By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestling Open “Episode 112”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
February 22, 2024 in Worcester, Massachusetts at White Eagle
This is the finale of the seven-week-long Jumbo Grand Prix 24-man tournament. Paul Crockett and Denver Colorado provided commentary. A good-sized crowd topping 300 is in the building; they draw fairly consistently here but this does appear to be larger attendance than normal.
1. Love, Doug and Landon Hale defeated RJ Rude and Rex Lawless at 00:42. I always compare Rude to a young Chuck Taylor. Hale and Rude opened. Rude wasn’t paying attention and had turned toward the crowd, and Hale rolled him up for the pin! “Did that just happen?” Crockett asked. The commentators agreed it might be the quickest loss in Wrestling Open history. Rex didn’t look happy but they “hugged it out” afterward.
2. Elle Valentine defeated Ivy Malibu at 5:56. Valentine is short and appears to be of Pacific Islander heritage and she’s a bit heavy; she was here a few weeks ago. This is Ivy’s debut here; I saw her recently on a Chicago-area show; she is short, blonde and quite athletic (think a shorter Sol Ruca) and she’s apparently a Nightmare Factory graduate. They traded mat holds early on. Malibu hit a Lungblower for a nearfall at 2:00. Elle hit a senton and the crowd gasped as it flattened the smaller Ivy. Elle took control and kept Ivy grounded. Malibu hit an X-Factor at 5:00, then a Flatliner for a believable nearfall. Elle hit a spear, then a belly-to-belly overhead suplex with a bridge for the pin. I enjoyed that but I think Ivy would win a rematch a year from now.
3. Dustin Waller defeated Marcus Mathers at 13:24. The 20-year-old Mathers has been in GCW and MLW, and Denver said he’s headed to Japan in the spring. Waller brought his IWTV Tag Title belt with him to the ring. This should be really good so hopefully it’s given some minutes to develop. They shook hands and opened with an intense lockup. They went to hug when Marcus hit a kick to the gut at 1:30. Waller hit a plancha to the floor, then a slingshot senton into the ring for a nearfall. He hit some chops and Dustin was in charge. Marcus nailed a dive through the ropes at 4:30. He slammed Dustin back-first on the ring apron and got a nearfall. Mathers hit a gutbuster over his knee for a nearfall. He hit a Helluva Kick and he was in charge. Waller hit a springboard flying elbow at 8:30, but he missed a Mamba Splash.
Waller hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Waller went for a handpring-back-move, but Marcus hit a dropkick to the face, then a stunner. Marcus nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 10:30. (Usually undercard matches here have a 10-minute time limit but our ring announcer tonight said they have five remaining.) Right on cue, Denver said every match has a 20-minute time limit tonight. Mathers hit some back chops. Waller hit a superkick. Mathers hit a discus clothesline. Mathers hit a springboard stunner. Waaller hit another superkick and a Poison Rana, then a Lethal Injection. Waller nailed the Mamba Splash/frogsplash for the clean pin. That was every bit as good as I hoped for. They “hugged it out” afterward. “That was as advertised and much more,” Crockett said.
* A recap video aired of last week’s episode. Shook Crew must win the next match in UNDER FIVE MINUTES to “maybe” get a match against Brick City.
4. “Shook Crew” Bryce Donovan and Bobby Orlando defeated Seabass Finn and Keegan at 4:02. I’ve seen Finn a few times, including a show this past Sunday. I don’t think I’ve seen Keegan before; Crockett said this is the debut for both men. Orlando is the dork with his stuffed goat and his Colt Cabana-style humor. The shorter Seabass rolled to the floor at the bell rather than lock up with Bryce. Crockett pointed out they could delay this and last the five minutes. Finn snapped Bryce’s throat over the top rope. However, Bryce hit a double suplex. Shook Crew hit a team slam for a nearfall at 2:00. Finn accidentally kicked Keegan. Bryce hit a Flapjack on Finn. He hit a chokeslam for a nearfall, but Keegan pulled Finn out of the ring. Bryce hit a suplex as Bobby hit a dropkick, and Bobby pinned Finn. Decent match.
* Bryce got on the mic and he called out Brick City.
5. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) defeated Brian Milonas via DQ at 9:38. If Marbury wins here, he can get another title shot against Brad Hollister. Milonas had a nice ROH run; he’s lost some weight but he is still listed at 417 pounds, which seems accurate. He wore a Lakers jersey and got booed for that as we are in Celtics country. Sure enough, Marbury came out in a white Celtics jersey; Denver said this is still just Jermaine’s 48th-ever match. Milonas is twice Jermaine’s size. Marbury hit a series of punches in the corner. Milonas hit a hard clothesline at 2:30. He hit a suplex and was in charge and kept Marbury grounded.
Marbury came up quite short on a dropkick but Milonas sold it anyway at 6:30; the crowd was kind and forgiving. Milanos nailed a running buttbump in the corner for a nearfall. Milonas jawed at Benny, causing him to miss an elbow drop. He rolled to the floor and stalked Benny. Brian brought a steel chair into the ring. Benny distracted the ref as Marbury stole the chair! Marbury did the “Eddie Spot,” pretending to be struck by the chair, tossing it to Brian, then falling to the mat. The ref turned around, saw Brian with the chair and Marbury on the ground, and he called for the bell. Milonas was irate. (In retrospect, Milonas should not have brought the chair into the ring.)
