A Flipping Good Time

By Ronan Winters

Action shot taken by Ronan Winters at the event

Over The Top Wrestling's name represents the company perfectly as its jam-packed with exciting action, gripping story-lines and some of the best wrestlers in the world. Over The Top Wrestling or OTT has become Ireland's premiere wrestling company since being formed in 2014; it has continued to grow in popularity across the whole of Ireland and recently grabbed the attention of international fans.

For most of my life, I've been a fan of wrestling, so I was ecstatic when I first heard of a company bringing talent from all over the world to Belfast in December 2016. This was OTT's first show in Belfast and ever since I've gone to every Belfast show. The most recent event being Flipping Assassins which had a card comprised of exciting matches and a wealth of international talent such as Ring of Honor's own Flip Gordon as well the best wrestlers from Ireland like the dynamic Jordan Devlin, a man whose talent has brought him success in WWE's UK Division.

I'd consider OTT to be very progressive for a wrestling company since they feature wrestlers from all walks of life and promote a diverse and positive representation for people regardless of gender. The women's division is stacked with talented women who push the bar not just for Irish Women's wrestling but globally as well. The female and male talent are treated equally within the company with both receiving the same treatment in regards to story-lines and matches. In recent times, they have introduced a Gender Neutral Championship that can be held by anyone regardless of gender which has led to some match-ups you wouldn't see in a standard wrestling match. Ideas like this help wrestling become inclusive which aids it in reflecting aspects of modern life.

Some wrestling fans have been known to be hostile towards newer fans or to family-friendly companies, which is not the case with fans of OTT who are welcoming to everyone from the casual fan to the hardcore ones and to newcomers of the brand. The atmosphere at these shows is always lively and passionate with the crowd ever present in their chants, which are usually creative and can add to the quality of the match whether it's rearrangements of songs like Hey Jude or classic sports chants.

Flipping Assassins was an excellent event with hit match after match but personally, my favourite was the main event tag match between the team of Belfast's own Kings of the North who were joined by fan-favourite Scotty Davis against the globetrotting Aussie Open who teamed with the Kiwi Buzzsaw Travis Banks. This match to me perfectly displayed what makes OTT an excellent event, an all-out brawl full of high-flying acrobatics, hard-hitting strikes and innovative moves which built to a crescendo of action that had the fans drawn into every pin attempt. OTT is on all social media platforms and if you want to get a sense of the events I'd highly recommend checking out the free matches they post on YouTube.