Over the Top Wrestling

Over the Top Wrestling, commonly abbreviated to OTT, is an Irish professional wrestling promotion based in Dublin, Ireland, that was founded in 2014. The promotion mixes elements of traditional pro wrestling, comedy and sports entertainment. Over the Top Wrestling showcases the best Irish talent and also brings in renowned stars from overseas. Shows typically took place in Dublin's Tivoli Theatre until its demise. Events now take place primarily in Dublin and in Belfast at the Europa Hotel. OTT also runs shows from Limerick, Derry, Wexford and Enniskillen. Special 'Supershows' occur at the National Stadium periodically. 'Contenders' billed shows featuring up and coming local talent are run from the National Stadium's Ringside Club. In 2022, Over The Top Wrestling expanded into Wolverhampton, England and in 2023, the organisation announced plans to go further afield with a show in Milan, Italy.
History
Founded in 2014 as an alternative to the family friendly offerings on the Irish wrestling scene at the time, OTT was aimed at an over 18s audience with the intention of giving adult wrestling fans something grittier to enjoy, with a shift away from a PG product. Initially the show focused mainly on Irish talent, with gimmicks relating to Irish culture such as the Irish Traveller influenced Luther Ward and the Ward Family, Session Moth Martina, the working class-styled Lads from the Flats and the elitist "Lord of The Manor" Paul Tracey. The show was initially composed of wrestlers trained by Main Stage Wrestling and Fight Factory training schools. As the promotion evolved it attracted more renowned stars from abroad including the likes of Mick Foley, Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Will Ospreay.
Post-Pandemic Era
After 17 months without a show due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OTT returned in Belfast on 18 July 2021 with "Welcome Back to the Second Half". The show featured predominantly Irish mainstays from the pre-pandemic OTT era as well as a number of imports based in the UK such as Omari, Emersyn Jayne, Jamie Hayter and Mark Haskins. This show seen the unification of the GN Title held by Adam Maxted and the vacated OTT World Title in a match won by Mark Haskins to become double champion. A Tag tournament eliminator was also held due to Moustache Mountain vacating their titles . The tournament finals seen The Kings of The North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin) beat The Lads From the Flats (Paddy M & Session Moth Martina) win to the belts for the fourth time.
The following shows saw the promotion of a number of the contenders roster including Justin Daniels, and Danny Cross (simply known as “Jay”) who won the OTT Tag Team Titles with B.Cool on his main roster. Liamo also became a regular on the shows as a manager for Paddy M and Martina, and later made his in-ring debut on Contenders 18, the first such show in the post-pandemic er. This card also introduced Fabio to OTT. Sammy D defeated Scotty Davis for the OTT No Limits Title at the 2021 Wexford Spiegeltent Festival live event, becoming the first unrecorded title change in company history.
2022 began with a double header of Saturday and Sunday shows "OTT Live at the Ringside". This weekend saw long time babyface and fan-favorite Terry Thatcher turn heel after being unable to beat Session Moth Martina for the GN Championship. He also headed up his own stable called The DeThatchment. Mark Haskins was unable to make The Road to Scrappermania show in Dublin due to travel issues, as a result an impromptu main event was made for the OTT Tag Team Championships which saw Aussie Open overcome B.Cool and Jay to win the titles for the first time. This show also set up a number of matches for the Scrappermania 6 stadium show.
The Following months seen a soft relaunch of OTT in Dublin as they took up residence in The Complex, a venue in Dublin's city center for their first show in the capital city since the Tivoli days "Poetry Slam". A returning Omari overcame Mark Haskins to become the OTT World Champion. The following months saw the retirement of B Cool in a career v title match against Sammy D, The formation of "The Draw" (Sammy D, Charlie Sterling and Adam Maxted) and a heel turn by babyface Jay to join the Draw. 2022 ended with the Draw holding the Tag Team Titles, NLW & GN Championships.
