By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Wrestling Open RI “Episode 54”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
June 8, 2026, in Cranston, Rhode Island, at Rhodes On The Pawtuxet
This is an attractive two-story, white ballroom, and the lighting is really good. (They held a huge show here Friday — Beyond officials tell me they reached a crowd of 500!) The crowd was perhaps 150; that’s pretty good, since so many of these fans were likely here on Friday, too. Paul Crockett, Patrick Wheatman and Ref Scott Robinson provided commentary.
1. Love, Doug vs. Cash McGuinness in a spotlight match. Again, Cash is a scrawny white kid and likely still a teen. Robinson and Wheatman provided commentary on this one. Doug isn’t particularly tall, but he’s thicker than this kid. Doug forced him to dance. Doug hit a bodyslam and tied up the left arm. Cash hit a shotgun dropkick, and he choked Doug in the ropes. He hit a sliding Flatliner for a nearfall at 4:00. Doug hit a springboard back elbow, then the Lariat of Love (rebound clothesline out of the ropes) for the pin. Basic; what I expected here.
Love Doug defeated Cash McGuiness at 4:55.
* Max Caster cut a promo, making fun of Bobby Orlando for losing to Andrade El Idolo on Friday. Orlando came out of the back. Max made fun of him, and he’s taking away Bobby’s theme music (which Max legit produced). DJ Powers attacked Bobby from behind, and we’re underway! Max joined Paul Crockett on commentary.
2. DJ Powers vs. Bobby Orlando. Basic action early on. Bobby hit a springboard splash for a nearfall. Powers hit a backbreaker and got a one-count at 2:30. He hit more blows to the back and kept Orlando grounded. DJ hit a back suplex, and he jawed at the crowd. Orlando hit a running neckbreaker at 5:00, then a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall. Powers hit a suplex into the turnbuckles and a powerbomb for a nearfall. Bobby hit his Athena-style flying stunner, then a running sidewalk slam for the pin; I don’t recall seeing him win with that move before.
Bobby Orlando defeated DJ Powers at 7:54.
* Max again got on the mic and declared that “Cranston belongs to Platinum Max, and that’s a mic drop.” The crowd loudly booed him.
* Footage aired of the Sammy Diaz feud with “Smart” Mark Sterling, with Diaz airing footage of a healthy Sterling playing basketball, and not using an arm sling or a walker or a neck brace.
3. Sammy Diaz vs. RJ Rude. This is Rude’s first match here in a while! He came out first and sang Limp Bizkit on the way to the ring. Rude hit some chops early on. Sammy hit a huracanrana and a back suplex for a nearfall at 1:30. He dropped RJ gut-first on the top rope and hit a splash across RJ’s back for a nearfall. Rude hit a spear for a nearfall, and he choked Diaz in the ropes. Sammy nailed a powerslam. He went for a moonsault, but Rude got his knees up. RJ hit a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall at 3:30.
Rude missed a Lionsault, and they were both down. Sammy hit a Sling Blade clothesline. Diaz trapped Rude’s head in the corner and kicked him in the face. He hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 6:00. Rude tried a backslide but Sammy escaped and hit a springboard back elbow. RJ hit a Swanton Bomb, then a moonsault for a nearfall. Diaz hit a Poison Rana and a running knee to the sternum, then a top-rope frog splash for the pin. Good action.
Sammy Diaz defeated RJ Rude at 7:45.
* Diaz challenged VSK and Bryce Donovan to a tag match in two weeks, when WO:RI returns. (Apparently, no episode next Monday!)
* Nick Battee came to the ring for the “Pledge of Batteegiance.” He’s been out with an injury. He is exceptional on the mic; I was just praising his heel color commentary a week or so ago. He bemoaned that these people constantly disrespect him. He asked the crowd to stand and join him in his Pledge. The crowd booed him. We lost the signal from the building! It came back within a minute. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) came out of the back and belittled Battee. We have a bonus match!
4. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the basketball) vs. Nick Battee. They traded armdrags. Crockett noted that we haven’t seen Marbury here recently. He ‘dribbled’ Battee’s head on the mat. Nick pushed his foot into Jermaine’s throat, and he choked Marbury in the ropes. Battee hit a hard headbutt at 2:30, and he ripped off Jermaine’s basketball jersey. He nailed an enzuigiri for a nearfall. Jermaine fired up and hit some clotheslines. Jermaine hit a Eurostep neckbreaker at 5:00. He slammed Battee’s head against a turnbuckle and hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Battee got a rollup with a handful of tights for the tainted pin.
Nick Battee defeated Jermaine Marbury at 5:48.
