ECWA 2011 Super 8 Tournament iPPV Review

-The announcers preview the tournament a little bit. It’s a pretty straightforward preview and very professional. One minor gripe is they shouldn’t have been shot behind glass because of the glare. Otherwise, the quality of the stream is excellent. Go Fight Live has stepped up their production big time in recent months.

ECWA-TWA Battle Royal

Match in Five Words or Less: Guys Get Eliminated, One Wins

Match Summary/Analysis: Apologies but I didn’t catch many of the names who are participating. No one particularly notable or recognizable from the companies I typically watch.  My guess is the match contains a lot of very young guys along with some old school ECWA favorites. The announcers do a decent job of mentioning guys and storylines surrounding them. Basic match with guys getting eliminated. Mr. Ooh La La comes away win the win. He at least has the most entertaining moment as he fakes being scared of the biggest guy in the match. He collapses after winning. Harmless.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mr. Ooh La La/7:23/N/R

-More talking as the show won’t officially start for a few minutes. Announcers yammer about the tournament. DJ Hyde comes out with the giant trophy. Ironically, he came out with the Best of the Best trophy too. Hyde is commissioner of TWA I believe. Tammy Sytch is there too as the guest host. All I can say about her…damn. She talks about the tournament, and it’s so much more interesting. The eight competitors are bought out. For posterity’s sake, here are the eight guys:

*Tommaso Ciampa

*Sami Calihan

*Adam Cole

*SHOCKWAVE The Robot

*Rich Swann

*Bobby Shields

*Shima Xion

*Austin Aries

Aries is only one who gets a kiss. Cute callback.

-Super 8 First Quarterfinal: Sami Calihan vs. Adam Cole

Match in Five Words or Less: I’ve Seen This Before

Match Summary/Analysis: A bit odd to see these two guys who wrestled just weeks ago in the finals of Best of the Best now in the opening quarterfinal of another tournament. I did appreciate how they ditched any pretext of a feeling out process and just started beating the hell out of each other. Very fast pace set by these two. Not sure who the face or heel is supposed to be though. Cole continues an impressive run of excellent performances here as he continues to be one of the fastest rising stars in indy wrestling. His decision to take a powerbomb on the edge of the apron wasn’t his best decision. It looks like Calihan is the heel as he begs the referee to count Cole out. Good move says I. Sitdown powerbomb almost ends Cole’s night. Calihan slows things down before nailing a huge running boot. I’m digging this match so much more than the one they had in CZW. It wasn’t a battle of movez but a solid scary heel versus underdog babyface encounter.  Cool series of nearfalls after a  crossbody off the top. Clothesline gets 2.999 by Calihan for two. For no reason, he applies a stretch muffler. Hasn’t he been working on the back the whole match? Cole almost hits a flip piledriver. Calihan continues going for his submission but Cole comes back with a superkick. Flip piledriver (Canadian Destroyer) sends Cole into the semis. Very enjoyable start to the tournament.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Adam Cole/12:13/***1/4

-ECWA does something every other company should be doing on iPPV. RUNNING DOWN A SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING SHOWS. It killed time between matches and put the company over. Note to every other company. Do this. Even if it’s during intermission.

