By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, GCW, MLW, ROH, and other notable live events or television tapings. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
Wrestling Open “Episode 193”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
September 11, 2025, in Worcester, Massachusetts, at Electric Haze
Paul Crockett, referee Scott Robinson, and Brett Mettro 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 was 175-200.
* Tonight’s show marks a return of the “Jumbo Grand Prix.” Last year, we had 24 competitors in eight three-man, round-robin blocks. This year, there are just 12 competitors (last year, someone went 2-0 in all eight blocks; we had no tiebreakers).
1. Julius Draeger vs. “Handyman” Jake Gray in a spotlight match. Both men are Bio Pro students. Draeger has been out with an injury; he reminds me of NXT-era Vaudevillain Simon Gotch. Robinson and Brett Mettro provided commentary for this one. Jake dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Draeger hit a German Suplex at 2:00, and he mounted Gray and repeatedly punched him, and he kept the smaller Gray on the mat. Jake hit a Sliced Bread out of the corner and some clotheslines, then a shotgun dropkick for the pin. Not an exciting match, but this is what I want from the spotlight match — two newer wrestlers trying to impress.
Jake Gray defeated Julius Draeger at 5:23.
* Like on Monday, the main show opened with a quality video package honoring Jaka, who died over the weekend at age 39. Crockett and Robinson took over on commentary.
2. Love, Doug vs. Eye Black Jack Pasquale in a Jumbo Grand Prix tournament match. Jack had a minor injury that kept him from competing last week. Jack dropped him with a hard shoulder tackle, then a fallaway slam for a nearfall at 2:30. Doug hit a bulldog. Jack hit a springboard back elbow and a flying back elbow in the corner, then a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 4:30. Doug hit his mid-ring Sliced Bread for a nearfall. Pasquale hit his swinging uranage for the clean pin. That’s a big win for Jack over an established name here. Both commentators called it an upset.
Eye Black Jack Pasquale (3) defeated Love, Doug (0) at 5:36.
* Monday’s show has a stacked lineup of Anthony Vecchio vs. Kylon King, Oxx Adams vs. Anthony Greene, Brad Baylor vs. Jermaine Marbury, Bear Bronson vs. DJ Powers, Kylie Alexa vs. Liviyah, Marcus Mathers vs. Ray Jaz. Bronson and Powers JUST wrestled each other elsewhere, and Mathers was supposed to face Jaz just a few weeks ago but Jaz had to cancel.
3. Sean “Vegan” Keegan vs. Brando Lee. Again, Keegan is just like Juice Robinson’s “earth-loving CJ Parker” character in NXT; he admittedly hasn’t jumped out at me yet. An intense lockup to open. Robinson said that Keegan is “militant” about being a vegan and yells at people in the locker room for their eating choices. Lee hit some running back elbows. Keegan hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 2:30. Keegan hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. He hit a snap suplex and kept Brando on the mat. Hit hit a sit-out powerbomb. Lee fired back with a shotgun dropkick at 5:30 and he was fired up. He hit some double-handed chops and a rolling Death Valley Driver, then a top-rope doublestomp for the pin. Solid action; the right man won.
Brando Lee defeated Sean “Vegan” Keegan at 6:14.
4. Joe Ocasio vs. Joseph “A-Game” Alexander in a Jumbo Grand Prix tournament match. Crockett noted this is a rematch from last week (that A-Game won), but more is on the line tonight with this being in the tournament. Again, Ocasio really reminds me of QT Marshall; he’s older than the average competitor here and definitely much thicker. The bell rang, and Joe immediately hit some shoulder thrusts to the ribs in the corner. A-Game hit a powerslam. Joe grabbed onto A-Game’s wrists and stomped on him, then hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 2:00.
A-Game hit some clotheslines, then a butterfly suplex. He hit a jumping knee in the corner, and he hit a fisherman’s buster suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. Ocasio hit a spear, but his head went into A-Game’s groin! Crockett was livid, saying that was on purpose. Ocasio hit a swinging spinebuster for the cheap pin. “Joe Ocasio just stole three points with that win!” Crockett said.
Joe Ocasio (3) defeated Joseph “A-Game” Alexander (0) at 5:47.
5. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) vs. Mani Ariez in a Jumbo Grand Prix tournament match. Crockett noted that both men are babyfaces. Jermaine hit a running neckbreaker, then a shoulder tackle for a nearfall. Mani hit a back suplex at 2:00. Mani hit a bodyslam for a nearfall, and he kept Jermaine on the mat. He hit a sideslam for a nearfall. Marbury dunked Mani’s head to the mat three times, and he hit a Stinger Splash at 5:00, then a Fame-asser leg drop for a nearfall. Mani hit a sit-out sideslam for the pin. That wrapped up out of nowhere; Robinson just used that phrase after I typed it.
