The aptly-titled Redemption sees Starr and WALTER return to OTT for the latest go around…
With the Tivoli in OTT’s past, we’re in the era of “OTT looking for venues” – so it’s off to Suir Road in Dublin, and a sorta-rematch from the Tivoli five months earlier, even with a replay of the injury substitution!
David Starr & Jordan Devlin vs. RINGKAMPF (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER)
Originally this was meant to have been Devlin and Will Ospreay against RINGKAMPF… but Ospreay’s rib injury led to a rather more storyline-friendly tag, complete with a promo that stirred the proverbial drink between Devlin and Ospreay some more.
The crowd were on fire just for the introductions, and we start with Thatcher and Devlin, with the crowd being a little divided for their love here. Devlin and Thatcher lock up, with the Irishman looking for Thatcher’s arm, instead grabbing the heck as they went at it rather scrappily on the mat, which led to Thatcher looking for a single leg crab that ended rather quickly. Tags bring in WALTER and Starr, with the latter quickly finding himself unable to shove away a headlock. When he did get free, Starr tried to wrench away on WALTER’s leg, only for the Austrian to back him up into the wrong corner as Thatcher comes in and flashes his masochistic smile as he looked to pull Starr into a bow-and-arrow hold. There’s teamwork out of the “Killer Product” too, as a backbreaker takes down Thatcher, before Devlin knocks WALTER off the apron – delighting the Suir Road crowd.
Devlin takes over on Thatcher with uppercuts in the corner, following up with a standing uranage then a standing moonsault for a near-fall. Starr’s back with chops and forearms to pin Thatcher into a corner, ahead of the Pretty Pumped inverted slam as Starr looked to make short work of things… only to have to shove away WALTER as the OTT champion eventually low bridges him to the outside. There’s a backdrop suplex onto the apron for Starr, who quickly finds himself isolated as WALTER’s back in with chops, leaving the Product in a familiar place: on the defensive against WALTER. Thatcher’s back in as WALTER pulls Devlin off the apron, continuing that fight to isolate Starr, who found himself in a rather bone-bending leglock from Thatcher in the middle of the ring, before the boot of WALTER just shoved Starr to the outside, via the bottom rope.
Starr eventually fights back with a chop, but he can’t get the tag out as still RINGKAMPF cheapshot Devlin, leaving Starr alone as WALTER slammed him into the mat ahead of a Boston crab. Devlin comes in to try and break that up, but it ends poorly for him as Jordan once again found himself on the floor. More grappling on the mat led to Thatcher grabbing a heel hook as Starr’s attempt for the same hold were cut-off. There’s an enziguiri out of Thatcher, but Starr’s right back with a lariat before the hot tag’s made to Devlin… who eyeballs the freshly-tagged WALTER before… running into a boot. Hot tag, extinguished! Devlin fires back with chops, forearms and punches, but WALTER rode it out and rakes the eyes, before he got caught in the ropes with a back cracker. A slingshot cutter’s next, but WALTER catches him with a Gojira clutch before the RINGKAMPF German’s countered into a wheelbarrow and a double stomp!
WALTER tags out and brings in Thatcher, who doggedly takes down Devlin again, as the match descended into a striking battle that ended with a pair of WALTER lariats. Starr tries to hit back with a back elbow and some Han Stansens, but they serve as a distraction as Devlin’s slingshot cutter took down WALTER… who then kicked out of another Han Stansen as Starr looked to end his own personal hoodoo over the Austrian. Starr struggles for a Product Placement, eventually landing it with the help of a dropkick from Devlin for a near-fall, before Devlin rained down more blows on WALTER, combining punches and knees… until the Austrian swiped him away. Starr suffered a similar fate before the pair fired back, countering out of RINGKAMPF German suplexes for pinning attempts, only to get caught in duelling armbars/STFs.
Devlin and Starr somehow escape, and there’s some fortuitousness as Thatcher’s errant clothesline knocked down WALTER. Jordan’s brief hope is dashed as WALTER recovers enough to PROPEL Starr into the corner with a shotgun dropkick, before a powerbomb/uppercut combo to Starr needed a flying stomp from Devlin to break it up. Good GOD the impact on that John Woo…
Devlin drags Starr to his own corner so he could tag back in, and Jordan’s back in with more strikes to WALTER… who just shrugs it off and flattens him with a powerbomb for another near-fall. A punch to the jaw clocks WALTER, as Devlin continues with body blows to bring the giant to his knees… eventually forcing WALTER to beg off. No mercy was granted as Devlin goes for… and gets the package piledriver! It’s elementary from here, but the referee’s pulled out…
…and David Starr’s the guilty party! The air escapes the Arena on Suir Road as the crowd parsed what they saw. Starr stares guiltily at Devlin, who couldn’t believe what just happened… and that leaves Devlin prone for a crazed Thatcher to lock in a Gojira clutch as the former champion was powerbombed into another uppercut… and THAT is elementary. David Starr just stares on as the crowd were silent as once again, WALTER picked up the win over Devlin, with the question of “why?” overshadowing the match that they’d just seen. ****¼
So, Starr’s actions at the end of that – which he put down to him wanting to beat WALTER himself – sparked a new thread in OTT as Starr would engage on a collision course with his former tag team partner. Starr and WALTER would have a match in OTT, but as we entered 2019, the feud would begin to have more of a sense of finality for a variety of reasons… and it all starts back where it began, in wXw…