OTT, for the second time, held an event in the KRFC as the hunt for a permanent home continues. New OTT Champion David Starr headlined the show defending his title against Mike Bailey. The show would also feature the much anticipated OTT debut of Pentagon Jr. as he teamed with his brother Rey Fenix as well as Rey Horus to take on More Than Hype in a lucha rules six man tag.

Over the Top Wrestling
Outer Space Odyssey 4
November 30, 2019
KFR Centre
Dublin, Ireland

Watch: OTT on Demand

Terry Thatcher def. Calum Black, Kyle Fletcher, Mao & Omari

On paper this was the ideal opener. A hot scramble match to feature some lower card regulars and a debutante capable of blowing the crowd away; instead what we got was a disjointed mess that was heavy on comedy and ultimately rather disappointing considering the participants. Omari continues to impress when given the opportunity but those opportunities were few in this match. Kyle Fletcher leans far too heavily into comedy and shtick for my liking and he is failing to grasp his chance to truly breakout while his Aussie Open partner Mark Davis is out with a knee injury. It’s plain to see that Fletcher is talented and he undoubtedly has his fans but for me there is a space at the very top of the current European wrestling scene for him as a singles wrestler if he dropped the shtick and got serious. 

Mao was the lightning rod for the majority of the comedy in the match which considering he wrestles for DDT shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The match itself seemed to have the sole purpose of building to a Calum Black versus Terry Thatcher match at some point down the line. While I thought Thatcher was a half step behind everyone in the match for the most part, I can live with him picking up the victory if the long term plan is Thatcher is used to elevate Black to the next level early in 2020. **1/2

Aidan def. Liam Royal

More comedy… I am so over Club Tropicana at this point. Since losing Jose Idol the act has stalled and while I do still laugh at some of their antics I just wish there was something more to them. This match was set up as Club Tropicana are going bankrupt and need money to save their news show (I swear I’m not making this up). So Captain Sexsea bet all their remaining money on Royal defeating Aidan for some easy funds, you see where this is going. Royal dominated to the point of parody and in spite of being only a couple of minutes long the match outstayed its welcome. A missed splash by Royal in the corner and schoolboy got the duke for Aidan. *3/4

OTT Women’s Championship
Katey Harvey def. Debbie Keitel

Debbie earned this match after the Woke Queens defeated Harvey & Gisele Shaw at Contenders the day after Fifth Year Anniversary. In that match Debbie suffered a nasty looking injury to her left eye which left her bloodied and with a swollen shut eye. Debbie toughed it out, finished the match and even shot some promos! That’s some old school wrestling carnyism that I can get behind.

It was no surprise that Keitel would target the surgically repaired elbows of the champion. Debbie showed a tenacity in her wrestling that I definitely want to see more of; her use of the cattle mutilation in particular stood out as a great addition to her arsenal. Katey is still in the process of coming back from her horrific injury at the beginning of the year and with less than half a dozen matches since her return there remains a tentativeness to her offense. Pre-injury Katey was one of the top female wrestlers in Europe and I have no doubt she will get back to that level. Gory bomb outta nowhere was enough to see off her challenger. With the Woke Queens now 0-2 against the champion in singles matches I’d guess a new challenge lies ahead for the Queen of Irish wrestling. **1/2

NLW Championship
Scotty Davis def. Ren Narita

Scotty Davis made the second successful defence of his NLW Title defeating one off the hottest prospects to come out of the New Japan Dojo. I found it interesting that. while Shota Umino has already ditched the Young Lion attire, Narita remained in his plain black trunks, kneepads and boots. That little detail seemed to play into this match as 19 year old Scotty Davis seemed to take on the role of salty aggressive vet taking apart Narita. 

Scotty has recently been showing more aggression in his offense and at certain points he was downright nasty to Narita. There was plenty of chain and counter wrestling to begin but soon enough Scotty exerted his dominance. “The Supreme Suplex Machine” Davis used this match as an opportunity to display a variety of suplexes including a great looking sleeper suplex. A trademark spin kick and a cross-legged fisherman’s buster put away Narita; the push of Scotty Davis to the very top of OTT continues and on this evidence its a move that nobody can complain about. ***1/2

#1 Contendership Match
Paddy M def. B-Cool

For some unknown reason this match was a #1 Contenders match for the OTT Title. I have no doubt that Paddy M versus David Starr will be a great match but its not like Paddy has been tearing up shows picking up wins. I’m hoping it’s a Contenders match and not a main show title match. 

