Scenic City Invitational 2017

[Eduardo]

I haven't seen a thread started on this yet, but thought I would since it's 5 weeks away and it's already shaping up to be a great card, and the last two SCI tournaments have been awesome.

These are the announced matches so far:

 

Scenic City Invitational 2017

Night 1, August 4th.

1st Round - Matt Riddle vs Tank

1st Round - Joey Janela vs Darby Allin

1st Round - Gunner Miller vs Shane Marx

1st Round - Anthony Henry vs Gary Jay

1st Round - Joey Lynch vs Matt Lynch

Participants that will have their matches announced soon: Dominic Garrini, Curt Stallion, Torque, Arik Royal, Jason Kincaid, Jason Cade. Matches are announced on Monday night.

Night 2, August 5th.

Street Fight - Carnies vs Hierarchy

Dylan did a really great preview here about the whole show and background on the wrestlers involved: http://wrestlingwithwords.com/we-dont-know-wrestling-scenic-city-invitational-2017-preview/

Neat playlist of matches to check out to get ready for the SCI: http://sobrosnetwork.com/2017/06/26/get-ready-for-the-scenic-city-invitational-with-this-playlist/ (Just saw the "First Blood" match and it's highly recommended)

The SCI 2015, SCI 2016, and the Scenic City Rumble 2017 can all be viewed at https://powerbomb.tv/promotion/SCI

[shoe]

I got my ticket and am really looking forward to it.

[concrete1992]

Interested how they pair the final group of lads.

Garrini is a young guy not from the area but has wrestled a tad in the south. Puts in the miles which some guys really like. Talented on the mat and I think he's quite good at turning that into a PRO WRESTLING match

Stallion isn't known for the Chattanooga territory but certainly works the southern region. Still young but Big Mike will figuratively and literally take this guy places.

Torque is a TN dude I think who has that traditional indie guy with southern charm mix. Should have a good showing but in my eyes he's the only representative from this area left on the board. Sticks out as it seems last year you had lads of similar standing pairing off. No matter who he is against it will be of a more known quantity at least in the bubble.

Arik Royal is potentially the best CWF Mid-Atlantic representative possible for this tournament. Super explosive.

Jason Kincaid feels like the most known wrestler left on the board thanks in part because of WWN. Also has that NWA Smoky Mountain thing working for him. Good fit for the tournament.

Jason Cade is someone I'm less high on than most. Far from bad and would likely be fun against any of the remaining men. Based on his work with Jon Davis, him and Royal could put on a banger.

 

So yeah, I would say the tournament really has 5 real local commodities in there since I'm not treating Henry or Tank that way fair or unfair. They paired off two and Torque will get that first round "showcase". Wish there was someone on a Jimmy Rave level so it was a bit more meaningful but whatever I suppose. Riddle is the only guy who has that cache this year so interested to see who he faces on the second night, whether or not he makes it through Tank.

[Troy]

I wonder who they were trying to get from Japan for it. I guess that fell through

[shoe]

If I was going to guess it would be kikutaro.

[Dylan Waco]

I wonder who they were trying to get from Japan for it. I guess that fell through

There was a very preliminary effort to try to figure out a way to work with Liger.

[shoe]

Anthony Henry had one hell of a weekend. 3 great matches that were totally different from one another. He seems to be peeking right on time for SCI17.

[Eduardo]

Shaping up to be a great weekend of wrestling. Updated cards:

SCI Night 1, August 4th.

 

1st Round - Matt Riddle vs Tank

1st Round - Joey Janela vs Darby Allin

1st Round - Gunner Miller vs Shane Marx

1st Round - Anthony Henry vs Gary Jay

1st Round - Joey Lynch vs Matt Lynch

1st Round - Arik Royal vs Dominic Garrini

1st Round - Jason Kincaid vs Torque

1st Round - Jason Cade vs Curt Stallion

 

SCI Night 2, August 5th.

The Movement vs. Tim Hughes and Kongo

Street Fight: The Carnies vs The Hierarchy

SCI Scramble Match: Tyson Dean, Drew Adler, Bob Evans, Kevin Ku, Kyle Matthews, and possibly more...

2nd Round, Match 1: TBD

2nd Round, Match 2: TBD

2nd Round, Match 3: TBD

2nd Round, Match 4: TBD

SCI Final 4-Way Match: TBD

[soup23]

I like the scramble as an idea that throws a lot in the mind of the viewer that a time limit draw or double DQ/countout could happen for a storyline standpoint and it wouldn't derail the tournament flow overall with someone receiving a bye. Good to see Peachstate frequent talent like Adler and Dean getting a bigger stage.

