It’s time for part two of my Overboard run down and you join me just after the interval. Prepare yourself for even more twists and turns!
Reese and Rogan vs Lucas Neon and Nick Kutter
After perhaps drawing the shortest straw of anyone in the rumble, coming in at number two and forced to face a riled-up Dekker, Nick Kutter was back out to face the men who helped Dekker along the way to his unfair victory. This time, he and Neon were given a fair chance to try and defeat the two men who had blindsided them before – but after taking such beatings in the rumble, it wasn’t clear how they’d overcome these ginger-haired obstacles.
They gave it their best shot with the Morecambe fans firmly in support, not showing signs of hesitation. Reece answered Neon’s high-energy offense by going to town on him outside of the ring whilst Rogan distracted the ref and any rallying that Neon valiantly managed to develop was met with firm kicks and cannonballs. However, with the help of the crowd, he managed to up his energy and hit a dropkick that allowed him to go for the hot tag to Kutter. Kutter’s enziguri was cleverly set up so that when Reece dodged it, Rogan was caught with it instead and the “rising stars” were showing just why they deserved this match. However, it wasn’t to last as Reece and Rogan were just too powerful to be kept down and Neon was met with a giant double chokeslam for the three count.
This apparently wasn’t enough for Brooker’s team though, as when the unsuccessful team were clapped by the fans on their way out, Reece and Rogan went in on the attack again, double choke slamming Kutter this time. Out of nowhere, Sinergy reappeared, obviously enraged at this act of poor sportsmanship. They took it to Reece and Rogan who feigned retreat before coming back in the ring and attacking them from behind. The brawl was never-ending, and security could do nothing to separate the two huge teams; in fact, neither could the entire locker room as everyone spilled out to try and put a stop to the carnage. The fans were treated to an even more jam-packed ring than they witnessed during the rumble. It took a long time for this chaotic episode to end, so God knows what will happen when Sinergy and Reece and Rogan finally face off in Blackpool!
Odyssey Pro Wrestling Women's Championship - Taonga vs Lana Austin
This championship clash was the next battle and before it had even started, the audience weren’t pleased with Taonga as she demanded they be quiet as SilentMark read out her social handles. The recently crowned champ didn’t even give him a chance to leave the ring before attacking Lana Austin, who was the firm favourite here in her Morecambe return. Once the bell had rung, Taonga wasted no time in hitting Austin with a nasty snap suplex, demonstrating her speed and strength. She also showed off her nasty side when the action spilled to the outside, pulling Austin into the ring post with a nasty bang. However, Austin didn’t let Taonga’s early domination stop her from fighting back, keeping her wits about her to reverse a kick and go for a rollup and a series of skillful grapples followed by a DDT, but only amounting to a two count. Taonga then changed her game plan to try and wear down Lana with submissions and holds that targeted her left shoulder. Austin fought through the pain and carried on, managing to hit a devastating rolling elbow, and kicking out from a facebuster. It wasn’t to be her night though, as even the most resilient of wrestlers would struggle to get back up from Taonga’s signature knee strike which knocked Austin out cold. Taonga may talk the talk, but she proved here that she can walk the walk too, defending her Odyssey Pro Wrestling Women’s Championship in an impressive fashion. I can't wait to find out who her next challenger could be.
Odyssey Pro Wrestling Championship - Ryan Hunter vs Nathan Cruz
After so many main-event worthy matches, there was still one more to go. This time, it was the official main event; Ryan Hunter defending his newly won Odyssey Pro Wrestling Championship against Nathan Cruz. This match proved what equal grounds these two competitors were on as they began with a lock up and showed each other their strength. It was Cruz who came out on top at first, sticking Hunter in a tight headlock, but Hunter bounced back. Perhaps showing that he could be successful in the rumble match, Hunter threw Cruz out of the ring, but Cruz pulled him down with him and hit him with a nasty chop. He went to repeat this but Hunter cleverly dodged out of the way and left Cruz to hit the ring post instead. But Cruz answered Hunter’s ring smarts with intelligence of his own, reversing the Hunters Arrow and slamming Hunter into the turnbuckle, showing he had done his research. He angrily stomped Hunter into the corner as the loyal fans urged Hunter on to battle back. This he did in emphatic fashion, managing to take Cruz down with a ring-shaking superplex from the top rope. Attempting to capitalise, we then saw Hunter show off his strength again with a German suplex and a running knee but Cruz demonstrated immense resolve to kick out. The wrestling continued in what was a showcase of brilliant skill from both men, but Cruz was certainly the faster of the two, able to dodge Hunter’s hook kick and follow it up immediately with a roll-up that was close to three. This became an important factor when he was able to quickly dodge Hunter’s offense and sent him flying into the referee inadvertently late on in the match. Despite being concerned for the referee’s safety, Hunter didn’t allow Cruz’s attempt to capitalise to amount to much and instead hit the Hunter’s Arrow. But of course, with the referee down, there was no one to count to three and the victory was still out of reach for Hunter, much to the fans’ anguish.
Given time to recuperate, Cruz opportunistically left the ring and grabbed the championship belt – having dodged a hit from it once, Hunter was caught with a clobber to the head the second time and seemed to be knocked out. Cruz dragged the referee over and it was surely the end of Hunter’s reign… but, at the very last possible moment, Hunter miraculously kicked out and the match was prolonged. This second wind and the cheers of Morecambe spurred Hunter on to hit the hook kick, German suplex, and Hunter’s Arrow in quick succession for a triumphant championship retention.
In his disbelief that he had let his opportunity slip away, Cruz picked up the belt and had to hand it over to Hunter. He was reluctant but followed it up with a handshake – or so it seemed, before an uncalled for low blow thwarted any respect that might have been shown. Cruz held the belt high as Hunter writhed in pain.
As if to rub salt in the wound, the last person anyone wanted to see emerged from the curtain again – Dekker, with his championship contract in hand. He approached a down and out Hunter and hit him with the On The Rocks twice in a row, and begged referee Scott Bell to let him cash in his contract as the fans urged Hunter to get up to deaf ears. Before anything else could happen, though, Ethan Edwards returned with a mic in hand. He stated that the terms of the contract stated that it could only be cashed in during a show – and the show had finished. Dekker and Brooker were furious.
But Ethan wasn’t done and said “We all know you didn’t deserve this tonight”, confirming what the fans all believed; RPD was the true winner. But, he acknowledged that Dekker was owed a championship match and he would get it. At War on the Shore, it will be Ryan Hunter vs Andre Dekker vs RPD for the Odyssey Pro Wrestling Championship.
This huge match announcement did nothing but enrage Dekker even further and he took this out on a vulnerable Hunter. The fans chanted for RPD and he answered their calls, rushing in to help Hunter and almost hitting the Superman Punch on Dekker who narrowly avoided it and scarpered away. RPD picked up the belt and offered us perhaps a glimpse into his future.
The drama still wasn’t over. Hunter was eventually back on his feet, and walked backwards into RPD and went for a cutter instinctively. RPD dodged it, clearly unhappy, as Hunter apologised and claimed he thought he was Dekker. Going to hand over the belt, RPD kept hold of it for longer than he perhaps should have done, and the tension rose for this massive triple threat even more.
With this match already made, War on the Shore is going to rock Morecambe to its core - you don’t want to miss it!
Comments