By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 119”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 11, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
The crowd is about 250-300. Paul Crockett and Brother Greatness provided commentary.
* The Stetson Ranch headed to the ring and were loudly booed. Steven Stetson grabbed the mic and talked about how they had some warmup matches last week.
1. Danny Miles (w/Steven Stetson, Hammer Tunis) defeated Kuro at 7:39. My first time seeing Kuro, a Black man with short curly hair and he’s billed as being from France. He’s much thinner than Miles, but has the height advantage. Tunis tripped Kuro and stomped on him on the floor. Miles hit a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Kuro hit a shotgun dropkick, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 6:00. He hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Stetson hopped on the ring apron, so Kuro kicked him to the floor. Kuro hit a flip dive to the floor, almost coming down on his head (Stetson and Tunis really saved him.) As Kuro got back in the ring, Miles grabbed him and hit a Mark Henry Slam for the pin. Basic.
2. Allie Katch defeated Celine Faery at 8:14. Faery is also listed as being from France, and with the style of her outfit, you can’t help but think of Disney’s Tinkerbell; it almost looks like an outfit of a figure skater, not wrestling gear. She has brown hair that reaches her shoulders and is much shorter and lighter than Katch. She seriously appears to be 5’2″ and maybe 104 pounds. Allie overpowered her and pushed her into the corner. Faery hit a head-scissors takedown, and a sliding Flatliner move for a nearfall at 2:30. Allie hit a backbreaker over her knee.
Katch hit a Mafia Kick to the chest for a nearfall and she was now in charge. She hit a rolling cannonball for a nearfall at 5:00. Faery hit a bulldog and was fired up. She hit running double knees to the back, then to the chest, for a nearfall. Faery hit some forearm strikes; Katch hit an enzuigiri. Faery applied a Cobra Stretch in the middle of the ring at 7:30! However, Katch escaped and hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Katch hit a piledriver for the pin. I like that they were given time to develop that.
* Paris Van Dale came out from the back and she challenged Katch to a match next week.
3. Rex Lawless (w/RJ Rude) defeated Joe Keys at 8:35. Rude this week is singing “Superman” by 3 Doors Down and he’s (intentionally?) awful. This is actually Keys’ debut here; he’s been wrestling for years and was in the ROH system. He’s got a great physique and reminds me a bit of another former ROH star, Silas Young. These are two BIG muscular men, and they traded shoulder tackles. Keys hit a clothesline that sent Lawless to the floor at 1:30, and Rex was irate. Crockett said Rex has been thrown off his game because he’s so used to being the powerhouse here. In the ring, they traded clotheslines with neither man going down.
Rex hit a running boot and he began stomping on Keys. He hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 4:00, then a fallaway slam. Rex hit a suplex from the ring apron back into the ring for a nearfall. Keys hit a German Suplex, then a tornado DDT, then a hard clothesline. He hit a guerrilla press for a nearfall at 7:00. Lawless hit a Moose-style flipping spear, then an Air Raid Crash for the pin. That was a really good big-man match. The winner was never in doubt, though, as debuting wrestlers almost never win here.
* Rude got back on the mic and was upset. He said they have to face Landon Hale & Love Doug in a “chairs are legal” match next week!
4. “The Handyman” Jake Gray defeated Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) at 4:35. Another debut; Gray is 18 and wore a handyman outfit and had a toolbox. Not quite TL Hopper or Duke Droese, but those gimmicks went through my head. Thomas dominated the youngster. Jermaine Marbury and Benny the Basketball appeared at ringside! They distracted Thomas. It allowed Gray to roll up Thomas from behind for the pin! The crowd went nuts, and the commentators shouted it was the upset of the year. (I sensed that was coming, as I literally just wrote how debuting guys never win!) A fun surprise.
* A video package aired that showed how Brad Hollister vs. Ryan Clancy ended in a double pin last week, leaving questions about who is our champion. That led to Brad Hollister and TJ Crawford hitting the ring. Hollister is in a suit and has his Wrestling Open title around his waist. He got on the mic and said he was wrong about Clancy. He admitted he didn’t think Clancy could win the Grand Prix tournament, and he didn’t think Clancy could pin him. However, Hollister noted he is still champion.
