PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

NEW CHAMPION CROWNED: 5/25 WRESTLING OPEN STAR SPANGLED SPECTACULAR LIVE REPORT FROM WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Wrestling Open RI “Star Spangled Spectacular”

5/25/26 Cranston, RI

Tonight we crown the BRAND NEW Wrestling Open Champion! The room is getting absolutely packed for this one! 

Spotlight Match: Rain Conway vs Love Doug

Love wants Rain to love him. Rain doesn’t love anyone. Doug starts with his normal bag of tricks but Rain takes over and puts a good beating on the former Open tag champ. Cranston is VERY behind our Cupid as he makes his comeback, throws a handful of flowers in Conway’s face and hits the Rebound for the win! Fun little opener! It’s wild how full this room is before the main show has even started.

Paul Crockett is on commentary, along with a returning Nick Batee! Rich Palladino is our announcer! Here we go!

Match 1: The Verdict (Bryce Donovan & Vinny Scalise w/ Smart Mark Sterling) vs Sammy Diaz & Ichiban

The fact that Sterling is milking his “injury” THIS hard is laudable. Ichi and Sammy charge the ring and take it to the Veedict before they can start with the shenanigans. Ichiban celebrates a little too early and misses Bryce tagging in to pummel his smaller opponents. Sammy tries a dive but Vinny intercepts with a drive by boot! Here come the shenanigans, as the Verdict keeps the pressure on, letting Mark take cheap shots, and trying to keep Ichiban off the apron. Sammy finally gets the tag out and Ichiban goes on a tear. They have Vinny dead to rights but Bryce slams Ichiban to the apron and then Sammy right into his husk. A lungblower to Ichi! Kickout! Doomsday Device! Kickout! Bryce almost loses his cool at Ref Gina. Mark passes Vinny some knucks…Sammy cuts that off, makes the tag to Ichiban and catches Vinny with a crucifix pin to get the three before Bryce can stop it! Big pop!

Sammy tells Mark Sterling that he plans to expose him as a fraud next week!

Match 2: Vargus (w/ Max Caster) vs Allin Bayno

Poor Bayno didn’t get an entrance. He’s dead. Max Caster comes out to Bobby Orlando’s music. No one likes this. Caster says he’s taking back ownership of Bobby’s music, since it’s his music, lyrics & production. He’s still mad that Bobby didn’t give him his spot in the Open title tournament. And he reveals Vargus as the man he’s tapped to injure Bobby and take him out of Open for good. The bell rings, Vargus charges Bayno in the corner. A F5 ends this in 30 seconds. “Bobby Orlando, welcome to your future”. He challenges Orlando to a tag match next week against himself and his heavy hitter. VERY effective debut for Vargus.

Match 3: Liviyah vs Ruthie Jay

There’s really not much story leading into this one. Ruthie shows off with some quick moves and effective kicks that almost put the lights out a couple of times. It takes Ruthie a minute to turn on the heat verbally, which gets Cranston onto Liv’s side. Liv trying to comeback but Jay just cracks the life out of her in a chop. And THAT seems to wake Liv up and she quickly hits a suplex and a stuffed DDT for the win and that’s that.

Match 4: Kylon King vs Corey Duke 

Duke and King traded plenty of barbs after Corey was knocked out of the Open title tournament. Dustin Walle lr might be in the finals but Kylon King is more than happy to pick his partner’s scraps tonight. Here’s the thing: Kylon is well hated here and Duke might be loved…but the King is here and he’s looking to further embarrass this guy. And YET, after a brief moment of a  disrespectful head slap….Duke spikes King on his dome and nearly takes the W in under a minute. Kylon punishes him more, and has gotten dead serious about this. Duke makes space with a neckbreaker…he flips out of a German! Kylon dents inside out from a lariat. Rolling dvd….kick out! Kylon dodges a double stomp, hits an exploder, a spinebuster and a half crab in rapid succession. They go to the floor and King has had enough and just whacks Duke with a chair to draw the DQ.

But that’s not enough. He keeps laying those shots in. He sets up a chair on his neck and makes sure everyone knows who the “real” winner is. “If you come at the King, you better not miss”. Corey won…but at a hell of a cost.

Match 5: The Stetson Ranch (Steven Stetson, Brian Morris & Bobby Casale) vs Anthony Vecchio & StarStruck (Anthony Greene & Channing Thomas)

The Ranch injured Vecchio’s partner Aaron Ortiz a few weeks back and StarStruck is looking to help even the score for the Shooter Boys. We brawl at the bell but we land on Vecchio beating the snot out of Morris for an elated Cranston crowd. StarStruck in there but Stetson and Casale have way better luck beating them down. There was a point in time where the Ranch would have been beating on Vecchio while StarStruck watched helpless but NOT TONIGHT. In the meantime, the cracks are showing between Casale and Morris as Stetson struggles to get them on the same page. Vecchio tags in, wipes out Morris and Bobby before turning his attention to the top of the ranch. He almost busts Steve’s legs up on the post but Morris runs interference. Casale tries to direct traffic but Vecchio cuts that off. Double doomsday blockbuster to Casale and Morris! Stetson tries to stop this run but StarStruck runs through Steve, Greene hitting a huge ropewalk crossbody to get the three! StarStruck is making the “belt pose” at the ranch…but Vecchio looks straight at Stetson “I won’t stop till I get your leg!”

