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1/6 BEYOND WRESTLING'S WRESTLING OPEN DEBUT IN WORCESTER, MA REPORT

Beyond Wrestling “Wrestling Open: Week 1”

1/6/22 - Worcester, MA

Streaming on IWTV.live

After the excellent “Soft Opening” on Sunday of the Wrestival, Wrestling Open makes its proper debut in the Thursday night slot at the White Eagle in Worcester! A new format for wrestling, wrestlers are allowed to open sign up for a spot on the show, akin to a violent open-mic. The lineup will change from show to show and hopefully give a lot of exposure to wrestlers looking for a chance to show what they’ve got. What are we gonna see tonight???

Paul Crockett and Willow Nightingale are on commentary. It should have been Sidney Bakabella but he quit last week to start managing again tonight…so we can look forward to THAT. Rich Palladino is your announcer. All matches are one fall with a 10 min time limit (main gets 20min). Your theme song is NIN’s “Wish” AND. HERE. WE. GO!

Match 1: Becca vs Little Mean Kathleen

Let’s start it out with THAT energy! Becca with the takedown but a grunting LMK reverses the hold and trips up the Queen. Becca throwing forearms and warned off the hair pulling. LMK firing back with a head scissor but eats a boot to the face on a charge. Becca choking her out on the ropes until Ref Nick Shin has to warn her off again. Boot wash and a Samoan drop for two. Kathleen coming back, lariats, running stomps and a big strong pose before hitting a Flavor Bomb (I have no idea if that’s the name but I’m calling it that from now on). Kick out! Top rope crossbody for two…Becca rolls through and hits a sitout powerbomb for the pin out of nowhere! Fun start!

Winner: Becca

Match 2: Gal Barkay vs “Fancy” Ryan Clancy

I was all about Clancy’s Baby Lou Thez look until he said he wanted to send Barkay back to Israel. They didn’t lean into that too hard but at least I know who to boo. Wrestling. Gal comes in hard but Clancy guts him with a knee, keeps those knees coming and flapjacks him for two. Gal stuck in a shoulder lock but fights his way out. Clancy with another takeover and two count. He’s too confident and poses on a whip and misses his body splash. Gal firing up and tossing him corner to corner. Big enziguri! Step over sunset flip bomb for two! Clancy guts him on the top rope and hits a side Russian leg sweep for the pin! Decent back and forth fight here but the crowd really wanted Gal to take this.

Winner: Ryan Clancy

Match 3: Bobby Orlando (w/ Bobby Junior) vs Rex Lawless

Orlando throws his glasses at Lawless and they SHATTER ON HIS PECS!!! Orlando comes in and Rex sends him into a high angle flapjack. Rex wants chops…Bobby really does try. He does. Rex blasts him with a boot. Torture Rack and Orlando escapes a burning hammer! Orlando with a jaw Jack on the ropes! Sick Trick time! Rex clotheslines him out of the air. Orlando trips Rex into the corner. Bobby trios to capitalize but Lawless just chokes slams him into the buckles. Orlando uses three dropkicks to take Rex off his feet…but he does! Orlando talking trash and Rex pops him up for a punch to face. Corner splash and yakuza kick! Bobby fights out of a fireman’s carry but Rex sends him on a back drop ride. Torture rack falcon! Full Nelson backbreaker! Bobby kicks out?!?!? Bobby escapes a chokebomb but runs into a spear! Kick out! Rex is mad! Drop the shoulder straps! “REX GOT PECS!” Lawless sent out, catches a suicide dive and chokebomb a Bobby into the side of the apron!!! Holy f***!!! Orlando tries to use Bobby Junior for defense. Rex grabs tix rips Junior’s cast off until the ref takes him away. Orlando blasts last Rex with the cast for the three! Really fun match!

