By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 106”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
January 11, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
The crowd appeared to be larger than average, at maybe 300. Paul Crockett and Brother Greatness provided commentary.
* Last week, Wrestling Open announced the Jumbo Grand Prix, which is a 24-man tournament, There are eight Blocks, each with three wrestlers, in a Round-Robin format. (It means each wrestler has just two Block matches!) The tournament kicked off here. It’s a very ambitious plan for an indy promotion, and I truly feel like they’ve pulled together the 24 best male wrestlers they are regularly using. Tournament matches have a 15-minute time limit. Also, apparently speed of victory matters for tiebreakers. (It is unclear how long this tournament will take but my guess is the Round-Robin portion will take 5-6 weeks for everyone to have their two tournament matches.)
* In other big news, I noted that it appeared Joe Ocasio got injured in a main event battle royal last week. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL, which means a likely nine-month recovery period. I wish him a speedy recovery.
1. Dezmond Cole (2) defeated Pedro Dones (0) in a B Block tournament match at 5:52. Cole is the Ricochet clone and I see a lot of potential in him. Standing switches to open and Cole hit a Lionsault Press for a nearfall.Dones hit a spinning heel kick for a nearfall at 2:00. Dezmond hit a high back suplex. Dones hit a Samoan Drop at 4:00. Cole hit a second-rope Superplex and a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Dones caught Cole with a hard kneestrike to the chin, then a 619, but he missed a frogsplash. Cole got a jackknife cover out of nowhere for the pin! Good action to open the show.
2. Lucas Chase and Tyree Taylor (w/Brother Greatness) defeated “Mutually Assured Destruction” Rip Byson and Perry Von Vicious at 7:19. I just saw PVV for the first time recently and he looks like an 1800s Grizzly Adams. Rip Byson is 1980s Hercules-meets-Brodie Lee, and the crowd gave them a loud “welcome back!” chant. Tyree is Shane Taylor-meets-Willie Mack. Chase and Byson opened, and Byson hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. The heels began working over PVV. They hit a team slam on PVV for a nearfall at 4:30. Perry hit a spin kick on Tyree and he made the hot tag to Byson.
Rip nailed a flying clothesline on Tyree, then a bodyslam on Lucas. Tyree hit a headbutt on Rip. The babyfaces hit a team chokeslam on Tyree for a believable nearfall but Lucas made the save at 6:00. Rip hit a Mafia Kick on Tyree. Tyree nailed a big sit-out powerbomb to pin Rip Byson. Good action. Rip and Perry are certainly welcome to come back here in the near future.
3. RJ Rude defeated Hammer Tunis at 4:58. I always compare Rude to a young Chuck Taylor, while Tunis reminds me of WWF’s Skinner. Rude hit a Blockbuster. Tunis hit a German Suplex and some running knees in the corner. Tunis hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 3:00. Rude hit a running knee and a Lionsault for a nearfall. Rude hit a modified Unprettier faceplant move for the pin.
4. Steven Stetson (w/Hammer Tunis) (2) defeated Ichiban (0) in a D Block tournament match at 6:49. Ichiban is actually on a losing streak here since he lost his Wrestling Open title. Ichiban came out but Hammer Tunis attacked him and threw him into the ring. The ref rang the bell (I started my stopwatch at the bell) and Stetson hit a Mafia Kick for a believable nearfall just seconds in. Stetson hit some Irish Whips and was completely in control. Ichiban hit a stunner at 3:00. Stetson hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. Stetson hit a top-rope crossbody block and a second-rope missile dropkick, then a tornado DDT and a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 6:00. Stetson hit a clothesline to the back for the pin out of nowhere. The commentators again were shocked as Ichiban’s losing streak continues.
5. TJ Crawford (2) defeated Gabriel Skye (0) in an F Block tournament match at 7:03. Quick reversals to open. Skye missed a top-rope doublestomp and ‘tweaked’ his knee. Crawford saw this and immediately tied up the left leg and applied a Trailer Hitch leglock. Skye hit a Shotgun Dropkick at 4:00. Skye hit a standing powerbomb that dropped Crawford high on his neck; that looked a bit dangerous. Crawford hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. TJ nailed a rolling forearm. Skye hit a Cameron Grimes-style jumping stomp to the chest for a nearfall at 6:30, then a spin kick to the head. TJ collapsed in the corner and the ref checked on him. Sky charged at TJ, but Crawford got a rollup for the pin.
6. Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) (2) defeated Bryce Donovan (0) in an A Block tournament match at 13:50. Standing switches to open. Bryce hit a dropkick as Channing was tied in the Tree of Woe at 4:00 and he got a nearfall. Bryce went for a springboard move but Channing hit the top rope to trip up Bryce, and Channing took control of the offense. Channing hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 6:30. Bryce nailed an Electric Chair slam and they were both down. Donovan hit some clotheslines and a leaping elbow drop for a nearfall at 9:30.
Channing went for a piledriver but Bryce blocked it. Donovan nailed a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall, and he went for an Anaconda Vice, but Channing scrambled to the ropes. Channing hit an enzuigiri and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 11:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Bryce nailed a Lungblower to the chest. He went for a spear but he struck the corner post. Channing again couldn’t hit a piledriver. Bryce couldn’t hit a chokeslam. He shoved Thomas shoulder-first into the corner post! Bryce hit a chokeslam for a believable nearfall, but Sidney put Channing’s foot on the ropes. Channing got a rollup and put his feet on the ropes for leverage to score the tainted pin. “An absolute robbery,” Crockett said.
* A video package aired of Jermaine Marbury’s unlikely, unexpectedly, winning a battle royal last week to become No. 1 contender.
7. Jermaine Marbury and “Waves & Curls” Jaelyn Brandyn and Traevon Jordan vs. Brad Hollister and “Brick City” Julio Cruz and Victor Chase ended in a time-limit draw at 10:00. Hollister came out to an NBA-style introduction and he wore a basketball jersey. Marbury has his life-sized mascot, “Benny the basketball.” The babyfaces called a timeout early, and Brother Greatness was frustrated, shouting that “this is pro wrestling, not basketball!” Hollister beat up Marbury at 2:00, and Crockett said that Hollister doesn’t respect Marbury at all. The babyfaces began working over Chase, and Crockett said they were using “zone defense.” I hate to admit it but I’m enjoying this basketball humor, mostly because of Brother Greatness losing his mind on commentary.
The heels began working over the shorter Jaelyn in their corner, and the crowd chanted, “De-fense!” The ref missed a tag and the heels kept working over Brandyn. Marbury got a hot tag at 8:00 and he hit some clotheslines. Everyone hit finishers. Traevon hit a dive to the floor on everyone. Marbury applied an anklelock on Hollister but the time-limit expired. For what it’s worth, I had it at 10 minutes sharp. Hollister got up and slapped Marbury in the face and yelled at him, so Marbury hit a dropkick to the face, and the heels scampered to the back.
* A video clip from the second-ever Wrestling Open show, when Alec Price and Dustin Waller met for the first time.
8. Alec Price (2) defeated Dustin Waller (0) in a C Block tournament match at 12:43. Waller carried his IWTV Tag Team title belt. A babyface matchup and they opened with standing switches. They sped it up but neither hit a big move. Waller hit an X-Factor for a nearfall at 4:00. Price hit a reverse suplex, dropping Waller stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall. Waller hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 7:30. Price hit a Half-Nelson Suplex then a powerbomb for a nearfall. Waller hit a second-rope Spanish Fly, and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes as we have the 10:00 warning.
Price hit a kneestrike in the corner. They traded chops. Waller nailed a Lethal Injection for a believable nearfall. Waller missed a top-rope 450 Splash but he hit a superkick at 12:00. Price nailed a Rebound Lariat, then a Grand Prize flipping neckbreaker, then the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick for the pin. That was really good, and I was beginning to think we were going to have a time-limit draw.
Final Thoughts: This promotion is just so much fun. The fact that so many wrestlers here are now appearing on MLW TV speaks volumes that this is really a “best of the best” of the Northeast indies. We had five tournament matches and I’m optimistic they have the bracket in place to have these round-robin matches all occur by mid-February. Main event earns best match. Crawford-Skye and Ichiban-Stetson were really good, too.
Still trying to figure out how you find the time lol. I either fully read or at least skim through every review you put on the site. Thank you very much