By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 117”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
March 28, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
The crowd is in the 300 range. Paul Crockett and Brother Greatness provided commentary.
* RJ Rude came to the ring singing a Nickelback song, which automatically got him booed. He and Rex Lawless just turned heel.
1. RJ Rude (w/ Rex Lawless) defeated Sean Legacy at 4:45. Legacy comes from Georgia and this is a big debut for him. Rude stalled on the floor, so Legacy nailed a flip dive to the floor on him. In the ring, Legacy hit a standing moonsault at 2:00. He hit a Lungblower move to the chin and a 619. Rude nailed an Unprettier face plant for the clean pin. Good match; I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Legacy in the past and he had a good debut here.
* Love, Doug hit the ring and battled both heels, but they quickly beat him down. Legacy got up and helped out Doug. The heels scampered from the ring. Doug got on the mic and said he and Landon Hale challenged them to a match next week.
2. Allie Katch defeated Nahir Robles at 5:01. This Robles is not related to Northwest indy rocker Nick Robles; this is her debut here as well. Basic reversals early on, and Robles grounded her. Robles hit an X-Factor for a nearfall at 3:30. Allie hit her rolling cannonball for a nearfall, then a piledriver for the pin. Fairly basic but Robles looked fine.
* Katch got on the mic and said she wants a best-of-five series against Shannon LeVangie.
3. Pedro Dones and Dezmond Cole defeated JGeorge and CPA (w/Percy Ryan) in a “beat-the-clock challenge” at 6:38. I hate CPA’s storyline here, as I don’t feel they have adequately explained why CPA would hang around with these male models and willingly be pushed around. CPA and Dezmond opened. Cole hit an enzuigiri on JGeorge, and Dones hit a guillotine leg drop for a nearfall at 2:00. The heels began working over Dones, and Percy choked Pedro in the ropes. Dezmond made the hot tag at 5:30 and he hit a Michinoku Driver, then a rolling leg drop for a nearfall. The commentators pointed out CPA was hesitant to break up a pin, which made Percy irate. JGeorge got shoved into CPA, knocking CPA off the ring apron to the floor. It allowed Dezmond to hit a Swanton Bomb on JGeorge for the pin. The right team definitely won.
* So, “Swipe Right” has to win by less than 6:38, or Dones & Cole get to pick the stipulation of their tag match in two weeks.
4. Tyree Taylor (w/Brother Greatness) and Ichiban defeated “Swipe Right” Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor in a “beat-the-clock challenge” at 8:43 via count-out. I’m a big fan of all four of these guys. Again, Smokes is like Sammy Guevara, Baylor is smug 19-year-old with feathered blond hair, Tyree is Willie Mack-meets-Shane Taylor. Smokes got on the mic and asked the crowd if they are “swiping left or swiping right on us” and of course, the crowd shouted “left!” The “6:38” was displayed on the screen but vanished at the bell. Tyree easily shoved Smokes to the mat and pointed at his wrist, pointing out that time is slipping away. Ichiban entered and hit some deep armdrags and a dropkick on Baylor.
Ichiban and Tyree hit a series of punches in the corner with the fans chanting “one!” to each blow at 2:00. The heels began working over Ichiban on the mat. Baylor hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 4:30. Crockett reminded us that time is quickly running low. The 5-minute call is spot-on. Tyree tagged in and hit splashes in the corner, then a uranage on Baylor. Baylor hit a shotgun dropkick on Ichiban for a nearfall. Tyree clotheslined each heel to the floor and was protecting Ichiban. At the 6:38 mark, we were told the match would continue, even though the beat-the-clock challenge was now over. Tyree hit a discus clothesline on Baylor, and Ichiban hit his leaping Flatliner on Baylor for a believable nearfall, but Smokes pulled Baylor to the floor. One of them shouted, “let’s get out of here” and they headed to the back! The ref counted them out to end the match.
5. Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) vs. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) at 6:34. Sidney barked at the same young kid as last week! Funny. Channing attacked Marbury as Jermaine was going to throw powder in the air, a la Kevin Garnett, and he took the early advantage. Marbury hit some dropkicks. Channing was in control and the crowd chanted “defense!” (This basketball gimmick is so cheesy but it’s the good kind of cheesy that somehow works, and the crowd plays along.) Marbury got a backslide for a nearfall at 3:30. He fired up and hit some clotheslines, and the palm-to-the-head slam. He hit a leg drop for a nearfall, then he applied the anklelock. They traded rollups. Bakabella threw the powder in Marbury’s eyes! Benny jumped on the apron and threw powder in Channing’s eyes! That popped the crowd. Channing was able to roll up Jermaine for the pin. Fun match.