[concrete1992]

I think the scramble would give me less anxiety if I didn't think the four announced names, sorry Bob, would be better in the tournament than Marx, Joey Lynch, Cade, Darby, Dom, or Janela. I really like Dom and Lynch but someone like Matthews, Dean, or Adler feel like the template guys for this tournament. Regional talent that don't wrestle like everyone else. Dom checks off one box.

[Cap]

I am really excited to get to go this year. I keep having work/person stuff pop up for August and so far SCI has avoided any significant scheduling conflicts. I have been looking forward to this since I moved to the region.

 

Seeing Garrini added was exciting. That guy is so hungry right now and makes huge strides every time I see him.

 

Darby Allen vs Joey Janela is my pick for first round match of the night. That has the potential to be a special kind of crazy. I've had a chance to see both men live this summer and actually felt like they both are really live performers. I like both on the whole, but there is something about they way they commit to everything they do that makes them stand out a bit more when you are in the room.

 

An under the radar guy I am looking forward to seeing is Jason Kincaid. Part of it is my WV homerism, but he is another guy I have seen live a few times now and he always exceeds expectations. He is so deceptively athletic that it somehow surprises me every time and the surprise is more jarring in a live setting somehow. Even with his recent surge I think he largely underappreciated to an extent.

[Cox]

I'm flying in for this and looking forward to it! Looks like a fun series of shows, and I've always wanted to see a southern indie show, and this is looking like a fun pair of shows.

[Eduardo]

Bracket has been released: https://twitter.com/SCITournament/status/889636380028141569

 

So many exciting possibilities. Most jazzed about potential matches with Arik Royal vs Curt Stallion and Gunner Miller vs Matt Riddle. Oh, possibility of Joey Lynch vs Torque would be great too.

 

Also, a new participant replacing Iceberg for the Night 2 streetfight will be announced on July 30th. Curious if anyone else will be added to the scramble match too.

[AstroBoy]

Not getting a chance to go this year but really excited to see how it turns out, especially from a booking perspective as I'm sure the matches will deliver. If they do it right I think Joey Lynch is the right choice to go through and win the finals.

[Cap]

Gunner vs Riddle seems very likely. You never know with SCI though.

[Troy]

Gunner/Riddle will happen because it was teased at the end of last year's

[Dylan Waco]

If you are coming this weekend be sure to say hello! Also we have Wrestler Q and A's and other events going on at the Best Western Heritage Inn on Lee Highway all weekend. Come join us!

[Eduardo]

Matt Riddle vs Gunner Miller was fucking amazing. The whole weekend was really. Joey Janela vs Darby Allin made me so happy live. Genuinely the best live wrestling experience I've ever attended.

[bucky]

Hey what's the plan for distribution of these shows? I finally got to see last year's through Powerbomb.tv, and I don't want to wait as long for this one.

[Cox]

Have to say, these were a great pair of shows. Night one had a ton of good variety, with the great matwork in Arik Royal vs Dominic Garrini, the sheer craziness of Joey Janela vs Darby Allin, great heel/face work in Curt Stallion vs Jason Cade, some great hard hitting action in Gary Jay vs Anthony Henry, and the emotion of Tank's final match vs Matt Riddle. Night two had the best match of the entire weekend with Gunner Miller vs Matt Riddle, which was kind of the perfect indie version of Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar, with the power football guy going against the MMA guy that was short, but hard hitting, epic, and spectacular. Night 2 also had a great six man street fight with the Carnies and the Hierarchy, and the main event with Riddle winning was fantastic.

 

Highly recommend folks check this one out when it's available, and if you haven't attended an SCI yet, change that! I flew in from New Jersey and had a blast. It was great to finally meet a lot of folks from this board, lot of great peeps out there and everybody I met seemed really cool and chill for the most part. For the price point and for what you get with everything involved, you're not going to get a better value for your money, as I'd put these shows up against any shows that will take place on the indies this year, and they are all super affordable. I really hope to try to make this as much of an annual tradition as I can (my wife doesn't love me leaving her alone for the weekend, but I did bribe her with some City Cafe cake and biscuits, so hopefully that helps me next year).

[Cap]

I too had a great time at SCI this year. I would agree that it is a lot of bang for your buck. The tournament itself was really solid, lots of action. Night two was almost exhausting. The action felt like an absolute sprint, but in a good way. There were so many good matches and performers, but I really felt like Anthony Henry was the standout performer of the weekend. He and Jay (another guy to watch in this thing) gave us match of the night for round one - for me at least. He was fantastic in the semi and main event too. Overall, just good stuff. I got introduced to some talented wrestlers and got to see some awesome action.

