OTT celebrated Halloween with a Friday/Saturday double-header, featuring a star from the Attitude era, and two really great matches.
The show opened with a video package highlighting OTT’s year to date, highlighting Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll. Their “Ah Ted” show was also slipped in, along with the Gymnasties’ tag title victory, Pete Dunne’s title loss and his re-crowning. From that, we start in the ring with the usual pre-show stuff, featuring a dodgy microphone. WrestleCon was the biggest weekender in OTT’s history, with a slew of big names from the past and present appearing.
Charlie Garrett vs. Paddy M
Ach, they’ve changed Charlie’s entrance photo – it’s no longer the so cheesy it’s good promo photo. Garrett’s sipping a cup of tea on his way down, because he’s English. As was the name of the town that the Tivoli chanted towards Workie (“Workington”)
Paddy M is apparently a newcomer, and given that his ring attire was a tracksuit and a baseball cap, this may well be a clone from Da Flats. Indeed, the commentary team tell us he’s supposedly Martina’s brother, and is untrained. That’s my bar set way low! This was a three minute challenge for €500, and it started with Paddy pulling down his tracksuit pants. Garrett launches into Paddy with a series of rights, then a back elbow off the ropes, before he bumped big time after being sent into the corner. It remained one-sided until Paddy leapt over Garrett in the corner, before landing a crossbody for a near-fall.
Garrett hit back with a series of vertical suplexes, before landing a knee drop for a near-fall. A pendulum backbreaker took down Paddy yet again, before missing a corkscrew flip out of the corner. That sparked another comeback, with Paddy dropkicking Garrett out of the ring. Paddy followed up by teasing a tope, but instead he rebounded by using his head, before a somersault senton to the outside saw him land on Paul Tracey instead. Back inside, Garrett’s missile dropkick was sort-of turned into a spinebuster, but Garrett caught Paddy on the top rope… he got shoved down though, and took a senton bomb. Before Paddy could make the cover, Paul Tracey ran in and dropped him with a headlock driver for the cheap DQ. Eh, this was pretty good considering the unknown talent involved. **1/4
Tracey worked over Paddy afterwards, as Workie tried to call him off. The Social Elite rounded on Workie, demanding that he strike Paddy with a chair as Garrett held him in place. Of course, Workie just levelled Garrett and Tracey instead, and after completing the babyface turn, he challeged the Social Elite to a tag match on the second night of WrestleCon.
Martina, Grado & X-Pac vs. Gymnasties (Sammy D, Justin Shape & Be Cool)
Martina got the King Mabel treatment, being carried out on a “magic carpet” made out of beer cans. Grado struggled to get into the ring, and I’m going to be gritting my teeth a lot with this team. At least there’s X-Pac… Justin Shape started by rapping X-Pac’s theme song without skipping a beat.
Grado and Sammy start us off, but Sammy wants X-Pac… a thought I share! X-Pac’s tag gets a huge pop, and we finally get going with a hiptoss before Pac brings Grado back in to score a double elbow drop for the match’s first near-fall. All three of the Gymnasties take Dusty Elbows, before Martina tags in and goes straight to OTT’s version of Mr Cocko. Grado goes the same, and Justin Shape and B. Cool take the condoms down their throat.
B. Cool takes a couple of condom chops in the corner before hesitating to chop Martina… and instead just gropes her. In comes Grado for an attempt at an F5, but instead he gets triple-teamed. A legdrop after a series of squats from Cool gets a near-fall, before Grado deadlifts a German suplex and replies with an Ace Crusher out of nowhere. X-Pac clears house with a series of kicks, before Sammy D takes a Bronco Buster. Grado hits a Rock Bottom, before Martina gives out a Codebreaker, as X-Pac humps Justin Shape after an X-Factor to take the win. Eh, towards the end the “superstar move spamming” was really verging on bringing backyarding to a bigger crowd, particularly with my favourite act, but it was short enough to not leave the “fun” zone. **
Street Fight: Logan Bryce vs. Abyss
This was a “falls count anywhere” variety of streetfight; Bryce came out with his usual rugby ball, with “AXEL” written on it in tribute to the recently-passed Munster rugby coach Anthony “Axel” Foley.
Bryce got in Abyss’ face, saying he was tired of dealing with “oversized freaks”, before seeing a shoulder tackle prove ineffective. Wash, rinse, repeat. A third one saw Abyss throw Bryce to the outside, before Logan went for a scrum, which proved to be Bryce going for a suplex, pushing Abyss back, before easily getting pushed off. Abyss barely flinched at a series of chops, before he was sent to the outside with a palm strike. They go outside, where Abyss throws Bryce into the wall, before Abyss grabbed a table from under the ring. Bryce set up a table, to shockingly-little reaction, but he seemingly needed a lot of help in doing so.
Bryce fought off a chair shot, before using said weapon on Abyss’ back, and then trying to use the chair to Pillmanise Abyss’ throat. This crowd is dead. Abyss shoved the chair in the turnbuckles as Bryce got a Kendo stick, and used it on Abyss’ arm and almost his groin. That stick’s used to choke Abyss with, before Logan went for his lariat… only to be cut-off by a Kendo stick shot from the Monster. Bryce ate a series of Kendo stick shots to the back and knee, before an avalanche in the corner took the “rugger bugger” Bryce down. A spear from Bryce countered a second attempt at an avalanche, but Abyss kicked out, before Bryce impressively lifted up Abyss into a Fireman’s carry.
Nevertheless, Abyss wriggled out and shoved Bryce’s head into the chair in the turnbuckles, before a chokeslam proved to be only enough for a near-fall. Abyss went for a sit-down splash, but Bryce turned a chair on his belly upright, crotching Abyss in the process, before a back senton picked up another near-fall. Bryce climbed the turnbuckles, breaking a cover in the process, but got caught and was chokeslammed through the table on the outside – waking up the crowd in the process. Abyss then rolled Bryce back inside for the match-winning pin. That… wasn’t particularly good. The crowd was dead for large parts, with even weapon-shots not getting much of a reaction. *
Ryan Smile vs. Chris Hero
Well, before the match, you’d have been forgiven for rolling your eyes, as they got “this is awesome” chants before the two even shook hands. After a “shake forever” chant, Hero shocked Smile with a schoolboy roll-up for a near-fall. This quickly became great. Back and forth. Hard hitting. Everything you expect from these guys, and a whole lot more. Ryan Smile laying across the middle turnbuckle, then Hero doing the same mocking his opponent. Bicycle knees. Forearms. Oh so many forearms, and they all looked like they sucked to take.
After almost beating Smile by count-out when he drilled him with a knee in the front row, Hero had to weather some punishment as Smile went airborne – first with an Asai moonsault, then with an across-the-turnbuckles tope con hilo – before Smile played Hero at his own game. That didn’t quite go to plan as Hero fought back with a flash piledriver and a Styles Clash piledriver for near-falls, before the end came when Smile landed an OsCutter and went for a frog splash. Despite landing it, Hero caught Ryan in a cravat, and used the hold as the base for a nasty suplex, before a rolling forearm and a scoop tombstone earned Hero the win. This is one that would have been well worth the price of admission, let alone the VOD! ****¼
After the match, Hero took the mic and rapped his own theme for a bit, before cutting a post-match promo which seems to be the norm for his European tours. Hero put over Smile, and teased a return to OTT. Smile, for his part, threatened to kill Marty Scurll in their match on night two…
Tyler Bate vs. Marty Scurll
Scurll jumped Bate at the bell with an umbrella-breaking shot, before landing a superkick off the apron as he tried to end Bate early.
A single-underhook suplex got Scurll a near-fall, but Bate fought back with uppercuts before catching the Villain in a squatting, stalling suplex. Scurll fought back by hanging Bate’s arm in the ropes, before stomping away at the 19 year old some more. A series of backbreakers got Scurll some near-falls, as Bate was then forced to power out of a Japanese strangle-hold… and power out he did, as the hold was reversed.
Bate landed a kneedrop to the back of a bent-over Scurll, before sneaking out of a chicken wing and landing a dropkick instead. A tope suicide sees Bate fly out through the corner and into Scurll, before he followed up with a diving uppercut for a near-fall. Scurll fired back with an arm whip as he tried to soften up Bate for an eventual chicken wing, only to walk into an airplane spin from Bate.
