Overboard 2023 Report Part 2

Welcome to the second part of my Overboard 2023 report. After the interval, we were treated to a number one contendership match for the Odyssey Pro Wrestling Women’s Championship as well as the main event, the huge Overboard Rumble. Stick around to find out all of the details you need to know. Missed part 1? Read it here!

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Jennie B vs Leah Raven

This clash was to determine who will face Alexxis Falcon for the OPW Women’s Championship at War on the Shore, so the stakes were high and you could tell as Leah Raven came down to the ring with a determined look in her eye. Jennie B, on the other hand, was more focused on getting the Morecambe fans to stop booing her and finding excuses to not lock up. “Why you always shouting and stuff? Just be quiet!” she told the audience, which, needless to say, went ignored.

Raven was spurred on by the fans’ support and managed to catch Jennie with a headlock when she was not expecting it. She exhibited outstanding agility to dodge Jennie with precision, but there wasn’t a lot she could do to prevent the interference of Jackie B from the outside. He repeatedly tried to distract the referee so that the pair could dish out effective illegal offense. Jennie’s camel clutch was brutal - Raven was capable of escaping but it was clear that damage had been done.

Despite this, Leah was able to build some momentum with excellent innovative moves, including a shining wizard, but it was only for a two count. Meanwhile, Jackie B had noticed that Jennie was in trouble, so when Raven almost had Miss Morecambe down for 3, he jumped in the ring. Raven was tough enough to kick him out but the distraction allowed Jennie to connect with a backstabber. Raven fought on but when Jennie locked in the camel clutch again and Jackie pulled the rope away from her, she had no choice but to tap to save her career. The referee was blind to the shenanigans that went on as the fans chanted “Cheater” and Raven appeared crestfallen.

This means that Jennie B will face Alexxis Falcon at War on the Shore for the Odyssey Pro Wrestling Women’s Championship. Will she use underhand tactics to secure the belt and the title of Miss Morecambe for good?

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Overboard Rumble

It was time for the main event - the 30-man over-the-top-rope Overboard Rumble. This clash of bodies grants the winner an opportunity at the OPW Championship whenever they choose.

The person granted the pressure of kicking off this flagship match was debuting Toby Valentine. He might have been new to the fans but they had no trouble getting behind him when it was revealed that Andre Dekker was in at number two. Last year’s rumble winner had reason to be confident but was thwarted when Valentine threw him over his head. In another act of defiance, Valentine lobbed his shirt at Chris Brooker, perhaps making a statement that he is not one to dismiss in OPW going forward. 90 seconds later, the tide turned when Sheriff Steele joined the fray and teamed up with Dekker but even these two big men couldn’t tip Valentine over the top rope. The next entrant was Looster the Gooster who loves to hug and made the mistake of targeting Dekker who was enraged by the love. Looster didn’t last long.

Next up was the War Machine Craig Kollins who Morecambe was happy to see as he unleashed cannonballs on Steele, Valentine and Dekker within seconds of entering the ring. He was followed by the masked man Ginha who had a similarly explosive entrance with a roundhouse kick and dropkick to Kollins, but couldn’t avoid Kollins’ momentum and was victim to 10 harsh punches. Entrant 7 was Jackie B who the crowd had not forgiven for his earlier actions. He resorted to biting Steele to avoid a slam.

Ethan Edwards stormed down to the ring next and showed no fear coming face-to-face with Dekker. Morecambe came unglued when his quick thinking to pull down the top rope meant that Dekker went tumbling out of the ring. Everyone was relieved that a repeat of last year would not be happening and amazed at the performance of this non-wrestler defending OPW from the hands of the Spotlight once again. A returning Anderson Daniels was up next, showing no signs of ring rust as he and Edwards formed a coalition to get rid of Jackie B. However, Anderson had his back turned when Dekker illegally reentered the ring in order to eliminate Ethan out of pure spite.

Up next was Nick Kutter who was angry having lost his match to Neon earlier, and his mood was not helped by the strong style offence of Valentine that greeted him. Another new face entered the ring - Maximilian Jaggard, who was clearly familiar with Valentine as they went head to head. He managed to reverse Valentine’s slam into a cutter but Valentine couldn’t be kept down.

The next entrant was Chris Stone, followed swiftly by Davey Getski, a fellow member of the Wrecking Crew alongside Nick Kutter. This reunion was followed by another one when Troy Ryan came down to the ring and single-handedly took out all of the Wrecking Crew followed by Jack Roberts. The Wrecking Crew fought back but Sinergy managed to eliminate Getski and Stone, leaving Kutter alone. Ryan then came face-to-face with Valentine, offering the OPW fans a glimpse into perhaps a future dream match, but they ended up teaming up to take out Jaggard who had bitten off far more than he could chew against two much bigger men.

