SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 27 – 8th November 2009
I’ve not dropped in on my SHIMMER review series for a while, and I return now to pick them up at a pretty interesting point in their history. This day of tapings (just the one day, rather than the entire weekend we saw earlier in the year) marks the first time a Joshi star makes the journey to Illinois. With talent coming in from the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada and Mexico, it feels inevitable that Japanese names would eventually follow (budgetary concerns allowing)…and this weekend Ayako Hamada makes her debut. She faces Mercedes Martinez here in a high profile international challenge which is comfortably the stand-out match on the card. This weekend was beset by problems; Portia Perez had swine flu and pulled out at late notice after being scheduled to be a major part of the two shows. Annie Social, Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles and Lexie Fyfe were also on the injured list, whilst Daffney is booked but was reportedly not able to do much after suffering injuries working for TNA (plus Serena Deeb was now in WWE developmental too). The absence of those names gives opportunity for others though, including Nikki Roxx challenging for the SHIMMER Title in the main event, Jessie McKay stepping up to Sara Del Rey, Nicole Matthews and Cheerleader Melissa meeting in what could be match of the weekend and ‘Rate Tank’ Kellie Skater getting the chance to work Allison Danger. Dave Prazak and Allison Danger are on commentary from our usual base in Berwyn, IL.
SIDENOTE – Live reports also indicate that this taping started legitimately hours late, due to issues with lighting, glass in the ring and wiring within the building. That will presumably have a knock-on effect onto the quality of the shows we’re about to get – with matches potentially having to be cut short and a massively curtailed intermission meaning less time to recover between shows. That, plus all the injury and illness issues, must have left Dave Prazak pulling his hair out trying to manage this taping!
Nikki Roxx (now with soccer mom hair) points out that it’s SHIMMER’s fourth anniversary weekend, and she was in the very first match. She is in the main event again tonight, looking to end the long reign of SHIMMER Champion MsChif.
Malia Hosaka vs Tenille
With Lexie out injured, Hosaka is completing in singles matches this weekend – albeit accompanied by an anime drawing of Lexie on a stick. If you follow my reviews of the SHIMMER series you’ll know that thus far I’ve found Tenille to be the least convincing of the Australian imports. I thought she was particular poor in her match against Rain at V26, and I’m sure she’ll appreciate the chance to rebound now against another established veteran heel performer in Hosaka.
The opening minutes are very much mat-based, which you’d think would favour the veteran so it’s to her credit that the Australian holds her own. Tenille quickens the pace, albeit everything she tries looks rather sloppy. That seemingly alarms Malia, who quickly acts to shut her momentum down by raking the eyes. The now-disorientated Tenille walks straight into Hosaka’s signature spinning heel kick to put her down for a nearfall. Dialling up the viciousness, Malia legit drags the younger woman around by the hair…then fells her with a violent headbutt. The hair actually becomes a focal point of Hosaka’s attack as she uses it to choke Tenille in a camel clutch. Tenille rallies with a spinning elbow, which is quickly followed by a snap suplex then the Spotlight Kick. Diving crossbody gets 2…so she goes back to the top rope! Missile dropkick roughly misses! Hosaka wins it with a terrible-looking ‘Canadian backbreaker’ at 10:56
Rating - * - Being positive, this was better than Tenille’s match with Rain. Unlike that match, I thought she nailed the character element of the story they were telling here and came across as much more of a relatable babyface standing up to the bullying veteran. The issue though, once again, was that her execution was very poor. Malia didn’t do much better in that respect, and this ultimately was a little too long, vastly too sloppy and didn’t have much of a hook to retain your interest.
Portia Perez delivers a video message from her home to announce that she isn’t competing this weekend due to Swine Flu. She reads out a ‘doctors note’ (a crumpled post-it pulled from her pocket) excusing her from defending the SHIMMER Tag Championship too…
Following that Allison Danger stomps to the ring to accuse Portia of ducking her. Nicole Matthews comes out and calls Danger disrespectful…and as they argue Allison’s scheduled opponent, Kellie Skater, opportunistically takes the chance to attack her from behind.
Allison Danger vs Kellie Skater
We’ve seen glimpses of ‘Rate Tank’ Kellie Skater previously. She’s another one of the new Australian girls who have made their way to SHIMMER, and has bundles of personality to compensate for her lack of size. She’s still waiting to make an impact though, and has seemingly identified this opportunity with a SHIMMER veteran as the time to do it. Danger, who looks to be working her way back to peak physical condition after the birth of her daughter, is embroiled in a feud with Portia and continues to serve as something of a measuring stick for the rising stars of SHIMMER to test themselves against.
