By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 104”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
December 28, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
It’s been a few months since I’ve pointed this out, but this city is in far western Massachusetts, so it’s not a terribly far drive for those coming from New York. This show is part of the four-day, 13-show “Wrestival.” The crowd is in the 450 range. It really filled up during the first half of the show and this was officially a sellout. Paul Crockett and Brother Greatness provided commentary.
* As usual, the show opened with a nice video package highlighting the current feuds in Wrestling Open.
1. Alec Price and Brett Ryan Gosselin defeated “Stetson Ranch” Steve Stetson and Danny Miles at 9:38. The Stetson Ranch attacked from behind. Miles hit a second-rope superplex on BRG for a nearfall at 2:30, and the heels worked BRG over. Price made the hot tag and hit a half-nelson suplex on Miles, then one on Stetson. He hit a tornado DDT, but he missed the Surprise Kick. Stetson hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Price at 6:00. Stetson accidentally speared Miles! BRG hit a double missile dropkick, then a stunner on Stetson, then a swinging neckbreaker.
Price got back in and hit his kneestrikes in the corner, then a top-rope flying leg lariat. He nailed a dive to the floor at 9:00 on Stetson. In the ring, Miles and BRG traded rollups. BRG nailed an Unprettier faceplant! Price nailed the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick on Miles, and BRG made the cover for the pin. A very good opener.
2. Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) defeated Landon Hale (w/Love, Doug) in a First Blood Match at 7:07. Channing carried a blood-soaked towel from a prior beatdown he gave Landon. They brawled immediately. Landon got a rope at 2:00 and he choked Channing with it. Landon hit a slingshot into a corner pad, then a Lungblower to the back at 5:00. Hale got a fork! He went to jab it into Channing’s forehead, but Channing blocked it! The ref got pushed down, and Sidney immediately threw some red fluid on Landon’s face! The ref stood up, saw the ‘blood’ and called for the bell! Landon was irate he was cheated out of a win.
3. Kennedi Copeland and Gabby Forza and Notorious Mimi defeated Paris Van Dale and Shannon Levangie and Zayda Steel at 8:28. The heels all wore purple/pink. Kennedi (think Ruby Soho) started against Shannon. Mimi got in and traded slaps with Zayda at 1:00; these two both just wrestled on MLW TV. Gabby slammed teammate Mimi onto Zayday. Gabby showed off her strength by hitting a guerrilla press on Zayda. The heels began working over Kennedi in their corner. Shannon hit a Helluva Kick at 3:30. Paris hit a running kneestrike in the corner. Gabby finally made the hot tag and hit a series of clotheslines.
She got two women on her shoulders and one in her arms, and hit a fallaway slam at 6:30! “That was utterly incredible!” Brother Greatness shouted. Paris hit a piledriver out of the ropes on Gabby. Shannon hit a top-rope flying kneedrop. Paris grabbed Kennedi’s hair and dragged her to the mat. Gabby hit a spear on Paris. Kennedi hit a Stomp on Paris for the pin. A really well-put-together match by these six. They should all be happy with that.
4. Joe Ocasio defeated Gabriel Skye at 8:08. Ocasio is much thicker and stronger. They brawled immediately and Skye hit a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Ocasio hit some basic stomps and kept Skye grounded. Ocasio put Skye on his shoulders and slammed him to the mat at 4:30. Skye hit a missile dropkick, then a Northern Lights Suplex. Skye hit some Yes Kicks to the chest. Ocasio hit a fallaway slam into the turnbuckles, then a swinging uranage for a believable nearfall at 6:30. Skye nailed a Poison Rana and a running knee for a nearfall. Ocasio hit some running headbutts in the corner, then another slam off his shoulders to the mat for the clean pin. Good match, but I’m a bit surprised it had such a decisive finish.
* Shook Crew have a mystery partner for the six man tag. He came out last, and it’s Boulder from the Iron Savages! The crowd popped for the surprise. Needless to say, he’s much taller and thicker than everyone else in this match!
5. Bear Boulder and “Shook Crew” Bryce Donovan and Bobby Orlando defeated Ray Jaz and “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes at 14:17. None of the heels wanted to start against Boulder. Smokes charged at Boulder and bounced off him. Boulder hit a scoop bodyslam on Baylor, who sold a shoulder injury. Jaz jumped on Boulder’s back but he looks tiny in comparison. Orlando tagged in at 2:00, and the Shook Crew worked over Jaz. The heels began working over Bryce in their corner, making quick tags and stomping on Donovan in the corner. Jaz hit a dive to the floor on Boulder at 9:00. Bryce hit a big chokeslam on Smokes and they were both down. Orlando made the hot tag and he cleared the ring.
Orlando hit a top-rope missile dropkick on Baylor for a nearfall at 10:30. Boulder got back in and he guerrilla pressed teammate Orlando to the floor onto the three heels! Boulder missed a second-rope moonsault. The three heels got in the ring and worked together to beat up Boulder, and they hit the “Shield team slam” for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Orlando hit a Lungblower. Jaz hit a Death Valley Driver. Baylor hit a shotgun dropkick. Boulder punched Jaz in the jaw. The heels were shoved into Boulder’s chest. Bryce hit a Black Hole Slam on Jaz, and he applied an Anaconda Vice until Jaz tapped out. A really good match.
