By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 113”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
February 29, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
Attendance is a bit light at maybe 150; keep in mind they had a bonus Beyond Wrestling show on Sunday since last Thursday’s regular Wrestling Open show. Paul Crockett and Denver Colorado provided commentary.
1. Danny Miles defeated Rex Lawless (w/RJ Rude) at 7:37. Lawless has a massive height and size advantage. Last week, Rude wasn’t paying attention and got pinned in under a minute in their tag match, and Rex wasn’t pleased, as he never even got into the match. Rex hit a side slam, then a backbreaker over his knee at 3:00. Miles stomped on Rex’s knee, and Rex sold the injury. Rex hit a big boot for a nearfall. RJ hopped on the ring apron and argued wtih the ref! Danny raked Rex’s eyes, hit a snap suplex, and scored the pin! Rude inadvertently cost Lawless another match!
* Percy Ryan hit the ring. He’s the weird male model with chains and jewelry looping his chin. He has been injured and asked the crowd if they missed him. Fans chanted “Go home!” at him. CPA came to the ring and he got a nice applause. (It’s tax season! He should be too busy to wrestle!) Percy told CPA that “my way or the highway.” Percy talked about crowning the most handsome man in pro wrestling. Out came JGeorge. Then out came Bobby Buffet, who got on the mic and made fun of Percy. It is worth pointing out none of these four guys are regulars here.
2. Bobby Buffet defeated JGeorge at 4:49. JGeorge has appeared here before, usually with Max Caster; he’s the filmmaker with really huge hair (think No Way Jose.) Buffet was featured in the Apple+ docuseries on the Monster Factory; he’s a heavyset Black man. CPA was pushed into Bobby’s back, and JGeorge attacked Buffet to jumpstart the match. Bobby still has his vest on. Bobby fired up and hit some punches. CPA, on the floor, refused to hit Bobby. Buffet hit a uranage at 4:00, but he missed a big splash. JGeorge slapped CPA because he refused to help cheat. Bobby rolled up JGeorge for the pin. This one didn’t click for me.
* Percy Ryan yelled at CPA. He said he’s hired “another handsome devil” who will teach him a lesson. He brought out Steven Stetson!
3. Steven Stetson (w/Hammer Tunis & Danny Miles) defeated CPA at 8:29. Stetson is much taller and clearly stronger than CPA. CPA removed one button-down shirt and tie but had an identical one on underneath. Stetson dropped him with a shoulder tackle and he celebrated. CPA hit some jab punches and a dropkick at 3:00. Stetson hit a Mafia Kick that flattened CPA. He hit a bodyslam and was in charge. CPA hit a dropkick and they were both down at 6:00. CPA hit his comedy 619 move. Stetson choked CPA with the shirt he discarded, then Stetson hit a Burning Hammer for the pin. Okay match; CPA’s comedy is fine but after you’ve seen a few times, it’s repetitive.
* Stetson got on the mic and said the Jumbo Grand Prix tournament was “stolen” from him. Brother Greatness came out from the back and promised vengeance and “righteous judgment” is coming. Tyree Taylor also emerged from the curtain. Meanwhile, Sammy Diaz snuck into the ring and hit a top-rope crossbody block on Stetson. The Ranch bailed to the back. “I never thought I’d see the people of Worcester cheer for the Church!” Denver Colorado said.
4. Shannon Levangie (w/Paris Van Dale) defeated Notorious Mimi at 7:29. Paris joined commentary at the bell. Shannon hit a shoulder tackle and celebrated, so Mimi slapped her in the face. Mimi hit some knee-lifts to the chest. Shannon shook the top rope, causing Mimi to fall from the corner, and that allowed Shannon to take control. Shannon hit a stunner move for a nearfall at 3:00. She hit a running double knees for a nearfall, then a missile dropkick for a nearfall. They hit double clotheslines at 5:00 and were both down.
MImi hit some clotheslines and an X-Factor faceplant, then a Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Shannon came off the top rope, but Mimi caught her with a spin kick to the stomach for a nearfall, as Shannon got a foot on the ropes at 7:00. Shannon hit a Lungblower move to the chin, then the top-rope twisting frogsplash for the pin. A solid match; I’m surprised Shannon won clean with no interference/assistance from Paris.