Winner: Bobby Orlando

Match 4: “The African American Horror Story” Eel O’Neal vs Anthony Zambrano 

Eel with the quick work after the lock up, twisting the arm and sending Zambrano to the rope. Anthony gets a arm lock, Eel whips it off, tries a quick pin, gets his own locks and tries for a crab…settles for an ankle lock. Zambrano with a takeover backbreaker and starts working that target with hard whips to the buckles. Shoulders to the lower back and Eel is in trouble. Atomic drop, two count! Eel comes running, Anthony with a snap powerslam for two. Eel with a headbutt to the gut. Uppercut! Zambrano trying to dodge but gets dumped on his face for two. Eel tries a powerbomb but his back says no. Anthony tries to capitalize but Eel slaps on a Boston crab…Zambrano flips and kicks free. Flatliner to Eel and that’s the match! Zambrano did a good job to slowly work over Eel’s back here but I expected more firing up after the weekend O’Neal had.

Winner: Anthony Zambrano 

Match 5: “The Ephemeral Queen” Edith Surreal vs “The Kaytastic One” Armani Kayos 

Edith takes the arm quick…double chicken wing slide for a two count. Kayos fighting back, leg lariat and a bronco buster! Edith with a judo takeover and twisting up Kayos with a “YAAAAAS”. Kayos misjudges a leap frog, eats mat and a dropkick. This was a ROUGH landing. Edith with a hammerlock takeover, chicken wings the arm with her legs. Kayos tries to make it a pin but Edith controls the pin attempts and hits a hard dropkick. High angle bow and arrow…Kayos butt bumps his way free! Surreal grinds him down…almost eats a rollup. Edith with the cravat, Kayos out and makes Edith eat knee. Kayos sweeps the legs and somersault back into the ring with a splash! Two count! Edith dodging kicks, high knee, dropkick to the back! Edith plants Kayos with a DDT and picks up the win! 

Winner: Edith Surreal

Match 6: Teddy Goodz vs “The Dirty Water Demon” Elijah Six 

Goodz using his veteran experience early but Six overpowers him with a couple of shoulder blocks and thinks he won the lottery. Goodz cashs in that receipt and then some. Big chip in the corner, Six take the eyes and backs Goodz up with a closed fist. Six chokes him out on the rope and tries to convince the ref he shoulder get a six count. Backbreaker on the shoulder for two! Six with a fisherman’s suplex for two! Six with another suplex attempt but Goodz rolls him up for two. Six with a roaring elbow, Goodz with an atomic drop and lariat! Running back elbows in the corner! A vicious iconoclasym! Top rope crossbody from Goodz for the win!!!

Winner: Teddy Goodz

Ray Jaz is out here. I’ve seen Jaz a few times in NEW so glad to see him in person. He has a Jaz tip of the day. Discipline is Key…and we don’t have any. Ray Jaz calls out an open challenge…this seems like a bad idea…Yeah…Oh yeah…it sure is.

Match 7: Ray Jaz vs “The Punjabi Lion” Jora Johl 

They get to shoving and the ref just rings the bell. Jaz sent to his backside but returns the favor to Johl. The crowd wishes death on Jaz but he gets a takeover and runs to hide in the corner. Jaz wants to Take Five but Johl hits a high knee and delay vertical suplex for two. Jaz  isn’t In the Mood and walks off…but ambushes Johl when he gives chase. Big suplex in the ring but Johl ain’t anywhere near done. Jaz with some clotheslines, Johl with some of his own…powerslam…double underhook vertical backbreaker! Jaz with a felonious headbutt to the gut. Johl fires back up, Jaz with a slingshot into a backslide pin! Johl gets counted to the mat for three! Another surprise upset by a newcomer!

Winner: Ray Jaz

Match 8: Miracle Generation (Dustin Waller & Kylon King) vs The Mane Event (Jay Lyon & Midas Black)

