the longest running indie wrestling tournament still running in the United States, the\u00a0ECWA Super 8.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>While not as well known as other top US indies like\u00a0PWG, Beyond, PWX, EVOLVE<\/strong>\u00a0or others, the\u00a0East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA)<\/strong>\u00a0is a highly respected indie promotion, one that is arguably one of the oldest indie promotions in the country. The Delaware promotion was founded in 1967 by wrestler\u00a0Jim Kettner<\/strong>, who ran the promotion until retiring in 2010. Since then, it\u2019s been run by indie wrestler\u00a0Mike Tartaglia<\/strong>. Tartaglia was a former owner of\u00a0Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA)<\/strong>, but in 2011, TWA shut down and he switched all focus on ECWA. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they became a breeding ground of top tier indie superstars who all went on to great careers, such as\u00a0Bryan Danielson<\/strong>\u00a0(Daniel Bryan),\u00a0Billy Kidman, Low Ki, Austin Aries<\/strong>, and WWE\u2019s\u00a0Hardy Boyz<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 all were ECWA regulars in their earliest days. WWE\u2019s\u00a0Christian<\/strong>, All Elite Wrestling<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Christopher Daniels<\/strong>,\u00a0Amazing Red<\/strong>\u00a0and ECW\u2019s\u00a0Simon Diamond<\/strong>\u00a0all held the ECW Heavyweight Championship early in their careers, and\u00a0Charlie Haas<\/strong>\u00a0is a former ECWA Tag Team Champion, alongside his brother Russ.\u00a0Tessa Blanchard, Deonna Purrazzo, Karen Q<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Renee Michelle\u00a0<\/strong>are all former ECWA Women\u2019s Champions. They were one of the home promotions for three hugely influential late 90\u2019s indie wrestlers,\u00a0Ace Darling, Reckless Youth<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Trent Acid<\/strong>. ECWA\u2019s style of wrestling was an influence on\u00a0Ring of Honor<\/strong>\u2018s formation in 2002, and many of ECWA\u2019s regulars would migrate to ROH.<\/p>\n

In 1997, they initiated the\u00a0ECWA Super 8 Tournament<\/em>, with Ace Darling winning the inaugural event. Since then, the winners have featured the likes of Simon Diamond (\u201998), Christopher Daniels (\u201900, \u201904), Low Ki (\u201901),\u00a0Paul London<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201903),\u00a0Petey Williams<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201905),\u00a0Davey Richards<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201906),\u00a0Jerry Lynn<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201907),\u00a0Xavier Woods<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201910),\u00a0Tomasso Ciampa<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201911),\u00a0Matt Cross<\/strong>\/Son of Havoc (\u201914) and\u00a0Jason Kincaid<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201915). Last year’s edition was won by new\u00a0Major League Wrestling (MLW)\u00a0<\/strong>star\u00a0Richard Holliday<\/strong>, who is part of the stable\u00a0The Dynasty<\/strong>, featuring\u00a0MJF\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Alexander Hammerstone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Photo: twitter.com\/TheWrestlingEst<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year’s edition takes place on Saturday, April 20 at the South Philadelphia High School in Philly, and has a unique theme – all competitors in the tournament are at least second generation grapplers. Here’s a rundown of the eight competitors in this year’s\u00a0ECW Super 8.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lance Anoi’a<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Lance Anoa’i\u00a0<\/strong>is another member of the rich Anoa’i family in pro wrestling. His grandfather is Wild Samoan Afa<\/strong>, while his father is Samu<\/strong> (of WCW’s Samoan SWAT Team and WWE’s Headshrinkers), making him the nephew of Roman Reigns, Umaga<\/strong> and Rikishi<\/strong>, and cousin of the Usos<\/strong>. Lance started out in his grandfather’s World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW)<\/strong> in 2010, and has remained on the indies for nearly a decade, working with MCW Pro, House of Hardcore<\/strong>, and lately has been featured in Major League Wrestling (MLW)<\/strong>, where another cousin, Jacob Fatu<\/strong>, recently debuted as well.<\/p>\n