{"id":88089,"date":"2021-04-05T17:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T21:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=88089"},"modified":"2021-04-04T17:48:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T21:48:36","slug":"preview-gcw-acid-cup-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/04\/05\/preview-gcw-acid-cup-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: GCW ‘Acid Cup 3’ (4\/8\/21 & 4\/9\/21)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally created in 2016 by Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)<\/strong>, a year after its rebranding from Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW)<\/strong><\/a>, the first Acid Cup<\/strong> tournament featured many friends and wrestlers influenced by early 2000s indie pioneer Trent Acid<\/a>, who tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 2010. The first Acid Cup tournament was only held on one day and featured four Fatal Four-Way matches to star the tournament, followed by two semi-final singles matches and the finals. It featured a field that included\u00a0Pinkie Sanchez, The Laredo Kid, DJ Z<\/strong>\u00a0(now Joaquin Wilde in NXT),\u00a0B-Boy, Human Tornado,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Teddy Hart<\/strong>\u00a0and was ultimately won by then-rising indie star\u00a0Joey Janela<\/strong>. It would take another four years for the follow-up, with\u00a0Acid Cup 2<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>finally arriving in March of 2020, with\u00a0Chris Dickenson\u00a0<\/strong>winning the second tournament. It’s now become an annual showcase for GCW and this year’s\u00a0Acid Cup 3<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>will be a part of The Collective Remix over WrestleMania Week, with Day 1 – featuring the first round match-ups of the 16 entrants – on Thursday, April 8 at 4pm EST, followed by the remainder of the tournament on Day 2 on Friday, April 9 at 4pm. You can watch GCW \u2018Acid Cup 3: Day 1\u2019 on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 4pm EST on FITE.tv<\/a> and ‘Acid Cup 3: Day 2’ on Friday, April 9, 2021 at 4pm EST<\/a>, either individually\u00a0or as part of\u00a0the FITE Collective Bundle<\/a>. Here’s a rundown of the first round match-ups.<\/p>\n

GCW Acid Cup 3 – First Round Match-Ups<\/strong><\/h2>\n

AJ Gray vs. “Spyder” Nate Webb<\/h3>\n

\"AJ<\/a><\/p>\n

For the past few years,\u00a0AJ Gray<\/strong> has emerged as one of the true impact players in the U.S. indies and the former GCW World Heavyweight Champion is still chasing his elusive rematch for a title he was practically swindled out of when Rickey Shane Page<\/strong>\u00a0beat him for the title<\/a>\u00a0in late 2019 (after Gray himself finally ended\u00a0Nick Gage<\/strong>\u2018s 722-day reign as World Champion). Also a former\u00a0Paradigm Pro Wrestling (PPW) Champion<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Black Label Pro<\/strong>\u00a0Midwest Champion, Gray is currently the reigning\u00a0Glory Pro<\/strong>\u00a0Crown of Glory Champion and\u00a0Southern Underground Pro (SUP)<\/strong> Bonestorm Champion and continues to mow down most challengers in his path. Now, in his first Acid Cup appearance, AJ Gray will be looking to dominate the tournament and get back into the World title contention once again in GCW.<\/p>\n

Another veteran of the U.S. indies, \u201cSpyder\u201d Nate Webb<\/strong>\u00a0has been a legend in the hardcore scene since his debut in 1999. A long-time mainstay with IWA Mid-South, where he\u2019s a former 2x IWA Mid-South Junior Heavyweight Champion, Webb shifted over to GCW in 2018 and has become one of the locker room leaders and gatekeepers in GCW. Webb had a huge influence in keeping GCW going during the pandemic by helping turn his home state of Indiana into\u00a0indie wrestling\u2019s Covid-era Mecca<\/a>, and now he enters his first Acid Cup to prove he\u2019s still got a lot of fight left inside of him.<\/p>\n

Arez vs. Aramis<\/h3>\n

\"Acid<\/a><\/p>\n

One of four entrants from Mexico, Arez<\/strong>\u00a0returns to GCW to compete in his first Acid Cup tournament. Like many Mexican luchadors, Arez has been competing since he was a teenager, and the 14-year pro is only 29 years old. He\u2019s spent the bulk of his career wrestling the various Mexican independents, but he\u2019s had runs with\u00a0AAA Lucha Libre<\/strong> and has been slowly working his way into the U.S. indies since 2016, where he\u2019s competed for GCW and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW<\/strong>). Since 2018, he\u2019s also appeared for\u00a0IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong>\u00a0when the company holds tapings in Mexico.<\/p>\n

