By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open RI “Episode 4”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 21, 2025, in Cranston, Rhode Island at Rhodes On The Pawtuxet
Wrestling Open is continuing its Thursday shows in Worcester, Massachusetts, 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, Brother Greatness, ref Scott Robinson and Brad Baylor all provided commentary over the course of the show. The crowd was maybe 80.
1. Brett Ryan Gosselin vs. “Handyman” Jake Gray in a spotlight match. Gray twisted the left arm. Robinson and Brother Greatness were on the call for this one, and some punches to the gut. BRG hit a slingshot into the top turnbuckle and a suplex for a nearfall at 3:00. Gray hit a shotgun dropkick. BRG hit a spear, then a fisherman’s twisting neckbreaker for the clean pin. I always say that sometimes the heel needs to win clean just because they are the better competitor, as is the case here.
Brett Ryan Gosselin defeated Jake Gray at 5:11.
2. Notorious Mimi vs. Liviyah. Mimi is still upset at Liviyah, who won the $10,000 gauntlet in the debut episode here. Mimi came out first; Liviyah dove in, tackled Mimi, and they were underway, trading chops. Teenager Liviyah hit some hard back elbows and a flying shoulder tackle for a nearfall. Mimi (Sloan Jacobs in NXT) slammed Liviyah’s head into the turnbuckles, then she hit a Mafia Kick for a nearfall at 2:30. The crowd rallied for Liviyah. Mimi applied a Rings of Saturn double armbar, and she kept Liviyah grounded. Liviyah hit a spear at 5:00, and they were both down. Liviyah hit a second-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Liviyah hit a Lungblower to the chest. Mimi hit a Gory Bomb for a believable nearfall at 7:00, and Mimi was livid she didn’t win there. Liviyah hit the Eye of the Hurricane for the pin.
Liviyah defeated Notorious Mimi at 7:28.
3. RJ Rude and Rex Lawless vs. “The Shooter Boys” Aaron Ortiz and Anthony Vecchio. This feud has also been simmering for a few weeks. Rude butchered The Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party” on his way to the ring. Again, the rookie Shooter Boys clearly have some amateur wrestling background; Vecchio has short hair while Ortiz has longer, shaggy hair. Ortiz and Rude traded standing switches to open, with Aaron hitting a dropkick. The rookies hit a team backbody drop, with Vecchio getting a nearfall on Rude at 2:00. Rex got in and hit a kick in the corner on Vecchio.
Lawless tossed one opponent onto the other. Rude stomped on Ortiz, got the mic, and sang as we hit the 5:00 call, and they kept Ortiz on the mat and in their corner. Ortiz hit an enzuigiri, and Vecchio made the hot tag at 6:30, hitting clotheslines and a running kick. Rex nailed a sit-out powerbomb out of nowhere to pin Veccho! Wow, Rex just cut off that babyface comeback and ended it.
RJ Rude and Rex Lawless defeated Aaron Ortiz and Anthony Vecchio at 7:03.
4. Ichiban vs Jose Zamora. I’ve seen Zamora maybe twice but Crockett said it’s his debut here; he mics himself up to create ‘viral moments.’ He got on the mic and boasted about being a viral superstar and demanded quiet while he shot a video. Ichiban hit some deep armdrags and a shoulder tackle. Zamora hit a suplex and stomped on him. He hit a leaping clothesline at 5:00 and a missile dropkick. Zamora crashed face-first in the corner; Ichiban immediately hit his leaping Flatliner for the pin. Basic but fine.
Ichiban defeated Jose Zamora at 6:13.
