By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 177”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
May 22, 2025, in Worcester, Massachusetts at Electric Haze
Paul Crockett, referee Scott Robinson, and Dustin Waller provided commentary over the course of the show. Again, this new location is a bit smaller and a bit darker than their old venue. Attendance is maybe 200; it feels up a bit from last week. The commentators noted the weather was miserable, and fans were fighting the conditions to come inside.
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1. JGeorge vs. Mookie Summers in a spotlight match. Mookie debuted here a couple of weeks ago; he is a short, bald Black man in purple boxing trunks. Dustin Waller and ref Robinson handled commentary on this one. JGeorge hit a leg lariat and a doublestomp on Mookie’s chest at 1:30. JGeorge got a twisting Lungblower to the back for a nearfall. Mookie hit a running Claymore Kick and a German Suplex at 3:30. JGeorge tried an STF; Mookie escaped and applied a Crossface, and JGeorge quickly tapped out. Passable; I’ll call that an upset.
Mookie Summers defeated JGeorge at 3:50.
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2. Georgio Lawrence vs. TJ Crawford. Crockett and Waller are now on commentary. Standing switches to open and a standoff at 1:30. They each put their hands behind their own backs and traded kicks to the thigh. TJ hit a huracanrana and a stiff kick to the spine for a nearfall. He hit some Yes Kicks. Lawrence hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 3:30. Lawrence hit some roundhouse kicks and kept Crawford grounded. TJ hit a doublestomp to the chest at 6:30 and was fired up. TJ nailed a Silver Bullet spin kick to the head, then a Shining Wizard for the pin. Good action; Lawrence has really come on strong here in 2025.
TJ Crawford defeated Georgio Lawrence at 6:47.
* Bryce Donovan vs. Ichiban for the Wrestling Open Title, and Liviyah vs. Erica Leigh, are among the matches announced for Monday’s show.
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3. Sazzy Boatright vs. Liviyah. Sazzy appears to be in her 30s and Crockett said this is her Wrestling Open debut; she appears to be fairly tall with brown hair. Liviyah is the blonde 18-year-old rookie, and she got a nice pop. Liviyah hit some armdrags, and Sazzy begged off in a corner. Sazzy hit some chops and took control. I looked on cagematch.net and they list Sazzy at 38, so I was right on that, and I also noted a multi-person match where I saw her a few months ago. She hit a spinebuster on Liviyah for a nearfall at 3:30. Liviyah hit a dropkick and her Eye of the Hurricane for the pin. (She needs her own name for that move!) Okay.
Liviyah defeated Sazzy Boatright at 5:10.
4. Pedro Dones and Eye Black Jack Pasquale vs. Rain Conway and Jay Tunis. Conway and Tunis are the Bio Pro students. I noted in my review last week that Dones is taking on this gatekeeper and mentoring role of working with these rookies. Crockett told a story that the heels are pushing an idea that Dones picked Pasquale as his partner for this match instead of Brett Mettro. (Will Mettro be upset over this slight? That’s what Crockett seems to be hinting at!) Dones tied up Tunis to open. Pasquale entered at 2:30, and the babyfaces tied up Conway’s left arm. This has been very basic so far.
Conway hit a chop block on Tunis’ knee at 4:30 and he targeted the leg. Tunis tied Pedro in a single-leg crab. Pasquale finally got the hot tag at 7:30 and he hit a double clothesline and was fired up; yes, he’s easily the star of this rookie class. Jack got both guys on his shoulders, but they escaped, and Tunis ducked to the floor. Pasquale hit a spear on Conway for the pin. That was Young Lion-basic but passable.
Pedro Dones & Eye Black Jack Pasquale defeated Jay Tunis & Rain Conway at 8:45.
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* Pedro Dones joined commentary midway through the next match.
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5. Jose Zamora vs. Mani Ariez for the Discovery Gauntlet. Again, the winner will be back next week to fight someone else. I’ve seen Mani elsewhere in the Northeast but it’s his Wrestling Open debut; he’s got a Mike Santana look and vibe to him; Crockett said there was buzz online about his debut and I don’t doubt that. Zamora is the young kid who has a body camera around his neck so he can broadcast his life 24/7. An intense lockup to open. Mani hit a running knee and kept Zamora grounded.
Mani hit a top-rope crossbody block at 2:30. Zamora hit a dropkick to the back and a Lungblower to the back for a nearfall. He hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 4:00. Dones joined commentary here. They traded rollups. Ariez hit a release Blue Thunder Driver at 6:30 and a running back elbow in the corner, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Zamora got a rollup out of nowhere with a handful of tights for the cheap pin. I liked what Ariez showed here; bring him back. Right on cue, the crowd gave him a “please come back!” chant.
Jose Zamora defeated Man Ariez at 7:26 to continue in the gauntlet.
* We went to a short intermission… that’s usually not a thing here. Wonder what’s up…
6. Ichiban and “Miracle Generation” Dustin Waller and Kylon King vs. RJ Rude, Rex Lawless, and Nick Robles. This match was supposed to happen a week or so ago, but Rude and Lawless had to cancel. Rude sang Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” on his way to the ring. Waller and Rude opened, and Dustin hit a bodyslam. Kylon and the long-haired rocker Robles then battled. Ichiban entered and hit a guillotine leg drop on Robles at 2:30. The massive Lawless got in, and he blocked an armdrag from Ichiban. Dones put Rex over as a “literal monster.”
