SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 15 – 13th October 2007
After a summer trip to Florida SHIMMER returns to it’s Chicago-area home territory for a final weekend of tapings to round out 2007. Sara Del Rey is now firmly established as the top gun of the promotion, and has a testing couple of Volumes ahead – starting tonight when she has to defend the SHIMMER Championship against the thus far undefeated Amazing Kong. If that wasn’t enough of a draw, Sarah Stock is back after her incredible showing in the title tournament earlier in the year – and heads straight into a rematch from Volume 13 against Daizee Haze. Elsewhere on the card lovable Alexa Thatcher is back from injury and pencilled into a certain ass-kicking at the hands of Cheerleader Melissa, The Experience want to beat up MsChif and Daffney, Allison Danger and Cindy Rogers are STILL at war…and this Volume has some historical significance as it marks the first time the Canadian NINJAs of Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews teamed up. Dave Prazak and Allison Danger are in a studio somewhere, and we are taped back in the familiar wooden furnishings of the Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL.
Amber O’Neal vs Eden Black
Opening the show is pretty much Amber’s permanent roster spot in SHIMMER now it seems. Using the recognisable strains of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ as her entrance theme and working the comfortably antagonistic ‘diva’ role on a roster full of hard working women she generally looks pretty effortless in getting audiences ready for the forthcoming event. Tonight will be no different, and I love the natural contrast between her and her opponent. Unlike the diva-tastic ‘Bullet Babe’, Eden Black is a hard working Brit – far more concerned with popping crowds and rattling off her assortment of death-defying high spots than her looks or her entrance. They make for obvious rivals. The Jezebel has added pressure on her this weekend too, as her long-term rival from the BritWres scene – Jetta – is also booked for these tapings. She’ll want to make sure that a) she retains her roster spot and b) she is seen as the top British worker on the show.
After missing the Florida show, Eden looks crazily pumped up for this. She is so excitable she actually gets caught out by a number of early spots by O’Neal…then fluffs a basic body slam to emphasise why Prazak and Danger have given her the nickname ‘Indy-riffic’. Amber has to hold things together and quite wisely slows the pace with stomps and rope-chokes. Eden is having a BAD night thus far, as she slips on the ropes trying to run them and gets pummelled in the back moments later. Tellingly, Allison Danger is on commentary talking about the need for competitors in SHIMMER to grow and improve if they want to stay on the roster – something which thus far Black has stubbornly refused to do. The Bullet Babe is focusing on her back and neck making it even harder for the British worker to break out some of her major offensive guns. Jezebel hits a butt-ugly jawbreaker/DDT/whatever the f*ck that was supposed to be spot to leave them both on the mat and continue her streak of not hitting anything clean all match. STIFF strikes from O’Neal, maybe to teach her botch-happy opponent a lesson. Garden Of Eden out of nowhere! Amber taps at 09:42
Rating - * - Truly awful performance from Eden Black here. When reviewing previous Volumes I’ve pointed out that her spunk, fire and tenacity make Eden a likeable character, and whilst that is true she can’t keep coming out and ruining match after match by screwing up overly complex spots she isn’t good enough to execute. If she can’t hit a swinging DDT, or an overly elaborate jawbreaker (I genuinely couldn’t tell you what that spot was supposed to be) – just use a regular one. If you can’t run up the ropes without slipping, why bother? Worse still, she was SO pumped up and excited for this match she was messing up even basic manoeuvres. She wasn’t just ‘indy-riffic’ in this match, she was downright amateurish – and I’m quite sure will head back through the curtain extremely disappointed with her performance. And for anyone questioning why Amber O’Neal remains on the roster, here was a great example of her importance to SHIMMER. Her character is easy to relate to for the crowd, and she’s solid enough in the ring that she can help someone like Eden Black from either killing herself or getting crapped on by the fans. She REALLY earned her money by holding this sh*t together…
Canadian NINJAs vs Ashley Lane/Lorelei Lee
Perez and Matthews weren’t actually referred to as the NINJAs at this point. In fact, this was their first time teaming together in SHIMMER – and they’d only very recently become friends (according to Wikipedia over a ‘meal at Denny’s’). At this stage they were both extremely raw, but both would go on to play a HUGE role in the future of the promotion so this should be an interesting watch. It’s also the debut of Ashley Lane (TNA’s Madison Rayne), who herself would hold SHIMMER gold in the future too. Unfortunately she has the perpetual dead wood that is Lorelei Lee as her team-mate. Lee has missed a number of shows recently due to poor performances and lacking victories, so this is a big one for her. All four of these women will want a big win to solidify a spot on the packed SHIMMER roster.