Main Event: Bear Bronson vs Dustin Waller (Tournament Final for the Wrestling Open Championship)

It all leads to this! Finally, we can have Wrestling Open title matches again…brought to you by DnA’s Evolution: They’re a band! (My band ) Fancy Ryan Clancy is here to observe the title change, the crowd is happy to see him back (despite how we left things). He’s clearly still knee braced up but he’s happy to be taking in the love. Dustin Waller out here with a special entrance, featuring a crew of people wearing all of his ring gear from over the years. This is clearly a moment for Flash. Bear Bronson doesn’t need the extra pomp and circumstance, the crowd ROARS as he comes through the curtain. Waller dead focused as Bear rallies the troops. The room has a little “If Bear loses, we riot” energy. Bear and Waller take it in before going into the initial lockups and scrambles…which Bear easily wins and sends Waller back to the drawing board multiple times. Waller finally just says “You wanna send me out here over and over, why don’t you come beat me up on the floor?” A Bear suckered out and back and Waller quickly takes advantage….and Bear quickly picks him up, press slams and splashes for two. Bear drags Waller out for that beating on the floor he requested. Chops a plenty until Waller finally landed a throat thrust…and Bear immediately baits him into chopping the post and here come more big bear chops. Waller with the ambush on the ropes after Bear press slams him into the ring…ddt on the apron! Top rope splash on the apron! Bear is broken on the floor as Waller recovers in the ring. Bear makes the count to get back in! Waller starts dropping knee after knee into Bear. He needs to grind the life out of Bronson. He twists up the arm and stomps it out. Dustin tries a sunset flip, Bear drops and crushes his sternum. Bronson is baaaaaack! Big charge! Black hole slam! Kick out! Waller with a slap. Uh oh. Bear drops the straps and unleashes hell. Waller breaks the rules of the exchange and plants a superkick! Flash splash! Not enough! Waller keeps moving…Bear lariats out of the lethal injection. Bear goes for another lariat but Waller ducks and Ref Tiger eats it! Waller flies in, eats a chokebomb…Bear has the pin for at least 10 but we go no ref! Dustin is dead. Bear is on wobbly legs and wants the Fire Thunder Driver…he ends up with Waller on the top. Superplex? Sunsetflip bomb! Flash splash! Here comes ref Gina! Bear out at two! Waller blames Gina for not getting down here in time! He shoves her. Bear gets ready to pounce….they both have near misses before Dustin accidentally superkicks Gina!  Somewhere the top buckle got ripped off?!? Bear bounced off the exposed metal! Lethal injection! Tiger makes the crawl! Bear kicks out! Beat up and hits the Fire Thunder Driver! Dustin kicks out! Is that a first?!? Bear realizes the buckle is exposed. He’s definitely THINKING about using it. He tries for a snake eyes but Waller hits a poisonrana! Dive to the floor! Lethal injection! 1916! This should be it! BEAR KICKS OUT!!! Dustin considers and heads to the stage. He’s coming to take the title belt. Fancy Ryan Clancy doesn’t like it but it’s not like he can give chase. Ref tiger takes the belt! Low blow to Bear! He hits the 1916! Flash to the top and lands a 450 and folds Bear up deep to get the three! We have a new Wrestling Open Champion!

Fancy Ryan Clancy grabs the mic. He tells Bear that he got cheated three years ago in the same way. Bear has the same solution too. Clancy encourages Bear to turn in his Opportunity Knocks Contract to restart the match! They shake hands! Bear shakes the cobwebs loose and charges the ring! Flash misses a spear! Black hole slam! Fire thunder driver! Bear Bronson gets the three!!!!!!! We have a new NEWWWWW Wrestling Open Champion! 

Clancy and Bear trade smiles. Is all forgiven? Certainly for tonight! Cranston erupts for Bronson! What a night!

New champ Bronson demands Waller get back in the ring and puts Dustin over huge. Bear has been in wars with dangerous humans…but no one has pushed him as hard. That’s because Cranston is hosting the best unsigned wrestlers in the universe. “Dustin Waller, I SEE YOU.” He promises Dustin will be on a big stage sometime soon. He respects that Dustin was the better man…but Bear had that contract that proved to be the difference maker. Bear promises Waller that he can have a shot ANY time he wants because he deserves it. Bear says he threw out his back and bruised his ribs over the weekend and apologizes to Open officials for not being honest about that. He didn’t want to postpone this epic contest. This crowd deserves the best. Bronson understands his responsibility to lead the locker room, to be here as many weeks as possible and put in the best shows possible. Waller and Bear face to face in the center as they shake hands and hug. What an awesome night for an absolutely electric crowd! 

SO…the real question is: Did Dustin win the tournament and the title? If so, my bracket shook out! But it also means Dustin was champ for a minute. Or does the contract cash in negate Dustin’s win entirely? There seems to be some internal confusion over the matter but the way I see it -> Dustin was champ for a minute. And that minute certainly will make him hungry for another taste.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet