The road to Scrappermania went north as David Starr put his OTT title on the line against a King of the North…
The Europa Hotel in Belfast is your usual venue for OTT north of the border… commentary, as ever, is from Aonghus og McAnally and Tony Kelly. Poor Aonghus had to break the news that Chris Ridgeway wasn’t there, in addition to the previously-announced withdrawal of Tyler Bate. So we’ve got more card changes!
Club Tropicana (Captain Sexsea & Fabulous Nicky) vs. Paddy M & Martina
Aidan’s still on the shelf, so Nicky continues to fill in as they took on the lad and lass from the flats. We start out with some basic stuff – like Paddy M poking Nicky in the eye, before a retaliatory headlock… kinda went south for a headstanding Nicky. Martina came in to spook him, forcing a tag out to Sexsea, who gave Martina his glasses, cap… and some flowers? He faked going in for a kiss, but instead made Martina look at it… only to get a PK in return.
Sexsea lands a nice cartwheel into an elbow drop on Martina, before Paddy game in to get ‘rana’d to the outside. Sexsea and Nicky fake out a dive so they could flex, which led to them getting punched out before Paddy M accidentally did the Tyler Bate shoulder rebound so Martina could do a dive instead. Paddy follows with his own suicide dive, before he was stopped by Sexsea trying to find “Mister Glove”. Except Paddy had stolen it and went to slap Sexsea with it… but Martina gets it in error. The referee gets it next, before Nicky came in to hold Paddy for a paddling… but Nicky gets the oar instead.
There’s one last paddling… and the referee gets it in the rear. Paddy pleads his innocence, but the referee’s had enough, wrecking the oar as he clotheslined Paddy and Martina with it… then took out Club Tropicana too! Foxy dives! For the love of God, nobody tell Jim…
In the ring, Foxy covers Aiden as Paddy makes a two-count… then we swapped around as Paddy took an assisted atomic drop. Another switcheroo gave Sexsea a bad time, then Nickym before Martina came in and cleared house. A Parade of Moves breaks out as Tropicana took the upper hand again, only for Paddy to get the knees up to block a Slip ‘n’ Slide, as a Seshbrekaer from Martina and a springboard cutter from Paddy put away Nicky. Basic, but a tonne of fun – a perfect crowd-pleasing opener! ***
Mark Haskins vs. Calum Black
Last time out, Haskins wasn’t exactly thrilled at having to “wrestle” Captain Sexsea and Justy… at least here he’s gotten an upgrade as Calum Black filled in for the missing Ridgeway in this impromptu open challenge.
Haskins heads to the corner almost immediately as he tried to frustrate Calum. Black manages to find a way through with a leg lock on the mat, before Haskins got free and chopped away Black with kicks, which only angered him as a headlock takedown ended in the ropes. That looked to frustrate Haskins, who tried to draw out Black for a dive… only to get met on the outside with a forearm. Black keeps it on the outside as he dropkicked Haskins out of a chair, but Haskins is able to turn it around with an apron PK and a tope of his own. Back inside, Haskins stretches Black with an armbar, but after getting to the ropes he’s able to catch Haskins with an elbow before an X-Plex almost put away the former GN champion.
A triangle armbar from Haskins looked to follow, but Black escaped… only to miss a dropkick thanks to some intervention from Vicki Haskins at ringside, allowing Mark to hit a roll-up death valley driver for a near-fall. Running knees from Haskins led to him taking Snake Eyes for a near-fall, before Mark got pulled outside for respite. Vicki gets involved again, holding Black in the ropes, before the distraction led to Calum getting punted low as a stomp off the top got the win. For me, this never got going – perfectly fine, but also something that didn’t connect with Belfast. **¾
Omari vs. Senza Volto
It’s an OTT debut for Omari, whose weight is just over that 205lb boundary that some people seem to have…
Volto started off with headlock takedowns and escapes… with Omari returning the favour before they reached a standoff. Omari begins to edge ahead with a full nelson, but Volto rolls out before Omari blocked another armdrag… on the way to Senza hit the ropes for a nice lucha armdrag. A crossbody from Omari gets a near-fall, before a spot of rope walking saw Omari go down to the middle rope for his own lucha armdrag.
The pair remain event as Volto swings and missed with a kick, before finding luck on a ‘rana that took Omari outside… with a handspring kick keeping him there. Beating the count, Omari levels Volto with a forearm before he turned up the aggression, throwing slams for fun. A boot to the gut led to a suplex… but Volto counters with a small package for a near-fall, following in with a handspring elbow to take Omari into the corner. A 619 from the apron sweeps the leg ahead of a springboard flip senton as Omari tried to roll outside for cover… eventually getting knocked there as Volto instead hit a springboard DDT to the floor.
Back inside, boots lead to a Code Red for a near-fall for the Frenchman, following up with a knee strike before a springboard ‘rana was caught and turned into a Victory roll as Senza took the long way around. Omari teases a Vertebreaker but ends up hitting an inverted Alabama Slam for a near-fall as the match turned on its head. From there, a gutwrench sit out powerbomb gets a two-count, as does a springboard stomp, before a striking battle looked to get the match over the line.
