By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 82”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
July 27, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
Alyssa Marino provided lead commentary. The crowd is again in the 200 range, with everyone milling around and standing far too close to the ring. The attendance just doesn’t seem to vary much from week to week.
1. Ryan Clancy defeated Andy Brown at 4:12. Brown is a thick, Black man who reminds me of Bad News Brown. Brown applied a half crab and worked the leg early, and he hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 2:30. Clancy went for his Russian Legsweep, but Brown fought it off. Clancy hit a dropkick, then the Russian Legsweep for the pin.
* (Bear) Bronson snuck into the ring and applied a sleeper on Clancy, earning some boos.
2. Delmi Exo defeated Rebecca Scott to retain the wXw Women’s Title at 6:06. Scott is blonde and of average height and overall size. Exo wore a tiara on her head and carried the title belt in her arm, high over her head. They locked up and Delmi has a noticeable height advantage; Alyssa pointed it out as I typed it. Exo hit an Olympic Slam for a nearfall at 2:00, and she began berating Scott. That angered Rebecca, who fired up and hit a series of forearm shots and an enzuigiri, then a running knee to the side of the head for a nearfall at 4:30. Delmi hit a clothesline and a package piledriver for the pin.
3. Channing Thomas defeated Richard Holliday at 4:18. Thomas wears his Robert Roode-style robe and he oozes slimmy Joey Ryan sleaze heat. An Intense lockup to open, and Holliday caught Channing and hit a powerslam. Holliday punched Thomas’ manager, who had snuck in the ring. Thomas pulled a weapon out of his shorts, hit Holliday in the head with it, then put the weapon away, and scored the cheap pin. Underwhelming.
4. RJ Rude and Rex Lawless defeated “Milk Chocolate” Randy Summers and Brandon Watts at 5:18. Lawless (think Jaxon Ryker) and Rude (think young Chuck Taylor) are frequent competitors here. Milk Chocolate attacked before the bell; Summers is white and Watts is Black, and they wear identical red trunks, and they worked over Rude early on. Rude hit a Blockbuster, and Rex made the hot tag at 3:00 and he cleaned house. He put one guy on his shoulders and another in his arms and hit a fallaway slam.Impressive strength. MC dumped Rex to the floor. Rude got an O’Connor roll out of nowhere to pin Watts. It is becoming an ongoing gag here that Rude is just lucking his way to wins.
5. Brad Hollister and “The Brick City Boyz” J Cruz and Victor Chase defeated Mason Myles, Chance Rizer, and Patrick Scott at 7:21. I have seen Myles, Scott and Rizer in the Carolina-area independents, so this is a long trek for them here, and Alyssa noted this by saying “talent from all over the country is represented here.” The heels worked over Scott (think a taller, thinner Ricochet) in their corner for several minutes. Myles made the hot tag at 5:00 and he hit several quick offensive moves. Hollister hit a headbutt. Myles nailed a top-rope elbow drop for a believable nearfall on Cruz. Hollister and Chase hit a team slam on Scott for the pin. Good while it lasted.
6. Ray Jaz defeated Love, Doug at 6:54. Jaz is the muscular stereotypical Jersey Shore meathead and he was loudly booed. Doug has appeared on the past two MLW shows as the lovestruck hillbilly with a big mullet. Jaz picked up Doug and easily tossed him across the ring, and he dominated the match. Doug fired up and hit some chops and a springboard elbow, then a bulldog at 6:00. Doug nailed a Sliced Bread for a nearfall. Jaz hooked Doug’s leg and hit a hard back suplex for the pin.
* Jaz continued to beat on Doug until Wrestling Open champion Ichiban came to the ring. Ichiban’s recent opponent, Pedro Dones, hit the ring, too, and Dones argued with Jaz. Ichiban swung wildly and accidentally hit Pedro! Jaz left the ring, laughing at the chaos he’s created.
* A video aired of Steven Stetson, who was outside, drinking a beer and belittling Alec Price. We return to the White Eagle and Stetson hit the ring, so I’m expecting some chicanery.
