By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 148 – The Wrestling Zone”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
October 31, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
The crowd appears to be in the 150-200 range and many wore costumes; not a bad-sized crowd for a holiday but definitely a bit smaller than usual. Paul Crockett and Brother Greatness provided commentary.
They opted to air this in black and white in honor of the “Twilight Zone” theme.
1. Gal vs. “Handyman” Jake Gray in the spotlight match. Gray is the recent graduate, and Gal has a clear size and muscle mass advantage. Gray hit a shotgun dropkick and a clothesline into the corner. Gal hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin.
Gal defeated Jake Gray at 4:29.
2. DJ Powers vs. Pedro Dones. Pedro hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Powers, then a running crossbody block for a nearfall at 2:00. DJ hit a German Suplex, then a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker. Crockett reminded us that Powers still can’t “legally go to a bar.” DJ hit a superkick for a nearfall, then he mounted Dones and punched him in the face at 5:00. Dones did an airplane spin and dropped Powers to the mat. Powers got a rollup and grabbed the ropes; the ref saw it and kicked the hand off. Dones immediately reversed the rollup and got the clean pin. Decent.
Pedro Dones defeated DJ Powers at 7:17.
* Powers got on the mic and whined, saying the loss was “a fluke.” He said he’s not leaving until he gets an apology from the ref, as well as an apology. However, Joe Ocasio came to the ring! However, a guy got in the ring named Kareem and he attacked Ocasio. We have our next match. No on-screen graphic so I don’t know his full name.
3. Joe Ocasio vs. Kareem. Crockett said this guy is from Italy and is here and training. They traded punches, and Kareem hit a leg lariat. Ocasio hit some clotheslines at 3:00, a Stinger Splash, and a swinging uranage for a nearfall. Ocasio ducked a Hidden Blade. He hit his modified Death Valley Driver for the pin. Kareem looked good in his debut here.
Joe Ocasio defeated Kareem at 5:11.
4. Tiara James vs. Spike Ishimura vs. Paris Van Dale. Spike just returned from a Japan tour. Paris didn’t come out when her music played. (For what it’s worth, she appeared but didn’t wrestle last weekend at Limitless, either.) So, we are starting just one-on-one. Crockett wondered if Paris can come out whenever she wants. Basic reversals early. Tiara hit a clothesline at 2:30, then some forearm strikes in the corner. Spike hit a Mafia Kick for a nearfall at 4:30. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Paris came into the ring! She hit a DDT on Spike. Paris stepped aside and let Tiara make the cover and pin Spike.
Tiara James defeated Spike Ishimura and Paris Van Dale in 5:51.
* Paris shoved female ring announcer Lauren St. James to the mat. Paris got on the mic and said she has turned over a new leaf. She said she’s not going to pretend she’s something she’s not. Paris and Tiara left the ring together.
5. “Shooter Boys” Anthony Vecchio and Aaron Ortiz vs. “Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller. Crockett said the Shooter Boys are from the Create-A-Pro Wrestling Academy; I am fairly sure I haven’t seen them before. Waller and the long-haired Ortiz opened. King and the shorter-hair Vecchio locked up at 1:30. Waller hit a superkick, and the MG began working over Ortiz. Ortiz hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Waller for a nearfall at 4:30. King hit a backbreaker over his knee on Ortiz at 7:00 as they kept him grounded and in their corner. We got a few boos towards the MG! Waller hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Vecchio got a hot tag and hit some clotheslines and a backbody drop. He hit a release German Suplex on King at 8:30, then a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall.
Waller hit a springboard clothesline. MG hit stereo kneestrikes on Vecchio for a nearfall. You can tell these guys are rookies because this is moving at three-quarters speed. Ortiz hit a powerbomb move for a nearfall. Waller jumped in and hit a Lethal Injection. Kylon hit a tornado DDT. Vecchio hit an Exploder Suplex into the corner and suddenly everyone was down at 11:30. The commentary track dropped out for the second time this match. Waller and Vecchio traded forearm strikes, and Dustin seemed particularly vicious. Vecchio hit a second-rope gut-wrench suplex. The commentary track returned; I don’t think they realized they were inaudible. One of the SB’s accidentally hit his partner. King fought both opponents. The Shooter Boys hit a faceplant on him. Ortiz slammed Waller. Waller hit a brainbuster. King hit a top-rope superplex on Vecchio, and Waller immediately hit his Mamba Splash for the pin. Okay match and surprisingly long for a debut match here.
Dustin Waller and Kylon King defeated Anthony Vecchio and Aaron Ortiz at 14:33.
