Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup

Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup
PromotionFull Impact Pro (2006–2011)
NWA Florida (2003–2005)
Date2003–2012

The Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup was an annual professional wrestling memorial show produced by Full Impact Pro (FIP) promotion, typically between October and December. The event was established to honor the memory of independent wrestler "All American" Jeff Peterson who died at age 21 after a two-year battle with leukemia.[1] A rising star in the National Wrestling Alliance at the time of his death, his home promotion NWA Florida held a memorial tournament, co-hosted by IPW Hardcore, presented by his friends and fellow Florida wrestlers.[2] The first show was held on May 16–17, 2003, at the Florida WrestlePlex in St. Petersburg, Florida.[3][4][5][6][7] It is the longest-running tournament in the Southeastern United States followed by CWF Mid-Atlantic's Johnny Weaver Memorial Tournament.

It was a standard 16-man single-elimination tournament intended to showcase the top junior heavyweight wrestlers from independent promotions throughout the United States[1] and Japan. Many top "indy" wrestlers have participated in the event[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] with former winners including Reckless Youth (2003), Justice (2004), Chris Sabin (2005), Milano Collection AT (2006), Chris Hero (2007), Erick Stevens (2008), Davey Richards (2009), and Sami Callihan (2010). The tournament was originally held by NWA Florida[15][16] from 2003 to 2005,[3][17] when it closed, and was continued by Full Impact Pro the following year. Both promotions held a combined 9 Memorial Cup tournaments. The tenth tournament on December 14 and 15, 2012, was billed as the last ever Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup and was an independent internet pay-per-view not officially held by any promotion.[18] No wrestler has ever won the tournament twice, but multiple wrestlers have participated in the event more than once.[4][19]

The event has also featured other wrestling personalities. The 2007 and 2008 editions were hosted by Lenny Leonard and Scott Hudson, former commentators for Ring of Honor and World Championship Wrestling respectively.[4][20] In 2009, "Outlaw" Ron Bass came out of retirement to wrestle Sean Davis (with Amy Vitale and Phil Davis) in a Texas Bullrope match.[21] Gabe Sapolsky claimed that he used the 2009 tournament to scout talent prior to starting EVOLVE two months later.[22] The following year, five champions took part in the 2010 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup; FIP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley, FIP Florida Heritage Champion Jake Manning, NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Craig Classic, PWR Heavyweight Champion Bruce Santee, and PWR Tag Team Champion Milo Beasley.[23] Aaron Epic, Peterson's last opponent before his death, also competed in the 2011 tournament.[24] It was his first appearance with the company in several years and, though he was eliminated by Jerrelle Clark in the opening round, he praised the event commenting in a later interview for 411mania.com that "there has not been a lot of things that people remember from Florida wrestling but people always remember JPC and to be part of it was an honor".[25]

Since its beginning in 2003, the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup has been specifically used to raise money for various charities in the state of Florida.[15][16][17][20] The recipient for the 2008 edition, for example, was a two-year-old child diagnosed with a rare form of cancer[5][26] while proceeds from the 2009 edition went to St. Petersburg's All Children's Hospital.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Thorn, Mark (November 30, 2009). "About The Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup". WTSP.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  2. ^ Dykens, Brad. "Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2008". PWR DVD Reviews. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Milner, John (June 8, 2005). "SLAM! Wrestling: Peterson Cup showcases wrestling's positive side". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ a b c Wojcik, Alan J. (2007). "Jeff Peterson Memorial". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Wojcik, Alan J. (September 28, 2008). "2008 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup Night Two Results". CanvasChronicle.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  6. ^ Martin, Adam (November 22, 2010). "Indy News #3: Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup details". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Rich, Josh (November 23, 2010). "The 2010 Jeff Peterson Cup participants are announced". KocoSports.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Milner, John (June 9, 2005). "SLAM! Wrestling: Sonjay Dutt a Cup playa". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ Milner, John M. (December 1, 2005). "Petey Williams". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ Wojcik, Alan (2005). "Independent Profile: "the Shooter" Vordell Walker". AlanWojcik.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  11. ^ Wojcik, Alan (2005). "Interview Update: Erick Stevens". AlanWojcik.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  12. ^ Milner, John M. (January 20, 2006). "Gymini". SLAM! Wrestling Bios. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Meltzer, Dave (October 27, 2011). "WED. UPDATE: Ratings, WWE post-Christmas, Bellator on Impact, Rocky inspiration, new matches, Punk". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly. F4Wonline.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  14. ^ Martin, Adam (January 21, 2012). "Indy News #1: ECWA Super 8 on 4/7, !BANG! TV report". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  15. ^ a b Magee, Bob (May 17, 2004). "AS I SEE IT 5/17: The best match this weekend wasn't on PPV..." Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets. PWBTS.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Magee, Bob (June 1, 2004). "AS I SEE IT 6/1: Final thoughts on the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup weekend". Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets. PWBTS.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  17. ^ a b "Night 2 of the JPC 2005 has been moved to the Brandon All Stars!." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Sept. 2004. Web. October 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/pressreleases/petersoncup.html>.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2012N2PWI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Martin, Adam; Shannon Rose (October 26, 2011). "Indy News #4: Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup details". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup 2007 – 2 Nights of Action – Friday July 13th in Orlando and Saturday July 14th in Port Richey, Florida." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Oct. 2004. Web. October 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/jpc2k7.html>.
  21. ^ Ward, Marshall (November 18, 2009). "SLAM! Wrestling: Ron Bass back in the saddle". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ Carapola, Stuart (July 13, 2010). "DVD REVIEW: 2009 JEFF PETERSON MEMORIAL CUP". PWInsiderXTRA.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  23. ^ Full Impact Pro. "2010 Results". Results. FullImpactPro.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  24. ^ Falcone, Mike; Thomas Green (November 2, 2011). "Episode #50: Condition Crystal Lake". MikeandTomPresent.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  25. ^ Hawke, TJ (January 16, 2012). "411 Interviews: Aaron Epic of Beyond Wrestling and Mid-West Wrestling". Columns. 411mania.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  26. ^ Spencer, Camille C. (August 18, 2008). "Hudson boy's cancer fight takes upbeat turn". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.