6. “Waves & Curls” Traevon Jordan and Jaelyn Brandyn defeated Westfield Kelly and Graceson Kelly via DQ at 5:14. Again, the Kellys are Black and identical twins and I have compared them to NBA star James Harden. With their size and overall look, I could totally see them landing a deal in MLW or TNA. W&C snuck up behind them and attacked them to kickstart the match. Jaelyn beat up on one of the Kellys in the corner. (You seriously can’t convince me you can tell them apart.) The Kellys beat up Brandyn. “Who is the legal man?” Denver said. “From where I’m sitting, I can’t tell the two apart.” One of the Kellys got a crutch and he hit Jordan repeatedly in the leg with it in front of the ref, who called for the bell. A rare case of back-to-back disqualifications here. The Kellys continued to beat up W&C with the crutch.
7. Dezmond Cole defeated Brad Baylor at 9:13. This is a rematch of a tournament match, where Baylor won. Brad is the 19-year-old rising star here. Dezmond is the Ricochet clone. Standing reversals early and Cole hit a dropkick at 1:00. Cole went for a crossbody block off the ropes but Brad caught him and hit a fallaway slam, then an elbow drop for a nearfall, and he grounded Dezmond. Baylor hit a powerslam for a nearfall at 3:30. Dezmond hit a stunner, then a top-rope crossbody block and they were both down. Cole hit a Michinoku Driver, then a Rolling Thunder legdrop for a nearfall.
Cole hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 6:30, then a Superkick. Baylor hit a kneestrike to the chin, then an Angel’s Wings faceplant for a nearfall. However, Brad was really getting distracted by the fans jeering him and he shouted at the crowd. Baylor hit a Spinebuster then a twisting slam for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Cole got an O’Connor Roll, leaned back for leverage, and scored the pin! That was really good. The crowd really taunted Baylor singing the “Na Na, Good bye!” song and Baylor really showed it was getting to him.
* A video package aired showing the formation of the Big Business faction, including TJ Crawford turning on partner Ryan Clancy, leading to this match! Crockett said this match is now 13 months in the making.
8. TJ Crawford defeated Ryan Clancy to win the Jumbo Grand Prix Tournament at 19:44. A trophy was brought into the ring for the winner. They argued with their foreheads touching before the bell. The bell rang and they immediately traded forearm strikes, and TJ rolled to the floor. Clancy hit a summersault dive off the apron to the floor on TJ, and he hit some hard chops as they brawled on the floor. Clancy accidentally chopped the ring post at 1:30, and TJ immediately bodyslammed Clancy onto the hard wood floor. Crockett noted there is no time limit as “we need a winner” to conclude the tournament. (It is about 8:40 p.m. CST; these shows usually end at about 9:00).
In the ring, TJ hit some chops and remained in control. Clancy snapped TJ’s neck between his ankles (Zack Sabre style). Clancy missed a dropkick as TJ was able to hold onto the ropes. TJ hit a back suplex at 6:30 and he remained in charge. Clancy hit a plancha to the floor at 8:30. Back in the ring, they traded forearm strikes, and Clancy hit a backbody drop, then he applied a half-crab, but TJ reached the ropes. Denver noted we are at “well over 300 fans tonight.” Clancy hit a German Suplex and a diving forearm for a nearfall at 10:30.
TJ hit a spear onto the knee, then a running kick to the back of the head for a nearfall, then a suplex for a nearfall. Clancy hit a dropkick for a believable nearfall at 13:30. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Clancy hit a superkick for a nearfall. They traded punches on the ring apron. Clancy missed a frogsplash, and he missed a dropkick. TJ nailed the Silver Bullet spin kick to the head for a believable nearfall at 17:30. TJ shook Clancy’s hand, but then he whipped Ryan into the referee in the corner! Clancy hit a series of punches; TJ hit a low blow uppercut and scored the cheap pin. The crowd was livid at this outcome.
* Clancy got on the mic and showed off his “Opportunity Knocks” contract that says he gets a match at any time, any place, any stipulation. He demanded this match re-start right now!!!
8B) Ryan Clancy defeated TJ Crawford to win the Jumbo Grand Prix Tournament at 00:31. Clancy hit a running knee, then a spin kick to the jaw, then the Russian Legsweep for the pin. I like that they bookended this event with the two shortest matches in Wrestling Open history.
Final Thoughts: I am just such a big fan of this promotion, in the way they weave stories from week to week, with video clips from prior shows. The wrestling is always good and this is a great party atmosphere. Main event earns best match, ahead of Waller-Mathers, then Baylor-Cole. I don’t like two back-to-back DQs, but they were different, and we know we’ll get more of the W&C-Kellys feud to come. I think I’ve literally seen three Ivy Malibu matches now, but she has the athleticism to become a top indy female name. As I noted, I would expect her to win a rematch at a later time.
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