Kellie’s momentum is short-lived, as the impressive Danger flings her from the ring then boots her into the guardrails. Skater pops Danger in the mouth with an elbow strike before mounting her on the canvas to deliver a forearm flurry. She wants a cross armbreaker too, but has to settle for more emphatic strikes when Danger blocks it. Skater starts focusing her strikes to the stomach and midsection of her opponent, which is significant considering she gave birth earlier in 2009. A bodyscissors/sleeper combo comes perilously close to choking out the veteran for a shock defeat. Even when Danger escapes she gets no time to recover before the Rate Tank is on her again with a flipping cutter. They start HAMMERING each other with chops, with some really fun comedy no-selling from the ‘Tank’. Allison is literally pelting her now, softening her up for the Lovelace Choker. Shimmering Warlock COUNTERED with a roundhouse kick by Skater! OLD SCHOOL EXPULSION! Danger pulls out the win at 08:17
Rating - *** - Two things we learned from this; firstly Danger is well and truly back to her best, and secondly Skater is a hell of a rising star. She can work, looks so smooth and effortless in the ring (the polar opposite to Tenille) and has a brilliantly entertaining character which both a live crowd and DVD audience can really enjoy. This was simple and restrained due to it’s spot on the card – but was incredibly slick. Skater looked every inch the feisty, determined newcomer looking to make her name at a veteran’s expense. Danger gave her a lot before picking up the win and momentum she needs to remain strong and build to an inevitable rematch with Portia.
Amber Gertner interviews Cat Power, who accuses the entire SHIMMER locker room of being afraid of her. She intimidates Amber, and vows to rough up Ariel (to whom she lost on her debut at V18).
Daizee Haze is out next to discuss her sadness at missing another taping due to injury (back issues forced her to take the rest of the year off). Bryce Remsburg offers her the chance to contribute by joining the referee crew for the weekend – an offer she accepts.
International Home Wrecking Crew vs Daffney/Rachel Summerlyn
Daff remains a popular figure at SHIMMER events, with her brash and vocal persona overshadowing the fact she hasn’t contributed much from an in-ring perspective yet despite being given a number of different roles. Tonight she appears to have taken young Rachel Summerlyn under her wing, and they have a stern test ahead if they are to overcome the now-experienced team of Rain and Jetta. Lacey is once again back in the corner of the International Home Wreckers too. If that wasn’t enough already, Daffney is working this extremely hurt after her notorious barbed wire table bump at the hands of Abyss in TNA – which gave her a reported severe concussion and was the first of several ‘incidents’ which culminated in litigation being raised by her.
Jetta is wearing different gear tonight, making her chest look enormous which of course draws plenty of comments from the crowd. Prazak attributes it to the ‘influence’ of Lacey and Rain. She starts with Summerlyn, who is a powerful athlete and capably takes the fight to her. Lacey gets involved quickly, tripping Rachel to hand the Home Wreckers an early advantage. Daffney is noticeably not trying particularly hard to reach and tag her new partner by the way. It’s almost as noticeable as Lacey’s face as she watches Jetta struggle to keep certain parts of her anatomy contained within her new attire. All three Home Wreckers work together to isolate Rachel from her partner, who remains considerably more low key and sombre than we’ve seen her previously. Daffney misses a chance to tag Summerlyn as she plays to the crowd meaning her protégé continues to suffer at the hands of the heel trio. They manipulate the ref with ease meaning Summerlyn spends almost as much time being choked in the ropes as she does on her feet. Jetta thinks about climbing to the top rope…but even with Lacey holding her hand she feels the ill-effects of vertigo and bails out. Rain tries to swap in for her but MISSES a moonsault! Summerlyn finally gets a chance to tag…only for Daffney to jump off the apron and walk to the locker room. Poor Rachel is now essentially in a 3-on-1 situation but fights valiantly. Jetta eats a Russian legsweep for a perilously close nearfall before Rain dives in. Stranglehold Lungblower by Jetta, into the Japanese Stranglehold – giving the Home Wreckers victory at 10:59