Instead though, Volto surprised Omari with a standing Spanish fly for a near-fall, then with a moonsault and a handspring cutter… but after a breather, Omari fought back, dumping Senza with an elevated German suplex before the O-Zone gets the win. This had its moments, and while Volto looked good on his debut, it’s a momentum-building win for Omari on the road to Scrappermania. ***½
OTT Women’s Championship: Kasey Owens vs. Sammii Jayne (c)
It’s Kasey’s singles debut for OTT – having last done Defiant in 2018 at the Tivoli… and it’s a big shot for her here.
Sammii takes control early, working over Kasey’s wrist, before she moved up into a Trailer Hitch that looked to force an early stoppage. Kasey’s back with a waistlock takedown as she tried to go for something, but Sammii slips free and worked her way into almost a Euro clutch for a near-fall.
Forearms and kicks from Kasey have an effect, as did a springboard crossbody and a tope… but Sammii blocks a splash with her knees as the match turned right back around. Kasey survives an onslaught to trap Sammii with a hanging armbar, but the champion’s right back with a grounded abdominal stretch to force a rope break. Another comeback from Kasey sees her trip Sammi on the way to a slingshot dropkick in the corner, before a sitout uranage gets a near-fall.
A forearm from Kasey led to a death valley driver, but she can’t make a cover, so it’s back to forearms and chops before Sammii caught her with a German suplex. There’s an instant receipt before Sammii caught Kasey with Shadowfax and a cross-legged Falcon arrow for the win. A perfectly fine title defence – even if Belfast were weirdly quiet for the local challenger. **½
Post-match, Sammii Jayne took the mic and mocked “the merch girl” – Amy Allonsy, who’s going to be her challenger at Scrappermania. That drew Amy out, but Sammii powders to get some more boos.
OTT Tag Team Championship: Only True Pros (Liam Royal & Michael May) vs. Trent Seven (c)
This was meant to have been Moustache Mountain, but Tyler Bate pulled out late on – much to the chagrin of fans who’d not seen him at all for OTT since last summer. Some might say it’s like having a dad clearing after his kid’s mess…
J-Money called Tyler Bate a coward, which angers Trent into putting the titles on the line, even if it were a handicap match. It got Liam Royal even more fired-up than usual. We start with Trent taking Royal into the corner with a tie-up, before an instant receipt led to Trent surprising Royal with a crossbody and a bodyslam.
The Hulk Hogan leg drop gets just a two-count, before Michael May got chopped away. I mean, that lasted longer than his scheduled NXT UK debut against Trent… May powders outside, only to tag Royal from the floor. Of course it doesn’t count, but it distracted as May came from behind, and still got chopped. Now the numbers game comes into play as Trent’s double-teamed, leaving him in a heap on the mat.
May works a leglock as the sudden challengers ran amok, spilling outside where Trent’s fightback ended up with him chopping the ring post. Again, Belfast were quiet for this handicap outing, waking up when Trent mounted a chop-filled comeback that led to an accidental DDT between the challengers.
Except then, B. Cool came out in his gear… and with the other OTT tag title belt. B. Cool adds himself to the match, thinking he’s working with “Pete”… and he gets a tag in. Except a Sky High powerbomb from Liam Royal just shuts the door. Ah well. Trent comes back in and surprises Royal with an Emerald Fusion for a near-fall, before clotheslining him outside for a low-pe.
Back inside, B. Cool tries to do the Tyler rebound clothesline, only to get speared as the True Pros double-team him with a clothesline-assisted German suplex for a near-fall. B’s back with bop and bang, then an airplane spin as he borrowed from the Tyler Bate playbook… before May’s Koppo kick hit his own man.B keeps pushing, bringing Trent back in as B hits the Tyler clothesline to spark a German Dragon suplex for a near-fall, before a Birming-Hammer gets a two-count, with J. Money pulling out the ref… and the add-on beating leads to the DQ. Well, we were never getting a title change here, but the path of destruction from the True Pros at the end made up for it. OTT need to get the tag titles off of Moustache Mountain – this whole situation is just creating ill feeling that they could do without. **½
After the match, J Money tells B Cool to stay out of the True Pros’ way… before Royal powerbombed B. He might want to claim something back for that…
OTT Gender Neutral Championship: Bonesaw vs. Adam Maxted (c)
With Corvin getting at shot at the “big belt”, Bonesaw gets the first crack at Adam Maxted’s newly-won GN title.
Commentary tells us Bonesaw had a hand in training Maxted, as we start with a lock-up that goes nowhere. Maxted gets out of a chinlock and takes Bonesaw to the outside with a dropkick, but he lets his trainer get back in before things broke into a quick strike exchange. Maxted sidesteps a charge in the corner and returned with a springboard missile dropkick that flew across the ring, before a springboard spear kept Bonesaw down for a near-fall.
