By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 86”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
August 24, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
The crowd is maybe 300; they somehow get a consistent draw every Thursday to this venue. I love the vibe of the building — it feels like a weekly party — but I hate that fans literally stand with their hands on the ring. It is dangerous for everyone. Alyssa Marino provided commentary and I always find her insightful. Brian Milonas joined her in the booth.
* The show opened with classy black-and-white photos of Bray Wyatt, then Terry Funk. We then went to footage of the feud between Wrestling Open champion Ichiban and Pedro Dones, ending with Dones showing respect to the champ.
1. Pedro Dones defeated Andy Brown at 4:27. Dones got on the mic and called out his thick, bald Black opponent. Brown definitely has the weight advantage; he’s big but not really fat. Brown hit a spinebuster. Dones hit a series of shoulder tackles at 3:30, then a Samoan Drop. Dones hit a top-rope flying headbutt for the pin. Good for the time given.
* Ray Jaz ran into the ring and immediately attacked Dones, hitting a Death Valley Driver. He vowed to fight Dones next week.
2. Notorious Mimi defeated Rache Chanel at 6:56. Mimi, who was briefly in NXT as Sloane Jacobs, was featured in the Apple+ docu-series on the Monster Factory; she is white with long red hair. Chanel, who is Black with red braids (think Lance Archer) in her hair, is the fashionista who has had numerous AEW TV matches. They appear to be about the same height and weight, and they opened with standing switches. Mimi hit a series of kneelifts to Rache’s chest and got a nearfall at 1:30. She hit a dropkick that sent Chanel to the floor to regroup. Rache tripped Mimi on the apron and took over. She pullled out a large comb and violently used it on Mimi’s hair.
In the ring, Chanel hit a nice snap suplex for a nearfall. She applied a sleeper, but Mimi ran backward into the corner to escape at 4:30. Mimi hit a running knee in the corner for a nearfall. She got her comb again and charged at Mimi, but Mimi hit a hard back elbow, then a second-rope crossbody block. Mimi hit an X-Factor faceplant for a believable nearfall at 6:30; I thought that was it. Mimi hit a spin kick to the forehead for the pin. Good women’s match; I’d like to see more of both of them.
* We had a video package showing the feud between Alec Price and Steven Stetson.
3. Percy Ryan (w/Dante Drago) defeated 50 Cal at 4:39. I don’t think I know either man. Percy wore a furry jacket and carries himself like a male model (think a young Tyler Breeze or Rico Constantino); he wore a weird thing I can only describe as a necklace that loops his ears and hooks on his chin. Just bizarre. Cal has a mullet and red sunglasses and a below-average physique. Cal hit a huracanrana and a dropkick. Percy hit a suplex and made a cocky cover for a nearfall at 2:30. A close up of his face made me think Percy looks a bit like Jordan Oliver. Percy missed a diving splash. Cal fired up and hit some punches and he ripped off his shirt Hogan-style. Percy hit a suplex for the (surprisingly clean!) pin. Okay.
* Percy got on the mic and told his partner, Drago, he got him a match!
4. Dezmond Cole defeated Dante Drago at 4:39. I don’t think I’ve seen Drago before; he carried a ‘fraternity paddle; he’s shorter with dark complexion.’ Cole is the Ricochet lookalike and he had a really good match at Fight Life just 24 hours earlier. Drago clearly wasn’t happy about facing an opponent of such high quality. Cole performed an incredible leapfrog and he hit a nice dropkick. Drago hit a Blue Thunder Bomb at 1:30 and a clothesline for a nearfall, then a dropkick for a nearfall. Cole fired back with a flying forearm, a Falcon Arrow, and a rolling Hogan Legdrop for a nearfall at 4:00. Drago hit an enzuigiri. Cole hit a superkick and a uranage for the pin. Fine for how long it lasted. The right guys (better in-ring skills) are winning tonight.
* Dezmond got on the mic. Brad Hollister came to ringside and climbed in the ring. Dezmond said he would give Hollister a ‘free shot’ at his face. He taunted Brad to swing. Brad said no, so Dezmond slapped him in the face, then dropped Brad with a kick. Good segment; nice intensity.
5. Sammy Diaz and Lucas Chase defeated “Even Stevens” Stephen Azure and Steve Somerset (w/Brother Greatness) at 5:23. Again, the ES remind me of Shane McMahon’s Mean Street Posse with their snappy sweater-vests. Diaz also had a really good showing a day earlier at Fight Life in Connecticut. Chase and Diaz ran into the ring and attacked the Even Stevens … and they hugged Brother Greatness! The brawl continued, with one of the ES getting bodyslammed on the hard floor. Alyssa Marino was stunned that Brother Greatness has turned on the Even Stevens. I compare Diaz to Trey Miguel. Lucas Chase, a tall Black man in a black singlet, tagged in at 3:00 and continued stomping on the ES. Azure hit a double uranage. Chase hit a hard huracanrana. Diaz hit a Blockbuster to score the pin. That was essentially a squash, as hit should be. Diaz and Chase hit a (Good Brothers-style) Magic Killer team slam after the bell for good measure.
* A big Black man named Tyreke Taylor hit the ring, holding a chain. He hit a powerbomb on one of the Even Stevens, then he punched the other in the chin with a fist wrapped in the chain. I liked how this played out… in the time I’ve been watching Wrestling Open, I always thought the pairing of Even Stevens with Brother Greatness was goofy.