The match was mostly comedy and acted as a backdrop for the continued B-Cool Joe Cabray story that is either leading to a Cool versus Cabray match or a Cool & Cabray tag team. The big spot of the match was B-Cool attempting a plancha onto Paddy M but landing on Cabray. The match went a couple of minutes too long and lost the crowd a bit towards the end but there is no doubt that B-Cool and his ridiculous relationship with Joe Cabray is incredibly over with the OTT crowd. **3/4

Rey Horus & Lucha Bros def. More Than Hype

Nathan Martin is a God damn star. On a night where More Than Hype looked like they belonged alongside The Lucha Bros & Rey Horus, Nathan Martin emerged as the star of the trio. He is still just a teenager but I feel certain in saying that he is going to the very top. His look, his intensity (he’s called Psycho Nathan for a reason), his selling, his confidence: it is all so far beyond where a guy his age and with his small amount of experience should be, yet he has it all and what a package it is. 

If you have never seen Pentagon or Fenix live it is something you should go out of your way to experience. Even before their entrance the smell of deep heat penetrated our nostrils. The aura surrounding Pentagon in particular is spectacular and even the most jaded fan cannot help but be drawn into everything he does. We have all seen the glove removal a million times but when Pentagon is only a matter of feet away from you it is the most captivating move in wrestling. Fenix is also incredibly charismatic in his own right but his role is to bring the fireworks in the form of flips and feats of athleticism you think are impossible and he always delivers. The speed that he moves at inside the ring is unlike anything I have ever seen. 

The match itself was exactly what you would expect a lucha rules six man between these teams to be. It didn’t overstay its welcome and it had the fans in attendance losing their reason. The highlight though was the standoff between Pentagon and Martin. The visual of Martin no selling a Pentagon chop without so much as a flinch is something that will stay burned in my memory for a long, long time. I don’t love that MTH lost clean just a month after winning the #1 Contendership to the tag team belts but if that was the price to pay to get to see this match happen well then I’m glad it happened. ****1/4

OTT World Championship
David Starr def. Mike Bailey

The headline reads David Starr defeats Mike Bailey but this match was about so much more than just the result. As anyone familiar with the work of both men would suspect the in-ring work was top notch stuff. However the match would also have two fuck finishes, more teasing of physicality between Starr and referee Niall Fox, and plenty of reminders that Jordan Devlin won’t be gone forever. 

The match was worked at a wicked pace and every move right from the off, whether it was a slap, a headlock or a shooting star press,  had such force and aggression behind it. It’s probably best to break the match down into three falls. The first fall would end with a double count out as the action had spilled to the outside and champion and challenger brawled into the crowd. Speedball would perform a Shooting Star Press off an elevated stage area onto Starr as Foxy began his count. While they made their way slowly back towards the ring Starr would take out Bailey with a brainbuster on the floor leading to the count out. 

Referee Niall Fox would restart the match for a reason that wasn’t ever made clear much to the annoyance of Starr. Early in the second fall was mostly a series of nearfalls for Speedball as Starr allowed his hatred for Foxy to almost cost him his championship. Starr would regain his composure and hit Speedball with everything he had. An avalanche Blackheart Buster, Kapernick, the inverted sharpshooter and even teased the Package Piledriver a couple of times. Speedball would survive and his trademark SSP Knees to the back of the neck would earn a three count but Starr had gotten his foot on the rope. 

The final portion of the match would see Starr push Speedball into Foxy and use the title belt on the apron for added effect to his draping DDT. A Han Stanson followed by a Package Piledriver would give Starr the win and the first successful defence of his title. Both men worked incredibly hard. The action was superb and I’d love to see a rematch sometime down the line. However the match didn’t need two fuck finishes as well as the heavy handedness of the Starr versus Foxy story. A great but a flawed match. ****

Speedball would spend a couple of minutes inside and outside of the ring cutting a very frustrated figure and teasing going at it with Starr again before finally extending his hand to shake the champions hand. Starr would not reciprocate and instead put Bailey out with another Han Stanson before throwing him out of the ring. That wouldn’t be the end though as Starr would cut an incredibly impassioned promo and going so far as to call the ring crew and young trainees into the ring to share the victory with him. The cult leader stuff felt very forced on VOD of the Fifth Anniversary Show. Now it makes a lot more sense. This was incredible and the visual of not the crowd but the ring crew carrying Starr and the OTT Championship from the ring is something I have a feeling we might be seeing a lot of between now and ScrapperMania VI in March.

Final Thoughts

A very mixed bag of a show. The final two matches are well worth seeking out and the Starr promo is must see if you have any interest in the David Starr/Jordan Devlin/extended OTT storyline. Elsewhere Scotty Davis continued evolution is something to keep an eye on for the future but everything else is easily skippable. Not a bad show but sadly not a great show either.