A lariat got Bate a two-count after that spin, but Scurll kept going for arm breakers, then dropped Bate with the “Just Kidding” superkick. That earned him a big boot, before Scurll hit back with another superkick and a Glen Joseph special (a bodyslam into the ropes… PROGRESS watchers will know why). From their knees, Bate and Scurll threw some forearms, but Scurll popped up into another superkick, before working through into an inverted Argentine backbreaker drop. Bate kept it up, but he took a lariat before a suplex was reversed, earning Tyler a near-fall… with a bridging German suplex getting a similar result. Scurll snapped Bate’s fingers, then stamped on them as a prelude to a chicken wing… but Bate countered it with an airplane spin, only for Scurll to slip out and get the chicken wing again for the tap-out. Another great outing for Scurll and Bate, who put on a heck of a clinic here. ***¾
OTT Women’s Championship Tournament – Semi Final: Katey Harvey vs. Melina
Harvey started by trying to ground Melina with headlocks and shoulder tackles, but the former WWE Women’s champion hit back with a leg trip and a trio of curb stomps. After throwing Melina into the ropes, Harvey choked away on her, before the tables turned as Melina added in some body scissors whilst choking. Harvey moved away from a double knee to the back before unloading on Melina with punches, softening her up for a surfboard stretch, which turned into a Romero Special.
Harvey gave Melina a receipt for that curb stomp and got a near-fall, before staying on top of Melina with uppercuts in the corners. A Fisherman’s suplex saw Harvey collect a near-fall, before eventually trying for a pendulum swinging submission that turned into another curb stomp. They went straight back to the pendulum, which worked as planned, before Melina hit a ‘rana out of the corner on Harvey. Melina looked to win it with the LA Sunset, but Harvey countered out into a T-bone suplex for a near-fall. Another LA Sunset was attempted, this time for a near-fall for Melina as Harvey dropped a little too soon, before heading to the outside for a rather rushed finish – as a hot shot off the bottom rope was enough for Harvey to get the win. Not great, but there’s been worse matches than this, that’s for sure. **¼
Dave Mastiff vs. Pete Dunne
Dunne’s OTT/NLW title wasn’t on the line here, and it was Dunne who was sent flying at the bell as Mastiff dumped him with a German suplex. Once Dunne shrugged his jacket off, Mastiff sent Dunne into the corner, before landing an uppercut as the champion tried to fly out. Dunne got a taste of his own medicine as Mastiff looked to stomp his knees, before instead switching it into a surfboard stretch… I don’t think I’ve ever seen that out of the Bastard before.
The pro-Dunne crowd in the Tivoli cheered as Dunne made a comeback, knocking down Mastiff with a dropkick and then set him up for a knee stomp of his own. Mastiff’s beard was pulled for added pain, as Dunne tried to get the crowd to turn on him, before Dunne fired up and laid into Dunne with forearms. Dunne fired back with a forearm, before backflipping over the Bastard, and countering a diving crossbody with a crossbody of his own.
Dunne tried to heel himself by telling the crowd where to go as they cheered him in a boo/yay punching sequence, before Mastiff countered a bite with a Finlay roll and a back senton. Mastiff tried to deadlift Dunne into a German suplex, but instead it was reversed as the champion ended up being driven into a corner, before turning up the tempo and hitting a series of forearms in the corner.
Mastiff countered a ‘rana with a powerbomb for a near-fall, before Dunne finally sank his teeth into the Bastard, and then followed up with a snap-German suplex. A double stomp off the top nearly got Dunne the win, but Mastiff bit back – to a chorus of boos. What’s with this crowd? Mastiff came a little short with a cannonball in the corner, but recovered to attempt a German suplex… which turned into a striking sequence and a reversed suplex for Dunne. From the kickout, Dunne grabbed an armbar, but the referee didn’t see the biting which immediately forced Dave Mastiff to tap. That was… an odd one. Dunne was clearly playing heel, but the Tivoli wasn’t having any of it, leading to some awkwardness in this main event. ***
Double-headers, as a rule, tend to struggle, unless they’re part of a wider tournament. Unfortunately, this fit in just nicely – save for the Smile/Hero and Bate/Scurll matches, there was very little that translated well to tape. Sure, the wacky six-man tag looked to have been fun live, but without the crowd and the alcohol, there’s very little to come back for on this show.