ECWA Super 8 Tournament

The Super 8 Tournament is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by the East Coast Wrestling Association. The eight-man tournament is known for jumpstarting the careers of many independent wrestlers, often booking veterans and relatively unknown wrestlers alike. It has also served as a springboard to stardom for some of its past competitors (such as Billy Kidman, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, Petey Williams and Matt and Jeff Hardy) in major promotions such as WCW, WWE and TNA.

Origin of the Super 8

The initial concept of the tournament came about after ECWA promoter Jim Kettner sought a way to crown a new Television Champion after landing a deal to produce a local access ECWA television program. Several wrestlers approached Kettner with the idea of using an eight-man tournament to establish the new champion. Despite some initial reservations about the idea, Kettner ultimately decided to forge ahead with the tournament, which was won by Ace Darling. Since then, the Super 8 has arguably become the most prestigious tournament on the independent circuit.

List of winners

*1997: Ace Darling
*1998: Lance Diamond
*1999: Steve Bradley
*2000: Christopher Daniels
*2001: Low Ki
*2002: Donovan Morgan
*2003: Paul London
*2004: Christopher Daniels
*2005: Petey Williams
*2006: Davey Richards
*2007: Jerry Lynn

Past tournament results

1997

February 22 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Billy Kidman defeated Reckless Youth.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Ace Darling defeated The Inferno Kid.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Lance Diamond defeated Ravishing Ronny.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Cheetah Master defeated Devon Storm.
* Semi-Final Match: Cheetah Master defeated Billy Kidman.
* Semi-Final Match: Ace Darling defeated Lance Diamond.
* Tournament Final: "Ace Darling" defeated Cheetah Master.

1998

March 21 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Ace Darling defeated Mike Quackenbush.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: The Inferno Kid defeated Devon Storm.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Lance Diamond defeated Mark Shrader.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Scott Taylor defeated Reckless Youth.
* Semi-Final Match: The Inferno Kid defeated Ace Darling.
* Semi-Final Match: Lance Diamond defeated Scott Taylor.
* Tournament Final: "Lance Diamond" defeated The Inferno Kid.

1999

February 27 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Steve Bradley defeated Ace Darling.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Christopher Daniels defeated Jeff Peterson.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Matt Hardy defeated Christian York.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Devon Storm defeated Jeff Hardy.
* Semi-Final Match: Steve Bradley defeated Devon Storm.
* Semi-Final Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Matt Hardy.
* Tournament Final: "Steve Bradley" defeated Christopher Daniels.

2000

February 26 in Newport, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Scoot Andrews defeated Trent Acid.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Chad Collyer defeated Shark Boy.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Jet Jaguar defeated Jeff Peterson.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Christopher Daniels defeated Vic Capri.
* Semi-Final Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Ace Darling.
* Semi-Final Match: Scoot Andrews defeated Chad Collyer.
* Tournament Final: "Christopher Daniels" defeated Scoot Andrews.

2001

February 24 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Low Ki defeated Billy Fives.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Jayson Reign defeated Tony Kozina.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: American Dragon defeated Spanky.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Reckless Youth defeated Mike Sullivan.
* Semi-Final Match: Low Ki defeated Jayson Reign.
* Semi-Final Match: American Dragon defeated Reckless Youth.
* Tournament Final: "Low Ki" defeated American Dragon.

2002

March 2 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Amazing Red defeated Bobby Rude.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Donovan Morgan defeated Pepper Parks.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Jamie Noble defeated Matt Stryker.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: A.J. Styles defeated Xavier.
* Semi-Final Match: Donovan Morgan defeated The Amazing Red.
* Semi-Final Match: A.J. Styles defeated Jamie Noble.
* Tournament Final: "Donovan Morgan" defeated A.J. Styles.

2003

April 5 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Frankie Kazarian defeated Chris Sabin.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Spanky defeated Chris Cage.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Chance Beckett defeated Sedrick Strong.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Paul London defeated Alex Arion.
* Semi-Final Match: Paul London defeated Frankie Kazarian.
* Semi-Final Match: Chance Beckett defeated Spanky.
* Tournament Final: "Paul London" defeated Chance Beckett.

2004

April 3 in Wilmington, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Austin Aries defeated Shawn Daivari.
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Mike Kruel defeated Ricky Reyes.
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Christopher Daniels defeated Rocky Romero.
* Quarter-Final Match #4: John Walters defeated Nicho.
* Semi-Final Match: Christopher Daniels defeated Mike Kruel.
* Semi-Final Match: Austin Aries defeated John Walters.
* Tournament Final: "Christopher Daniels" defeated Austin Aries.

2005

April 9 in Newark, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Puma defeated Eric Matlock
* Quarter-Final Match #2: J.J. Perez defeated Tyson Dux
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Alex Shelley defeated Andrew Ryker
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Petey Williams defeated Rory Fox
* Semi-Final Match: Puma defeated JJ Perez.
* Semi-Final Match: Petey Williams defeated Alex Shelley
* Tournament Final: "Petey Williams" defeated Puma

2006

April 8 in Newark, Delaware:
* Quarter-Final Match #1: Davey Richards defeated Scott Lost
* Quarter-Final Match #2: Josh Daniels defeated Andre Lyonz
* Quarter-Final Match #3: Charlie Haas defeated Xavier
* Quarter-Final Match #4: Milano Collection A.T. defeated Bryan Logan
* Semi-Final Match: Charlie Haas defeated Josh Daniels
* Semi-Final Match: Davey Richards defeated Milano Collection A.T.
* Tournament Final: "Davey Richards" defeated Charlie Haas

2007

November 10 in Newark, Delaware:
*Quarter-Final Match #1: Rob Eckos defeated Billy Bax
*Quarter-Final Match #2: Matt Logan defeated Rob Conway
*Quarter-Final Match #3: Jerry Lynn defeated Brian Fury
*Quarter-Final Match #4: Sonjay Dutt^† defeated Human Tornado
*Semi-Final Match #1: Sonjay Dutt defeated Rob Eckos
*Semi-Final Match #2: Jerry Lynn defeated Matt Logan
*Tournament Final: "Jerry Lynn" defeated Sonjay Dutt^† Dutt replaced Matt Cross, who was injured.

2008

October 25 in Newark, Delaware

Announced participants:
*Shannon Moore
*Alex Koslov
*Frankie Arion
*Aden Chambers
*Maverick
*Chase Del Monte
*Loca Vida
*Scott Reed

External links

* [http://www.steveswrestling.com/info/ecwasuper8.html Super 8 History]
* [http://www.ecwaprowrestling.com/ ECWA's Official Site]