2018 has been a big year for the Contenders sub-brand, some of it’s biggest names like LJ Cleary, Scotty Davis, and Raven Creed have had breakout years with two capturing championship gold and one making waves in the UK with Fight Club: Pro. Contenders 12 sees the debut of Masato Tanaka and the return of Jordynne Grace.
Match 1: Amy Allonsy & Debbie Keitel vs Valkyrie & Katey Harvey
Student and teacher team together as Harvey joins forces with Valkyrie, the relationship between the two has been a bit rocky since WrestleRama 2 when a triple threat match involving Sammii Jayne saw neither walk away with the women’s championship. Their opponents are a new team, Allonsy and Keitel teamed together at Defiant 2 in a losing effort to Lana Austin and Kasey Owens. These four women are no strangers to each other but this tag team match presents a new dynamic.
Match 2: NLW Championship: Curtis Murray (c) vs Paddy M
Murray makes his first defence of the title in Ireland, against one of the previous generation’s best Paddy Morrow. The Lad from the Flats is known in OTT for this tag team work with Workie, but Paddy is a former NLW and NWA Ireland champion. Morrow has long been considered one of the best talents on the island with his high flying abilities being second to none. The same can’t be said of Murray who has abandoned his high flying ways in recent months to become the Avihater and a cheater. Murray will have some tricks up his sleeve but Paddy might have the experience to outthink his younger opponent.
Match 3: Jordan Devlin vs Terry Thatcher
The Ace of OTT faces the Ace of Contenders. 2018 has been a standout year for both men on different levels. Terry Thatcher finally got the moment he deserved when he won the NLW championship earlier this year. After 13 years he had won the respect and love of the Contenders crowd who willed him to victory against Scotty Davis. For Devlin he has emerged as one of Europe’s best wrestlers, his run as OTT Champion saw the company steal the attention of the wrestling world thanks to classic matches with WALTER and a forgotten classic with Zack Sabre Junior. When Thatcher lost his title fans questioned where it would leave him. The Temple Bar bad boy took the bull by the horns and laid out the challenge to the biggest name in Irish Wrestling Jordan Devlin. Will the fairytale year have a fairytail ending or will the Import Killer become the Irish killer?
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Are you listening…? pic.twitter.com/6WDZroCvCI— 'UnBreakable' Terry Thatcher (@deThatched) November 8, 2018
Match 4: Team Zero-One (Michael May, Sean Guinness & Masato Tanaka) vs More Than Hype (LJ Cleary, Nathan Martin & Darren Kearney)
Former ECW, FMW and NJPW star Masato Tanaka makes his Irish Wrestling debut. A man who has faced the likes of Mike Awesome, Hayabusa, Mr. Pogo, Atsushi Onita, Sabu, Tetsuya Naito and countless other huge names in hardcore and Japanese wrestling is one of the best wrestlers to emerge from FMW and has captured over 30 championships across the world. He slots perfectly into a team with two extremely talented individuals, Sean Guinness is one of the best wrestlers in Ireland who spent yearts in Pro Wrestling Zero-One mixing it up with fantastic wrestlers and honing his craft. His other partner Michael May is a technical wizard and someone who would not look out of place in any Puro promotion. The hardcore wrestler, the junior, and the technician pose a huge problem to More Than Hype. For any other team facing this trio would spell certain doom, but not for the Bleh Boys. LJ Cleary, Nathan Martin and Darren Kearney have spent the year making their name and beating some big names, as a trio they defeated world travelers The Rascalz and Joshi legen Meiko Satomura, they retired rival faction Legit 100 and LJ captured the Gender Neutral champiionship defending it against the likes of Joey Janela, Tyler Bate, Kris Wolf and Session Moth Martina. Three best friends with chemistry and talent versus a near perfect team, this will be a war!
Match 5: OTT Women’s Championship: Raven Creed (c) vs Jordynne Grace
Raven Creed captured the OTT Women’s Championship in what may end up the last match ever in the Tivoli. After a gruelling fight with Sammii Jayne she emerged victorious as the crowd went crazy and created one final Tivoli moment. Creed debuted in OTT one year ago on Contenders. For someone so young she blew fans away with her character, promos and wrestling ability far beyond her years. When it came time for her to face Jayne the fans were ready to accept the Teal haired prodigy as a star. In her second defence Creed must defend against Impact star Jordynne Grace. “Thicc Mama Pump” is an absolute powehouse and has used that to become one of the best women’s wrestlers in the US indie scene. At one point this year Grace held three women’s titles at the same time and recently debuted for Impact Wrestling. Creed faces a big challenge if she is to walk away from the Ringside club with her title in hand.