5. Kylon King vs. Corey Duke. Duke came out second; he charged into the ring, and they immediately started brawling. Duke hit a big back-body drop. He mounted Kylon and hit some punches. Kylon hit some European Uppercuts. They brawled on the floor at 4:00, and Duke dropped him back-first on the ring apron, but Duke was selling his own lower back pain. In the ring, Duke hit some Mafia Kicks, then some jab punches and an enzuigiri.
Corey hit a tornado DDT, and he was fired up. Duke hit a headscissors takedown that flipped them both to the floor. They brawled into the crowd and over by the stage where the hard camera and commentary table are located. Kylon hit a low blow. They teased hitting each other with a chair. We had a double count-out! The crowd chanted “coward!” at Kylon.
Kylon King vs. Corey Duke went to a double count-out at 7:30.
* Duke issued a challenge — when they are back here in two weeks, he wants a rematch, where chairs are legal! (Why would Kylon agree to that?)
6. Dustin Waller vs. Marcus Mathers. Waller just beat Mathers three weeks ago at Wrestling Open in Worcester, and by my count, has a 3-2 lifetime advantage in singles matches. Crockett talked about the simmering tension between Mathers and Aaron Rourke. A clean lockup. (I feel like Rich Palladino really made a point of saying the time limit of this match. Are we headed to a draw?) Waller hit some chops. Mathers hit his mule kick to the jaw for a nearfall at 1:30. Waller stomped on the left arm.
They went to the floor, and Dustin slammed the injured arm against the apron, then around the ring post. In the ring, Dustin hit a springboard clothesline and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 5:00, and he was heavily booed. Mathers hit a scoop bodyslam and an elbow drop. He hit some clotheslines and his corner fadeaway stunner and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 6:30, but was selling the pain in his arm.
Mathers avoided a Lethal Injection, and he hit a stunner for a nearfall. Waller hit a spin kick. Mathers hit a decapitating clothesline, and they were both down at 8:30, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. We got the one-minute warning! Waller hit the Lethal Injection for a nearfall. He missed a 450 Splash. Waller shoved ref Gina! He rolled up Mathers and scored the pin!
Dustin Waller defeated Marcus Mathers at 9:41.
7. “The Stetson Ranch” Bobby Casale and Brian Morris vs. Bear Bronson and Anthony Vecchio. Vecchio’s teammate, Aaron Ortiz, has been out with an injury; he returned on some shows over the weekend. Crockett claimed that Ortiz re-aggravated his knee injury and will be out for some more time. Bronson had his Wrestling Open Title, while Morris had his tag title belt. The crowd chanted, “Shooter Bears!” at the babyfaces, then “Leave the Ranch!” towards Casale. Bronson and Morris opened, and Bear hit some chops.
Bronson hit a back-body drop. Casale entered at 2:30; Vecchio made a blind tag and traded punches with Bobby. Casale slammed him, and they traded quick reversals on the mat. (Worth reiterating Bobby’s MMA background and Vecchio’s amateur wrestling experience.) Vecchio hit an enzuigiri. Morris opened the ropes wide, and Vecchio fell to the floor at 4:30. The Ranch jawed at each other, but they worked over Vecchio in their corner. Casale hit a spinebuster.
Vecchio dove off the ropes, but Casale caught him and hit a backbreaker over his knee at 7:00. Morris tagged himself in and hit some stomps and was booed. Casale made a blind tag back in. “This is a complete mess between these two — they cannot get along at all,” Crockett observed. Bear finally got the hot tag, and he hit his big butt drop on Brian’s sternum at 8:30. Morris hit a dropkick to the back, but Bronson hit a Black Hole Slam. Bear hit a second-rope elbow drop and a Choke Bomb for a nearfall, but Casale made the save.
Casale and Bronson traded forearm strikes. Casale hit a series of roundhouse kicks to the chest at 11:00. He jumped on Bronson’s back and applied a sleeper. Morris again made a blind tag, and that angered Casale. He shoved Morris! Morris struck Casale! Casale went to strike Morris, but he hit a spin kick on Vecchio! Morris hit an Angel’s Wings faceplant on Vecchio for the pin.
“The Stetson Ranch” Bobby Casale and Brian Morris defeated Bear Bronson and Anthony Vecchio at 12:47.
Final Thoughts: A solid outing. Mathers-Waller was best match of the night, and I’ll go with Orlando-Powers for second and Rude-Diaz for third. The main event was fine, but it was more about furthering the tension between the Stetson Ranch members. Notably absent tonight was a women’s match.
I’ve noted this before — Crockett does a good job on commentary, but I’d love for someone to be in the booth with him at all times. Max was there for the first match and left. Battee could have joined in for a few matches. Waller is also decent on commentary. So, we have a skip week next week, and we’ll be back here on June 22.
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