By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open RI “Episode 3”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 14, 2025, in Cranston, Rhode Island at Rhodes On The Pawtuxet
Wrestling Open is continuing its Thursday shows in Worcester, Mass, while adding these Monday events, so they are planning to run two shows a week indefinitely. This is an attractive two-story white ballroom, and the lighting is really good. Paul Crockett, DJ Powers, Pedro Dones, ref Scott Robinson and “Handyman” Jake Gray all provided commentary over the course of the show. The crowd was maybe 80-120.
1. Pedro Dones vs. JGeorge in a spotlight match. Robinson and Gray called this one. JGeorge has a filmmaker gimmick; I admittedly am not a fan. They immediately traded reversals on the mat. Dones hit some clotheslines. JGeorge applied an abdominal stretch and grabbed the ropes for added leverage. He hit a doublestomp to the chest at 3:30. Dones hit a series of shoulder tackles. He put JGeorge on his shoulders and did an airplane spin, then a Samoan Drop, then a Vader Bomb, then his twisting crossbody block for the pin. Fairly basic but acceptable.
Pedro Dones defeated JGeorge at 4:59.
2. RJ Rude and Rex Lawless vs. “The Shooter Boys” Aaron Ortiz and Anthony Vecchio. Crockett and Powers took over on commentary for the main show. RJ sang Avril Lavigne’s “Skater Boi” on the way to the ring. The SB are talented mat-based youngsters. Ortiz has long hair, while Vecchio has shorter curly black hair. Rex is massive and he easily shoved Ortiz to the mat and tossed him around. Ortiz hit a dropkick that only staggered Lawless. Rude and Vecchio got in at 1:30, and the Shooter Boys worked together, with Ortiz hitting a dropkick. Crockett noted this was a rematch, as Ortiz got injured in the beginning of the first match, so Aaron wanted this rematch.
The SB hit a team dropkick on Rex at 3:30, but Rex slammed one of the kids onto the other and got a nearfall. Rude and Lawless took over. Rude got on the mic and jawed while he was beating up Vecchio, doing a remix of Skater Boi. Rude hit a kick to Vecchio’s face for a nearfall at 6:30. Vecchio and Rude hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Rude accidentally struck Lawless with a Lungblower to the chest! Vecchio quickly rolled up Rude for the flash pin! The Shooter Boys looked as shocked as anyone that they actually won!
Anthony Vecchio and Aaron Ortiz defeated RJ Rude and Rex Lawless at 8:12.
* A video package aired to highlight Bryce Donovan and his Myrmidon, Jariel Rivera. DJ Powers left commentary here and was replaced by Pedro Dones.
3. Vinny Scalise (w/Smart Mark Sterling vs. Seabass Finn. Vinny is the former “VSK.” Finn has an amateur background; I always say he’s better than this silly fisherman’s gimmick. Vinny attacked at the bell, and he hit a diving back elbow for a nearfall at 1:30. Finn got a rollup for a nearfall. Vinny hit a piledriver along his back for the pin. Crockett called it “a statement win.” Far shorter and more one-sided than I would have anticipated.
Vinny Scalise defeated Seabass Finn at 3:18.
* Smart Mark Sterling got on his mic and demanded respect. He noted that both he and Scalise are TV stars. Sterling made it clear that Scalise is his “fixer,” so if one of his clients has a problem, Scalise fixes it.
4. Notorious Mimi vs. Liviyah. Crockett reminded us that these two fought in the women’s gauntlet here two weeks ago on the inaugural show, with Liviyah winning, and Mimi was upset about the flash pin. Again, Mimi was Sloan Jacobs in a short NXT run. I believe the tall, blonde Liviyah is still a teenager. They shook hands at the bell before locking up. Liviyah knocked her down with a shoulder tackle and they had friendly exchanges. Crockett seemed surprised that Mimi wasn’t acting like a heel. Right on cue, Mimi pulled Liviyah to the mat by her hair at 1:30 and punched her.
Mimi stood on Liviyah’s hair and pulled on her wrists, then she hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 3:00. Liviyah hit a running boot in the corner. Mimi pulled Liviyah off the top turnbuckle by her hair and she raked Liviyah’s eyes, and the ref called for the bell! When did that actually cause a DQ? Mimi got on the mic and berated Liviyah for causing her not to win the $10,000 women’s gauntlet, and she called Liviyah a “Rhode Island loser” and a “nepo baby.” Mimi went to attack her some more, but Spike Nishimura ran to the ring for the save.
Liviyah defeated Notorious Mimi via DQ at 4:02.
5. Spike Nishimura vs. Katrina Creed. Creed has flaming red hair that matches her gear; she’s a Canadian who has been to Wrestling Open several times. Standing reversals to open. Spike hit some deep armdrags. Pedro and Crockett talked a lot about Liviyah having a target on her back after winning that $10,000 gauntlet; Pedro said he’s been wrestling for 17 years and has never won a gauntlet. Katrina hit a running back elbow at 3:30 and was in charge. Creed hit a pump-handle swinging neckbreaker, and she locked in a Cattle Mutilation! Spike hit some clotheslines and a running penalty kick, then a sliding clothesline at 5:30. She hit a running pump kick to the sternum, then an STO clothesline for the pin. Fairly basic but solid action.
Spike Nishimura defeated Katrina Creed at 5:51.
* A video package aired of Ray Jaz offering to team with Bobby Orlando, but Orlando rejected his offer.
