Ted Petty Invitational

The Ted Petty Invitational tournament (the TPI) is an independent wrestling tournament in North America, run and promoted by Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South. Created as the Sweet Science Sixteen in 2000 by Ian Rotten, the tournament was originally supposed to showcase the top technical independent wrestlers. After the death of Ted Petty in September 2002, Rotten changed the name to honor his friend. The tournament was expanded to 24 participants, with a three-way final, in 2003. Over the years, the tournament has attracted numerous famous independent wrestlers from Ken Anderson, A.J. Styles to James Gibson.

In the first three years of the Sweet Science Sixteen/TPI, there were only sixteen participants. With eight opening round matches, four quarterfinal matches, two semifinal matches, and a final, the tournament shows were reasonable in length. The expansion to twenty-four in 2003 caused the addition of another eight person bracket. It also created three semifinals matches and a three way final. The final is now an elimination match.

The first annual Sweet Science Sixteen was held on September 8 and 9, 2000 in Charlestown, Indiana.

The second annual Sweet Science Sixteen was held on September 7 and 8, 2001 in Charlestown, Indiana.

The first-annual Ted Petty Invitational took place on November 1 and 2, 2002 in Clarksville, Indiana.

* Whitmer won the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship by defeating Punk in the finals.

The 2003 tournament was the first to expand to twenty-four participants. Since it was no longer known as the Sweet Science Sixteen, Rotten didn't limit the number to just sixteen wrestlers. The weekend is still regarded as the hook for drawing in new fans for IWA-MS.

The 2003 Ted Petty Invitational tournament was held on November 7–8, 2003 from Salem, Indiana. Among the participants were Styles, former ECW World Champion Jerry Lynn, Michael Shane, the cousin of Shawn Michaels, and future WWE Smackdown star Ken Anderson. Among the highlights are: Ian Rotten's Cinderella run to the semifinals; Alex Shelley's breakthrough in IWA-MS; and Danny Daniels trying to save his IWA-MS World title throughout the entire tournament.

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