6. Tyree Taylor (w/Brother Greatness) defeated Ichiban at 12:22. Again, Tyree is Willie Mack-meets-Shane Taylor, and he’s much, much bigger than the masked Ichiban. Tyree overpowered Ichiban early on. He stood on Ichiban’s back at 2:30, then he hit a fallaway slam, tossing Ichiban across the ring. Taylor hit a uranage for a nearfall and he was dominating. Ichiban hit a stunner at 5:30. They traded punches in the corner; Ichiban was able to drop underneath Tyree and hit a powerbomb, and they were both down at 7:00.
Ichiban hit a missile dropkick. He leapt onto Tyree’s back and hit a Code Red for a nearfall at 8:30. Tyree fired back with a powerslam for a nearfall. Ichiban hit a series of kicks, and Tyree rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned. Ichiban hit a 619, then a flip dive to the floor at 11:30. In the ring, Tyree nailed a discus clothesline then a sit-out powerbomb for the clean pin. The announcers were shocked that Tyree won clean; Ichiban had been Wrestling Open champion all summer. “Tyree Taylor just shocked the world” Paul Crockett said.
* Rickey Shane Page came out of the back and he talked about a no-rope barbed wire match later in the Wrestival. He announced he will have his own death match tournament next year. He talked on the floor while the cage was being erected. We also had an extended video package setting up the main event. This is a VERY LONG break… this must be a stubborn cage to put together. Before the main event, Crockett said it is a sellout at 450 patrons and they had to turn fans away at the door. I didn’t time it, but it took 30 or so minutes to set up the cage. (Should all be edited out of the replay, I presume!) As per usual, the heels have the “man advantage” for Steel Cage Warfare!
7. Dezmond Cole, Ryan Clancy, and “Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller defeated Brad Hollister, TJ Crawford, and “Brick City” Jose Cruz and Victor Chase in a Steel Cage Warfare match at 27:52. Just one ring, but this is War Games style, wth two starting for five minutes, then alternating entrances every two minutes. TJ Crawford and Ryan Clancy opened for their teams. They traded punches seconds before the bell sounded. (Clancy is in blue jeans and I really like that; it says ‘I’m not here to wrestle, I’m here for a fight.’) Clancy whipped TJ into the cage wall several times. TJ took control and kept Clancy grounded; Julio Cruz hit the ring at 5:30 so they are a bit ‘off’ in their clock. Dustin Waller came out at 7:30 to even the odds and he hit a superkick on Julio.
Victor Chase entered at 9:30 so they are right-one with the two-minute intervals, and he used the babyfaces as lawn darts, tossing them head-first into the cage. Kylon King entered at 11:30 and he hit some belly-to-belly suplexes, tossing the heels into the cage wall. Kylon hit a brainbuster onto a top turnbuckle! Brad Hollister entered at 13:30 but he grabbed chairs from under the ring and tossed them in. He found garbage cans, too. Dezmond Cole walked to ringside at 15:30, but Chase tried to hold the cage door shut. The MG got the chairs and hit the heels with them. Cole got a big wood board from under the ring and tossed it into the ring, and “steel cage warfare has officially began!”
The babyfaces tossed the heels into the cage walls. Hollister put a chair around Waller’s neck! They teased they were going to ‘Pillmanize’ his throat, but the other babyfaces made the save. Cole and Hollister traded punces and suddenly everyone was down at 20:30. Hollister nailed a pop-up powerbomb. Cruz and Chase hit a team slam on Clancy. TJ was bleeding from the forehead. Kylon and Dustin hit Coast-to-Coast missile dropkicks!
Cole went to the top of the cage, but Crawford hit him with a kendo stick! Hollister speared Waller through the wood board at 25:30. We suddenly had all seven down on the mat with Cole still on top of the cage! He hit a top-of-cage Swanton Bomb onto all seven, earning a “holy shit!” chant. “I can’t believe what my eyes just witnessed!” Brother Greatness shouted. Clancy stood on the top turnbuckle, wrapped a chain around TJ’s neck and hanged him until TJ submitted! That was one heckuva brawl.
Final Thoughts: A great show. I noted that last week’s episode was storyline-driven and light on “really good matches.” Well, this was an epic show. They had a packed crowd and all seven matches delivered. No new faces either; every wrestler on this card is a well-known proven commodity before these fans. Main event does get nod for best match, even though I figured the babyfaces would win steel cage warfare, but it was really good action. Tyree-Ichiban was really good with a shocking finish, considering how rarely Ichiban has lost here this year. Not a bad match in the bunch.
There will be plenty of good shows here over the next three days, but it’s hard to imagine any show having a better top-to-bottom lineup than this one. If you have IWTV and haven’t checked out Wrestling Open before, this is a great jumping in point.
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