The 1980's may have been the Golden Age of wrestling, but a grassroots movement here in Ireland is bringing the athletics, the dramatics and the downright fantastical characterisation to a whole new generation of fans. Liam Geraghty went ringside in the growing wrestling scene to bring the inside scoop to The Business.
Over the Top Wrestling is run by Joe Carberry and hosts sell-out shows all over the country and increasingly, its wrestlers fight internationally to feed the insatiable appetite of its fans. Joe says the pageantry of wrestling had him "sucked in from the start" and his dreams came to life when he was accepted into the WWE Performance Centre, the training school that his childhood heroes attended.
"I remember one of the very first days I walked in… they have this big sign up saying 'You're a WWE Superstar' and you're like, wow, this is the place where I watched my idols as a kid!"
Several consecutive concussions later and Joe's dream was in tatters but far from feeling sorry for himself, he returned to Ireland and set up his wrestling promotions company which has gone from strength to strength.
"It's difficult, it's challenging but it's rewarding at the same time because from the business side, you're creating a show, you watch it back and you can see how much joy it gives the fans."
One fan-turned-wrestler is Karen Glennon aka Martina The Session Moth who describes the character she embodies when she fights.
"She's a girl that goes out drinking all day long, she dances, she makes a fool of herself, she fights with people, she's in her pyjamas hung over the next day going to get a chicken fillet roll. She's wearing hoop earring, she has her girlfriends around her and she's chasing all the fellas!"
The lifestyle doesn't come cheap either says Karen, who can spend up to €200 for a one-time wear costume for a particular fight.
One of the youngest OTT fighters is Scottie Davis, real name David Scott, a 17-year-old with his eye on the prize. "I've been doing professional wrestling since I was 13 but I've been doing freestyle wrestling since I was 6 with the ambition of always being a professional wrestler," he explained, an ambition inspired by… his granny!
"For as long as I can remember we've been sitting up watching Pay Per Views until 4 o'clock in the morning and she'd be standing up screaming at the TV, her whole passion for it… furthered my passion for it. To have her out here watching me do it and to see her supporting me, it's just a fantastic feeling."
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