Anyone that’s been listening to the show on air over the past few years will know that any chance that I get to wax lyrical about professional wrestling, I certainly will.
Over the Top Wrestling, one of the worlds leading independent wrestling promotions has announced a return to the National Stadium this March. It is an event that is two years in the making, it is Scrappermania VI.
On sale NOW #ScrapperMania
— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) January 21, 2022
March 12th National Stadium #Dublin #StPatrick Festivities
Full line up coming SOON !
Tickets https://t.co/3y2dzpoIMU #OTT pic.twitter.com/BxvGHjVpdm
This event was one of the first in Ireland to suffer due to the lockdown announcements made back in 2020. A stellar lineup was announced months in advance with AEW World champions Jon Moxley, firmly Dean Ambrose in WWE, was due to compete for the OTT Heavyweight Championship. Ticktes were sold out, over 2200 would pile into the venue with the expectations of being entertained, however, it was not to be. The restrictions were announced and that was that.
Many wondered could OTT and Irish wrestling survive? After all with no shows to promote and no training school to build talent, how could they? Fans rallied and set up a gofund me account to help the promotion manage through the difficult financial period, people registered in their droves for their on-demand service (OTTWRESTLING.COM) and a new location was found for their training school. The future looks bright again for Over The Top Wrestling and we caught up with owner and former NXT superstar Joe Cabray who seemed confident the industry is in good hands;
“We’re at the start of a big rebuild. There’s so much homegrown Irish talent. If you look at the size of our country and the fact independent wrestling scene has only been alive in Ireland, for less than 20 years, and then look at the talent that we have produced like Sheamus, Becky Lynch, Finn Balor, and Jordan Devlin. They all got their start for the most part in the Irish Independent wrestling scene.”
“I’ve always kind of felt that the Irish Independent talent is is some of the best in Europe. They’re very hungry, they want it.”
“We just relaunched the the School of Irish Wrestling and we have a new place in Cookstown, Dublin.”
“Even the young people that have come for the beginners class just have so much energy, so I think the next 10 years or so of Irish wrestling is in is in really good, safe hands.”
Lots of stars from these islands and beyond are set for action this February. The Irish contingent is made up of Session Moth, Martina, Kings of The North, B Cool, LJ Cleary and no doubt lots more while world renowned OTT Champion Mark Haskins will defend his title. Many fans may recognize on the poster the appearance of some former WWE names such as former NXT North American Champion Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and attitude era hero Scotty to Hotty. With the event being so far away we asked Joe if he has anything else up his sleeve;
“Oh absolutely, this is just the start. We have a lot of people working hard behind the scenes to keep that poster being updated. The announcements will be made, across social media. But yeah, there’s definitely more to come on this.”
Pre pandemic OTT looked set to expand with shows in new territories such as Waterford confirmed and many more venues touted. OTT lost their original home , “The Tivoli Theatre” back in 2018, but continued to find new and vibrant places to produce their shows. With restrictions being lifted Scoreline needed to know if there are any shows being considered for outside Dublin;
“Yeah, absolutely. We have a show set for Limerick. It’s just been hard planning events with restrictions. So, and as soon as we get the green light and the restrictions are lifted, I think that’s when we’re going to look at getting back into all these events that we missed. For right now we’re looking at Belfast, Limerick, Dublin and Wexford as our places.”
OTT comes to #Limerick
— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) December 14, 2021
Feb 6th
All Ages Event !
Tickets selling Fast ! https://t.co/p9x4jJCJYY #OTT pic.twitter.com/3nc4MjpkXx
It would be easy for Joe to rely on himself when looking towards the future. However his trust in the young men and woman to lead the charge for his promotion is quite clear ; however he did concede that a certain annoying thorn in his side, B Cool, might eventually get him to grace the squared circle again;
“I have no real aspirations to get back in tights on a full time. I’ve been feeling quite good. As much as B Cool does annoy me, I do have a lot of time for him so you never know. Maybe if he needs a tag partner at some point I might.”
You can grab your tickets on eventbrite right here, as someone who has been there, you will not regret it.
Check out the 2019 documentary below if you need anymore more reason to consider getting into a bit of ‘rasslin this year.
