The X-16 Tournament Field Is Almost Full Up

Blanchard is one of 15 wrestlers announced for the X-16
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Pro Wrestling Xperience's X-16 Tournament has rounded out, and the field looks solid, at least the names that have been announced so far. The first five names in the field were revealed late last month: Ricochet, Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Moose, and Gunner. It's a solid first five names, and ten more were added Monday night. A few of them are North Carolina mainstays, but many of them have achieved acclaim in other parts of the country as well.

The list is as follows:

• Zane Riley
• Ethan Case
• "Manscout" Jake Manning
• Joe Black - These four are the Carolina boys. Manning has had a pretty lengthy career by indie standards with one of the most unique gimmicks in all wrestling. He's also pretty big with Highspots and Five Dollar Wrestling. I've actually seen Black live at the Wrestling Is Fun Young Lions Cup show in Norristown last year, and he was pretty good in the limited action he was involved in. Case and Riley, I'm unfamiliar with completely.
• Tessa Blanchard - The daughter of legendary Horseman Tully, Blanchard is another Carolina native who has branched out into SHIMMER and Women's Superstars Uncensored. She's no stranger to wrestling men, and thus far, she is the only woman announced to the tournament.
• "The Product" David Starr - Beyond Wrestling fans will know him from his Juicy Product team with JT Dunn. This is his first trip down to PWX.
• Caleb Konley - Conley is another Carolina mainstay, but he's gained acclaim in Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE as a member of the Premiere Athlete Brand. He brings a bit of chickenshit heel flavor to the proceedings.
• Chip Day - Day bounces between Carolina and Georgia, and he's another one who also wrestled in the Scenic City Invitational.
• Shane Strickland - Strickland made his bones originally with EVOLVE and Combat Zone Wrestling, but most will recognize him as Killshot from Lucha Underground. He's a dynamic high flyer with cocky flair.
• Tommaso Ciampa - Ciampa is the marquee name added during this round. The former ROH star hits hard and brings manic energy to the fray.

One slot is still left to fill, although PWX's Twitter indicates all of them have been slotted. However, in the initial announcements, only five wrestlers were named, and Lee was announced as the sixth competitor entered, so one is missing. My guess is it's Cedric Alexander, but then again, I won't know until the company confirms. Either way, the above field is solid as hell, and it's worth going to something called VapeMania to see. One could spend Labor Day weekend with worse plans.