A new series where we trawl VOD to find you the little nuggets of wonderfulness that you will love

This week, I found myself with access to a veritable shitton of wrestling shows on demand (more on that later), and figured I should do something productive with it – aside from gorge the entire library in one go. But what to do? Ya’ll know how I love to sip tea at WWE, but reviewing indy shows feels so alien to me.

Firstly, what the hell do I know? But also I’ve been around the UK indy world for a few years now – the thought of writing a bad review only to run into someone at a show is just too much to bear. I’m a keyboard warrior until the end. Don’t confront me on my takes, I’m scared.

So instead, as I journey through all these shows I’ve never seen before, I thought it would be quite nice to pick out something I especially enjoyed from each one as a recommendation to you, dear readers, to check out for yourselves. One highlight per show which I think you’d really enjoy. Only positive vibes, yo.

Which brings me to here, Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling’s WrestleRama Belfast show, released August 2017. I’m catching up with it now because I’ve long-admired the general aesthetic and tone OTT put out on social media, and have been meaning to get caught up on their VOD content for bare time. The promotion’s usual home of Dublin is a touch too far away for me to make in person (easily), so up until now I’ve relied on short YouTube clips.

Happily, WrestleRama Belfast 2017 did not disappoint. I love the presentation, and they manage to strike just the right tone atmospherically. Fun, but not silly. For fans, without encouraging annoying Marksism (a pun which I am now trademarking).

It was a stacked card, featuring Kings of the North vs British Strong Style, Jordan Devlin vs Jimmy Havoc, and Jeff Cobb vs Ricochet just to name a few.

But one match in particular that I really enjoyed was Curtis Murray against Jody Fleisch.

You had my attention…

I’ve been aware of Jody Fleisch for some time, he’s been going for pretty much as long as I’ve been alive (and I’m no spring chicken) but looks absolutely incredible. Abs on abs on abs. Sidenote: ‘Fleisch’ is German for ‘meat’, go figure. His opponent was “hometown hero” Curtis Murray, a guy I’ve seen clips of on social media, but not a full match.

The generational difference between the two made for an interesting dynamic, though broadly they wrestled similar styles – that oh-so-indy athletic high-flyer we’ve come to know and love.

The match began with some solid technical work, fitting of the opening match on the card, but as time went on, the speed and intensity of the action sped up exponentially.

A nice little Hurricanrana quickly transitioned into a front flip dive from Murray outside the ring – a particularly impressive feat given the incredibly limited amount of space between the ring and the guard rail.

Following a lovely reverse Frankensteiner, Murray took some respite amongst the crowd, though it was rudely interrupted by a springboard moonsault from Fleisch onto his recovering opponent and – seemingly – an unwitting member of the audience (who I sincerely hope was in on it).

After a series of rolling reversal pins (I counted 12), there was a a rare pause in the action in which time the crowd seem to take a particular shining to Murray and, for some reason, start some “DELETE” chants (a behaviour I would usually find quite annoying and incredibly Marksist™, but it only lasted a moment during the downtime, so it’s all good).

From there, the action went right back to it’s energetic pace, with a special mention for a delicious Sunsetflip powerbomb from Murray which tied everything together very nicely.

Why am I highlighting this match in particular? The action was fantastic, and managed to hold my attention for the entire 15 minute (give or take) runtime. I have a notoriously short attention span, and – though I love wrestling dearly – find it very hard to stay focused on a show for long periods of time. This match captured my imagination right from the off, and set up the rest of the show wonderfully.

Jads’ Fashion Fix

I told you I didn’t want to review the match, just point you in its direction – and I’m keeping that promise. But I didn’t say anything about the fashion! As you read the next bit you need to imagine me presenting it to camera in a sequinned blazer with loads of jump cuts, set to some jazzy beats (think Suzuki St. Pierre from Ugly Betty).

The word “Watchmen” popped into my head when Murray made his entrance. He wore black tights with high-contrast yellow bands and a smiley face on one of the knee pads. His longer frame (along with the incredibly high-waisted tights) cuts a The Incredibles/Eames-era style figure (which probs makes sense to nobody but me). It’s a simple but effective look – though I have to say I’m not a fan of belts on tights. If your tights can’t support themselves, they’re not tight enough, dudes. Seth Rollins has the best gear in WWE, but that belt just annoys me. Still, it’s a 10 from Len.

Fleisch’s gear is um… individual? The MC Hammer pants tucked into kickpads look doesn’t really work for me, my guy. The baggy trousers and Adidas shoes give off a 2000s Rey Mysterio vibe, but even he knew it best to leave those things in the past (eventually). One word: tailoring. Jody Fleisch, please report to the Fashion Police from crimes against wrestling gear. Also, ‘Finale’ by Madeon as an entrance song? Are we sure? Between your Adidas trainers and this, we have everything we need for a Monster-fuelled FIFA 13 sesh.

Me-ow.

What to watch next?

So, how is it that I’m finally able to catch up on all this wrestling content? Well it’s because the folks over at Powerslam.TV have hooked us up with access to their new service, which streams shows from over 110 promotions in one place, under one subscription. It currently has around 4000 hours worth of content, but that is regularly added to. Using it, I’ve been able to watch shows from OTT, Defy, and Rev Pro, just to name a few.

Full disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, but Powerslam.TV have provided The Newplex with press access to their app.

My plan is to continue to use Powerslam.TV to find the little gems out there in the world of wrestling, and tell you about them here on the site. If you want to watch along with me, Powerslam.TV have provided Newplex readers with a one-month free coupon code, ‘THENEWPLEX’, so you can try it out for yourselves.

But what should I watch next? There’s a good chance that if you name it, I’ll be able to find it – so let me know your favourite matches from recent years, and I’ll be sure to feature them in a future highlight!