By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Wrestling Open RI “Episode 42”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
March 2, 2026, in Cranston, Rhode Island, at Rhodes On The Pawtuxet
The venue is an attractive two-story, white ballroom, and the lighting is really good. The attendance was perhaps 125. Paul Crockett, Ryan Clancy, Chris Sanders, and referee Scott Robinson provided commentary over the course of the show.
* Last Monday’s show was canceled due to the blizzard that struck New England, so this is the first episode since February 16. Also, they had a HUGE crowd for a special show here Saturday, so the crowd will likely be down a bit. (I also want to point out that a lot of competitors here tonight were not part of the 12-match marathon show Saturday! This roster is so deep!)
1. Rain Conway vs. Cletus. Cletus is a 350-pound hillbilly from the bayou, and he’s making his debut. He wore a Mick Foley plaid, red shirt, and Hillbilly Jim overalls. Chris Sanders and referee Scott Robinson provided commentary on this one. Conway hit blows to the back and kept Cletus grounded. Cletus hit a big bodyslam, then a buttbump in the corner at 3:30. Conway hit the Rain Maker clothesline out of nowhere for the pin. The commentators were shocked that Conway won two in a row!
Rain Conway defeated Cletus at 3:58.
* Crockett took over on commentary for the main show.
2. Bryce Donovan and Vinny “VSK” Scalice vs. “The Haven” Shawn Knyte and Jay Onyx. I’ve seen The Haven at other New England-based promotions, but this is actually their Wrestling Open debut. VSK opened against the longer-haired Knyte. Jay entered and slammed Knyte onto VSK for a one-count. Bryce entered and bodyslammed Knyte at 1:30.
The Haven took turns slamming onto Bryce in the corner, but then Donovan caught Knyte and slammed him onto Onyx! Bryce hit a fallaway slam on Onyx, and the heels took over. Vinny hit a flying kneedrop over the forehead and got a nearfall at 3:30. They hit a team chokeslam move and pinned Onyx. A solid match. I’d like to see the Haven back here.
Bryce Donovan and Vinny “VSK” Scalice defeated “The Haven” Shawn Knyte and Jay Onyx at 5:13.
* The Shooter Boys came out to stop a beatdown of the Haven. The heels scampered away rather than fight. Anthony Vecchio got on the mic and the crowd chanted “welcome back!” at them. Vecchio called Bryce and VSK “two pieces of trash.” (This is the PG-rated show!) They were dressed to wrestle, so we flowed to the next match! RJ Rude sang his way to the ring, but I’m not sure what song this is.
3. “The Shooter Boys” Anthony Vecchio and Aaron Ortiz vs. “The Residency” RJ Rude and Rex Lawless. The Residency attacked as soon as they entered the ring. We got a bell at 00:30 to officially begin. Rex hit a massive hip-toss, sending Vecchio all the way across the ring, then a decapitating clothesline. Vecchio hit a back suplex on Rude for a nearfall. Ortiz tagged in at 2:00, and the Boys hit some quick team moves on RJ. Crockett noted it’s been a few weeks since the Boys were last here. Ortiz hit a top-rope crossbody block on Rude.
Rex jumped in and hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall on Ortiz at 3:30. Rex hit a running Jake Doyle-style body block and a bodyslam. Rex hit a rolling cannonball for a nearfall at 6:00. RJ launched off of Rex’s shoulders, but he missed a splash. Vecchio got the hot tag and hit some clotheslines and back elbows on Rude, then a huracanrana and a one-footed dropkick. Ortiz hit a dropkick as Ortiz hit a Dragon Suplex. The Boys then hit a Chasing the Dragon (spin kick-and-brainbuster combo) on Rude for the pin. Good action.
“The Shooter Boys” Anthony Vecchio and Aaron Ortiz defeated “The Residency” RJ Rude and Rex Lawless at 7:38.
4. Shannon Levangie vs. Amity LaVey. Again, Amity is the scary Harley Quinn-esque heel. She had a Hannibal Lecter mask on today! “She continues to invade my nightmares, week after week,” Crockett said. LaVey immediately tried to choke her. She pulled on Shannon’s hair and was in charge. Amity hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 2:30. She hit several knee strikes to the lower back and kept Shannon grounded.
Shannon fired up and hit some back elbows. An awkward spot where Amity went down before being hit; I love that the crowd is forgiving. Crockett explained that she had ducked. Shannon went for a Twisted Bliss frog splash, but Amity moved. Amity immediately got a rollup with a handful of tights for the cheap pin! Solid match; it sets up a rematch later.
Amity LaVey defeated Shannon Levangie at 4:35.
* The nice video package for Swipe Right aired. Very cool to see how far these two have progressed in such a short period of time.
5. Dustin Waller vs. Corey Duke. Duke is the cowboy in a wide 10-gallon hat, who has appeared a few times here recently. This is seriously the fifth consecutive day I’ve seen Waller compete. I noted that Duke has the hairstyle and mustache of AEW’s Turbo Floyd. Basic offense early on. Waller targeted the left arm and tied him up. Duke hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 1:30. He hit a dropkick and was fired up. Waller hit a neckbreaker and took control.
Waller hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 3:00, and he kept Duke grounded. Duke slipped on the ropes (forgiving crowd again!), but he recovered and hit a DDT for a nearfall at 5:00. I love how again Crockett quickly covered for him, stressing that the mistake was the difference between winning the match there or not. Duke hit some jab punches and finally dropped Waller. He hit a moonsault for a believable nearfall! Dustin hit a 619, a springboard clothesline, and a high-angle DDT for the pin.
