{"id":48606,"date":"2019-06-14T19:15:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T23:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=48606"},"modified":"2019-06-14T19:15:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T23:15:31","slug":"jt-lightning-invitational-aiw-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/06\/14\/jt-lightning-invitational-aiw-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: AIW – JT Lightning Invitational Tournament (6\/14\/19)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a huge weekend for Ohio’s Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW)<\/strong><\/em>, kicking off on Friday night with the 2019 edition of the annual JT Lightning Invitational Tournament<\/strong>. A tradition in AIW since it began in 2012, the tournament was founded to honor the late Midwest indie legend JT Lightning, an 18-year vet who also ran Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. Sadly, JT passed away following a battle with cancer in 2011 at the age of 41. Since then, the JT Lightning Invitational has become arguably the premier indie tournament of the Midwest, that has seen past winners include Eric Ryan<\/strong> (’12), Ethan Page<\/strong> (’13), Michael Elgin<\/strong> (’14), Raymond Rowe<\/strong> (’15), Josh Alexander<\/strong> (’16), “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams<\/strong> (’17) and Joey Janela<\/strong> (’18). It airs live on Fite.tv at 7:30pm EST<\/a>. Here’s a rundown of the 24 men entered in this year’s tournament.<\/p>\n

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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AJ Gray<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2nd JT Lightning Invitational (2018), 1st Round Opponent: Nick Gage<\/p>\n

The reigning Paradigm Pro Wrestling (PPW)<\/strong> Champion, AJ Gray<\/strong> is a rising star in AIW as well as other promotions like Black Label Pro, ACTION Wrestling<\/strong>, and more. Bright future ahead, but drawing Nick Gage first round is going to be a hard lesson.<\/p>\n

Colt Cabana<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4th JT Lightning Invitational (2012, 2016, 2017),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Lee Moriarty<\/p>\n

Legendary indie star, Colt Cabana<\/strong> is a former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, the reigning NWA National Heavyweight Champion, as well as a current star with Ring of Honor<\/strong>. This is his fourth time entering the tournament. Facing a young stud in Lee Moriarty<\/strong>, whose youthful energy could take Cabana to the limit.<\/p>\n

Dominic Garrini<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4th\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2016, 2017, 2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Erick Stevens<\/p>\n

One of the top rising stars out of Ohio, Dominic Garrini<\/strong> has already had a big run in EVOLVE<\/strong> as part of Catch Point<\/strong>, and now teams in Black Label Pro and others with Kevin Ku<\/strong> in Violence Is Forever<\/strong>. A solid striker and grappler, he faces a blast from the past in former ROH star Erick Stevens<\/strong>, who is making a comeback to pro wrestling after a lengthy layoff. This will be Garrini’s fourth straight appearance and he’ll be hungry to hit those finals.<\/p>\n

Danhausen AD<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Matthew Justice<\/p>\n

Detroit’s enigmatic Danhausen AD<\/strong> is a member of The Production<\/strong> stable in AIW, but this year enters his first JT Lightning Invitational. Danhausen has proven he can take a beating, which will come in handy facing the monster\u00a0Matthew Justice<\/strong>, who is probably still steaming from his recent title loss of his AIW Intense Championship.<\/p>\n

Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Mance Warner<\/p>\n

A longtime regular with AEW making his first appearance in the tourney, this doctor may need a doctor of his own after he faces off against Mance Warner in the opening round.<\/p>\n

Eddie Kingston<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3rd\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2014, 2017),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Zach Thomas<\/p>\n

Eddie Kingston<\/strong> is one of the baddest dudes in wrestling and has been for 20 years. A veteran of Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), CHIKARA<\/strong>, EVOLVE, and just about every promotion under the sun, “The Mad King” will be looking to make an example of youngster Zach Thomas in the first round.<\/p>\n

Erick Stevens<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Dominic Garrini<\/p>\n

Throughout the 2000s, Erick Stevens was a rising star with ROH and Full Impact Pro (FIP), before retiring in 2010. He recently made a remarkable comeback with Beyond Wrestling<\/a> and is now entering his first JTLI. He’ll get a solid workout with one of the top young grapplers in the indies in Dominic Garrini.<\/p>\n

Flip Kendrick<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4th\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2012, 2014, 2015),\u00a01st Round Opponent: KTB<\/p>\n

A 13-year veteran of AIW and multi-time tag team champion with Louis Lyndon<\/strong> in Aeroform<\/strong> (including two runs as AIW Tag Team Champions), Flip is an outstanding highflyer in singles competition as well. He’s going to need that athleticism to get out the first round, facing the violent behemoth KTB<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Josh Bishop<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2nd JT Lightning Invitational (2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Tre LeMar<\/p>\n

Josh Bishop<\/strong> is another of AIW’s hot young stars and is the third member of the vibrant young stable No Consequences<\/strong> that have run wild in AIW and the Midwest (the others are AJ Gray and Tre LeMar<\/strong>). In what could be the darkhorse match of night one, Bishop will face off against his former No Consequences teammate with new confidence, as the new AIW Intense Champion.<\/p>\n

Kid Kash<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Louis Lyndon<\/p>\n

A veteran of the original ECW, WCW, WWE, TNA\/IMPACT Wrestling and promotions around the world, this veteran daredevil is a wild card in the tournament. He’s facing another veteran in Louis Lyndon first round, but if Kash can find his groove early, he could catch a wave of momentum.<\/p>\n

KTB<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Flip Kendrick<\/p>\n

Kyle The Beast, better known simply as KTB, is a wrecking machine, who has plied his methods of mayhem in AIW, Beyond Wrestling, ICW New York<\/strong>, EVOLVE and more, but he’s been a regular lately with Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)<\/strong>, where he’s a former GCW World Champion. He’ll have to come out strong, as his opening round opponent is a much faster and more experienced veteran in Flip Kendrick.<\/p>\n