One of two substitutes, Mexico’s Aramis <\/strong>recently replaced B-Boy<\/strong>, who had to withdraw due to injury. While he’s appeared on several AAA Lucha Libre<\/strong>\u00a0cards, his main promotion is\u00a0International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG)<\/strong>, where he\u2019s a former IWRG Rey del Aire Champion and IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Champion. Aramis made his U.S. debut in 2019 as an entrant in that year\u2019s\u00a0Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG)<\/strong>\u00a0Battle of Los Angeles<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0tournament and has since appeared for the likes of\u00a0AAW Pro, GALLI Lucha<\/strong>, and\u00a0Warrior Wrestling<\/strong>. Now he\u2019s making his GCW debut over WrestleMania Week as part of the Acid Cup 3. A true rising star in Lucha Libre, Aramis\u2019 GCW debut will no doubt help catapult him in the U.S. and put more eyes on him than ever before.<\/p>\n

Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Calvin<\/a><\/p>\n

Another Indiana native and a former IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion,\u00a0Calvin Tankman<\/strong>\u00a0exploded in 2020 with the likes of GCW,\u00a0Paradigm Pro Wrestling (PPW)<\/strong>, Black Label Pro, and\u00a0Violence x Suffering (VxS)<\/strong>. His meteoric rise last year also lead to him signing with\u00a0Major League Wrestling (MLW)<\/strong>, where he debuted this past November. He\u2019s off to a huge start in his MLW career so far – he challenged MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu <\/strong>for the title in only his sixth match in the promotion – and looks to be one of MLW\u2019s breakout stars in 2021, but first, he\u2019s got his eyes on winning the Acid Cup 3<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Colby Corino\u00a0<\/strong>is another substitute, replacing\u00a0Ken Broadway<\/strong>, but Colby Corino is no slouch. The son of former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino<\/strong>, Colby has been a star in the U.S. indies for over a decade and he’s only 24 years old. He’s a regular with Premier Wrestling Federation (PWF)<\/strong> and Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX)<\/strong> in the Carolinas, as well as working with everyone from EVOLVE Wrestling<\/strong> to Freelance Wrestling<\/strong>, as well as appearances for WWE and Ring of Honor.<\/p>\n

Dragon Bane vs. KTB<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Acid<\/a><\/p>\n

While he may not be familiar to many US indie fans,\u00a0Dragon Bane<\/strong>\u00a0has had an international presence for a couple of years now. The 21-year old luchador from Mexico City has been competing since he was an early teenager, working the Mexican independent scene since he was only 13. In 2018, he finally broke out, making his debut for\u00a0AAA Lucha Libre<\/strong>, but his primary home in Mexico is\u00a0International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG)<\/strong>, where he debuted in 2015, and he\u2019s the current reigning IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Champion. In 2018, he made his U.S. television debut with IMPACT Wrestling, in a match filmed in Mexico for IMPACT Xplosion, and in 2019, he made his Japanese debut with Pro Wrestling NOAH<\/strong>. He had a second tour with NOAH in 2020 as well. A gifted young highflyer, he\u2019s making his GCW debut at\u00a0Acid Cup 3<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Another former GCW World Champion in the tournament,\u00a0KTB<\/strong>\u00a0returns for his second Acid Cup (he was in last year\u2019s edition). A GCW mainstay since day one, KTB held the GCW World title for 350-days from 2016 to 2017. While he\u2019s been more focused on tag team matches in GCW of late, teaming with\u00a0Shane Mercer<\/strong>\u00a0as\u00a0Ironbeast<\/strong>, he\u2019s still a dominant force in singles competition as well. Last fall, he made his debut with\u00a0All Elite Wrestling\u00a0 (AEW)<\/strong>, where he competed on three episodes of\u00a0AEW DARK<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Jordan Oliver vs. Edith Surreal<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Jordan<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019d be hard-pressed to find many wrestlers who have improved their game in the past year than\u00a0Jordan Oliver<\/strong>. A regular with Major League Wrestling (MLW) and GCW, Jordan Oliver has become one of the top workhorses in the U.S. indies \u2013 at GCW Fight Forever<\/strong><\/em>, he defeated\u00a0Tony Deppen<\/strong>\u00a0in a two-hour Iron Match. Over the past year, he\u2019s scored huge wins over the likes of\u00a0ACH, 2 Cold Scorpio, Ace Austin, Daniel Garcia<\/strong>, and former GCW World Champion AJ Gray, and earlier this month faced MLW World Champion\u00a0Jacob Fatu<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0MLW Fusion<\/em>. He made his Acid Cup debut in 2020 and made the semi-finals \u2013 beating Nick Gage in the Quarter-Final \u2013 and this year he\u2019s got even more experience and a newly focused drive that makes him an earlier favorite to win the 2021 trophy.<\/p>\n