-Super 8 First Quarterfinal: Bobby Shields (w/Magnum) vs. Austin Aries

Match in Five Words or Less: Boddy Shields = Chuck Palumbo

Match Summary/Analysis: Bobby Shields looks like Chuck Palumbo with blonde hair. That’s the easiest comparison I can think of. Austin Aries looks like Austin Starr from TNA. Best comparison I can think of for him. Very different start to this match as they feel each other out. Announcers talk about Austin Aries retiring. Did they not get the memo or read DG USA results from Wrestlemania weekend? Shields heels it up. At least the guys are trying to establish definitive heels and babyfaces. Shields puts Aries in a headscissors. Quite frankly, he should be fired just for that. Watch a DVD. An iPPV. Hell, go to Youtube. DON’T PUT AUSTIN ARIES IN A HEADSCISSORS. Austin takes control, and even Magnum’s intereference can’t stop the onslaught. Shields the heel, much like in the previous match, slows the pace down significantly. In a good way. Shields tries mocking Aries’ power elbow but fails. Aries goes back on offense as Shields gets sloppy. Rolling snapmare into the sliced bread… and he fails. He recovers to hit a nice German suplex for two. Fist exchange. They exchange finisher top moves until Shields heads up top. Aries meets him. Eye rake by Shields. Big yakuza kick. Falcon arrow does not do the deal.  Another yakuza kick. Aries no sells it, hits a brainbuster, but only gets two. Last chancery. Magnum becomes involved. Schoolboy by Shields. Kick to the head. Dropkick. Brainbuster. Done.  When Shields wasn’t trying to get too cute, he looked very competent. Austin Aries can be up and down as a performer, but he definitely brought it in this match. He made Shields look very competitive .

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Austin Aries/16:18/***1/2

-Super 8 Quarterfinal: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Rich Swann

Match in Five Words or Less: Golden Boy Battle

Match Summary/Analysis: It’s Ring of Honor’s project versus DG USA’s. I think the directions of both companies are represented in this match. Swann has so much charisma and personality that a wrestling ring literally isn’t big enough to contain it. Lots of speed early before Ciampa just kills Swann dead with a clothesline. Ciampa shows a lot of intensity. Swann briefly gets the advantage before being dropped down on the apron. Gord buster on the steps. Double stomp on Swann. Swann with a pair of kicks back in the ring. He uses his speed to moonsault Ciampa off the apron. Ciampa hits a lungblower out of the electric chair position. Wow. Kick by Swann. Rana off the top. Standing 450 gets 2.9. Torture rack by Swann reverses into a guillotine. Project Champa (powerbomb into his knees) gets the favorite the victory. Not a very long match but a fun sprint. Swann played his underdog babyface role well, and Ciampa looked like a monster.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tommaso Ciampa/6:54/**

-Super 8 Quarterfinal: Shima Xion vs. Shockwave the Robot

Match in Five Words or Less: High Energy Madness

Match Summary/Analysis: Shockwave does a lot of dancing coming to the ring and before the match. I wonder if he’ll do “The Robot.” At least Shockwave doesn’t wrestle like a robot. The outfit has to be a distraction for the person inside. It’s a full costume that has to be exceedingly warm inside. The announcers talk about awful gimmicks. Why mock someone in the ring who has a questionable gimmick?  Let me take care of the mocking if he deserves it. Some good lucha style wrestling to begin the match. Xion goes heel and starts working Shockwave over. Surfboard stretch but Shockwave manages a pin. Shockwave put in the tree of Joey Lawrence as Xion back kicks him a few times. Nice DDT after nearly losing the advantage. Some decent offense …and dancing… climaxes with a Russian legsweep followed by an elbow drop for two from Shockwave. Xion hits Down on Bended Knee for 2.9. Moonsault off the second rope misses. Flying leg drop gets two. Shockwave must have plugged in an MP3 of 80s finishers before the match.Xion and Shockwave battle in the corner where a camera just sits there.  Xion knocks him down. 450 splash and a victory for Shima Xion. Decent little match with minimal selling. However, nothing was messed up, and these two brought a lot of energy.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Shima Xion/10:04/**3/4

Team TWA vs. Team ECWA: Matt Saigon, Damian Dragon (TWA Tag Team Champions) and Josh Daniels   vs.  Papadon (ECWA Champion), Chris Wylde (ECWA Mid-Atlantic Champion), and Team MackTion (TJ Mack and Kirby Mack)