Portia is such a heel she even badmouths her own self-appointed ‘fan club’ in the front row. Lorelei starts for her team and tries to demonstrate her improvements by hitting a few clean armdrags. A crisp double Japanese armdrag from the Lee/Lane team gets an early nearfall…so Perez distracts them and lets her fellow-Canadian assume control. The NINJAs isolate Ashley for a minute or two, before a hot tag to Lorelei…who lands a standing moonsault on Portia. Flatliner by Ashley gets 2…before she gets raked in the face by Perez. The diminutive cheater pins Lane using her tights at 04:42
Rating - * - Extremely basic match with a few errors in execution to boot. The star I’ve given this is almost exclusively reserved for Perez, who is almost unrelentingly fun in every match she participates in. I’m not going to tell you that she and Nicole had instant chemistry in this match, but Matthews was still green at this point and her personality was totally eclipsed by Portia. They did look far more coherent than Lorelei and Ashley.
Jetta vs Serena Deeb
Having seen two debutants in the preceding match, its time for another one as Jetta steps into the SHIMMER ring for the first time. She is a long-time rival of Eden Black, and a far more abrasive character than her fellow Brit. She faces an opponent with a blossoming reputation within the promotion in Serena Deeb. I’m still waiting for Serena’s break-out performance, but she comes in with two consecutive victories – over Alicia at V13 and Malia Hosaka and V14.
The lack of response from Berwyn for Serena’s entrance suggests that they too are still waiting for her to justify the hype. Jetta, on the other hand, makes an instant impression as a loud-mouthed heel. Deeb works the arm; chain-wrestling with more fluidity than her British opponent who should supposedly be more proficient in that style. A classic, villainous eye poke from Jet is what finally turns the tide of the match in her favour. She works an armbar next, amusingly alternating between biting and hair-pulling depending on what the ref is looking at. She succeeds in injuring Deeb’s arm which instantly negates the effectiveness of her Spear finisher. Jetta leaves the ring to piss her opponent off (and mouth off at more fans), and uses her return as cover to go to the eyes again. Serena is fighting on one arm – so uses her legs instead to give Jetta a Skullf*ck for 2. Spear countered with a SLAP! STRANGLEHOLD LUNGBLOWER! STRANGLEHOLD CLUTCH! Deeb submits at 09:50
Rating - ** - A rather entertaining debut for Jetta. Her attitude and penchant for riling up the American audience was reminiscent of Rebecca Knox, albeit her wrestling skill isn’t close to her level. For the most part this was a solid little match though, with Deeb selling well and doing her part to put over the newcomer. To put it into context, this was Jetta’s first SHIMMER match and she looked streets ahead of where Eden Black is right now.
Rebecca Bayless enters the ring next to interview Allison Danger. Becky does her usual awful job (but is so beautiful you don’t care) – and somewhere in her rambling asks what Allison plans to do to address her recent SHIMMER slump. Danger mentions going for the SHIMMER Championship which brings out Cindy Rogers…who beat her in Florida so therefore should be ahead of her in the pecking order. She attacks Allison, so it appears these women are going at it again…
Allison Danger vs Cindy Rogers
It seemed like this rivalry was over at Volume 14 when Cindy pulled out an impressive victory in their 2/3 Falls Match. This was following up from her existing wins over Danger in both a standard match and a Dog Collar Match. Even Allison’s sole win over Cindy (a Street Fight at V12) was a hollow one as Rogers ended that show having injured her leg with a chain. Rogers has had the upper hand through this entire feud…and if Danger genuinely wants to get into position for a SHIMMER Title shot she badly needs to get the better of her arch enemy once and for all.