5. DJ Powers vs. Sammy Diaz (w/Brother Greatness). This should be good! A lockup and the younger Powers is taller. DJ hit a hard chop; Diaz hit an armdrag and a dropkick. Crockett was solo for this match and talked about how the Church of Greatness disbanded after Lucas Chase turned on them. Powers crotched Sammy in the corner at 2:30 and took over. Diaz went for a moonsault, but DJ got his knees up. Diaz hit a superplex, and they were both down at 5:00, and the crowd rallied for Sammy. Sammy hit a leaping leg lariat. He set up for the Cradle Shock, but DJ escaped. Diaz hit an OsCutter for a nearfall, then a superkick and a Frankensteiner, but he missed a frogsplash. Powers immediately hit a Pedigree for the clean pin! Crockett called it an upset; I wasn’t surprised Powers won, but am surprised he won clean.
DJ Powers defeated Sammy Diaz at 7:06.
* A video package aired of Bobby Orlando rejecting Ray Jaz’s offer to team up.
6. Ray Jaz vs. Bobby Orlando. I thought we’d have another chapter in this feud before we got to this singles match. Jaz, who has an amateur wrestling background, dragged Bobby to the mat and tied him up. Bobby hit a leaping shoulder tackle, and they had a standoff at 1:30. Orlando hit a shotgun dropkick and repeatedly stomped on Jaz in the corner. Jaz dropped him throat-first on the top rope, then slammed Bobby back-first on the apron. In the ring, Jaz hit some clotheslines and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 4:00.
He stood over Bobby and hit some crossface blows, then tied up Orlando’s arms, then he hit a spinning heel kick for a nearfall. Bobby fired up and hit some jab punches and a running neckbreaker for a nearfall at 6:00. Jaz hit a second-rope axe kick to the back of the head for a nearfall, then a European Uppercut in the corner. Jaz hit a spear at 7:30! He hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Orlando hit an Athena-style second-rope flying stunner for the pin! Good match; I wasn’t sure how this would play out.
Bobby Orlando defeated Ray Jaz at 8:52.
* Orlando got on the mic and called out his former teammate Bryce Donovan, who responded by coming to the ring. (Bryce is the only male WWE ID prospect who didn’t compete in Las Vegas. Is he injured? Cagematch.net shows he hasn’t wrestled in a month.) Bryce said Bobby convinced him they could be Wrestling Open tag champions … if they did things Bobby’s way. He told Bobby he is a “loser” and Orlando seemed upset by his words. Donovan said he will beat Ryan Clancy “my way!” to become champion. Really good, intense promo from Bryce. He warned Orlando to stay out of his way… “or else…” Bobby responded that if he wants to win, he needs to go about it the right way. A really good segment.
7. Bryce Donovan vs. Erik Chacha. Bryce hit a Mafia Kick and a chokeslam and pinned Erik while glaring at Bobby, who was still at ringside. Yes, this whole angle was well done.
Bryce Donovan defeated Erik Chacha at 00:14.
* Brad Baylor was interviewed at ringside. He talked about being in Las Vegas over the weekend. He said next week’s match between the Shooter Boys and RJ Rude and Rex Lawless will be best of three falls. He is going to stick around for the main event, as the winner will likely be the No. 1 contender for his tag title belts. Baylor joined Crockett on commentary.
8. “Waves & Curls” Traevon Jordan and Jaylen Brandyn vs. Gal and Nick Battee. They went to a time-limit draw last week, so this match has no time limits. The heels attacked W&C before the bell and they brawled. We finally had a bell at 1:45 to officially begin. The heels worked over Jaylen on the mat. Gal hit a delayed vertical suplex, doing a deep squat first, at 9:00. Battee hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. W&C hit the Shatter Machine (team chokeslam) to pin Battee. Good match but I felt the winner was never in doubt, especially being as the champs are heels, and the winner of this was likely to get a tag title shot. Baylor stood up and held up his tag title belt as the show came to a close.
“Waves & Curls” Traevon Jordan and Jaylen Brandyn defeated Gal and Nick Battee at 13:18.
Final Thoughts: While they were shorter, Diaz-Powers earns best match, ahead of Jaz-Bobby. A solid tag match takes third; nothing wrong with it but pretty standard tag action. I continue to applaud Wrestling Open and all involved for now booking two shows a week and yet having both shows feel a bit unique.
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