Rating - ** - Probably longer than it needed to be, but the International Home Wreckers are rarely dull and they made sure it never felt uninteresting. The Daffney situation was an interesting one, presumably booked on the fly with her injured and unable to wrestle at a late stage. I thought they did a great job teasing her lack of interest in tagging in, and it was only very late on in the match that they finally pulled the trigger and had her walk away. In this context it did legitimately feel quite dramatic. Being blunt I didn’t think Summerlyn’s showing was particularly strong. She didn’t mess anything up, but having the advantage of getting to work with heat magnets like Jetta and Rain, plus a strong sympathetic storyline of Daffney walking out, I’d expected her to deliver a much better babyface performance. She was a passive presence at best…
Cat Power vs Ariel
Thanks to that unnerving and strange interview with Amber Gertner, we already know exactly what Cat’s motivations are here. She lost to Ariel in her debut almost ten Volumes ago, and wants payback for that defeat. Daizee Haze is officiating here; her first assignment after temporarily joining the SHIMMER referee crew for the weekend…
Cat has dialled up the weird feline gimmick even further for this taping. Watching in 2018 as a father however, all I can think of is that her attire/mask/logo combination make her look like a slutty adult PJ Mask character. She doesn’t waste any time testing Haze’s patience by clawing at her opponent and using one of her wrist sleeves to choke her. Ariel looks for a Warrior Splash…but plunges into Power’s knees and therefore remains firmly on the back foot. It’s an imposing first five minutes from Cat who just hasn’t let the Portuguese Princess get off the starting blocks. Even when Ariel does land a dropkick, Power quickly shuts her down again with a knee to the face then a horse collar stretch. Such is her dominance that she actually starts getting frustrated at not being able to put Ariel away. She argues with Daizee’s officiating, taking her eye off the ball and allowing Ariel to come back with her version of the Three Amigos. Dariel countered into the Cat Nap though! Power wins at 09:46
Rating - * - A star for the fact that Power is really starting to own and have fun with the feline-influenced gimmick, and I liked that they referenced the finish from their previous encounter to debut Power’s new finishing move. But other than those elements this was rather bland. Not every SHIMMER match needs to go ten minutes minimum. This was a classic example where they could’ve shaved literally 50% of the time allocation off this one (five minutes or less was plenty) to give the main event matches longer on an over-running taping. After four years in SHIMMER doing the same act on every show Ariel is starting to feel a little stale – utterly lovable and adorable though she may be. Where does her SHIMMER career go from here?
Wesna Busic/Melanie Cruise vs Ashley Lane/Nevaeh
Cruise has been taken under Wesna’s wing as something of a protégé, but you wonder whether they’ll feel the absence of their manager, Annie Social, here. Lane and Nevaeh are looking to rebound after losing the Tag Championship to the Canadian NINJAs at the last show. With Perez missing these tapings, it’s all about tag teams jostling for position and reaching the front of the queue to challenge for the belts whenever Perez does return to action.
Ashley starts giving up a huge amount of size to Cruise, so sets about using her speed and evasive skills to stay out of her clutches. The tag team fluidity of the Ohio Girls hands them the early advantage. They do an impressive job wearing down the six foot plus Cruise whilst keeping her away from Busic. Sadly they can’t keep the Croatian Panther out forever, and her arrival instantly changes the momentum; leaving her brutalising Nevaeh in the corner. She leads her student in an emphatic beatdown, to which Nevaeh has no answers The size of Melanie, allied to the experience and hard-hitting style of Wesna make them a fearsome unit. It’s almost a surprise when Nevaeh hits a desperate neckbreaker on Cruise to open the door to a much-needed hot tag to Lane. STO/Yakuza Kick combo (apparently called the ‘Curse Of Curves’?) gets 2 before Busic makes the save. She and Cruise land a double spinebuster and pick up a major victory at 10:59
Rating - * - I didn’t particularly care for this, which is a real shame as Wesna came into it on the back of her epic clash with Cheerleader Melissa at V26 which is up there with the best SHIMMER matches ever. I like the chemistry she and Melanie demonstrated as a team as their styles compliment each other. The problem was that at eleven minutes this was wholly too long for such a one-sided squash. It also felt very jarring having to adjust to Lane and Nevaeh going from Tag Champions to effectively enhancement talents in the space of two shows. It isn’t unfair to say that their reign as SHIMMER Tag Champions was something of a disappointment – but this was a huge and uncomfortable step down.