Another of 2020\u2019s many break-out stars was\u00a0Edith Surreal<\/strong><\/a> (formerly known as Still Life With Apricots & Pears)<\/strong>. A trailblazer in the exploding LGBTQ+ scene, she was arguably CHIKARA\u2019s brightest young star in the promotion\u2019s final year of existence, where she went 18-2 in 2019 and won the 2019 Young Lions Cup Tournament<\/em><\/strong>. Since CHIKARA\u2019s demise, she has become one of the principal stars of\u00a0Camp Leapfrog<\/strong>\u00a0and made her\u00a0GCW debut at\u00a0GCW EFFY\u2019s Big Gay Brunch<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0at last October\u2019s\u00a0Collective<\/em>, where she had a Match of the Year candidate with\u00a0Dark Sheik<\/strong>. She\u2019s also competed for the likes of Hoodslam, Beyond Wrestling, Black Label Pro, and Freelance Wrestling, and this past December, she teamed with\u00a0Boomer Hatfield<\/strong>\u00a0&\u00a0Molly McCoy<\/strong>\u00a0to win the Camp Leapfrog\u00a0Christmas Trios<\/em><\/strong> tournament. Just last month, she won the inaugural Cassandro Cup<\/strong><\/a> tournament, adding to her tourney trophy case. Tournaments have become Still Life\u2019s strong point and she could leave Tampa with her fourth tournament trophy.<\/p>\n

Tony Deppen vs. Cole Radrick<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Acid<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the names synonymous with GCW over the past few years has been one of its Gatekeepers in\u00a0Tony Deppen<\/strong>. The veteran has been with GCW since 2016 and continues to have big match after big match. But his success isn\u2019t relegated to just GCW rings \u2013 he\u2019s also been a standout with CHIKARA, Beyond Wrestling, ICW No Holds Barred<\/strong>, VxS, and many more, including debuting with\u00a0Ring of Honor<\/strong>\u00a0last fall in the\u00a0ROH Pure Tournament<\/em><\/strong>. He\u2019s recently had two incredible ironman matches \u2013 one a two-hour match against\u00a0Jordan Oliver<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0GCW Fight Forever<\/em>, plus a 6o minute match against\u00a0Trish Adora<\/strong>\u00a0in Beyond Wrestling. Apart from competing in the 2020\u00a0ROH Pure Tournament<\/em>, he competed in his first\u00a0Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG)<\/strong>\u00a0Battle of Los Angeles<\/strong><\/em> in 2019.<\/p>\n

Spencer, Indiana\u2019s\u00a0Cole Radrick<\/strong>\u00a0returns for his second Acid Cup after making his tournament debut in 2020. Cole Radrick has reinvented himself over the past two years and become one of the Midwest\u2019s hungriest young stars, including a 245-day reign as PPW Champion. Radrick is one of the true underdogs in pro wrestling \u2013 he may diminutive in size in comparison to many of his competitors, but he\u2019s got a fight in him that is unparalleled. Prior to Nick Gage\u2019s injury in 2020, Radrick had been chasing the leader of the MDK Gang trying to incite the \u201cGod of This Shit\u201d into a war.<\/p>\n

Lee Moriarty vs. Treehouse Lee<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Lee<\/a><\/p>\n

Arguably no other US indie wrestler made the most out of the pandemic year of 2020 than Pittsburgh\u2019s\u00a0Lee Moriarty<\/strong>. A standout in the Pennsylvania indies since his debut in 2015, by the end of 2019, his momentum was starting to gain national traction. In 2020, Moriarty exploded on the national stage, with huge matches against\u00a0Alex Shelley, Nolan Edward, MV Young<\/strong>, and others. In June, at\u00a0GCW The Wrld on GCW 2<\/em><\/strong>, he made his GCW debut against\u00a0Tre Lamar<\/strong>, instantly becoming one of GCW\u2019s new favorite stars. He would also break out into Black Label Pro, Beyond Wrestling, and others, collecting more Match of the Year candidates with the likes of\u00a0Daniel Makabe<\/strong>, ACH,\u00a0Alex Zayne, Chris Dickinson<\/strong>, and\u00a0Blake Christian<\/strong>. This past October, he made his IMPACT Wrestling debut on IMPACT Xplosion, where he faced\u00a0Suicide<\/strong>. He’s coming off a huge tournament victory at Enjoy Wrestling<\/strong>‘s Enjoy Cup<\/strong><\/em>, and in early March, ended WARHORSE<\/strong>‘s record-breaking 532-day reign as IWTV Independent Wrestling Champion. Moriarty has climbed the ladder quickly and now enters 2021 as one of the top stars in the U.S. indies period.<\/p>\n