Mani Ariez (3) defeated Jermaine Marbury (0) at 5:57.
6. Christian Darling vs. Rylie O’Neil in the Discovery Gauntlet. Again, the winner of the match will wrestle again next week, and there is no announced end date of the gauntlet. This is the debut for Massachusetts native Rylie; he’s a white kid with a bit of a mullet. Darling has looked good in his wins the past two weeks; he’s a Black man with a great physique. Darling tossed Rylie around, and he appears to have a strength advantage. Rylie hit some armdrags and celebrated. Darling hit a leaping leg lariat for a nearfall at 3:00.
Darling dropped him stomach-first for a nearfall. Darling hit some splashes to the mat, but Rylie got his knees up to block a third one. Rylie hit a Lungblower move to the chest. Darling hit a running knee; he put Rylie on his shoulders and slammed him face-first for a believable nearfall. Rylie hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 7:30. This has topped expectations. Darling hit a running kick and a TKO stunner for the pin. Nice!
Christian Darling defeated Rylie O’Neil at 8:05 to advance in the Discovery Gauntlet.
7. Sammy Diaz vs. Pedro Dones in a Jumbo Grand Prix tournament match. This is a first-time-ever match between these veteran babyfaces. We got a “both these guys!” chant before they locked up. Friendly reversals and a standoff at 2:00. Sammy hit a dropkick. Dones hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. He hit an elbow drop for a nearfall. They hit stereo crossbody blocks and were both down at 7:00.
Sammy hit a Sling Blade clothesline and was fired up. Diaz hit a powerslam and a moonsault for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Dones hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 9:00 — are we headed to a draw? Diaz hit an enzuigiri in the corner, then a Frankensteiner. He went for a frogsplash, but Dones got his knees up to block it, rolled up Sammy, and got the flash pin. Easily the best action of the night. Crockett said it was a “devastating” loss for Diaz. We got a “both these guys!” chant.
Pedro Dones (3) defeated Sammy Diaz (0) at 10:30.
* We saw footage of BRG vs. Ryan Clancy from last week, when Oxx Adams reached into the ring and knocked out Ryan with a punch to the jaw. We also saw BRG talking about how he is now dating Ryan Clancy’s ex-girlfriend.
8. Steven Stetson vs. Ryan Clancy. No Ranch members were present as this one begins. The crowd chanted obscenities at Stetson. An intense lockup and a feeling-out process early on. Stetson flipped him to the floor, and they brawled around the building. They were up against the bar at 4:00. They got back into the ring with Stetson in charge. Clancy hit a running neckbreaker move at 7:00. Stetson hit a brainbuster for a nearfall, and he kept Clancy on the mat. Clancy hit a standing powerbomb, and they were both down at 9:00, and the crowd rallied for Ryan. Clancy fired up and hit a clothesline, and he hit a double-underhook suplex for a nearfall.
Robinson noted the tremendous physique Clancy has gotten in after his three-month excursion in Japan this spring. Stetson hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 12:00. Ryan got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall, and they traded rollups. Clancy hit his Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Robinson just now noted that no Stetson Ranch members are around. Clancy applied a front guillotine choke, and he hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. Stetson rolled to the floor, got a chair, and hit Clancy in the head with a chair. The ref saw it and called for the bell. Disappointing finish to a good match.
Ryan Clancy defeated Steven Stetson via DQ at 15:26.
* Stetson continued a post-match beat-down. Brad Hollister came out of nowhere, ran into the ring, and hit a German Suplex on Stetson! Stetson scampered to the back. Hollister told Clancy that Big Business “has his back” and they shook hands!
Final Thoughts: I DO put a lot of value into if a match has a clean finish, and if there is mystery over who will win. Thus, to me, Diaz-Dones earns best match. I felt either man could win (I really thought Diaz was going to win) and it was an exciting back-and-forth bout. (And I was starting to think we were going to have a draw in the tournament.) The main event was really good but we’re suddenly in a stretch where we’ve had more DQ finishes than I’d like in Wrestling Open. Ocasio vs. A-Game takes third.
Absent tonight was a women’s match. Also, as with several other times recently, none of the WWE ID prospects were here, either. I love tournaments, and I’m eager to see how this one develops. I watched this live; it should be available on IWTV by Friday morning.
Be the first to comment