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Vega is the headline talent for this year's JLIT
Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland has had some endurance in the American indie scene. For the first part of the '10s, they made their hay promoting holdovers from Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling, booking hot new indie guys mixed with their own townies, and filling the gaps between SHIMMER dates with their Girls Night Out series earlier in the decade (and in a not so positive light, for their promoter being creepy towards Addy Starr). Recently though, they've made a seamless transition into a new era where it's still the hotness on the indie scene mixed with their own guys (now they have a wrestling school), but they have also perfected the art of booking the weird nostalgia act from the '90s mainstream. So when it comes to their headline tournament for the year, the JT Lightning Invitational Tournament, you know you're getting a field that is more unique than, say, the Battle of Los Angeles but that packs just as much a punch.
This year's field is no different. All 24 competitors have been announced as such:
- Savio Vega
- Colt Cabana
- Eddie Kingston
- Nick Gage
- Dominic Garrini
- Joshua Bishop
- Tim Donst
- Danhausen AD
- Louis Lyndon
- Flip Kendrick
- DCR
- Pat Buck
- Lee Moriarty
- MJF
- KTB
- Matthew Justice
- Mance Warner
- Zach Thomas
- AJ Gray
- Swoggle
- Tre Lamar
- Marko Stunt
- Erick Stevens
- Kid Kash
That field is, what the kids would say, is fuckin' stacked, yo. My one complaint is that no women are in this year's tournament. I'm not sure whom I'd take out, given that the names I don't know being the AIW locals/graduates bring the field some much-appreciated flavor. Maybe sub out Pat Buck for Jordynne Grace, Allie Kat, or Kris Stadtlander? That being said, I want to talk about how good the field is. It has a good mix of deathmatch guys (Gage, Warner, KTB), older standouts (Kingston, Kendrick, Lyndon, Cabana), hot names (Gray, Stunt), and even a feelgood comeback story with Stevens. The bookend of Vega and Kash, however, shows how much of a knack for this kinda thing AIW has. They aren't just names for the sake of names. You don't really think of either guy when you think of dudes coming back, but Vega has kitsch appeal whether in his masked (Kwang) or unmasked gimmick, and Kash can still go as most of these old Southern dudes seem to be.
Speaking of Vega, his match was the first announced, as he'll go up against MJF, who is as close to a riot-inciting old-school heel as the indies and now All Elite Wrestling have right now. I think that's the best possible call for Vega, to put him against a guy that can get him cheered even if he doesn't quite have "it" anymore. Summer is tournament season. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has already announced when BOLA is happening, and the folks at Scenic City Productions have been leaking names for their flagship tournament for the last few months and are still in the process. However, AIW got the jump on getting their whole field out, and I for one cannot wait, especially since the tournament will be streamed live on FITE TV this year.
