EWA Sweet Sixteen Tournament a tonic for March Madness

EWA Sweet Sixteen Tournament competitor Jason Drake smiles for his own camera.

Eastern Wrestling Association (EWA) is getting ready to rock Parkville with their annual Sweet Sixteen Tournament, coming Saturday, March 19th to Tall Cedars Hall. Not only will the EWA Sweet Sixteen Tournament Trophy be up for grabs, but the winner will be crowned the new EWA Maryland Champion. That title was stripped from EWA Heavyweight Champion “Starstrukk” TJay Sykes on March 2nd, during the announcement of his main event match at Sweet Sixteen, but more on that later.

Following a disappointing loss at Rage in the Cage, Grizzly O of The Dark Horses will have the opportunity to redeem himself during Sweet Sixteen’s pre-show. If Grizzly defeats his opponent and current Tag Team Champion Apollo Cruz, The Dark Horses will choose the stipulation of their Tag Team Championship re-match against Storm/Cruz 2016 at EWA Faith No More on May 14th.

Apollo Cruz and Desert Storm plotting their next dirty move.
EWA heavies Apollo Cruz and Desert Storm plotting their next move.

On the western half of the Sweet Sixteen bracket, a first-round match will take place in an over-the-top Battle Royal. Desert Storm, TMHK, “The Show” Mr. Jones and John Berg will compete to be the last man standing inside the ring to move onto the semifinals. Will Desert Storm one-up The Dark Horses again by eliminating TMHK, or can TMHK move onto to bigger and brighter things, like the EWA Maryland Championship?

In the first quarterfinal match, Jason Drake, with his gorgeous manager Rizzo, will wrestle “The Baltimore Butcher” Blood for the honor of fighting the victor of the Battle Royal in the semifinals. Drake and #PatAnthony (who is on the eastern half of the bracket) defeated JT Moore and Joey Badami at the EWA free practice show at the EWA Pain Factory February 19th to earn their spots in the tourney.

On the eastern half of Sweet Sixteen’s bracket, a second first-round contest determines the next Sweet Sixteen Tournament semifinalist. Derron J., Ivan Ali, Joey Badami, and as seen on ROH TV’s Wildman Kongo will compete in a Fatal Four Way Elimination match. Crowd favorite Joey Badami will need more than the help of his fans to overcome the giants Ali and Kongo.

The last quarterfinal match features Ring of Honor’s “Brutal” Bob Evans and #PatAnthony. Anthony will have his usual ace-in-the-sleeve, Social Media Ambassador Violet, to ensure the EWA Maryland Championship is never too far from his grasp. The winner will go one to face the winner of the Fatal Four Way.

In training: EWA Heavyweight Champion TJay Sykes prepares to Super Kick Chris Burns at the EWA Pain Factory February 19th.
In training: EWA Heavyweight Champion TJay Sykes prepares to Super Kick Chris Burns at the EWA Pain Factory February 19th.

Of course, the two Sweet Sixteen Tournament finalists will meet in the first half of the night’s double main event, the winner crowned both EWA Sweet Sixteen Tournament Champion EWA Maryland Champion as well.

The latter half Sweet Sixteen’s double main event will pit EWA Heavyweight Champion “Starstrukk” TJay Sykes against EWA Cruiserweight Champion Wes Mercer against one another in a 2 out of 3 Falls match. Can Mercer, a four-time Cruiserweight Champion and former EWA Heavyweight Champion, douse the flames of Sykes’ hot run, or does Sykes have enough momentum to win two consecutive title for title main events?
In addition to the excitement revolving Sweet Sixteen, EWA announced March 7th that all EWA content will soon be available via CZWStudios.com. For a $9.99 monthly price tag, fans will have access to all EWA events, past, present and future, along with content from Combat Zone Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars Uncensored, Legacy Wrestling, Tidal Championship Wrestling, and Five Boroughs Wrestling. Stay tuned to EWA Ringside to keep up to date on this monumental opportunity.

EWA Sweet Sixteen is Maryland’s premier pro wrestling tournament, so get your tickets today! Sweet Sixteen will take place at Tall Cedars Hall, located at 2501 Putty Hill Avenue, Parkville, MD 21234. Front row seats are $15; general admission $12. Tickets are available at EWAMaryland.com or by calling (443)-858-2755. Card subject to change. Stay up to date on all the action with the EWA Facebook page. Thanks to David “Ace” Livingston at Wrestling in Maryland for his photographic contributions.