In a scantly lit theater in the heart of the emerald isle the thwump of plywood, planks and canvas bumping uglies can be heard from the street. In the center of the room, a 4 post ring enclosed with three ropes rises a few feet from the floor. Inside, two warriors have locked horns. They fight for control; both mens feet feverishly stomp at the worn canvas. Shouts, woops and jeers pop up from the crowd. ‘Unstoppable’ Pete Dunne lifts Luther ‘King of All Men’ Ward 6 feet above the mat and slams him straight down onto his back. The packed room goes from a roar to a frenzy.

This is Over the Top Wrestling.

Professional wrestling is relatively new to Ireland. To this day, the island’s contribution to wrestling is best remembered in the US for champion Danno O’Mahoney for which another regional promotion, Irish Whip Wrestling is named. Over the Top Wrestling is trying to change that.

Formed in 2014, OTT’s formula is simple: 18+

Most indie wrestling fans agree that the WWE’s PG era is terrible. We grew up watching Steve Austin flip off the camera, mock a bible verse, and deliver a Stone Cold Stunner on his boss before slamming a beer live on tv. It lit a primal sensation in our young hearts. One of of wanton violence and sticking it to the man. I told my 5th grade teacher to ‘SUCK IT!’ and tossed my little brother down a flight of stairs.

It was bliss.

Watching the WWE in 2016 as an adult can be embarrassing at times and that’s what makes an OTT show all the more satisfying. The wrestlers smoke, drink, cuss and fight like normal human beings.Drugs and sex also make special appearances. As have big name stars from around the world like Xpac, who is booked for a match at OTT’s first WrestleCon event on October 27th.

Their matches, characters and promos all live up to Over the Top’s namesake.

Local favorites The Lads from the Flats, Martina and Luther Ward make appearances at most shows. They and the rest of the roster exude loads of charisma and their in-ring ability is more than sufficient to keep fans entertained.

It may be small potatoes now but I can imagine OTT striking gold in the future with it’s forward thinking ‘American Wrestling’ entertainment. The Youtube page and website are a bit barren for content but they’ve put out more than two dozen VOD’s on their Vimeo on-demand page which can be rented for 72 hours or bought outright. I highly recommend them.

So if the next time during RAW when they trot out a teary eyed Ric Flair, or a star hits the company with a SFW ‘pipebomb’ and you’ve had enough, put the kids to bed, grab a fucking beer (or 10) and watch some Over the Top Wrestling.

-Nick Zecks

@ZecksontheBeach