By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Heat – Episode 166”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
March 6, 2025 in Worcester, Massachusetts at Electric Haze
Paul Crockett and ref Scott Robinson provided commentary. Again, this new location is a bit smaller and a bit darker than their old location. Attendance is maybe 150-200.
* Gabby Forza is sick and she has backed out of a tag match tonight; she is being replaced by teenager Liviyah.
1. Giorgio Lawrence vs. Uncle Chase in a spotlight match. Lawrence has appeared here maybe the past three weeks now, and he has an MMA style that is kick-based. I don’t think I’ve seen Uncle Chase before; he’s older, bald, and wore rainbow suspenders. Lawrence dominated, hit some kicks, including one to the jaw to get the pin. Basic but fine.
Giorgio Lawrence defeated Uncle Chase at 5:45.
* The main show is underway and Crockett is solo on commentary.
2. Paris Van Dale and Tiara James vs. Liviyah and Spike Nishimura. Liviyah and Tiara opened. Spike and Liviyah hit a team suplex on Paris. Spike mounted PVD and repeatedly punched her at 1:30. Paris raked her eyes, hit a DDT, and got a nearfall. Tiara hit a basement dropkick on Spike for a nearfall at 3:00, then a snap suplex, and the heels kept Spike in their corner. Paris hit a running double knee shot to the back of Spike’s head. Liviyah got a hot tag at 5:30 and hit a series of back elbows on the heels, then a back suplex on Tiara, then a fisherman’s suplex on Paris for a nearfall. Liviyah hit a double clothesline and she was fired up. All four traded punches, and Liviyah was tossed to the floor. Paris accidentally hit Tiara; Spike immediately got a folding press rollup and pinned Paris. Decent match.
Liviyah and Spike Nishimura defeated Paris Van Dale and Tiara James at 6:49.
3. Gal vs. Love, Doug. In theory, this is a heel-heel matchup. Crockett noted that we “saw Gal flexing on Evolve last night,” and he had his body-building medals around his neck, and he has the clear height and muscle mass advantage. Doug got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall right at the bell. Gal began punching Doug. He put Doug on his back and did some deep squats. Doug hit a slingshot crossbody block at 1:30 and a dropkick. Gal hit a Mafia Kick and a German Suplex, then a bodyslam. He did some push-ups while choking Doug at 3:00 and hit a guillotine leg drop for a nearfall.
Gal hit a discus clothesline for a nearfall, and he applied a sleeper, and they fell to the mat. The crowd rallied for Doug, who has been treated as a babyface the whole match. Doug hit a jawbreaker to escape at 5:00. He kissed Gal’s face as a distraction and hit a jumping knee, then a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Gal hit another release German Suplex. Doug hit a sunset flip bomb off the second rope for a nearfall at 7:00. Gal immediately hit his spinning Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin. Good match.
Gal defeated Love, Doug at 7:13.
* Gal got on the mic and boasted about his win. He wanted to know where TJ Crawford and the rest of Big Business are.
4. Eye Black Jack Pasquale vs. Brett Ryan Gosselin. These two have previously fought, and we had a video package to set up the match. BRG immediately stalled in the ropes at the bell. Brett began stomping on Pasquale and kept the rookie grounded. Jack shoved BRG back-first into opposite corners. BRG hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall at 2:30, and he kicked Pasquale to the floor. Back in the ring, Jack peppered him with punches to the gut, then a clothesline at 5:00 and a Stinger Splash. He hit a backbody drop and was fired up. Pasquale hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. Pasquale tossed Brett to the floor, and BRG sold being shocked at Jack’s power. BRG intentionally didn’t get back into the ring and was counted out!
Eye Jack Black defeated Brett Ryan Gosselin via count-out at 6:52.
* Brando Lee came to the ring; he’s been feuding with WWE ID prospect Bryce Donovan. (Last week, Lee survived a five-minute challenge to win the match.) He got on the mic and vowed he will keep getting up. Max Caster came to the ring! He was loudly booed and heckled. “It seems like the sex worker community is very vocal tonight,” Max said. He talked about his $50,000 bounty he put on Ichiban. Lee challenged Caster! Max said he knows that Worcester people aren’t that smart — he’s not dressed to compete and the answer was no. However, he then attacked Brando and called for a ref!
5. Max Caster vs. Brando Lee. Max took off his jacket — he wasn’t wearing a shirt — and he hit some punches. Lee (think a young Darren Young/Fred Rosser with short, curly hair) went for a top-rope crossbody block but Max caught him and hit a backbreaker over his knee. Caster stomped on Brando and kept him grounded. Caster hit a snap suplex at 3:30 but made an arrogant cover. He switched to a rear-naked choke. Lee hit a doublestomp to the chest and was fired up, hitting some double chops, then a rolling Death Valley Driver and a top-rope moonsault for a believable nearfall at 5:00. “Smart” Mark Sterling suddenly appeared at ringside and distracted Brando. Caster kicked the ropes to crotch Lee, then Max hit a DDT for the cheap pin. Crockett speculated that Sterling wasn’t there to help Caster; he was continuing Lee’s feud with Bryce Donovan.
Max Caster defeated Brando Lee at 5:49.