5. “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes vs. Dezmond Cole and Pedro Dones went to a time-limit draw at 10:00. Baylor got on the mic and was loudly booed. Smokes said Dones is the guy at the bar hitting on women half his age. Baylor and Dones opened, and Pedro dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Cole and Smokes entered., and Dezmond hit some shoulder tackles, too. He hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 2:00. Cole slammed Dones onto Baylor, then the babyfaces slammed Smokes onto Baylor, and the heels bailed to the floor to regroup.
The heels began working over Dones in their corner. Smokes choked him in the ropes. Smokes hit a suplex for a nearfall at 5:30, and they kept Pedro grounded. Baylor hit a powerslam for a nearfall at 7:00. Cole finally got the hot tag and he hit some flying forearms, then a rolling guillotine legdrop. Baylor hit a uranage for a nearfall at 9:00 as we’re warned we have just one minute remaining. Cole hit a Swanton Bomb on Baylor for a believable nearfall, but Smokes pulled Brad to the floor. Pedro and Dezmond dove onto them on the floor. They brawled on the floor as the time limit expired. Easily best action so far of the night.
6. Alec Price defeated Dustin Waller at 7:25. Waller is replacing his partner, Kylon King, in this match. These two just wrestled in the tournament, with Price winning. An intense lockup to open. Price hit his kneestrikes in the corner at 2:00. They traded chops. Price hit a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Waller hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. He hit a Lethal Injection for a nearfall at 6:00, but he missed a Mamba Splash. Waller hit a springboard flying clothesline for a nearfall, and Crockett marveled at the pace of this match. Price nailed a Superkick, then the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick out of nowhere for the pin! That was good but wrapped up too quickly.
* Price offered a handshake. Waller turned and walked away and was booed! Denver Colorado was disappointed, saying Dustin was being a sore sport.
7. Ryan Clancy and Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) defeated “Big Business” Brad Hollister and TJ Crawford via DQ at 15:24. Hollister spoke on the mic about becoming a father in the past two weeks, and he ripped on all the other fathers out there, saying he’s better than them. Entertaining heel promo. The crowd loves Marbury and his life-sized mascot, Benny. All four brawled at the bell. In the ring, Clancy hit a scoop bodyslam on TJ at 2:00. The heels began working over Clancy in their corner. Hollister hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. TJ hit an enzuigiri, but he missed a frogsplash.
Marbury made the hot tag and he “broke Brad’s ankles” with his misdirection antics. Jermaine hit a Canadian Destroyer. The heels began working over Marbury. Clancy made the hot tag at 10:00; he hit a monkey flip on TJ for a nearfall. Marbury hit a top-rope double crossbody block. Marbury and Crawford took turns punching TJ at 13:00. The babyfaces hit stereo dropkicks for nearfalls. Clancy hit a running knee on TJ, then his Russian Legsweep for a nearfall. Hollister made the save and repeatedly punched Clancy. The ref tried to pull Brad off of Clancy, so Hollister shoved the ref to the mat, causing the DQ. Solid match.
Final Thoughts: A more mediocre show than usual; they are coming off the ‘high’ of a really good, well-booked tournament that really carried the past two months. Even though it was short, Price-Waller takes best match. The time-limit draw tag takes second, and the main event is third place. But as just noted, only one of the final three matches had a pinfall. That should be avoided as much as possible. The main event was solid but pretty formula, too.
The undercard definitely felt like a reset, as it had been months since we had seen Percy Ryan, JGeorge, Buffet or GPA; none of those guys were good enough to be in the 24-man Jumbo Grand Prix tournament field. I haven’t missed a Wrestling Open show since maybe summer, and I was confused by what was going on between Percy Ryan and GPA. Why was Percy bossing him around? Hell, why was GPA listening? Why was GPA out there at all? How did Percy Ryan have the power to book a match for CPA and why was CPA forced to take it? If I — a dedicated viewer and big fan of this product — don’t know those answers, how could a casual fan? Honestly, everything about that two-match stretch involving Percy Ryan was just a mess and a thumbs down.
The women’s match was fine; neither good nor bad, but as I acknowledged, I just expected Shannon to cheat to win. Lastly, the most intriguing thing coming out of this week was the question of what is happening with RJ and Lawless. My guess is Lawless is going to keep being forgiving of Rude’s ‘screw-ups’ until RJ just flat-out turns heel on him. Despite my heavy criticisms, I am a big fan of Wrestling Open and I think the entire Jumbo Grand Prix tournament was well done.
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