Allison is desperate for a win here and nearly pulls out the Curb Kick in the first minute of the match. Cindy retaliates by whipping her into the guardrails (right in front of a creepy guy dressed in full Roddy Piper costume). Danger’s back has been injured and is crunched into the canvas with a Russian legsweep for 2. Desperation Shimmering Warlock by Allison misses…but she manages to hit a hanging Lovelace Choker out of the corner! OLD SCHOOL EXPULSION! Danger wins at 07:23
Rating - * - I haven’t had too much cause to criticise the way Dave Prazak has booked SHIMMER thus far, but this one I’m really struggling to explain. Coming out of V14 Rogers had a big win over Danger, had seemingly ended the feud in the ascendancy and seemed poised for a credible upper midcard role. Danger is as over as anyone on the roster already, so wasn’t remotely hurt by the loss in a long-term sense. Their 2/3 Falls Match in Florida was a great outing for them and in my opinion it makes zero sense to follow that up with a short, hollow and bizarre win for Danger which does nothing to enhance her reputation and CRUSHES Cindy. Admittedly it doesn’t matter much since Allison is sticking around whereas Rogers retired in a few Volumes but this did seem odd. I can’t pretend I didn’t mark out for the Old School Expulsion though – it’s still one of my favourite finishers of all time.
Alexa Thatcher calls Alicia a chicken for not coming back to SHIMMER after attacking her whilst she was injured at Volume 13. She’s all healed up now and plans to give Cheerleader Melissa a tough fight when they meet later in the show…
Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew vs Ariel/Josie
Given that Lacey has precious few appearances remaining this seems like quite a waste of her talents. It does, however, really emphasise the importance of the SHIMMER Championship. She just lost her title shot in the main event of V14, and as a result now returns to the bottom of the card to face women well down the pecking order like Ariel and Josie. The Home Wreckers have an extremely strong record as a duo since SHIMMER opened their doors – and will be looking to maintain that at the expense of a pair of popular undercard women who don’t team with any regularity at all. It’s easy to book with hindsight – but if the plan was to have Lacey and Rain work the undercard, how much more fun would this have been if they’d have got to work the debuting Canadian NINJAs? Lacey, Rain and Portia all trying to out-heel each other would have been a blast!
Technically it breaks kayfabe, but it is pretty fun to see how much fun these women have working together. Ariel is clearly visible hysterically laughing at Rain’s antics whilst trying to sell a headlock, and it’s nice to see people enjoying their job! She and Josie isolate Lacey early…but their inexperience as a duo shows as Josie becomes distracted by Rain on the far side of the ring. The Home Wreckers instantly pounce to start hammering on the back of the Chicago-native. Human Taffy Machine applied to Josie, and when that is broken up Rain sprints outside to haul Ariel off the apron before Josie can make a tag. Finally Josie drops Rain with an armbar DDT and fights off all kinds of pain in her back to make the hot tag to the Portuguese Princess. Lacey cuts her off with the Lungblower for 2, only for the babyfaces to cut her off again with a Hart Attack. DOUBLE TOMIKAZE! MHWC win at 11:03
Rating - ** - This felt REALLY long for what was a total squash, but thankfully Lacey and Rain made most of it entertaining enough with their antics. They are a delightful little duo and it is a shame their SHIMMER run was over before the Tag division was ever really established. Credit to Josie too, because although she was largely a punching bag she sold well and really got over the effectiveness of her opponents’ offence (as was her job). Certainly her best performance in this promotion for a while…
Daffney appears to have taken crystal meth before cutting a promo on The Experience. MsChif trying to keep a straight face in the background is quite amusing though…
Alexa Thatcher vs Cheerleader Melissa
This is a big shot for Alexa. She showed some promise a few Volumes back, and was so highly thought of by Dave Prazak that he got her a few ROH bookings too. But having missed the title tournament shows and the Florida trip through injury she’s lost some momentum and now faces a monumental challenge in her return bout. Melissa is rebuilding after her loss to Sarah Stock in the first round of the tournament and has gone undefeated since that match – including singles victories over Ariel and Rain.