6. DJ Powers vs. Channing Thomas. Channing has recently turned babyface and started feuding with the cocky teenager Powers, who I always compare to NXT’s Kale Dixon, with a bit of Johnny Morrison. Channing came out second; they started brawling as soon as he got in the ring. Channing clotheslined DJ to the floor at 1:00. They brawled on the floor, and DJ accidentally chopped the ring post. Channing hit a backbody drop onto the hardwood floor! They brawled out the door and to the street at 3:00, but came back in after a few seconds, and DJ bodyslammed Channing onto the wood floor. Ouch! In the ring, DJ hit a frogsplash for a nearfall; Channing hooked both arms, rolled DJ over, and got a clean flash pin!
Channing Thomas defeated DJ Powers at 4:56.
* DJ kept beating up Channing after the bell. Giorgio Lawrence ran to the ring and helped DJ to beat up Channing! Crockett noted it appears the two youngsters are “in cahoots.”
7. Aaron Rourke vs. Bear Bronson. I’ve seen these two fight in a mixed tag not too long ago. Again, Bronson has cut his hair shorter and changed up his look, as I’m confident in saying we aren’t going to be seeing him team with Bear Boulder anymore. He got on the mic and said these past two months have been “the most taxing months of my life,” but added he didn’t want to elaborate. WWE ID prospect Rourke got a nice pop and they hugged before the bell, but then Bear attacked Rourke as he was posing in the corner! Crockett shouted that it was all a set-up. They brawled on the floor, with Bronson berating him, and he slammed him on the apron. We officially got a bell at 0:55 to begin as they got back into the ring.
Rourke hit a shotgun dropkick. Bear hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. He hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee and an elbow drop for a nearfall at 3:00 and he kept Rourke grounded. Rourke jumped on his back and applied a sleeper; Bronson ran backward into the corner to break it. Bronson dropped his weight on Rourke’s chest for a nearfall at 5:00. Rourke hit some dropkicks and an Eat D’Feat and a spinning back kick. Rourke hit a spinning DDT for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Rourke kissed him on the mouth to surprise him and hit a superkick at 7:30. Rourke hit a Lungblower to the chin. Bronson hit a choke bomb for a nearfall. Rourke hit a rolling cannonball in the corner. Rourke hit a Burning Hammer for the pin! Good match.
Aaron Rourke defeated Bear Bronson at 9:38/official time of about 8:43.
* Next week features an official WWE ID match between Cappuccino Jones and Bryce Donovan, plus the return of Anthony Greene.
* Danny Miles came to the ring; Crockett noted that Steven Stetson is training at the NJPW dojo in Los Angeles and is still “indefinitely suspended” here. Miles introduced Matt Taven, who has been ‘hired’ to take out Jermaine Marbury.
8. Matt Taven (w/Danny Miles) vs. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball). Taven hasn’t been here since 2022; I’ve missed seeing him on ROH/AEW TV so far this year. He’s doing his best to get booed, and he rolled to the floor at the bell and stalled. In the ring, they opened with standing switches and they worked over each other’s left arm. Taven dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 2:00 and he glared at the crowd. Taven hit a snap suplex for a nearfall, then a Stinger Splash and a dropkick. Marbury hit a series of punches in the corner at 4:30. He hit his Euro-step Neckbreaker, and the crowd was now 100% behind him. Marbury ‘broke Taven’s ankles’ with his quick sidesteps. Taven was faking the injury, and he hit a twisting neckbreaker for a nearfall at 6:00, and the crowd started a “defense!” chant.
Taven kept Jermaine grounded and worked him over. Taven hit a springboard dropkick, and Jermaine fell to the floor, where Miles stomped on him at 8:00. Miles tossed Marbury back into the ring, where Taven got a nearfall. Taven hit a DDT for a nearfall, and he went for a Lionsault, but Jermaine got his knees up to block it, and they were both down at 10:00. Jermaine got up and hit some clotheslines, and he ‘dunked’ Taven’s head to the mat. Marbury hit a stunner but was slow to make the cover. (Crockett said the move was “shades of the great Hakeem Olajuwon.”) Marbury hit a Code Red for a nearfall at 11:30, and we got a “Wrestling Open!” chant.
They fought on the ropes. Matt nailed the Just The Tip Of The Knee for a nearfall, then a springboard spinning kick for a nearfall at 13:00. Jermaine hit a tornado DDT. He climbed the ropes but Miles hopped on the apron. Jermaine kicked him to the floor. However, the distraction allowed Taven to hit a Snapmare Driver, then a second Just the Tip Of The Knee for the pin. A really good match to end a strong show.
Matt Taven defeated Jermaine Marbury at 14:06.
* Marbury got on the mic and challenged Miles to a “time out match” next week.
Final thoughts: What an intriguing show… three AEW/ROH talents, two WWE ID prospects, and some really good wrestling overall. A very good main event takes best match. It was good to see Taven have a long match and show off his talents, and I do hope he returns to ROH TV sooner than later. Rourke-Bronson was good for second, with Gal-Doug taking third. A lot to like here. I watched this show live; it should be posted on IWTV by Friday morning.
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