* “Stetson Ranch” Steven Stetson and Hammer Tunis came to the ring. The crowd chanted, “F— the ranch!” Stetson got on the mic and demanded the fans show them respect. Eric Chacha came to the ring and wore a cowboy hat; the commentators wondered if this was a Halloween costume. I’ve seen Chacha in a few other Northeast indies but not here, although this was billed as his return (it’s certainly been a while, either way!) Chacha slapped Stetson and ran! A guy named “Wild Hound” ran into the ring and we have a tag match.
6. “Stetson Ranch” Steven Stetson and Hammer Tunis vs. Eric Chacha and Wild Hound. Chacha hit a huracanrana. Stetson hit a stiff kick that dropped the diminutive Chacha. Stetson hit some bodyslams on Chacha and was in charge. Wild Hound got in the ring at 5:00 and hit a swinging uranage on Tunis for a nearfall. Stetson hit a Northern Clothesline to the back of the head for the pin. Fairly basic.
Steven Stetson and Hammer Tunis vs. Eric Chacha and Wild Hound at 6:31.
* We have a gauntlet next. The commentators said earlier in the show that they have no idea who is in this.
7. A gauntlet match. No. 1 is TJ Crawford and No. 2 is Seabass Finn, who is suddenly everywhere on the Northeast scene. Crockett raved about Finn’s recent match against Donovan Dijak. Basic reversals early, and TJ hit a swinging side slam for a nearfall. Finn hit a doublestomp to the chest at 5:30. He hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. He came off the ropes, but TJ caught him with a spin kick, then a spin kick for the pin.
TJ Crawford defeated Seabass Finn at 6:31.
7b. Brother Greatness vs. TJ Crawford. BG hopped up from commentary and attacked Crawford! Brother Greatness did the ‘Eddie Spot’ of tossing a chair to TJ and collapsing to the mat. The ref turned around, saw TJ holding the chair, and disqualified him!
Brother Greatness defeated TJ Crawford via DQ at 1:05.
7c. Brother Greatness vs. Love, Doug. Doug ran in and attacked BG. TJ tossed rose petals but they hit Doug. Brother Greatness got a Crucifix Driver and pinned Doug!
Brother Greatness defeated Love, Doug at 1:08.
7d. Brother Greatness vs. Ricky Smokes. Ricky hit a fallaway slam. BG got some rollups, but Smokes hit a sit-out powerbomb for the pin.
Ricky Smokes defeated Brother Greatness at 2:34.
7e. Ricky Smokes vs. CPA. A nice pop for CPA. They did some of CPA’s usual comedy early on, with Smokes trying to toss CPA by the tie, but the tie was a clip-on. Smokes began stomping on him. CPA hit a dropkick at 3:00. CPA hit a huracanrana that sent Smokes head-first into a corner pad. CPA hit a dropkick and he peeled off a shirt, drawing a pop. Smokes hit a neckbreaker over his knee and scored the pin.
Ricky Smokes defeated CPA to win the gauntlet at 5:55.
8. Channing Thomas vs. Ryan Clancy. No sign of Sidney Bakabella. These two have been feuding of late, as Channing is claiming he has the best dropkick in Wrestling Open (and clearly that accolade goes to Clancy!) Thomas wants Clancy to put his ‘Opportunity Knocks’ contract — which guarantees a title shot — on the line, and Clancy agreed! Standing switches early on, and Channing dropped to the mat to avoid a dropkick attempt. Clancy hit a bodyslam at 2:30. Clancy hit a double-underhook suplex at 5:30. Channing again avoided a dropkick, and Clancy hit the mat and clutched at his lower back. Thomas knocked Clancy from the corner to the floor, and Clancy again was holding his lower back.
In the ring, Channing hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 8:30. Clancy fired up and hit some jab punches. He tied Channing in the corner and slapped him repeatedly in the face. Channing hit a neckbreaker out of the ropes for a nearfall at 11:00. He tied Clancy in a Boston Crab. Clancy hit a monkeyflip that sent Channing across the ring. Clancy hit a Thesz Press and some punches, then his Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall at 14:00. Clancy came off the ropes, but Channing caught him with a dropkick for a believable nearfall, and we only have five minutes remaining in the time limit!
Clancy hit a piledriver for a nearfall. Channing hit his own piledriver for a believable nearfall at 16:30. Channing got angry and hit repeated punches to the face. Channing grabbed brass knuckles but Clancy confiscated them. He tossed the brass knuckles to the referee, then he hit the dropkick and scored the clean pin. Good match; I thought we were going to a 20-minute draw.
Ryan Clancy defeated Channing Thomas at 17:46.
Final Thoughts: An okay show with a really good main event. Clancy-Thomas was easily best match of the night. I’ll go with Powers-Dones for second-best… but I don’t think I’ll give a third-best match on this night. I’m a big fan of the Miracle Generation, and they got an okay match out of a clearly green duo. I liked what I saw of Ocasio vs. the Italian guy, but I need to see more. My usual issues with a gauntlet — it hurts wrestlers to get pinned so quickly.
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