Dustin Waller defeated Corey Duke at 6:47.
* (I’ll point out here that none of the wrestlers who have appeared on this show so far were on Saturday’s card.)
* “Simply the Best” Brett Ryan Gosselin and Oxx Adams appeared on the stage. Neither was dressed to wrestle. They made a challenge to Big Business for a match in two weeks!
The next match was slated to be Ryan Clancy vs. Ichiban and Brando Lee in a handicap match. The storyline here is Ichiban shoved Clancy to the mat while not realizing who it was, and Clancy took it as his best friend turning his back on him. Clancy came to the ring but he’s not dressed to wrestle. He boasted about going toe-to-toe with Mike Santana on Friday. The crowd chanted “You lost!” at him. Clancy introduced DJ Powers instead, and Clancy joined Crockett on commentary.
6. Brando Lee (w/Ichiban) vs. DJ Powers. Standing switches and basic reversals early on, and DJ rolled to the floor to stall. He argued with a grandma in the front row. In the ring, Lee dropped him with some shoulder tackles, and DJ rolled right back to the floor at 2:00. Clancy said he spent “76 minutes in the ring this weekend with the best in the world.” (I saw him wrestle four straight days!) Lee hit a shotgun dropkick in the ring, then a back-body drop.
Brando missed a moonsault after a slip on the turnbuckle, and DJ immediately hit a running knee for a nearfall at 5:00. Crockett again covered for the error. DJ slammed him face-first on the apron, then he hit a spear in the ring for a nearfall, and he was frustrated that he didn’t win there. Crockett and Clancy argued, with Crockett saying Ryan was being “selfish.” Powers applied an abdominal stretch. Lee hit a rolling DVD at 7:00, and they were both down. Clancy stood up, and he began arguing with Ichiban on the stage! In the ring, Lee got an O’Connor Roll for the pin.
Brando Lee defeated DJ Powers at 7:48.
* Ichiban brushed past Clancy to get in the ring to save Lee from a post-match beatdown. This made Clancy even more irate, even though it was “incidental contact.”
* Main event time; it’s only 8:09 p.m. local time, so they are getting plenty of time if they want it! Crockett is solo again on commentary.
7. “The Stetson Ranch” Steven Stetson and Brian Morris (w/Bobby Casale) vs. Bobby Orlando and Bear Bronson for the Wrestling Open Tag Team Titles. Bobby and Morris went to start, but Brian rolled to the floor at the bell and stalled. They eventually locked up. Orlando hit a back body drop at 2:30 and tagged in Bear. Bobby bodyslammed Bear onto Morris. Bear laid in some hard chops in the corner, then a delayed vertical suplex at 4:30. The heels rolled to the floor and declared they were going back to New Jersey!
Of course, Bobby and Bear grabbed them before they made it to the back, and all four brawled as they looped the room. Bear threw some punches at Morris. Casale grabbed Bear’s ankle at 7:30, and it allowed Morris to stomp on Bear. In the ring, the Ranch began working over Bronson and kept him grounded. Bear finally hit his butt drop onto Morris’ chest at 10:30. Bobby got the hot tag, and he hit some clotheslines on Morris. Orlando hit a uranage. Stetson approached him, but Bobby punched him. Casale tripped Orlando, allowing Morris to attack Bobby and hit a series of punches.
Stetson hit a knee drop across Bobby’s forehead and kept him grounded. He barked at ref Gina. Stetson hit a bodyslam and his own buttdrop to Bobby’s chest for a nearfall at 14:00. Bobby hit a double missile dropkick. Bear made the hot tag and hit a double clothesline. He hit clotheslines in opposite corners on each heel, then a Black Hole Slam on Morris for a nearfall at 15:30. Bear and Stetson traded forearm strikes, and Bear hit a discus clothesline, then the Choke Bomb for a nearfall, and we got a “That was three!” chant.
Bobby entered and hit some punches on each heel and a running neckbreaker on Morris. Brian hit an enzuigiri on Morris. The Ranch hit a TMDK-style slam on Bobby for a nearfall. Casale slid a chair in at 18:30, but Ref Gina saw it and she ejected Casale. Bobby hit a superkick and his Athena-style flying stunner on Morris for a visual pin, but Stetson pulled him to the floor. Bear leapt off the apron onto Stetson on the floor. In the ring, Bear picked up Morris, but Dustin Waller ran out and struck Bronson in the back with a chair! Bear collapsed, and Morris landed on Bronson! Ref Gina turned around, saw Morris on top, and made the three-count!
“The Stetson Ranch” Steven Stetson and Brian Morris defeated Bobby Orlando and Bear Bronson to retain the Wrestling Open Tag Team Titles at 20:23.
* It looked like the show was over, but Ryan Clancy came out and confronted Bobby Orlando. Those two will fight on Thursday!
Final Thoughts: Friday’s show here was insanely good. This was a solid ‘first Raw after the PLE’ type of show. The main event was good and best of the night. Waller-Duke takes second, ahead of Powers-Brando. It’s good to see the return of the Shooter Boys and the debut of The Haven, so many positives here.
I love the crowd here. We had three clear miscues in consecutive matches. No big deal, it happens. But I have no tolerance or patience for the “You f’d up” chants that are far more prevalent at a WWE show than an indy show. The crowd here was patient, forgiving, and let those errors slide. Bravo.
There is no show next Monday, but they’ll be back on March 16 with the Shooter Boys vs. VSK and Bryce Donovan. I watched this live; the show should be available on IWTV by Tuesday morning.
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