In amongst this chaos, we had some other entrances including Clash and Nightmare. Despite both trying to make their own impact, Clash did not last long in the match and Nightmare was caught with a huge belly-to-belly from Kollins. Jack Best was another new face to the Morecambe fans who became another victim of Valentine.

The debuts didn’t stop there - this time it was Mr B trying to make an impact, who was accompanied by a lookalike. All three of the masked men - Mr B, Nightmare and Ginha - came mask to mask and it was Mr B who was eliminated. Or, so it seemed before his lookalike on the outside caught him and prevented the elimination.

Lance Revera looked as confident as ever when his music rang out despite the ring being filled to the brim. He began his tirade by knocking Mr B and co off balance, causing the elimination. In the ring, Revera subjected almost everyone to his aggressive superkicks before being eventually taken down by a triple superkick courtesy of Sinergy.

The fans were delighted to find out that it was Will Carter joining the fray next who eliminated Sheriff Steele and Nightmare in quick succession. Joining him soon after were Reece and Rogan who went face-to-face with Sinergy as a precursor for their Tag Team Championship match. Jack Baron was eliminated at this point before Leon Grey entered to attempt revenge on Reece and Rogan. He launched into the ring from the top rope, taking everyone out.

Then, Sam Bailey was up, but he decided to have a rest before entering - probably a smart move considering the pure amount of bodies that filled the ring. When Ryan Thorn’s music hit 90 seconds later, Bailey rushed between the ropes. When Reece eliminated Anderson and Kollins, Troy Ryan enacted his revenge by getting rid of Reece but was quickly pushed over the top rope by Rogan in retaliation. The numerous eliminations didn’t stop there, when Valentine strategically positioned himself to suplex both Jaggard and Best to the outside of the ring where they crashed and burned into a raft of men on the floor with the most devastating move of the night.

As if the action wasn’t hot enough, RPD was entrant 27, with focused determination. Within seconds, he had eliminated Rogan. Number 28 was Matty T who hit a series of stunners (needing three to take out Valentine) and was closely followed by Jason King in the penultimate spot. Instead of using his advantageous position, he decided to berate Morecambe and the North of England as a whole, saying he would win the match for the South. He was sent flying over the top rope with barely any chance to land a punch.

Morecambe was tense as we waited to find out who had secured the envious 30 spot. The crowd could barely have been happier to find out that it was Lucas Neon, who had the momentum to surely go far. He and Carter formed an alliance to take on Bailey and Valentine, stomping holes into them. Neon then took it to Lance but Bailey was quick to put a stop to this, before being inches away from elimination by RPD. This gave Revera the chance to jump Neon and rake his eyes, resulting in Neon tumbling over the top rope. The fans barely had a chance to catch their breath before Isaiah Quinn appeared from out of nowhere to eliminate Carter which left them and Carter fuming as he chased Quinn backstage.

It was down to the final four - RPD, Lance Revera, Sam Bailey and Toby Valentine. RPD and Bailey exchanged blows before RPD managed to eliminate him. Valentine then took it to Revera who looked to be out of the match when he was caught by a referee on the outside. The crook revealed a Revera shirt before being ushered away by the other shocked referees. This unexpected twist gave Revera the apt opportunity to throw Valentine out of the match who had lasted for well over an hour but was ultimately outsmarted by the Playboy Prince in a frustrating fashion.

As the final two faced off, the ‘RPD’ chants never ceased. RPD and Revera exchanged suplexes and both came within inches of elimination at multiple points. Revera hit a huge moonsault before a double clothesline took them both out. It didn’t appear to be RPD’s night as Revera had the Superman Punch well scouted, able to avoid it multiple times. However, he wasn’t able to avoid it when he needed to most - when he was hanging on by a thread on the apron. RPD springboarded and connected harshly and Revera went toppling to the floor. The roof was raised as RPD was declared the winner of the 2023 Overboard Rumble.

It was difficult to hear him over the deafening, ecstatic cheers, but RPD addressed the fans. “I promised I would get rid of The Spotlight. There’s one last piece of the puzzle - Ryan Hunter and the Odyssey Championship. This contract means I can claim it any time I want, but I’m honest. I will claim it at the next show, War on the Shore! One year since they took away my chance I will take it back. Now we finish this!”

Hunter entered the ring to square up to RPD but RPD took him down and went on the attack. Brooker could do nothing but look on in sheer disbelief when RPD sent Hunter running and held the championship belt up high.

Is this a precursor for what is to come at War on the Shore? You will have to buy your ticket to find out - and be quick before they sell out! This was one hell of a show with breathtaking moments from start to finish, and I can’t wait to see the fallout on April 22nd which will no doubt be even bigger and better!