Melissa lays down the law on her inexperienced opponent – bowling into her with a resounding shoulder block. Thatcher looks to work an extremely sensible match and negates Cheerleader’s power by working basic holds and clinging to her like a limpet. When that doesn’t work her next tactic is to quicken the pace – hitting a satellite headscissors then driving home a running knee strike. She goes for one high risk move too many…and finds her attempt at a hurricanrana brutally countered to a Lion Tamer. HEAD STOMP HALF CRAB! CURB STOMP! Melissa is cranking up the brutal and her young opponent is looking increasingly vulnerable. Even when Alexa tries to crawl out of the ring for sanctuary Melissa gives chase and tosses her into the steel steps. Kudo Driver blocked, but just when Thatcher seems to be showing some fight she gets dropped onto her spine again with a snap suplex. Once again Cheerleader looks for the Kudo Driver, only for it to be countered to a bulldog. ELBOWS BY THATCHER! MELISSA CHOPS HER IN THE THROAT! ALEXA GIVES HER A GERMAN SUPLEX! She valiantly escapes the Air Raid Crash…INTO THE KUDOH DRIVER! Alexa just got folded in half! Obviously Melissa is the victor at 10:19
Rating - *** - It really is too bad this weekend turned out to be Alexa’s last SHIMMER shows, as she had some real promise. Clearly Prazak was a fan of hers, and she proved why with a really tenacious showing in this match. I want to be clear that this wasn’t a carry-job by the always-impressive Melissa. Thatcher absolutely held her own, playing the vulnerable and relatable babyface-in-peril when needed but equally being crisp and believable in her comeback spots. They told a great little story across the ten minute run-time of this one and produced a match significantly better than anything else on the show thus far. Melissa gets another singles victory, whilst Alexa’s stock gets a huge boost by becoming only the second person in SHIMMER history to experience the Kudo Driver. What the hell happened to her?
The Experience vs MsChif/Daffney
Lexie and Malia have new gear tonight, and once again look motivated to deliver the goods when given a rare opportunity to step up from the undercard of a SHIMMER Volume into a feature match. In Florida Daffney made her in-ring debut in a losing effort to Fyfe, in a match which saw Lexie attack Daff’s well-documented knee injury to her advantage. Both members of The Experience wanted to put a beating on Daffney (who had pissed them off and made of them multiple times before), finally bringing out MsChif and Serena Deeb for a rescue act. Up until this point Daffney has been managing MsChif, but now she steps into the ring with her client looking to get some revenge on the bullying elder stateswomen of the SHIMMER roster.
Daffney’s knee seems much improved as she prances around the ring screeching, posing and generally getting under the skin of her opposition with her irritating personality. She doesn’t have the leg strength to get Hosaka over in a monkey flip though, and Malia breaks out an awesome counter into a KNEE-F*CK! Yes, that would be the same as a Skullf*ck except ramming the knees into the canvas instead. Sensibly MsChif is right on the scene, tagging in to take the fight to Lexie. An early Desecrator attempt is blocked – and The Experience start attacking Chif’s knee too! Daffney comes to her aid with a springboard crossbody on Malia…but such is the veteran instincts of Hosaka she is immediately able to reassert control after raking Daff’s eyes. With MsChif incapacitated and Daffney blinded The Experience realise that now is the time to start working Daff’s injured leg. As I said during my V14 review, Daffney is a much better worker than she is a manager and she does a great job selling their work. Eventually she ducks a spinning heel kick from Hosaka and brings the rejuvenated MsChif back in. She counters the double gourdbuster into a double DDT…but then gets pendulum smashed into the turnbuckles by Fyfe as she and Daffney struggle to fight off both opponents. The Experience grab Daff and give her the DOUBLE GOURDBUSTER! That’s brutal on her injured leg, and the veterans get a huge victory at 11:16
Rating - *** - It felt like they could have shaved a couple of minutes from this match and not lost anything, but on the strength of Daffney’s performance alone this was an enjoyable watch. Her selling was superb. I’m not sure why, but I’ve found her general presence in SHIMMER to be so annoying up to this point that it’s almost surprised me how much I’ve enjoyed her performances having stepped inside the ropes. The Experience wrestled the same match they always do, whilst MsChif was barely in the match at all. This was a really solid undercard tag ENTIRELY based on how good Daff was. She was the story, she held it together and she was solely responsible for its success.
Sarah Stock vs Daizee Haze
You can understand why Prazak was in such a hurry to bring the Dark Angel back to SHIMMER. He clearly knew how good she was when he booked her to go to the semi-finals of the title tournament, but even he couldn’t have predicted quite how exceptional her performances would have been across Volumes 11, 12 and 13. She defeated Cheerleader Melissa and MsChif in her debut show, pushed Sara Del Rey to the limit at V12 and stole the show at V13 with Daizee Haze…and that’s the match we are seeing a rematch of tonight. After a gruelling battle the Haze fell to defeat last time. Can she redeem that loss, or will the Dark Angel prove too much for her once again? This is a #1 contendership bout for the SHIMMER Championship – with the winner getting a title shot at Volume 16.
