ECWA Super 8 results from St. Matthew's Parish Center in Newport, Delaware on April 5th, 2003Credit: Carlton Prescott (carlton@carltonprescott.com)
http://www.carltonprescott.com
ECWA returned to Newport, Delaware for the 7th Annual Super 8 Tournament. The crowd this year was noticeably larger than last year's. There are plenty of tournaments in the indies every year, but the Super 8 has always been regarded as the most pretigious of all indy tournaments.
Before the matches started, all eight of the participants were introduced to the crowd, along with this year's tournament "host", Charlie Haas. Haas mentioned that one year ago he was supposed to be in the Super 8, but was unable to compete due to an unfortunate injury. He said at that time he did not know where his career was headed, but one year later, he is one half of the tag team champions and coming off a big win at Wrestlemania. He credited Jim Kettner with keeping him going during his tough times.
Match #1- "The Future" Frankie Kazarian vs. "The Future" Chris Sabin. This turned out to be one of the better matches on the show. Kazarian, who was a late replacement for Johnny Jeter, looked much more impressive than he has in the past. He seems to have developed a personality to go along with his already solid in ring skills. There were a lot of near falls toward the end. Sabin came close to victory with a Tiger Suplex, while Kazarian scored a few near falls of his own. Kazarian was finally able to finish off Sabin with the Wave of the Future (Roll of the Dice type maneuver). Even in defeat, Sabin's performance stood out as one of the best of the evening.
WINNER: Frank Kazarian
Match #2 - Brian Kendrick vs. Chris Cage. Kendrick made his 2nd Super 8 appearance, as he lost in the First Round to American Dragon back in 2001, when he was known as Spanky. This time, a more experienced Kendrick was able to move on to the Semi-Finals by outlasting a game Chris Cage. Kendrick got the victory with Slice Bread #2.
WINNER: Brian Kendrick
After this match, Simon Diamond was introduced. He talked about winning the Super 8 in 1998. He then went on to talk about the late Jeff Peterson. He recalled how when he first saw Peterson, he asked Jim Kettner "what am i supposed to do with him". Diamond thought he looked skinny and unathletic. Kettner told Diamond "do for Jeff what I did for you" meaning make him a star. Diamond ended by saying as much as he taught Jeff about wrestling, Jeff taught him about life.
Match #3 - "Mr. Showtime" Chance Beckett vs. Sedrick Strong. This match paired off two guys who very few people in attendance knew much about. Because of this, the crowd did not know how to react at first. Beckett quickly changed that by establishing himself as the heel and drawing great heat on himself. In doing so, the crowd got behind Strong and into the match. Even though the majority of the crowd was against Beckett, due to his heel antics, they still appreciated his effort in the match. Early on in the match, Beckett took a boot to the face, cutting open his chin hardway. Beckett displayed a wide array of offensive maneuvers. While not spectacular, Strong was very solid and stayed with Beckett the entire match. Strong hit Diamond Dust on Beckett for a near fall, but in the end, Beckett came out victorious and moved on to the Semi-Finals.
WINNER: Chance Beckett
Match #4 - Alex Arion vs. Paul London. During the pre-show introductions, London appeared to get the most applause from the crowd. Having never seen him wrestle live before, I was anxious to see what all of the hype was about. Arion is a decent worker from the New England area, but really isn't on the level of what is expected of a Super 8 performer. Paul London was unimpressive in victory in this match. While much of the blame can be put on his competition, a great worker should still be able to carry a match to a certain expected level. London's aerial maneuvers are very well executed, but there does not seem to be any psychology behind them. Out of the four first round matches this one impressed me the least. London moved on to the Semi-Finals where I hoped he would be able to showcase himself better.
WINNER: Paul London
Match #5 - The S.A.T. (Jose & Joel Maximo) & Striker vs. Prince Nana, Mega, & Ace Darling. The ECWA Tag Team Champions, Ace Darling and Striker, found themselves on opposite ends of this 6 man battle. Striker started the action out in this match but quickly tag out to Joel before ever locking up. The majority of the match saw Nana, Mega, and Ace work over the S.A.T. while Striker stood in the corner waiting for the tag. When he was finally tagged in again, Striker turned on the S.A.T. and helped Nana, Mega, and Ace beat them down. Although this turn has been done many times, and some of the fans could see it coming, it still came across very well due to the great selling of the turn by Striker. The referee called for the bell and awarded the match to The S.A.T. and Striker by DQ. Cheetah Master fan in to save The S.A.T. but quickly got cut off. Next in were J.J. Johnson and J.R. Ryder. They surprised the fans by turning on the heels and cleaning house.