Ichiban hit a dropkick. Rex hit a fallaway slam on Waller at 4:30, and the heels began stomping on Dustin and kept him in their corner. Rude got on the mic and sang a “One Step Closer” remix as he stomped on Waller at 6:30, then hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Robles entered and kept Waller grounded in a headlock. Ichiban finally got a hot tag at 8:30 and he hit a handspring-back-elbow into the corner on Rude and repeatedly punched him. Ichiban hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall, but Robles made the save.
King hit a Death Valley Driver on Rex, and that popped the announcers. Ichiban hit a huracanrana on Rude. Rude hit a “One Hit Wonder” (Lungblower to the back) on Ichiban for a believable nearfall at 11:00. Waller hit a double Lethal Injection. Waller and Kylong lifted Robles above their head, and Ichiban hit a top-rope guillotine leg drop on Robles, sending them both crashing to the mat for the pin. Fun match.
Ichiban, Kylon King, and Dustin Waller defeated Nick Robles, RJ Rude, and Rex Lawless at 12:00.
* Waller got on the mic and put over the Ichiban-Bryce Donovan match on Monday’s show. Dustin said that he and Kylon will be there to watch his back.
* Footage aired of Canadian strongman Zak Patterson getting a shocking pin over mainstay (and WWE ID prospect) Aaron Rourke last week. Patterson leaned into the camera, saying he wants Bear Bronson!
7. Bear Bronson vs. Brayden Toon. I always compare Toon to a young Kevin Steen for his agility at the weight he’s carrying, and Crockett said Brayden also has some “buzz online.” Brayden charged and attacked; we had a bell a second later. Bear knocked him down with some shoulder tackles, and he hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Bear hit some loud chops and stayed in charge. Toon hit a running Shooting Star Press at 2:30. “Are you kidding me?” Crockett said of the move. Toon hit a running knee to the back, then a suplex for a nearfall, and the crowd rallied for Bear.
Bronson fired up and hit some chops. Toon tied him in a Boston Crab while in the ropes at 5:30, then hit a doublestomp for a nearfall. Crockett said Bear is clearly feeling his match against Marcus Mathers on Monday. Toon went for a sunset flip, but Bear dropped his weight down on the sternum for a nearfall. Bronson then hit a Black Hole Slam for a believable nearfall; the commentators agreed “he didn’t get all of it.” Bronson hit an enzuigiri and a sit-out Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 7:30! Nice! Brayden hit a pump kick and another enzuigiri. Bear hit a discus clothesline, then a Choke Bomb for the pin. I really liked that one. Brayden rightfully got a “please come back!” chant.
Bear Bronson defeated Brayden Toon at 8:42.
* Bear got on the mic, noting that Toon is just 22. He then noted that Zak Patterson challenged him last week. Bronson accepted the challenge!
* We had a video package to set up the main event, including footage of DJ Powers getting a rare pinfall over Brad Hollister.
8. Brad Hollister vs. DJ Powers (w/Georgio Lawrence). These two just went to a 10-minute time-limit draw, so this match has a 20-minute time limit instead. Powers came out first; he’s the kid I compare to a young Johnny Morrison. Brad charged in, and they immediately started brawling. Crockett noted that no other Big Business members are at ringside even though we saw TJ Crawford here earlier. Brad hit a German Suplex. He flipped Powers over the top rope to the floor at 1:30, and they brawled at ringside. Powers took control as they got back into the ring. Brad again kicked him to the floor at 4:00. Brad hit a Bulldog Powerslam in the ring, and they were both down.
Brad was selling a left knee injury and struggled to get up. He tried to put Powers on his shoulders, but his knee buckled at 6:00, and Powers stomped on him some more. Brad hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Powers hit a running Claymore Kick for a nearfall at 7:30. Hollister hit a decapitating clothesline. Powers applied a half-crab at 9:00, and Hollister screamed in pain but eventually reached the ropes. Hollister collapsed, pretending he had been tripped by Lawrence! Georgio pleaded his innocence, but the ref ejected Lawrence anyway! Powers hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 11:00.
Powers hit a superkick. Hollister hit a sit-out powerbomb; both of their shoulders were down and we nearly had a double pin! Powers rolled to the floor and got a mic. He claimed he has proven he’s the better wrestler. “I have nothing left to prove. I’m out.” He started to head to the back, but TJ Crawford cut him off! Powers started to go out the front door, but Love, Doug cut him off. Hollister dragged Powers into the ring, hit his twisting Jackhammer, and scored the pin!
Brad Hollister defeated DJ Powers at 13:31.
Final Thoughts: That was a really, really good main event. I’m a big fan of what both guys bring to the ring. Powers is just 20 and according to cagematch.net records, this was (at least!) his 51st match already in 2025, and it just shows. He’s so polished and a nice heel foil. That match easily earns the best of the night. Bronson-Toon was really good and earned second, with the six-man tag taking third.
The undercard was so-so. The rookies were fine; the matches weren’t bad, but didn’t earn a “good” rating, either. I love this crowd that shows up week in, week out. They rightfully gave “Please come back!” chants to Brayden Toon and Mani Ariez; they didn’t offer that chant to Sazzy Boatright or Mookie Summers, and I guess I generally agree with those sentiments. I watched this show live; it should be available on IWTV by Friday morning.
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