Expansion
Over The Top Wrestling expanded into Wolverhampton, England after the relaunch, booking shows in The Hangar. On St. Patrick's Day Weekend 2023, a notable piece of history was made. Three titles changed hands on three consecutive nights in three different cities. Wolverhampton saw its first championship switch when hometown hero Trent Seven captured the OTT No Limits Title. The next night in Dublin, Sammy D won the OTT World Championship in the main event of ScrapperMania VII. Then on Sunday, in Belfast, The Kings of the North began their record fifth reign as OTT Tag Team Champions. In July 2023, Over The Top announced that they would be having an event in Milan, Italy, marking the first show outside of Ireland and the UK.
Championships
OTT World Championship
Reigns
Combined reigns
OTT No Limits Championship
The OTT No Limits Wrestling Championship, sometimes simply known as the NLW Championship, is a title in Over the Top Wrestling. The current champion is Trent Seven, who is in his second reign. The championship predates Over The Top Wrestling and was competed for across various promotions in Europe. Within OTT, it was initially used as the top tier title in the company, until the introduction of the OTT World Championship. It now serves as the company's secondary championship.
Reigns
Combined reigns
OTT Tag Team Championship
The OTT Tag Team Championship is a title in Over the Top Wrestling primarily contested for by tag teams but has also regularly been defended by 3-man teams. The current champions are B. Cool and Danny Cross, who are in their second reign.
Reigns
Combined reigns
By wrestler
OTT Women's Championship
The OTT Women's Championship is a title in Over the Wrestling and is competed for by female talent. The current champion is Session Moth Martina who is in her third reign.
Reigns
Combined reigns
OTT Gender Neutral Championship
The OTT Gender Neutral Championship is a title in Over the Top Wrestling and is open to both male and female talent. The tag team of Semzo are the current holder of the title, with The Sem and Renzo Rose being recognised as co-champions.
Reigns
Combined reigns
As of , .
Roster
OTT wrestlers are freelance competitors, meaning they may also appear for multiple promotions worldwide, as well as performing for OTT.
Main roster male talent
Main roster female talent
Non-wrestlers
Special appearances/alumni
A-Kid
Aoife Valkyrie
Angélico
Aussie Open
Axel Tischer
Bandido
Candice LeRae
Carlito
Chuck Taylor
CIMA
Cody Rhodes
Colt Cabana
Dalton Castle
Dan Barry
Dante Martin
Darby Allin
Dave Mastiff
Davey Richards
Doug Williams
Drew McIntyre
Eddie Kingston
El Phantasmo
Evil
Fénix
Finn Balor
Flash Morgan Webster
Flip Gordon
Gangrel
Grado
Guerrillas of Destiny
Hirooki Goto
Ilja Dragunov
Jamie Hayter
Jeff Cobb
Joey Janela
JONAH
Jon Moxley
Juice Robinson
Jushin Liger
Keith Lee
Kenny Omega
KENTA
Kip Sabian
Kris Wolf
KUSHIDA
Low Ki
Matt Riddle
Mark Andrews
Marty Scurll
Masato Tanaka
Matt Cardona
Matt Sydal
Meiko Satomura
Mick Foley
Mike Bailey
Minoru Suzuki
Miyu Yamashita
Moose
Orange Cassidy
Pac
Paddy Morrow
Pentagon Jr.
Pete Dunne
Puma King
Rey Horus
Ricky Starks
Ricochet
Rob Van Dam
Rocky Romero
Sami Callihan
Santino Marella
Satoshi Kojima
Scotty Too Hotty
Sanada
Swerve Strickland
Sha Samuels
Shota Umino
Tajiri
Tegan Nox
Tetsuya Naito
Timothy Thatcher
Tomohiro Ishii
Tommy Dreamer
Toni Storm
Travis Banks
Tyler Bate
Veda Scott
Young Bucks
War Machine
Will Ospreay
Zack Gibson
Zack Sabre Jr.
See also
List of professional wrestling promotions in Great Britain and Ireland
List of professional wrestling promotions in Europe
NXT UK
References
External links
Irish professional wrestling promotions
2014 establishments in Ireland
Entertainment companies established in 2014