Treehouse Lee<\/strong>\u00a0has been a rising star in the Florida indies since 2017, and finally broke out on a national level at the end of 2019 when he made his GCW debut at\u00a0GCW Jimmy All The Way<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>where he was victorious in his debut Scramble Match. He returned to GCW for two more events in early 2020 before the pandemic hit, somewhat sending Treehouse Lee into hiding, just as the rest of the country was becoming aware of his amazing in-ring abilities. In December of 2020, he made his GCW return at\u00a0Good Riddance<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>where he defeated another GCW returnee in Saieve Al Sabah<\/strong>. Two months into 2021, he\u2019s rebuilding his momentum with strong showings in VxS and Florida\u2019s\u00a0No Peace Underground<\/strong>, and faced Joey Janela at\u00a0GCW Wind of God\u00a0<\/em>during\u00a0GCW Fight Forever<\/em>. Expect him to have a solid showing at\u00a0Acid Cup 3.<\/em><\/p>\n

Laredo Kid vs. Brayden Lee<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Acid<\/a><\/p>\n

The fourth entrant from Mexico, AAA\u2019s Laredo Kid<\/strong> returns to the Acid Cup for the first time since he made his GCW debut in 2016 at the inaugural tournament. Laredo Kid is the reigning AAA World Cruiserweight Champion and has competed for multiple promotions in the U.S. over the years, including MLW, IMPACT Wrestling, PWG, Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW)<\/strong>, and\u00a0AAW Pro<\/strong>, as well as multiple Mexican indies. He’s also heading into\u00a0Acid Cup 3<\/em> after back to back appearances with All Elite Wrestling (AEW)<\/strong>, most recently teaming with The Lucha Brothers<\/strong> (Penta El Zero Meido & Rey Fenix) against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega<\/strong> and The Good Brothers<\/strong> (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) last Wednesday night on\u00a0AEW Dynamite.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the multiple rising young stars from the Midwest, Indiana\u2019s\u00a0Brayden Lee<\/strong>\u00a0was one of the many new wrestlers who made their GCW debut in 2020, and one of the few over the years to win their debut match. In a seven-wrestler scramble at\u00a0Jimmy Lloyd\u2019s D-Generation F<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>at last October\u2019s\u00a0Collective<\/em>, Lee outlasted\u00a0Alex Ocean, Elayna Black<\/strong>\u00a0(now NXT Superstar Cora Jade),\u00a0Eli Isom, Griffin McCoy, Kung Fu Janela<\/strong>, and\u00a0Sonico<\/strong>\u00a0to pick up his first GCW victory. At January\u2019s\u00a0GCW Fight Forever<\/strong><\/em>\u00a024-hour event, Lee competed three times, facing\u00a0Myron Reed<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0GCW Wind of God<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Shane Mercer<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0GCW Wrld on GCW III<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in singles losses, but won his second scramble at\u00a0Jimmy Lloyd\u2019s Up All Night<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>Lee has been a talent in the Indiana indie scene since 2018 and in 2019 broke out with\u00a0IWA Mid South<\/strong>, where he\u2019s already a 2x IWA Mid South Junior Heavyweight Champion. He\u2019s also competed for the likes of\u00a0CHIKARA, AAW Pro, Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), Black Label Pro<\/strong>, and\u00a0ACTION Wrestling<\/strong>, and this past January made his debut with\u00a0IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong>, where he faced\u00a0Sami Callihan<\/strong>\u00a0on an episode of\u00a0IMPACT Xplosion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Keep up with ALL of our WrestleMania week coverage HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Stay tuned to the\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for 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. You can watch GCW \u2018Acid Cup 3: Day 1\u2019 on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 4pm EST on FITE.tv<\/a> and ‘Acid Cup 3: Day 2’ on Friday, April 9, 2021 at 4pm EST<\/a>, either individually\u00a0or as part of\u00a0the FITE Collective Bundle<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally created in 2016 by Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), a year after its rebranding from Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), the first Acid Cup tournament featured many friends and wrestlers influenced by early 2000s indie pioneer Trent Acid, who tragically passed away from a drug overdose in 2010. The first Acid Cup tournament was only held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":88549,"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":[2,5274,6],"tags":[7533,4083,6039,7543,2151,5636,1872,6165,3504,7611],"class_list":["post-88089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-gcw","category-north-america","tag-acid-cup-3","tag-aj-gray","tag-calvin-tankman","tag-edith-surreal","tag-game-changer-wrestling","tag-jordan-oliver","tag-laredo-kid","tag-lee-moriarty","tag-the-collective","tag-wrestlemania-week-2021"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88089","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=88089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}