SIDENOTE – This is Wesna’s last weekend with SHIMMER too, as she retired due to injury in early-2010 and never returned to the promotion. Although she hasn’t been the most consistent, she was always very imposing to watch and when she was ‘on’ she was as good as anyone on the roster. She actually made a return to in-ring competition a couple of years ago and still competes in Europe to the best of my knowledge…
LuFisto pleads for another shot at the SHIMMER Championship…but is interrupted by Amazing Kong, who also wants another title opportunity. Referee Daizee Haze apparently also has booking duties, as she puts them in a match together to determine a new #1 contender.
Nicole Matthews vs Cheerleader Melissa
Portia Perez is engaged in a high profile feud with Allison Danger, and together she and Nicole Matthews have just won the SHIMMER Tag Championship from the Ohio Girls. But Nicole’s recent singles matches with Daizee Haze went to show that she is a serious rising star in her own right, and capable of holding her own against the top names on the roster. This is another chance for her to prove those credentials, as she steps into the ring against a red hot Cheerleader Melissa fresh off winning her climactic battle with Wesna.
Nicole is apparently now billing herself as ‘The Lariat’, instantly making me like her even more. The opening minutes are intensely mat-based, which suits the more powerful and experienced Melissa. Matthews creditably hangs in there but is consistently countered and kept down by her opponent. She dares to pull Cheerleader’s hair…to which she reacts extremely angrily and beats her all over the ring. Melissa angrily pulls off her wrist guards and mounts the turnbuckles to hammer away at Nicole further, but the delay there is critical. The Canadian grabs the chance to punt her in the exposed leg, and immediately starts an aggressive attack on the knee. MELISSA SLAPS HER IN THE FACE! SO NICOLE KICKS HER BACK JUST AS HARD! That was awesome! Matthews is showing no fear now, gripping a kneebar whilst still doling out some ferocious strikes. Dragon screw scores next, followed by a spinning toehold to apply yet more damage to Melissa’s bad wheel. Despite being an imposing pre-match favourite, Cheerleader is now reduced to hiding under the ropes for respite whilst crying out in pain. Elbows by Melissa…only for Nicole to throw them right back at her. Lariat countered to a leg-sellling Samoan drop! CURB STOMP NAILED! Matthews kicks out at 2, as Melissa has to tend to the bad leg again. It gives way as she attempts the Kudo Driver, meaning Matthews can counter to a German suplex for 2! Vancouver Manoeuvre blocked into a BACK DROP DRIVER! Now unable to stand, Melissa literally has to drag her body at her opponent to make a cover. Air Raid Crash COUNTERED TO THE LARIAT! But still just for 2. Vancouver Manoeuvre blocked for a second time…this time into a LEG SELLING KUDO DRIVER! Melissa wins at 14:07!
Rating - **** - Now we’re talking! Melissa has been one of my favourites since the first ever show, and Matthews is a genuine stand-out even amongst a very talented ‘next generation’ of SHIMMER stars. Putting them together with near fifteen minutes to play with was a smart choice and resulted in a really enjoyable match. Nicole’s character has a big mouth and a bad attitude, but what’s interesting is when she gets into longer matches with athletes like Daizee or Melissa, her growth as an in-ring worker shines prominently. Her attack on Melissa’s leg was intense and believable. Her striking was crisp and nobody had any issue buying that she could trade blows with an established hard-hitter like Melissa. If anyone didn’t back her as a future main event talent after the Haze matches, they absolutely should after this. Melissa was, quite predictably, excellent. She came in strong after that superb match with Busic, and carried that form on. She sold the leg well, without jeopardising her aura as a bad ass. I’m sure these two will meet again sometime in the future, and I look forward to seeing it.
Sara Del Rey vs Jessie McKay
Despite having been out of the SHIMMER Championship picture for a long time, Death Rey remains one of the most feared competitors on the roster. Her recent exploits have seen her trading wins with the now WWE-bound Serena Deeb, and forming a makeshift disgruntled alliance with Amazing Kong only to fail to win the SHIMMER Tag Titles due to their own rage issues. She holds a win over Jessie McKay’s mentor, Madison Eagles, back on V23 – something which the young Australian will be seeking to avenge.