Lee Moriarty<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Colt Cabana<\/p>\n

This youngster out of the Pennsylvania indie scene is making headway quickly. He only made his AIW debut this past February, and he’s already in his first JTLIT. He’s facing a veteran in Colt Cabana in the first round, but even a first-round victory of Colt Cabana will do wonders for Moriarty’s career.<\/p>\n

Louis Lyndon<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7th\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Kid Kash<\/p>\n

One of the men most synonymous with AIW’s legacy. He’s been a mainstay since 2006, competed in seven of the eight JTLITs, AIW Intense Champion for 303 days, and a 2x AIW Tag Team Champion with the legendary Aero Form. While Bishop vs LeMar will be a great showcase of AIW’s youth, Lyndon vs Kash could be a clinic of two veterans who can do it all.<\/p>\n

Mance Warner<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Dr. Daniel Rockingham<\/p>\n

One of 2019’s Breakout stars, former IWA Mid South<\/strong> star Mance Warner is now a regular with Major League Wrestling (MLW)<\/strong> and was the CZW World Heavyweight Champion until recently. A penchant for violence with a dash of the absurd, Warner is a star in the making.<\/p>\n

Marko Stunt<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Tim Donst<\/p>\n

One of 2018’s Breakout stars<\/a>, Marko Stunt<\/strong> is a marvel to watch athletically<\/a>. Small in stature but big in heart, he can produce magic moments in both acrobatics and comedy. He’s not far gone from returning from a broken leg so he’s going to be shooting to make an impact quickly, and upending Tim Donst<\/strong> in the first round – and winning this year’s JTLIT – would do just that.<\/p>\n

Matthew Justice<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3rd\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2017, 2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Danhausen AD<\/p>\n

Matthew Justice has been making a name for himself as a monster threat of late, holding the AIW Intense Championship for much of the past year. He lost it recently and is looking to regain his stride and get back in the title hunt. Poor, poor Danhausen AD.<\/p>\n

MJF<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2nd\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Savio Vega<\/p>\n

He’s one of the most irritating heels in the business right now, starring with both All Elite Wrestling (AEW)<\/strong> and MLW. With AEW talents heading to an exclusive lockdown of sorts this fall when AEW starts on TNT, MJF will be winding down his indie dates. We’re sure there’s nothing MJF would like to do is leave AIW having won their most prestigious tournament of the year.<\/p>\n

Nick Gage<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2nd\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2015),\u00a01st Round Opponent: AJ Gray<\/p>\n

The King of American Hardcore and the reigning GCW World Champion, Nick Gage is entering his second JTLIT and looking to dismantle the opposition. Gage is unrelenting in his violence and in the first round he faces young star AJ Gray. Gray will be looking to do big things, but his first task will be to tame the beast that is Nick F***ing Gage.<\/p>\n

Pat Buck<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Swoggle<\/p>\n

A longtime veteran of the New Jersey\/New York indie scene, Pat Buck<\/strong> also runs WrestlePro<\/strong> and the Create-A-Pro Wrestling School<\/strong> (with WWE’s Curt Hawkins). Over the past few years, Buck has been a tag partner with his opponent, former WWE Superstar Swoggle<\/strong>, but they’ll have to go through each other to advance.<\/p>\n

Savio Vega<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: MJF<\/p>\n

One of Puerto Rico’s greatest wrestlers and a former WWE Superstar, Savio Vega<\/strong>, enters his first JTLIT. He’ll be looking to shut the mouth of MJF for good.<\/p>\n

Swoggle<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3rd\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2017, 2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Pat Buck<\/p>\n

Former WWE Superstar Swoggle has had a fairly good run on the indies the past few years since his WWE departure. He’s avoided most legends\/nostalgia events and instead has thrown himself in the thick of the true indie scene in the US.<\/p>\n

Tim Donst<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6th\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018),\u00a01st Round Opponent: Marko Stunt<\/p>\n

Another man who is synonymous with AIW is former 3x AIW Absolute Champion Tim Donst, who’s impressive title runs have cemented him as one of AIW’s pillars. He’s always going to be a favorite in anything he does in an AIW ring and this year could be his year to finally win a JTLIT for the first time in six attempts.<\/p>\n

Tre LeMar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Josh Bishop<\/p>\n

Another of AIW’s emerging stars, Tre LeMar is facing former No Consequences teammate Joshua Bishop in the first round. LeMar has since gone on to find success alongside Jake Lander\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0Blood Diamond<\/strong>, whom he now holds the Black Label Pro Tag Team Championships. A student of NXT Champion\u00a0Johnny Gargano<\/strong>, LeMar is one to watch.<\/p>\n

Zach Thomas<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1st\u00a0JT Lightning Invitational,\u00a01st Round Opponent: Eddie Kingston<\/p>\n

Another of AIW’s youth movement, the “Man of War” Zach Thomas will get to practice what he preaches when he faces a former “War King” in Eddie Kingston.<\/p>\n

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Photo: AIW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stay tuned to the\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a huge weekend for Ohio’s Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), kicking off on Friday night with the 2019 edition of the annual JT Lightning Invitational Tournament. A tradition in AIW since it began in 2012, the tournament was founded to honor the late Midwest indie legend JT Lightning, an 18-year vet who also ran Cleveland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":48612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12,6],"tags":[1055,313,5352,5353,2702,3251,2546,4703],"class_list":["post-48606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","category-north-america","tag-aiw","tag-colt-cabana","tag-jt-lightning","tag-louis-lyndon","tag-mance-warner","tag-marko-stunt","tag-mjf","tag-tim-donst"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}