Match in Five Words or Less: Showcase

Match Summary/Analysis: TWA Champion Breaker Morant was supposed to be in this match involved. Memo to the announcers: STOP TALKING DURING RING INTRODUCTIONS! That is sooooooo annoying. Especially when I’m trying to figure out who everyone is. The explanation for why this match is these two companies are sort of under the same umbrella, and with the tournament taking place, these guys needed a match too. Might as well put’em all together. If these two promotions were looking to showcase some of their champions in a multi man match, then I think were successful. I only wish this match could have showcased one or two guys better a opposed to these eight guys simply having a match. TJ and Kirby Mack probably impressed the most with their double team work. Kirby is a little on the crazy side though. Probably needs to tone himself down. Guys take turns hitting finishers on each other about ten minutes into the contest. Things settle down as Daniels and Wylde have a mini one-one-one match.  Out of nowhere, Wylde wins the match for ECWA with a roll-up. Very odd booking.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 10:24/**1/2

-Dissension appears amongst both teams. MackTion and Papdon nearly get into outside of the ring despite winning. Morant finally makes his way to the ring. Morant tries to apologize for what happened, but Daniels applies a Rings of Saturn. I’m assuming this is leading to Daniels and Morant fighting for the TWA championship down the road.

-Super 8 Semifinal: Adam Cole vs. Austin Aries

Match in Five Words or Less: Awesome

Match Summary/Analysis: This should be something special. A rising star versus a veteran of the ring. Considering Aries being on the outs with ROH and Cole being considered a rising star in that same company, I’d say this is a pretty rare match. Something you might not see again. Slow to start. Neither man can gain an advantage. Aries changes things up with hard chops and strikes. Cole hits an early German suplex for two. Aries goes for Last Chancery. Cole gets to the ropes, but Aries keeps up. Cole works a headlock before transitioning into a bulldog. Aries strikes at Cole’s back. Backbreaker. Looks like we have a point of emphasis. I’m constantly amazed how Cole can go from playing the biggest jerk heel ever and then transition into an underdog babyface role so well. Aries being as good as he is certainly helps as well. Cole goes for a series of punches in the corner. Enziguri and leg lariat by Cole. Clothesline ducked. Fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Fans chant for both men. Cole and Aries battle over a suplex. One of the more unique things you’ll see in wrestling. Aries stuns Cole on the top rope. Missile kick MET WITH A SUPERKICK TO THE FACE! Crossbody completely misses. Finlay roll by Aries. Missile dropkick whiffs. Strike exchange. Aries hits a vicious elbow. Cole dropkicks Aries, and Aries flips over. Cole drops Aries on his head for two. Superkick caught. Kneebreaker into a back suplex. Brain buster. 1-2-NO! LAST CHANCERY! Series of knees. Aries drops and eats a superkick. Aries gets a cradle for two. Kick to the head.  Running dropkick met with a kick in the face. AWESOME! Corona Crush! Adam Cole wins! Fantastic match. Easily the best of the show and something well worth going of your way to see. Especially if Austin Aries hasn’t been your favorite wrestler recently.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Adam Cole/16:49/****

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Shima Xion

Match in Five Words or Less: Ciampa Dominant Again

Match Summary/Analysis: Ciampa starts out quickly with a dropkick. Series of kicks as well. Clubbering blow. Pair of dropkicks by Xion. Ciampa nails a clothesline with a little bit of help from the referee. Ciampa shows some of the aggressiveness he showed in the earlier match. Quick exchange of nearfalls. Ciampa applies a submission hold. Running knee. Xion stun gun. Lariat. Crucifix bomb right into a cover. Cross face but Ciampa reaches the ropes. Running elbow before being hit with a kick. Tornado DDT botched but Xion recovers with a springboard moonsault for two. Corkscrew splash misses badly. Ciamps goes for a modified Texas cloverleaf. Rolled up. Ciampa catches Xion in Project Ciampa. 1-2-NO! Texas cloverleaf gets him the win at last. Short but solid. Both guys packed a lot into this seven minute contest.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tommaso Ciampa/7:08/***

Aden Chambers (2008 Super 8 Champion) vs. Ace Darling (1997 Super 8 Champion)

