Alex Anthony Enters ECWA Super 8
The 25th annual tournament takes place May 1.
The Wrestling Estate has learned the third name slated for the 25th annual ECWA Super 8.
“Airborne” Alex Anthony is scheduled for the one-night tournament on May 1 at The Jersey Dugout in Morganville, NJ. Already announced for the 25th annual Super 8 is WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Morton and “Weapon X” Matt Makowski.
“Airborne” isn’t just a catchy moniker. Alex Anthony left home at 16 years old and joined the 82nd Airborne Division two years later. By 19 years old, he went to war, and the year after that, he broke into pro wrestling. His mentors read like a who’s who: 2 Cold Scorpio, Ron Simmons, Steve Corino, just to name a few. Crisscrossing the globe, he’s competed throughout Canada, the United States and in Japan for ZERO-1.
“After 17 years of making a living at this, this year’s tournament means more to me than anybody involved,” Alex Anthony told The Wrestling Estate. “I first met Ricky Morton when I broke in in 2004 because he trained my trainer ‘Bad’ Brad Hunter, and it will be a bonus for me to be the one that eliminates him!”
For a quarter century, the ECWA Super 8 Tournament has become a launching pad for undiscovered, up-and-coming talents to get noticed throughout the industry. Previous winners include former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, former MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki, former ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels, seven-time WWE Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods and many other notable names.
In recent years, the Super 8 has propelled participants into MLW. Richard Holliday won the 2018 tourney and the Von Erichs competed in the Legacy tourney, which featured all second and third-generation wrestler. Even if you don’t take home the trophy, an impressive showing in the tournament can raise your stock. A who’s who of wrestling luminaries have competed in the event, such as Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, the Hardy Boyz, and Sami Callihan.
“This year’s ECWA Super 8 is the 25th annual edition – think about that for a minute,” says Joe Zanolle, who took over ECWA in 2019. “In the tumultuous world of professional wrestling and the ever-changing landscape, the Super 8 remains. It’s the oldest and longest-running tournament in pro wrestling in the United States, period. Times have changed and there have been tweaks here and there, but at the core the Super 8 has always been about excellence in professional wrestling.
Now it’s about history and tradition. Current talent grew up on the tournament, reading about it in the pages of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, hoping one day to compete in it. The Super 8 didn’t invent the pro wrestling tournament, but it’s safe to say it popularized it and set the standard. The greatest compliment is that other wrestling promotions across the country have hosted and patterned their own tournaments after the Super 8. It’s this impact that is the ultimate legacy of the Super 8 in the wrestling business.”
The Wrestling Estate has been the go-to media source for ECWA Super 8 coverage for the past three years. In addition to live event reports, we’ve broken the news on the participants, as we will this year, too. In late April, we’ll be publishing a comprehensive history of the tournament, featuring comments and memories from many past participants.
The 25th Annual Super 8 takes place Saturday, May 1, at The Jersey Dugout in Morganville, NJ.
For tickets and more information, visit ecwaprowrestling.com.
You can also watch live on IWTV.
You can also join the ECWA Pro Wrestling Facebook group for the latest news, match announcements, promos and more.
Check back with The Wrestling Estate for live coverage of the 25th annual ECWA Super 8.
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