WINNERS: The S.A.T. & Striker by DQ
Match #6 - "The Future" Frankie Kazarian vs. Paul London. Kazarian was coming off an impressive first round victory, while London again had the crowd behind him. However, in my opinion, London failed once again to live up to all of the hype. Unlike many Super 8 competitors in the past, I do not believe London turned it up another notch going in to the Semi-Finals. Kazarian continued to try the same things that led him to victory in the first round, but came up short this time and fell victim to London's Shooting Star Press.
WINNER: Paul London
Match #7 - Brian Kendrick vs. "Mr. Showtime" Chance Beckett. This was probably the most mat-based match of the night and personally one of my 2 favorite matches on the card (along with Kazarian/Sabin in the first round). Beckett was sporting a large bandage on his chin from the cut he received earlier. The bandage quickly fell off and Beckett began bleeding once again. The crowd was solidly behind Kendrick, not only due to his popularity, but also due to the good job Beckett continued to do in drawing heat to himself. Beckett surprised everyone by pinning Kendrick and advancing to the finals.
WINNER: Chance Beckett
Match #8 - Next up was the annual ECWA Summit for a title shot against ECWA Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels. The participants were Mr. Ooh La La (with Carlton P. Hightower), The Japanese Poolboy, Prince Nana, Roughhouse Rivera, Billy Bax, Xero, Ace Darling, Striker, Mike Kruel, Trinity, Venom, Joey Maxx, Johnny Maxx, Mozart Fontaine, Cheetah Master, Taylor Payne, Mega, Joel Maximo, Jose Maximo, and Red. Rob Eckos made an appearance during the match, coming out on crutches and nailing Jose and Joel Maximo as they were attempting to execute the Spanish Fly on Ace Darling. The match came down to The Japanese Poolboy, Cheetah Master, Mike Kruel, and Red. Cheetah was the first out, then Kruel caught Red off the top rope and tossed him over the top rope. As Kruel was looking down on Red, The Japanese Poolboy snuck up from behind and threw him over the top to win the Summit and earn a title shot.
WINNER: The Japanese Poolboy
Match #9 - ECWA Heavyweight Champion "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels vs. ECWA Mid-Atlantic Champion The Japanese Poolboy. This match was your typical big time superstar champion against the underdog opponent who no one is giving a chance to compete, let alone win. Daniels did get the victory, as expected, with the Last Rites. After the match, he took the mic. He said that going in to the match, even he did not give Poolboy a chance to compete with him, but that Poolboy proved a worthy challenger and had earned Daniels full respect. Daniels went to shake Poolboy's hand, but Poolboy grabbed Daniels and hugged him. While they were hugging, Daniels let one of his hands wander and squeezed Poolboy's ass!
WINNER: ECWA Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels ....... and The Japanese Poolboy's ass!
Match #10 - "Mr. Showtime" Chance Beckett vs. Paul London. Beckett again came to the ring sporting the bandage on his chin, while London came to the ring selling a leg injury that he received earlier. Beckett basically controlled the entire match, working over London's "injured" leg. For the third straight time, Beckett delivered a believable and solid performance. The finish of the match was very anti-climatic, as London, in what was one of his only offensive maneuvers of the match, got Beckett in a submission maneuver. Beckett refused to tap out. The referee checked Beckett's arm three times, but when he was unresponsive, called for the bell ending the match.
WINNER: Paul London
Although Paul London was the Super 8 winner, he was outshined by Chance Beckett in each and every round and failed to be involved in any of the top 3 matches of the evening (Beckett/Kendrick, Kazarian/Sabin, and Beckett/Strong). This Super 8 was solid, but other than the performances of Chance Beckett and Chris Sabin (Brian Kendrick also performed well as expected), I did not leave with the impression that this was the elite of the independent tournaments. I am sure Paul London has had better nights and hopefully next time I see him live, he will begin to live up to all of his hype.
ECWA returns to St. Matthew's Parish Center on Saturday night, May 3rd.
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