 

Met Dylan after I think we have been to at least one or two shows and not crossed paths. Hats off to him and everyone else involved in organizing the weekend. Maybe next year I will put even more faces to names. I am pretty sure I talked my wife into going next year already with my pictures of the Ruby Falls caves (a really fun little side trip).

[shoe]

My favorite match of night 1 was Dom vs Royal. Night 2 was Riddle vs Gunner.

[Eduardo]

 

My favorite match of night 1 was Dom vs Royal. Night 2 was Riddle vs Gunner.

 

That match had such great grappling and heel work from Royal. It's pretty cool hearing the different picks MOTN for Night 1. I thought it was Joey Janela vs Darby Allin. I came in most hyped to see Janela that night, as he's such a fun cult figure to me, and they both delivered a totally unique car crash of a match, exactly what to expect from those two. I think Zellner picked Jason Cade vs Curt Stallion, which also had great heel work from Cade. Also saw picks for Anthony Henry vs Gary Jay, which was my number two pick for Night 1, and in my top five for both nights. Some folks also picked Tank vs Matt Riddle for the emotional impact of the match.

 

Still can't get over how great Matt Riddle vs Gunner Miller was. It was the independent professional wrestling version of Marvin Hagler vs Tommy Hearns to me. "The Fight". These two athletic bros just killing one another, bomb after bomb. Laid out perfectly, with a wild believable nearfall in the first few seconds of the match. Ending literally had me jumping. Coming in to the SCI, I thought the right choice and the choice they were going with was Anthony Henry to win. But after seeing that Riddle match, I went up to talk to Pete about it, and was thinking that I was changing my mind to thinking maybe the right choice is Riddle, seeing how the crowd lost their shit when he beat Miller. And at the end of the night, Riddle was the right choice to win it all.

 

The Hierarchy vs Carnies match was also such a great, wild brawl. Great dives, chairshots, stuff on the guard rail, fireballs, balcony dives, all in a high school gym!

 

Anthony Henry is still someone to look out for. Brings such great intensity to his ring work, great subtle facial expressions, has been consistently excellent for three SCI's in a row. Watching live, the diversity in styles really hit you. Arik Royal and Matt Riddle are fucking great, but are so different in style. Darby Allin and Joey Janela are both cult figures known for their crazy bumping, yet are still so different as well, obviously in persona but also in what they do in the ring and how they do it. Jason Kincaid looked like a star on both nights, his shit looks so good live. Joey Lynch man, what a great, great wrestler that deserves more bookings. Shane Marx is so underrated, he was the perfect opponent for Gunner Miller, and I saw some kids pop big for Marx's great bumping, and his well timed comeback, during that match.

 

Both shows are strongly recommended when they get released.

[Cap]

Janela vs Darby was awesome. Honestly, nothing the whole weekend made me mark out more than Darby's dive with his arms behind his back. i was right where he dove and I was sure it was going to end badly. I think Janela has it, man. He feels big time to me now. I think in the last year or so he went all in on this stretch of his career, (calling out anyone and everyone and doing apeshit insane stunts). It has earned him a lot more notoriety and I think it has put him in the ring with a different level of wrestler and that has sharpened him as a character and a performer. Not to say he wasn't good, but I think he has taken it to another level lately. There is a different aura and energy around him when he walks through the curtain.

 

Royal and Garrini was really fun. I am a huge Royal fan. He is always a highlight of CWF shows and I think he is very much a "live" performer (stands out just a little more in the room). Garrini gets better every time I see him. It is stupid how he is taking to wrestling. I think Royal is the type of guy Garrini could really shine with. He is a big strong dude that can let Garrini jump on him, crawl around him, and lock on those nifty submissions from different places. I hope Dom gets more opponents like that.

 

To me, the biggest benefit of Riddle winning is establishing a cannon of well known winners that have either had or are locks to have bigger name value, making the trophy mean more down the road. I really thought Henry or Lynch should have won, but the more I thought about it on the way home the more Riddle made a lot of sense and is probably a strong choice once you think 2, 3, 4, or more years down the road. Having Riddle on that list is going to mean a lot and SCI - as has become expected - did well to put those other guys in spots to shine and come out strong.

[benj]

Hey what's the plan for distribution of these shows? I finally got to see last year's through Powerbomb.tv, and I don't want to wait as long for this one.

Wondering the same thing