He may not be in the room but Max Caster is all over the soundtrack tonight. Midas and King grapple early. Midas with the hat pop sucker punch but King blasts a dropkick back his way. Midas taking the heat, gets the tag to Lyon but a tandem splash keeps him down for two. King steals Midas’ hat and thinks he can control the Lyon? Whoops. That’s not an urn or a steak, kid. King trapped in the corner, Midas in with the whips but dives into an exploder. King off the top, Midas dropkicks him out of the air! Lyon with a slam and pops Midas up for an splash to King for two. Trading chops with Lyon is a bad choice. Mane Event hangman’s splash to the back! As I’m watching this, I can’t help but think how much of a success this iteration of the Discovery Gauntlet was during Uncharted Territory Season 3. Waller in to make the save! Mane Event dodges the corner post dive but King hits them in the center of the floor out of nowhere! Lyon thrown in, dodges a 450! Waller popped up for a Midas Black running cutter! Lyon cut down with kicks and a dropkick German combo! Midas with the save! He goes toe to toe with Waller. King with a German to Midas! Lyon with a pop up flapjack! Waller slugging it out with Lyon. Midas rebounded into a spear on Waller. Everyone’s down and we get a countdown because we’re at the end of the time limit! Ring the bell! The crowd is totally fine with this result and chants for both teams! Realllllly enjoyed this and expect their next clash to be bananas!

Winner: DRAW

Rich Palladino welcomes out IWTV’s Manager of the Year Sidney Bakabella!!! He’s out in All Black and a bolo tie. You could call him Sidney Cash. He calls out his new protégée, “WORLD CLASS” Channing Thomas! Thomas is out in a suit, looking very Nick Bockwinkel tonight. Sidney lets him bask in the music and boos. Bakabella said he threw…you know what…f*** it…here, look for yourself. 

I just…This is MAGIC. I love and hate this so much. Wow. <chef kiss> World Class.

Main Event: “The Prize” Alec Price vs Love, Doug

We love Doug and think Price is GAAAAHHHHHHBIDGE! There’s your story. Price piefacing and taunting and working Doug in the corner. Dougie Dropkick is here! Price tripped up! Doug with the boot to the face and a bulldog off the top for two! Price rakes the eyes. Pull off neckbreaker from the top. Price stalking Doug and walking him down with forearms and uppercuts. Takeover and a dropkick to the back of the head! Kick out! Doug fighting back with punches after escaping a headlock. Backdrop for two! Price stuns Doug with a forearm and a step up hangman’s double stomp! Jeeeeeesus! Doug kicks out! Price coming in for the kill, Doug catches and falcon arrows him! Both are down as we hit the halfway point of our main event! Is it just me or are Alec Price’s Dirty Daddy D***Strings getting longer each week? He’s practically tripping on the things. Doug drops Price so hard, flower petals fly from the mat. Doug tries the sliced bread, Price tries gotch piledriver. Series of reversals, Alec powerbombs Doug headfirst into the buckles! O_O Doug kicks out! Price and Doug trading hard getting back to their feet! Price crumbles…but rebounds with a high knee. Doug stunned in the center and Price hits the flying surprise kick to the back of the head. Count to 100, Love is dead. Super fun closer, Price is Gahbidge but he’s our gahbidge. 

Winner: Alec Price

Price wants the stick. We should shut our mouths. He’s the Ace. And the youngbloods want to take his spot? They’re damn wrong. Price is a dream killer and he wants to collect heads at Wrestling Open. Kylon King wanders to ringside and Price has words for him taking pictures with Becca last weekend. Kylon promises to slap the taste out his mouth. Price gets a slap in and immediately gets out of the ring. He doesn’t need the fight this week….but next week? Price promises to put his out through Kylon King’s skull.

And that’s it for our debut episode of “Wrestling Open”. Top to bottom, this was a solid show. In retrospect, it was maybe a little heavy with newer heels getting one over our established talents. But now we definitely know who to boo in the weeks to come. The tag match going to a draw was a good bit of booking to help establish that the clock MATTERS here…and the crowd certainly seemed hype for these teams to clash again. That said, most…all(?)…the matches were over 5 min, so it did get a LITTLE repetitive having Rich Palladino call out the five minute mark every time…I’m not sure of a better solution here though? All in all, it was a good fun start to this new experimental wrestling show Beyond is running in the new year. With a shifting roster every week, I’m sure they will find new and better ways to do things week over week but as a baseline, I definitely enjoyed my Thursday evening in Worcester. Until next week!

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