5. TJ Crawford (w/Brad Hollister) defeated Suicide (w/Ryan Clancy) at 9:39. The Suicide outfit looks like what was worn in TNA, but I’m highly doubtful that is TJP under the mask. Crawford was in charge and kept this mysterious guy grounded. Suicide hit a plancha to the floor at 6:30. In the ring, TJ hit a stunner and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 8:30. We were warned that we were within a minute of the 10-minute time limit! Crawford nailed the Silver Bullet roundhouse kick to the head for the pin.
* Clancy got on the mic and asked the crowd if Hollister was the champion and they shouted “no!” Clancy said he has a rematch next week. I have to admit I’m disappointed we didn’t see who was under the Suicide mask this week.
6. “Swipe Ripe” Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor defeated Pedro Dones and Dezmond Cole in a lumberjack match match at 14:05. If you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a big fan of the Swipe Right heels. I don’t recognize a LOT of the wrestlers at ringside. Cole and Smokes opened, and Dezmond hit a dropkick. Ryan Clancy is at ringside and he threw the heels back into the ring. The heels began working over Cole and kept him in their corner. Dezmond hit a split-legged stunner at 6:00. Baylor leapt off the ropes but Cole caught him and hit a German Suplex, and they were both down. Pedro accidentally hit Gal, who then punched Dones behind the referee and he left at 8:30!
The heels now were beating down Dones. Dezmond made the hot tag at 11:00 and he hit a Michinoku Driver on Smokes, then a rolling guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Dezmond nailed a top-rope flip dive to the floor onto all the lumberjacks! He got back in the ring, but Ray Jaz, dressed in street clothes, pushed Cole off the top! Baylor hit a top-rope 450 elbow drop on Cole for the tainted pin. Fun match and easily best of the show. Ray Jaz got in the ring with Swipe Right; he beat up Cole some more.
7. Ichiban (w/Brother Greatness) defeated Aigle Blanc at 15:59. Again, the masked Frenchman has blond hair coming from under the hood and reminds me of Matt Riddle, and he had several matches over WrestleMania weekend. Quick reversals right away and this is clearly going to be fast-paced. Blanc went for a dive to the floor at 3:30 but Ichiban caught him with a kick. Moments later, Blanc hit a dive through the ropes onto Ichiban. In the ring, Blanc applied a leglock around the neck and he kept Ichiban grounded. Blanc hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Ichiban hit an enzuigiri in the corner and his series of punches with the crowd chanting “one!” to each blow.
Blanc nailed a swinging brainbuster at 8:30, then a flying double knees to the back of the head for a nearfall. Blanc hit an enzuigiri. Ichiban hit a flip dive to the floor on Blanc at 10:30. Back in the ring, Ichiban hit a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. He hit a series of punches to the head, but Blanc dropped Ichiban face-first on the top turnbuckle at 12:30. Blanc nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall and I thought that was it. Ichiban hit a hard clothesline and they were both down at 14:30. Crockett called this an “international dream match.” Ichiban hit his leaping Flatliner for the pin! That was really good stuff.
* The Stetson Ranch jumped in the ring and beat down Ichiban! Blanc returned to the ring and hit a top-rope crossbody block on the heels.
Final Thoughts: An excellent main event and easily best of the show. While not usually my style, I’ll go with Lawless-Keys for second-best as this was a really good muscular, big-man match. The lumberjack tag match takes third. Kayfabe, why would babyfaces ever choose a lumberjack match when given the option for the type of match? It always backfires on them! But, it’s a good way to start a Dones-Gal feud, and hopefully separate Dones and Cole, as they are clearly better as singles wrestlers. These shows always have a good party atmosphere.
You can probably guess… I don’t ‘edit’ my running stream of thoughts; I don’t go back and change it so “I’m always right.” I literally just wrote how debuting wrestlers don’t ever win here… and moments later, a debuting wrestler won. And I love it. Channing is so smarmy and cocky, and Bakabella is so heelish; they aren’t hurt one bit by that loss to a teenage rookie, but they did a great job selling how embarrassed they were.
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