Stock’s ring gear looks one part lingerie, one part swimsuit and one part budget Star Trek rip-off. Her odd shoulder pads don’t prevent her from out-wrestling Daizee in the first two minutes – just like at V13 when Haze couldn’t come to grips with her fluidity. Haze has an awesome strategy for this one, which is simply to bearhug Stock for as long as possible. It forces Sarah to come up with some ludicrous counters just to get Daizee’s arms from around her chest. Prazak spots Stock pulling hair and doing whatever it takes to get ahead – which really plays up the prestige of the SHIMMER Title. Stock is just too quick…so fast in fact that when Daizee semi-botches a few things in the next exchange Sarah is SO good she actually rolls with it every time. Their near-miss exchange is MONEY! Haze messes up tilta-whirl spots THREE TIMES IN A ROW…and eventually Sarah leaves the ring just to stop her opponent looking like a fool. It’s also a clever trick – since she knows Haze loves to try a suicide dive off the top rope. As soon as Daizee starts to climb Stock is on her; kicking her off the top with a climbing enziguri. OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE MICHINOKU DRIVER gets 2! Like a crazy fool Haze tries one last tilta-whirl, but this time gets obliterated with a tilta-whirl backbreaker. La Reienera blocked at this point, but it’s clear that Haze is starting to struggle with injury. Dark Angel is massacring the back and getting seriously aggressive in the process. It forces the desperate and ragged Daizee to attempt flash pins – without a great deal of success. Stock’s response is to viciously choke her in the ropes, eschewing the support of the fans in pursuit of the top prize in the company. Haze is a total mess, and so beaten up she can barely throw clotheslines properly…but throw them she does! HEART PUNCH! YAKUZA KICK! But she’s too exhausted to follow up as Sarah falls out of the ring! TOP ROPE FLYING CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! Somehow Stock survives that and deposits Daizee on the mat once again with a BACK DROP DRIVER for 2. Daizee COUNTERS the Tiger Driver that finished her at V13! FULL NELSON FACEPLANT INTO THE TURNBUCKLES INSTEAD! Stock is doing a better job destroying Daizee than even Kong did! She flips out of the Mind Trip…into a lucha-inspired pinning combination to defeat Haze at 18:55
Rating - **** - I found this somewhat tough to rate, in that Daizee seemed even sloppier than usual, but was covered by Sarah Stock who was ridiculously good. Perhaps the real beauty and biggest joy of watching Daizee in SHIMMER rather than working sub-ten minute undercard matches on Ring Of Honor shows is that more often than not she gets time in her matches to tell the kind of stories that make you forget she isn’t always the prettiest wrestler to watch. Sure she botched a LOT here, but eventually even that played into the story they were going for. Sarah Stock is an assassin. A lethal, super-fast and crazily skilled female Terminator in the ring. It’s like she doesn’t have any weaknesses, which forced Haze to throw as much as possible back at her in a desperate attempt to overcome her - even if it meant attempting moves she wasn't always capable of executing. To an extent it worked too. This time around Stock didn’t get a definitive win with the Tiger Driver, she didn’t get to hit La Reienera, she had to cheat continuously, and in the end needed a flash pin to beat Daizee. Ultimately I wouldn’t say this was as aesthetically pleasing as Volume 13, but it was far more dramatic. When a match has this much going for it you can look past a few pieces of sloppy execution.
Sarah Stock heads to the back and looks rather terrifying as she tells both participants in the main event that she plans to take the belt from them at the next Volume…
Sara Del Rey vs Amazing Kong – SHIMMER Title Match
Prazak didn’t waste any time booking this match. Kong is undefeated in SHIMMER competition, and thus far has looked unstoppable, emphatically defeating everyone placed before her. Many have speculated that if she wasn’t in Japan when the SHIMMER Title Tournament took place it would be her that left with the belt rather than Sara. The Death Rey isn’t one to duck a challenge though, and having seen off Lacey at Volume 14 she now looks to silence the doubters and prove definitively that she is the deserving champion by inflicting Kong’s first SHIMMER defeat. This is right after Kong’s TNA debut, so she now has the recognisable bleached dreadlocks as part of her look.