Match in Five Words or Less: Bleh

Match Summary/Analysis: Darling was the first ever winner of this particular tournament. There is apparently some sort of rivalry going on between these two men. Darling has been retired for a few years, and it shows. This is the slowest paced contest of the night, and considering everything that’s been seen on this tonight, it was a tough match for me to appreciate. Personally, I would have reorganized the card and had this come right after intermission and switch the eight man tag to just before the finals of Super 8. Crowd is behind Ace Darling. One of the announcers mentions Aries’ match with Cole possibly being with Cole. Seriously, is this guy paying attention? He mentioned Gabe Sapolsky being in the building. Go ask Gabe if Aries is done with pro wrestling. Darling is technically solid, but there didn’t appear to be much snap in what he was doing. Chambers hooks an ugly looking sharopshooter but Darling reaches the ropes. Can we please get to the finals? We even get a ref bump. Good God. Second rope DDT but no ref.  No other referee bothers coming out. Low blow by Chambers. Sloppy death valley driver. Referee counts 1-2-UGH! Darling catches Chambers in an alligator roll-up. Done. Thank God. Way to put over the younger guy.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Aiden Chambers/15:26/*

Super 8 Final: Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Match in Five Words or Less: A Fine Ending

Match Summary/Analysis: The good news is they don’t have much to follow. Great consistency is shown in this contest as Ciampa plays a dominant monster. Cole plays the underdog. Tammy Sytch does the ring introductions. How does Cole weight nine fewer pounds than Ciampa. I don’t see it.  They shake hands, and Ciampa looks angry. He refuses to break clean in the corner and delivers a hard chop. Turns into an exchange. Needless to say, they hit pretty hard. Cole tries exchanging moves. Not smart. Ciampa drives Cole’s knees into the mat before bridging back into an Indian deathlock. Ciampa attempts to toss Cole head first into the corner, but Cole counters into a sleeper. Ciamps eventually drives him back in the corner. Cole drives Ciampa’s back into the apron. Cole crawls back in the ring. More fun on the apron as Cole goes for a German suplex. Cole SUPLEXES CIAMPA ON THE TABLE! SWEET JEBUS! The table didn’t even break. Not either guy’s smartest move but a damn impressive bump. They strike each other while on their knees. Ciampa lifts Cole up for Project Ciampa. 1-2-NO!  Ciampa puts Cole on the top rope. Cole fights him off. Gordbuster. Reverse piledriver for 1-2-NO! Superkick. A second one takes him down. A third one leads to a long two count. Cole yells at the referee. Ciampa wants him to bring it. Ciampa with a sweet straight dropkick. Series of running knees. Cole looks dead in the corner. He takes Cole up to the top rope with him. AIR RAID CRASH FROM THE TOP! 1-2-3! This match didn’t strike me as anything special until the last couple minutes. Tremendously impressive effort from two guys who will be the future of the number one promotion among North American indies. Cole is someone who’s shown a lot, but Ciampa put together an impressive three matches. He needs to bring this level of intensity, moveset, and anger to his ROH matches.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 2011 Super 8 Champion- Tommaso Ciampa/30518/***1/2

Line of the Night: One of the announcers said this was the best wrestling crowd he’s ever seen. High comedy.

Finish of the Night: Cole nailing a superkick and going right into a Corona Crush on Aries looked spectacular and really put him over in a big way.

MVP: Adam Cole was something special tonight. He had a very good match with Calihan, a borderline class with Austin Aries, and a very cool finals match with Ciampa. He’s so awesome. Really can’t put the guy over enough.

The Verdict: Go Fight Live has stepped up their production values in recent months, and ECWA got to be the benefactors. The production wasn’t extraordinary, but it got the job done. The audio and video quality were excellent. The announcing had a lot to be desired, but the action in the ring was very good for the most part. A big thumbs up for the 2011 Super 8 tournament. Cole and Ciampa got to show off their skills. Austin Aries showed why he can still be one of the best in the world. I enjoyed this show and hope ECWA can continue to broadcast this tournament every year.