We cross over to the Emerald Isle for the first time now, as the feud between David Starr and WALTER hit the Tivoli.
Until this point, Starr’s time in OTT had been a little underwhelming – having had a match in September 2017 against Jordan Devlin at the wackily-named Wrassle Pops show, before being on the losing half of the Golden Contract qualifier trios match at Scrappermania 4. One month on from that, Starr was brought back as a replacement for Will Ospreay as WALTER made his OTT debut… and lit the touchpaper on a feud that had been meandering.
We were exceptionally fortunate to have been able to make it to the Tivoli for this one, watching from the stage…
WALTER & Low Ki vs. David Starr & Jordan Devlin
Jordan Devlin had been unbeaten in the Tivoli for almost two years – and with WALTER making his debut, it seemed that this could be a bridge too far.
Devlin and Starr came out together as BFFs… but their entire shtick, including dualling nicknames, just earned looks of disapproval from WALTER and Low Ki. Oh boy. They’ll be done for soon. Starr started off by taking WALTER into the corner for a chop. WHY?! He’s able to duck the receipt and come back with one more of his own, but you know what’s eventually going to happen. A headlock from Starr earned him a shoulder tackle as WALTER just shoved him into the ropes, before WALTER decided to tag out and give the Product a new foe: Low Ki.
Grabbing Low Ki by his collar, Starr managed to subdue things before tagging in Jordan Devlin to have a go at “killing” the import. A test of strength ensues as Low Ki eventually forced Devlin to bridge… and breaks that bridge with a simple series of kicks to the thigh. After that, Devlin managed to score with a waistlock takedown, then a cross armbreaker, but Low Ki rolls them into his own corner as WALTER ominously looked on. A hanging armbar in the ropes from Low Ki keeps the pressure on Devlin, but the OTT champion’s able to tag Starr back in as he tried to clear house against Low Ki.
A suplex from Starr takes Low Ki down for a near-fall, as does a uranage and a standing moonsault, as the BFFs began to target Low Ki – with a helping hand of David Starr winding up WALTER for good measure. It backfires a little as Ki kicked away Starr and brought WALTER in, and Starr’s still going for the chops… only to get caught eventually as CHOP! The big boot from WALTER knocked Devlin off the apron as der Ringgeneral had his laser-like focus on Starr. More chops come as Low Ki returned to wear down on Starr, targeting him with elbows in the corner as that sharp turnbuckle seemed to cut open Starr’s back. WALTER returns, because he’s not done with chops, and even gives Jordan a taster too, forcing Starr to try and fight back himself with a Han Stansen. It barely registered on WALTER.
Starr manages to flip out of a German suplex, but he can’t get to a tag as a butterfly suplex dumped Starr further away for a near-fall. The cycle of Ki and WALTER on Starr keeps going, with a Low Ki back suplex dumping Starr so hard he rebounded to his feet, before Starr again tried to make the tag out, only to get caught an a Boston crab. That finally drew Devlin into the ring to break it up, but he too felt the power of the Austrian’s chops! After taking a spin kick to the gut, Starr tried to fight back with even more Han Stansens, before finally getting the tag out to Jordan Devlin… a challenge that WALTER relished… as did the Tivoli!
WALTER just walks through some forearms so he can chop Devlin back down, but Jordan’s back in with a knee before he’s caught in a Gojira clutch. The RINGKAMPF German’s attempted, but Devlin rolls through into a stomp as WALTER’s forced to tag out, as the ring filled up since David Starr had seen enough. Low Ki looked for a double DDT on the BFFs, but instead he’s slung into the corner as he leaps up and crashes in with a double stomp instead!
WALTER returns for a springboard enziguiri/powerbomb for a near-fall on Devlin, and tags take us back to Starr and WALTER. Starr tries, as a quick battle of chops and lariats eventually took WALTER down for a near-fall as both BFFs stacked up on the Austrian for a near-fall. Starr and Devlin try to clock WALTER and Low Ki in corners, but things reverse as a pair of shotgun dropkicks wiped out the BFFs, as you sensed the end was nigh. Starr nails a Code Red to counter a WALTER powerbomb for a near-fall… but that just fired up WALTER into some more chops as he tried to take down Devlin. A Pele kick from Jordan actually gets WALTER off his feet, but he can’t quite get the win with a top rope moonsault, and things suddenly take a turn for the worse as a springboard back elbow was caught and turned into a Gojira clutch!
Devlin tries to fight back to his feet, with Starr trapped on the outside, but WALTER just pounds him with forearms before a trapped-arm Gojira forced the submission, and the Tivoli was left in shock! A hell of a match to watch live, and on VOD – with Jordan Devlin’s unstoppable aura finally slipping a little. To make matters worse for him, save for the odd hope, Devlin was pretty much outclassed by WALTER in this match, which will make it really interesting if and when WALTER goes for his belt. ****½
While WALTER in OTT would largely focus on Jordan Devlin, David Starr’s next match on the opposite side of the ring to WALTER (not counting battle royals or rumbles) would come back at the Markthalle as wXw celebrated their Fan Appreciation Night…