6. “Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller defeated “Shook Crew” Bobby Orlando and Bryce Donovan in a tournament quarterfinal at 16:12. This tournament is taking forever to play out with just one tourney match each show. Orlando is the dork with his stuffed goat, who I now compare to Colt Cabana’s brand of humor. Donovan is tall with straight brown hair and I compare him to a taller Nick Jackson. Waller and King are the rising stars in the Northeast and I’m impressed by both; Waller had a great match 24 hours earlier against Mike Bailey.
Miracle Generation are IWTV tag champs, but they also have another set of belts. Brian Milonas, who is still on commentary, was fuming about Orlando and Donovan, who beat Milonas’ team earlier in the tournament. Waller and Bryce started and they shook hands, as these are both babyface teams, and Waller knocked him down with a shoulder tackle and they had a standoff at 3:30; there’s been a fair amount of friendly humor early.
Kylon and Orlando tagged in and traded quicker offense, to the point that Orlando called for a ‘timeout’ to catch his breath. Like I said, very Cabana-like humor.. The Shook Crew began working over Waller. Kylon made the hot tag at 8:00 and he hit a Canadian Destroyer on Orlando. Waller hit a running Shooting Star Press on Orlando. King hit an Exploder Suplex on Orlando for a nearfall at 10:00; the announced clock is right on with my time. Bryce made the hot tag and he took down the smaller opponents, hitting a Flapjack faceplant on Waller. Donovan hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. Orlando hit a Doomsday Clothesline on King for a nearfall, but Waller made the save at 12:00, and the crowd chanted, “Wrestling Open!”
King hit a German Suplex on Orlando. King hit a superkick on Bryce. Waller hit a superkick. MG hit a team chokeslam move on Bryce for a nearfall, but Orlando made the save. King hit a tornado DDT on Orlando. Bryce hit a big chokeslam. Waller went for a handspring-back-move but Orlando caught him and nailed a Lungblower, and everyone was down at 14:00, and the crowd chanted, “This is awesome!” They all got up and traded punches as the ref has lost control. Waller hit a plancha on the floor on Donovan. Orlando hit a flip dive to the floor on both opponents. Bryce and Orlando began yelling at Brian Milonas, who was still on commentary. Milonas jumped up from his seat and hit Bryce, and the ref didn’t see it! Meanwhile in the ring, King got an O’Connor Roll to pin Orlando! Good match.
* A nice video package showed the history of the feud between Ryan Clancy and Bronson. For a weekly indy, they do a tremendous job with these videos.
7. Ryan Clancy defeated (Bear) Bronson in an I Quit Match at 13:22. Clancy is the clean-cut mat technician, and Bronson is taller and thicker. They immediately traded punches. They brawled to the floor at 2:00 and away from the ring. The commentators talked about how unusual this is at the White Eagle, as they brawled over to a bar. Clancy shoved Bronson into the ring, and Clancy got a steel chair. However, Bronson powerbombed Clancy onto the folded chair at 4:30; Clancy refused to quit. Bronson grabbed a belt off a person in the crowd, and he whipped it across Clancy’s back at 6:30! Ouch! Bronson got an extension cord and choked Clancy with it, but Ryan got free. Ryan got the belt and it was his turn to whip Bronson with it.
Clancy hit a DDT onto a folded chair at 9:00. Clancy hit a frogsplash onto a chair lying on Bronson’s stomach; I think that hurt Ryan more than Bronson! They traded punches with the crowd solidly behind Clancy. Bronson got him up for a Gorilla Press, but Clancy escaped. Clancy tied the extension cord around the throat, as Bronson was dangling over the top rope, and Bronson immediately quit. A very good hardcore match; we had chairs and a belt, but no glass, staplers, pizza cutters or bloodloss.
8. Steven Stetson (w/Danny Miles) defeated Alec Price at 9:39. This feud has been brewing for months, and this is a non-title match. Price came out first, and he dove onto Stetson as Steven approached the ring. They brawled briefly on the floor before getting in the ring, and Stetson hit a chop block to the back of the knee and immediately took control. Stetson has a clear height and overall size advantage, and he hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip and kept working over Price’s knee. Stetson applied a Texas Cloverleaf at 4:30 but Price was able to power out. Price hit an enzuigiri and a doublestomp to the chest. Price nailed a half nelson suplex and his series of running kneestrikes in the corner.
Price landed awkwardly and sold the pain in his knee. Stetson immediately hit a Helluva Kick. He set up for a Death Valley Driver but hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 7:30. This crowd was hot and 100% behind Price. Price hit a second-rope flying legdrop, then the step-up mule kick to the back of the head. Danny Miles hopped on the ring apron to distract the referee, and the ref threw Miles out. Stetson hit Price with a title belt and scored the cheap pin! That was a shocker, and the crowd was not happy. (The announced match time is shorter than mine, as I start the stopwatch at first contact or the bell, whichever is first.)
Final Thoughts: I knew going into this show that this would be all about the final three matches, and they sure delivered. Miracle Generation’s tag match earns best match, the main event second place, and the Clancy-Bronson I Quit Match takes third. I don’t mind the cheap finish to the main event one bit… the feud isn’t over, and this will only build to a bigger and better singles match between them. As far as the undercard today, I am still really liking what I’m seeing of Sammy Diaz and Dezmond Cole, and I was glad to see Notorious Mimi again, as I just watched the Monster Factory docu-series on Apple+ (where she’s featured significantly in the first three episodes), and you just can’t help but cheer for her.
Check out all these Wrestling Open shows on IWTV.
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