6. Dante Drago vs. Bobby Orlando. Dante came out first and he was intentionally dressed like Bobby Orlando. Bobby then came out, and Crockett said it was like looking in a mirror. They jawed at each other before locking up as Bobby “played mind games” with Dante. Bobby hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 2:30. “I’ve never wrestled a mirror, but I assume this is what it would be like,” Dones said. Drago stomped on him and hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 4:00. Dante hit a Rebound Lariat for a nearfall. Bobby hit an Iconoclasm, flipping Dante off the corner to the mat. Bobby hit some jab punches and a running neckbreaker. Dante charged but Orlando hit a stunner, then a top-rope elbow drop for the pin. Solid.
Bobby Orlando defeated Dante Drago at 7:43.
* Bobby got on the mic and reiterated he has rejected Ray Jaz’s offer to team up. He challenged Jaz to fight him next week!
7. Gal and Nick Battee vs. “Waves & Curls” Traevon Jordan and Jaylen Brandyn. WWE ID prospect Gal wore his body-building medals; he’s headed to Las Vegas for the ID prospect tournament on Wednesday. The heels attacked W&C before they had even removed their attire and Whitney Houston was still blaring on the speakers, and they all brawled at ringside. In the ring, Battee and Brandyn opened. The taller Traevon quickly got in and hit a Stinger Splash. Battee (think a young Ricky Saint, or Dante Martin) worked over Jaylen. Gal hit a delayed vertical suplex at 4:00 and did some push-ups and was booed.
The heels hit a team elbow drop and they both did push-ups. Jaylen went for a crossbody block, but Gal caught him and tossed him aside at 6:00. Jaylen finally hit a huracanrana, but Jordan was pulled off the apron and wasn’t there for a hot tag. Gal hit a clothesline for a nearfall. (They have established here that someone can get pinned before reaching that hot tag, so this didn’t feel inevitable that Jaylen was kicking out.) Battee mounted Brandyn and repeatedly punched him, and the crowd chanted for Waves & Curls.
Gal put Jaylen on his back and did some deep squats at 8:30 and was booed. Jordan finally got the hot tag and he hit a double clothesline and was fired up. He nailed a superkick on Battee and a pop-up powerbomb on Gal for a nearfall, and we were warned we are down to one minute left in the time limit! Gal hit a clothesline for a nearfall. W&C hit a team chokeslam, but the bell sounded as they were going for the pin, and we have a time limit draw.
“Waves & Curls” Jaylen Brandyn and Traevon Jordan vs. Gal and Nick Battee went to a 10-minute time-limit draw. (I had it at 10:33 but I started the stopwatch at first contact and I didn’t note when the bell rang to officially begin.)
* Brandyn got on the mic and challenged them to a rematch next week, with no time limit.
* A highlight package aired of Brett Ryan Gosselin challenging Ryan Clancy.
8. Ryan Clancy vs. Brett Ryan Gosselin for the Wrestling Open Title. This is Ryan’s fifth title defense of a 109-day reign (I love those little details they stress here.) Dones said BRG is aware of how active Clancy has been, and probably knows what injuries he has. Ryan hit a backbody drop early on and they fought on the mat, and Ryan began targeting the left knee. He hit some shoulder tackles. BRG hit a jumping knee to the back at 3:30 and took control. BRG hit a sliding dropkick and the crowd chanted “You still suck!” at him. Clancy hit a suplex and they were both down at 5:30.
Clancy hit a backbreaker over his knee. BRG hit a high back suplex for a nearfall. Clancy got some rollups, then a second-rope crossbody block at 8:30. Clancy hit a standing powerbomb. BRG went for a dropkick in the corner and crotched himself around the ring post at 10:30. Clancy pushed BRG off the top turnbuckle to the floor. In the ring, BRG locked in a Boston Crab at 13:00, but Clancy reached the ropes. BRG pulled him back to the center of the ring with the hold still locked on, but Clancy escaped, and Ryan applied a half-crab!
Clancy hit a top-rope superplex at 15:00 and they were both down; Clancy eventually made the cover but only got a two-count. Clancy hit some European Uppercuts. BRG landed awkwardly coming off the ropes at 17:00 and collapsed. Of course, no one in the crowd was fooled as the ref checked on Brett (but didn’t call for the bell.) Of course, upon being helped to his feet, BRG hit a superkick, then a top-rope elbow drop onto the lower back, then he nailed the Unprettier for a believable nearfall! That was a close one! Clancy hit his picture-perfect dropkick and scored the pin! That was fun. “That was a hell of a main event,” Crockett said.
Ryan Clancy defeated Brett Ryan Gosselin to retain the Wrestling Open Title at 18:39.
* “Smart” Mark Sterling was on the upper deck and he taunted Clancy, saying, “How come you didn’t get WWE ID’d like all your friends?” Sterling said Ryan “is not good enough” to be in the ring with Bryce Donovan. Sterling said he’s cashing in on an old contract and Bryce Donovan will get a title shot against Clancy on April 28! He told Ryan that he won’t be going into the match at 100 percent. Clancy turned around and was superkicked by Scalise! Scalise pulled out some zip-ties, but the Shooter Boys and Waves & Curls ran to the ring to chase off Scalise. Good way to conclude the show.
Final Thoughts: Another really strong show. The crowd was pretty small for that spotlight match but it definitely grew by the third match. I noted this last week; if they are happy with a crowd of 100ish a week, they will be highly successful here, because I like the lighting and the venue is really attractive.
A very good main event was easily best match. BRG seems to wind up doing comedy matches because he’s such a good pesky heel foil, but he was able to show off what he can do here. The Waves & Curls tag match was strong for second place. Really, the only disappointment is that DJ Powers was in the building (he called just the second match), but didn’t wrestle. He’s so good… if he’s there, get him on the show! I watched this show live; it should be available on IWTV by Tuesday morning.
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