Bonesaw’s in with a knee lift as he took Maxted into the corner… then pushed him away as the pair continued to go back and forth. A flying ‘rana off the top has Maxted down, as did a tornado DDT, but Bonesaw took too long on the top rope and gets dropkicked down to the floor. They brawl around ringside with Maxted setting up chairs for a step-up dropkick into Bonesaw.
Bonesaw’s back with another ‘rana to the outside, following up with a cannonball to take Maxted out of a chair. Back inside, Bonesaw’s again caught on the top rope as Maxted tries a superplex… but Bonesaw shoves him down, only for the persistent Maxted to come back and hit the superplex anyway. A back suplex gets Bonesaw right back in, as things descended into another strike battle – with Bonesaw egging on Maxted by bringing down the straps.
Another Maxted dropkick stops Bonesaw,, before a Blockbuster flipped Bonesaw for a near-fall. A piledriver from Bonesaw stacks up Maxted, but he can’t go for the cover quick enough, and Maxted’s able to roll to the ropes to stop the pin in time. From there, Bonesaw heads up top for a back senton, but it misses, just like Maxted’s moonsault, but moments later a springboard Slingblade gets the job done. This was fine, but Maxted only working these Belfast shows kinda hurts overall familiarity – with commentary being caught off guard by that new finish. **¾
We get a promo from Corvin before the main event – it’s just him and a camera, responding to Starr saying that he deserved a title shot, while they showed highlights of Corvin’s wilder moments. Corvin vows to take the title to ScrapperMania and defend it – but first, he’s got to get through the man he labelled an import… This was real good stuff that tried to sell you that just maybe, Corvin had a shot.
OTT World Championship: Damien Corvin vs. David Starr (c)
Starr’s gotten a more negative response here, showing that the “brainwashing” hasn’t made it out of Dublin. That surprised me. As in, genuinely shocked me.
We’ve LOUD duelling chants as Belfast finally woke up. Starr mocking Corvin by telling him “it’s just pro wrestling” didn’t help the crowd, especially when Corvin told him “we fight”…
Starr trips Corvin early, then patted him on the head. Which just got him knocked away with forearms as Corvin took him into the ropes for a leapfrog/dropkick combo. Clotheslines trap Starr in the corner, but Starr’s able to get himself free as he worked over Corvin’s arm, hammerlocking it before dropping a knee on the arm. More chops follow, as Starr proceeded to take down Corvin for an overhead wristlock… then a standing surfboard that Corvin fought out of.
Stomps keep wearing down Corvin, but the challenger fought back with chops and a tiltawhirl backbreaker before a right hand off the apron led to a springboard crossbody that almost gets Corvin the upset. Starr tries to leap in with a double axehandle off the top, but it’s turned into a snap powerbomb for another near-fall, before chops from Corvin looked to keep Starr down.
Corvin looks for the F-6 Counties, but Starr lands on his feet and came in with a Han Stansen to leave both men down. Starr keeps going with cartwheel back elbow, a back breaker and a curb stomp for a two-count, before more lariat-like shots continued to wear down Corvin. The challenger doesn’t go down though, and responds in kind, taking Starr into the corner for a superplex… but he couldn’t roll in another one, so he just boots Starr in the corner.
Just like that, Starr snaps back with a Blackheart Buster, but a Han Stansen’s spun into a cutter. Corvin’s leap off the middle rope gets turned into a backbreaker, sending Corvin outside for respite… but he’s able to turn it around by dumping Starr on the apron with a uranage, before the ring crew pushed Starr away so they could take Corvin’s tope con giro!
Starr’s dives find Corvin… but back inside a Han Stansen’s ducked as Corvin hits the F-6 Counties for a near-fall! A small package nearly gets it for Starr, before a sit-out front suplex from Corvin would have gotten the win… but Starr rolls outside to avoid being pinned. Corvin decides for another dive, but he just runs into a Cherry Mint DDT instead, before a Han Stansen to the back of the head, and a big ol’ Product Placement gets the win. Very definitive, but Corvin showed a lot here in defeat – and it’s interesting that not ALL of the OTT crowd are onside with him. ***½
Post-match, Starr gets another fan in an Independent tee to celebrate with him – even if it looked like a struggle to explain what he wanted… before Bonesaw came in to stop David Starr from sacrificing his tag team partner. In the end, Starr offers handshakes to the pair of them, before closing the show by taking shots at his Scrapper opponent Jon Moxley, because “he doesn’t care about us… because he hasn’t responded”. Perhaps calling that match the biggest match in indie wrestling history is a bit much, but the “independent vs. corporate” vibe Starr’s playing off of here is clicking, that’s for sure.
On the whole, it’d be unfair to call Dead On a dud. By OTT’s recent high standards though, this didn’t quite tick all the boxes. We had some build for Scrappermania, but it felt like we lost out on some big build for the OTT tag title match with Moustache Mountain not entirely being here. We’re two weeks away from Scrappermania – a show with some big spots on the card that should surely deliver.