Kong is legitimately terrifying…but amazingly Sara isn’t afraid. She runs right into an ELBOW SUICIDAAAAAA! The massive challenger is left marching around on the outside contemplating how Del Rey got the better of her there. She smiles sadistically as she shakes of Machine Gun chops by Sara…then flattens her with a Warrior Splash for 2. Now it is Sara that has been hammered out of the ring, retreating in a hurry as Kong gives her a taste of first the guardrails then the ringpost. Such is Kong’s dominance that Prazak and Danger are already speculating as to how successful Sarah Stock’s lucha influences will be against her at Volume 16. Sara is being manhandled in a way we’ve not seen thus far in SHIMMER, but she stays in the fight and manages to get the mighty challenger down to a knee with a knee strike flurry. LARIAT TO THE FACE by Kong! Del Rey tries a crossbody only to get DUMPED into the mat for 2. KNEE STRIKE! Amazing Bomb blocked as the champ looks to ground the powerhouse. She rides Amazing K in a surfboard…BUT NOTHING WORKS! KONG B*TCH SLAPS HER! MOONSAULT PRESS BY DEL REY! Desperate times call for desperate measures! You can almost see the disappointment on Sara’s face as she realises that Kong is so huge she can’t even get close to executing the Royal Butterfly. IMPACT BUSTER! AMAZING PRESS MISSES! KICKS BY SARA! SPINNING BACK FIST BY KONG! DEL REY NO SELLS! BACK FIST AGAIN! NO SOLD AGAIN! GERMAN SUPLEX BY THE AMERICAN ANGEL! BOTH WOMEN DOWN! Royal Butterfly blocked…Amazing Bomb blocked. ROYAL BUTTERFLY NAILED! YES! BUT SARA IS SO BEATEN UP SHE CAN’T COVER! KONG BACK FISTS HER WHILST LYING ON THE GROUND! BOTH WOMEN DOWN AGAIN! SARA BEATS THE TEN COUNT! At 16:32 Sara just defeated Kong via knock-out!
Rating - ****1/2 - Wow! I gave Del Rey/Lacey this rating at V14 after they busted their asses for almost half an hour telling a well-crafted and beautifully executed story to follow up what they did in the title tournament. This one deserves this rating because, above every other match SHIMMER has produced thus far in it’s 15-Volume history – it felt like an EVENT. From the moment Kong stepped through the curtain this felt like the biggest match in SHIMMER history. I’m not going to pretend I liked the finish, but I understand that SHIMMER is a small fish when it comes to TNA. Since Kong is now a signed TNA talent, and if they want her protected then Dave Prazak doesn’t have much choice. In the circumstances, with Prazak's options somewhat limited this felt like a creative, exciting and completely explosive way to end the match. Sara survived a devastating assault by Kong, she continually escaped Kong’s finishing moves and she sent the crowd wild when she finally hit the Royal Butterfly. The finish protected Kong’s mystique to an extent – but in truth it did far more to legitimise Sara as SHIMMER’s top gun. I’ve read some mixed reviews on this one…but I’m going so far as to say it is my favourite SHIMMER match so far. Two immensely talented women bludgeoning each other like gladiators, with a hot crowd really creating a big fight atmosphere. Sara leaves having cemented her status as one of the top female professional wrestlers on the planet. Dave Prazak leaves knowing that Kong has had the title shot she ‘missed’ when he couldn’t book her for the tournament. The fans get a (relatively) clean winner (which also protects Kong) and we can move on with Sara’s reign without Prazak being handcuffed by knowing he eventually has to book Sara/Kong even though TNA will want to meddle.
Kong pops up as soon as the 10-count is expired, furious to have been beaten in such a controversial manner. She storms out, leaving a battered and bruised but victorious Sara Del Rey to celebrate. In the back she cuts a promo telling Del Rey that she’s going to be back for the belt soon…
Tape Rating - *** - Normal service resumes from SHIMMER in many respects. I thought Volume 14 was a more satisfying top-to-bottom card, with a slimmed down roster and far less filler to get through. V15 isn’t as easy to watch, with a long undercard which isn’t necessarily of the highest quality. BUT, the top two matches are both real treats. Sarah Stock delivered a masterful performance in the semi-main, whilst Del Rey/Kong was a total war to headline the DVD. Some liked the finish, some didn’t – but as a spectacle I thought that match topped anything that the promotion has delivered to date. Jetta’s debut was pretty fun, Melissa/Thatcher added some punch to the undercard, and you also get the historical significance of the Canadian NINJAs making their first appearance. Another extremely solid and easy-to-recommend instalment in the SHIMMER DVD series…
Top 3 Matches
3) Cheerleader Melissa vs Alexa Thatcher (***)
2) Sarah Stock vs Daizee Haze (****)
1) Sara Del Rey vs Amazing Kong (****1/2)