Jessie at this stage looks so different to how she does in WWE now as Billie Kay – almost unrecognisably so. She isn’t intimidated by Sara and gamely runs into battle looking to engage her in chain-wrestling sequences no matter how technically superior her opponent may be. Del Rey’s irritated face as McKay dares to attempt a cross armbreaker on her is a lot of fun. Jessie does keep going after her arm though, seemingly doing enough to irritate the former champion and provoke her into a rake to the eyes. Del Rey starts favouring the arm and she just can’t shake McKay off. The Australian pings off the ropes into a lucha armdrag, and with Sara clutching her arm she struggles to keep her at bay as McKay goes for a flurry of pinning combinations. Del Rey has seen enough…and starts trying to BREAK JESSIE’S ARM! She holds her down and starts contorting her arm in quite alarming positions. An armbreaker follows, then a leg drop across the exposed arm as McKay foolishly looks for a sunset flip. Divorce Court next, with extra snap on it because Jessie had the audacity to throw a couple of strikes back her way beforehand. Jessie can’t even more her arm now…so starts using her legs to fight instead; hitting a satellite headscissors followed by a hurricanrana. School Girl Crush gets 2! Sara capo kicks her way out of the Boyfriend Stealer then makes McKay tap with a cross armbreaker at 12:29
Rating - *** - Quite deliberately, I think this had a similar vibe to Del Rey’s enjoyable series of matches with Serena Deeb. Like some of their stuff, this was structured largely like a squash, except the underdog refused to play their role correctly and just kept fighting back. It started with Jessie refusing to bow to Sara’s presence and actually trying to mat wrestle her. Then she worked a body part to such an extent that Sara was visibly hurt. Death Rey’s response was to work the arm right back, except twice as violently…and yet still Jessie hung in there, almost winning it with the School Girl Crush kick late on. It wasn’t outstanding, lacking the intensity and fire of the preceding match between Cheerleader Melissa and Nicole Matthews, and McKay’s selling veered wildly between very good and utterly atrocious…but there was far more good than bad here. Whilst it isn’t too surprising given who she was in the ring with, this was McKay’s best SHIMMER match to date.
Amazing Kong vs LuFisto
This actually Kong’s last weekend on the regular roster. She pops up a couple more times, but presumably the cost to book her, the constraints on what she’s able to do (plus Kong having other more lucrative opportunities due to her heightened profile) and so forth, meant that this taping is the last of her full-time SHIMMER career. She starts in what could be a real war with renowned tough fighter LuFisto…with the winner getting a SHIMMER Title shot to boot. Daizee Haze booked this match, and has also been assigned the task of officiating it, which could be a tough ask.
LuFisto is super over with the Berwyn crowd…and they gasp in horror as Kong swats her away in the first few seconds and flattens her with a Warrior Splash. It’s a dominant start from the larger athlete, who really roughs up Lu without breaking a sweat. It’s a massacre for the first five minutes…until Kong pisses LuFisto off by messing with her ‘manager’ (a doll named Peekaboo). It fires Fisto up sufficiently to land a few strikes…until Kong drops her again with the Implant Buster. AMAZING PRESS misses…and LuFisto hits a miraculous GERMAN SUPLEX! Kong is so pissed off she throws Lu into the front row! Fans scatter as they brawl through the crowd…and they don’t return! The fight rumbles on through the Eagles Club as inside the ring referee Daizee Haze counts them both out. 07:17 was your time. Kong and LuFi actually keep brawling all the way into the entrances for the next match.
Rating - ** - In an ideal world, Kong would’ve won this therefore advancing for a rematch with MsChif (their first encounter is considered a seminal SHIMMER Match), with Kong returning the favour and putting MsChif over on her way out. Unfortunately I’m guessing circumstances dictated that they weren’t able to do that. It is a shame they weren’t able to do more with this match, which could’ve been a showstealer if they got more time. What we got was hard-hitting and fun, but wasn’t much more than a few minutes of hard strikes and silliness before a non-finish.
Ayako Hamada vs Mercedes Martinez
Joshi talent finally comes to SHIMMER this weekend. Though she’d already spent some time in TNA before this booking (having already enjoyed an immensely successful and influential career in Japan and Mexico), her arrival is something of a significant moment in SHIMMER history with multiple Japanese talents set to compete in the years to come. Hamada debuts against Mercedes Martinez, a top star in SHIMMER since Volume 1, and someone who will be fiercely motivated to protect her reputation as one of the best in the company against an invader from elsewhere. We know Martinez is desperate to become SHIMMER Champion. A win over a big name like Hamada here instantly puts her near the front of the queue.