7. Alec Price defeated Adam Priest (w/Steven Stetson) at 6:57. Priest is another top-notch southern talent here today; I always compare him to QT Marshall. This should be really good. Price is from Boston and a huge babyface here. Stetson distracted Price, allowing Priest to attack him from behind. Price hit a dive over the top rope onto Adam. In the ring, Priest was in charge of the offense. Price hit an enzuigiri at 5:00 and fired up, hitting a series of kicks and kneestrikes in the corner. Priest dropped him face-first on the middle turnbuckle and got a nearfall. Price hit a flying leg lariat, then a step-up mule kick for the pin. Really good for the time given. Stetson tried to climb into the ring, but Price turned around and saw him, and Stetson backed away.
8. “Shook Crew” Bryce Donovan and Bobby Orlando defeated “Culture Inc.” Eli Knight and Malik Bosede at 7:54. I believe Culture Inc. are based out of Florida; I’ve see them when GCW runs shows in the South. They are two, young Black men and they’ve impressed me. I always say that Donovan reminds me of a taller Nick Jackson with long, staight hair. Orlando is the dork who brings his stuffed goat with him to the ring, and he has Colt Cabana’s brand of humor.
The tall Bryce hit a big back body drop early on. Bosede entered; he has blond tips in his hair and a short beard. CI worked over Donovan in their corner. Orlando finally made the hot tag at 4:30 to enter for the first time and he hit a series of punches and was fired up. Knight hit an impressive top-rope moonsault for a nearfall; Alyssa Marino said he “defied gravity” on that one. Donovan chokeslammed one opponent onto the other. Donovan and Orlando hit a suplex-and-missile dropkick combo for the pin. That was really good.
9. TJ Crawford defeated Marcus Mathers at 9:42. Mathers is definitely a rising star in the Northeast. Marcus hit a series of kicks and a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Crawford tied up Mathers’ arm in the ropes. Mathers hit a twisting suplex at 4:30, and they were both down. Marcus hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and a package powerbomb for a nearfall. Crawford hit clotheslines in the corner. Crawford tied up Marcus on the mat. They got up and traded chops, then they traded Mafia Kicks and they were both fired up. They finally hit simultaneous kicks and were both down. Mathers hit a stunner for a nearfall at 9:00. Mathers leapt off the ropes but Crawford caught him with a roundhouse kick to the head for the pin! That was really good, too.
10. “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller and Kylon King defeated Max Caster and JGeorge to retain the IWTV Tag Team Titles at 12:16. Caster is a top heel here, and I’m a big fan of both Waller and King. No mic work from Max, which is a bit disappointing. The MG wore their IWTV Tag Titles across their shoulders. Again, JGeorge has the big poofy hair like No Way Jose. Waller hit a running Shooting Star Press on Max, then he hit a plancha to the floor on Max. King set up for a dive to the floor, but the heels cut him off, and they began to work Kylon over. The commentators talked about how hated Max is here. The heels hit a double suplex at 4:30. Waller finally made the hot tag and he hit a springboard forearm shot on Max, then a 619 on JGeorge and a springboard X-Factor on JGeorge, then a handspring-back-double stunner for a nearfall at 7:00.
JGeorge hit an ax kick to the back of the head, and Max hit a Death Valley Driver. JGeorge hit a Swanton Bomb with Max making the cover for a nearfall. Max and JGeorge began shoving each other! King hit a double suplex on the heels! JGeorge hit a sit-out powerbomb. Max leapt off the top rope and stomped the referee on her head! Waller and Max kept fighting but the ref was knocked out; Caster hit a low blow kick, and he pulled JGeorge onto Waller, but we had no ref. Max left the ring and grabbed the title belt. However, JGeorge accidentally hit Caster with the belt! King hit a top-rope superplex, and Waller immediately hit a top-rope Mamba Splash frogsplash on JGeorge for the pin! Good finish.
Final Thoughts: This was a really good episode of Wrestling Open. They had the star power of Max Caster and some really good rising stars on the indy scene, and there was a lot to like here. I’ll go with Crawford-Mathers for best, Priest-Price for second place and Culture Inc.-Donovan/Orlando for third, with the main event honorable mention.
I want to reiterate that Adam Priest, Culture Inc., Chance Rizer, Patrick Scott, and Mason Myles all routinely compete south of Washington D.C. I don’t pretend to know where they all live, but they certainly traveled a long distance to be on this show (Google Maps says it is a 7.5-hour drive from Washington D.C. to Worcester, and I’m sure many of these guys live far south of D.C.). Check out all Wrestling Open shows on IWTV.
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