* It is time for the contract signing between Wrestling Open champion Brad Hollister and No. 1 contender Ryan Clancy. Hollister came out first in a suit jacket; he’s definitely not dressed for a fight. Hollister ripped the crowd, then dismissed the ring announcer, so only the two wrestlers were in the ring. Clancy is also dressed in a suit jacket. Hollister asked him “if he likes losing, because you’ll never beat me.” Hollister said the fans actually hate Clancy “because he’s a loser and because he sucks. What makes this time any different?” Clancy finally took the mic and asked him if he ever shuts up. Clancy told him he would leave Hollister “sad and alone,” then he signed the contract and handed it back to Hollister. Brad then signed it, then he kicked Clancy, hit him with the contract, and hit blows to Ryan’s back. Clancy hit his own punches and a bodyslam, then an impressive dropkick. The crowd chanted “new champ!” A VERY good segment.
* A video package showed how the Stetson Ranch have chased the Shook Crew out of Wrestling Open.
6. “The Stetson Ranch” Steve Stetson and Danny Miles (w/Hammer Tunis) defeated. Lucas Chase and Sammy Diaz (w/Brother Greatness) to retain the Eliminator Cup medallions at 13:47. Still surreal to see the fans now cheer for the Church of Greatness, but they are so good they just had to turn babyface. The crowd chanted “F— the ranch!” at the heels. Miles and Diaz opened, and the babyfaces hit some quick moves in the corner on Miles. Stetson tagged in at 2:00 but the babyfaces beat him up, too. Chase hit a second-rope diving forearm strike. Diaz leapt off the top rope, but Stetson caught him and slammed him face-first on the top turnbuckle at 4:00, and the heels began working over Sammy.
Miles hit a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall and they kept Sammy grounded. (I suddenly had issues with the picture freezing, which I don’t think has ever happened while I’ve watched a live show.) Stetson hit a bodyslam at 9:00. Miles hit a senton. I’m missing a lot of the action now as the problems persisted and only got worse. The picture has cleared up, and Chase got the hot tag at 11:00 and he hit some hard clotheslines and a spinebuster. He hit a side slam for a nearfall; he fired up and pulled down the straps on his singlet.
Diaz hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 12:30, but Miles made the save. Stetson popped Chase in the air, and Miles hit a spear! Nice. Tunis hopped on the apron to distract the babyfaces, so Brother Greatness got involved. The picture froze again and I missed the finish. UGH. It returned as we were told the Stetson Ranch had retained the medallions. Tyree Taylor and Ichiban ran to the ring to save Chase and Diaz from a further beat-down.
7. Megan Bayne defeated Gabby Forza at 14:21. Megan is the tall Amazon-type who just returned from an extensive Japanese tour. Gabby is the powerhouse, similar to Dani Luna or Rachael Armstrong. She’s still new but has so much raw power, and I love that these two are in the main event. An intense lockup and Bayne has a significant height advantage. They traded chops. (Bayne is listed at 5’11” and 187 pounds. Gabby is listed at 5’4″ and 185 pounds and both stats seem legit to me.) Bayne hit a Stinger Splash then a double-underhook suplex, but she made a cocky cover for a nearfall at 3:00. Forza hit a clothesline and Megan looked shocked as she got up.
Forza did a cartwheel-into-a-clothesline in the corner, then an Exploder Suplex. “Megan Bayne has to feel like she’s seen a ghost!” Crockett said. Gabby leapt off the ring apron but Megan caught her, and they brawled on the floor. Forza hit a bodyslam onto the bare floor at 5:00! In the ring, Bayne hit a leaping clothesline and they were both down. Bayne took control and got a nearfall. She hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall at 7:30. They blocked each other’s suplex attempts, until Gabby hit a Brainbuster, and they were both down.
They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Gabby hit a German Suplex as we hit the 10:00 mark. Gabby hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Forza avoided an F5, and she nailed a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Megan hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 12:00, and the fans chanted “Wrestling Open!” Gabby hit a second-rope German Suplex; I jumped thinking Megan was about to land on her head but she was able to fully rotate and land stomach-first; the move drew a “holy shit!” chant. Bayne nailed a Mafia Kick, then an F5 Slam for a believable nearfall! Bayne immediately hit a Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. That was exceptionally good, especially considering how few matches Gabby has had. Bayne helped her to her feet, teased she was about to hit Gabby, but then shook her hand.
Final Thoughts: I think some people think that because I don’t like intergender matches, I don’t like women’s wrestling. Nothing could be further from the truth. I attended two of the first-ever Shimmer tapings and had a blast. I’m so happy for both of these women. These are two powerhouses and the put together a well-laid out match that played to both of their strengths. That said, the second-rope German Suplex was inches from going severely wrong.
Both “Beat-the-clock challenge” matches worked for me, and I’ve never really liked that stipulation. I REALLY like that the second match didn’t just “end” once Swipe Right didn’t win by the 6:38 mark, and I like that those talented youngsters took a loss by count-out. They have been well-protected here.
I am really upbeat on this promotion. The week-to-week storylines really work for me. They got fans excited about Hollister-Clancy next week, and Swipe Right vs. Dones/Dezmond in two weeks. The two debuting wrestlers looked good. The only thumbs down I can find tonight is some mild freezing at the end of the tag match, which caused me to miss the finish of the match. I’m sure it will be fixed on the replay. This promotion uses the best of the Northwest indy scene.
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