Despite their different backgrounds, Prazak points out that these two are actually very evenly matched stylistically which explains the measured and methodical start. Ayako gradually works her way into the ascendancy, acting as the aggressor in their exchanges and probing the Latina Sensation for signs of weakness. A pattern emerges with Hamada gaining an advantage and working a hold, only for Martinez to bust her ass and find a way to counter. Mercedes breaks rank from the respectful stuff, swinging something of a cheap kick into Ayako’s leg. The problem she then faces is that Hamada is also a lethal striker and lands a devastating boot in the corner, followed by a missile dropkick. Moonsault MISSES for the Joshi visitor…and as she gets up Martinez runs at her with a huge boot to the face. The rapidity with which Mercedes can block or counter the Joshi visitor’s attacks increases, signified by her dodging another strike and dumping her on her neck with a brainbuster. Enziguri lands for Ayako, who hops back to the top rope for the MOONSAULT! RUNNING DVD by Mercedes! Bull Run blocked into a SUPERKICK! There are duelling chants for both women as they flat out on the mat, then wearily get back up still throwing strikes at each other. Buzzsaw Kick by Hamada! LIGERBOMB for 2! She tries it again only for Martinez to roll through it and almost pin her. THREE AMIGAS gets 2! Still no Bull Run…as Hamada SLAPS HER IN THE FACE! HAMA-CHAN CUTTER! Hamada wins at 15:11
Rating - **** - Hamada is, of course, welcome back any time. I thought this was an extremely strong match, not only because as a standalone contest it was extremely enjoyable, but also because it was relatively restrained and didn’t burn through all of Ayako’s content meaning she has plenty more in the locker to pull out for big matches in future. I loved the subtle drama they laced into this one, with Hamada always leading the way in aggression only to find the ‘home team’ athlete a capable match for her at every turn. If she worked a leg Mercedes had a counter, and if she threw a strike the Latina Sensation hit her back just as hard. Ultimately Hamada secured victory because she stopped Mercedes landing her Bull Run finish, and managed to hit her own finishing move instead. This entire deal felt very authentically Joshi, with a near-silent (and respectful) crowd early on, building to a raging crescendo with the audience willing them on. Strong stuff all round, and sure to be one of the best matches of the entire weekend.
MsChif vs Nikki Roxx – SHIMMER Title Match
This weekend marks the celebration of SHIMMER’s fourth anniversary, and Roxx embodies the sort of success this promotion has been built upon. She was at the bottom of the card when we started, but has worked her way up and consistently improved. Now she is an established top tier talent in this promotion, a regular for the nationally televised TNA promotion, and in the hunt for the SHIMMER Championship. Many have tried, and failed, to defeat MsChif though. The reigning champ is almost ten volumes and two YEARS into her run at the top and has defeated all comers big or small. Nikki is someone who’s fought valiantly against the biggest and the smallest on the roster too though. Is she the one to end it all for MsChif? Can Nikki complete a dream four year rise from opening the show to headlining as champion?
Nikki’s gameplan is obviously to keep the flexible and unpredictable champion grounded. Roxx is a fit, powerful athlete and backs herself to negate MsChif’s talents on the canvas. She does a decent job, and some of her in-ring narration is pretty entertaining too (though sadly it’s also intensely audible as the crowd is near-silent). Roxx quickly backs to the corner as soon as MsChif is able to break her control and increase the pace with a series of pinning combinations. Clearly thrown off, Chif goes for a desperate Desecrator which is easily countered to an anklelock by the challenger. MsChif dips into her bag of tricks and uses her immense flexibility to start battling Nikki on the canvas with some unique submission holds. Roxx retaliates with some emphatic strikes…then outright muscles Chif up for a surfboard converted to an inverted Samoan drop. MsChif runs at her again, but again it’s wild and uncontrolled making it easy for Nikki to counter – into the ‘Cutie Special’ exploder suplex. Barbie Crusher blocked…so Nikki again powers up from the canvas and tosses the champ down. Nikki makes an error going for a top rope move…with Chif catching her in the corner for an avalanche DVD. Desecrator blocked…Barbie Crusher blocked…DESECRATOR! MsChif wins at 12:29
Rating - ** - These women got screwed for time. I assume the taping starting almost two hours late had something to do with it, but the lack of time meant the lay-out of this was all wrong. Thematically I liked where they went – Roxx as a world-travelled, TV-experienced and dangerous challenger devising a strategy to negate all of the skills we know MsChif has and have seen her use during her lengthy run as champion. The first eleven minutes, with Roxx dominating, were solid but unspectacular. But then the match just sort of…ended. MsChif hit a couple of moves, then won. No real drama, no real effort; it just felt very anticlimactic. If they’d had another ten minutes to give MsChif a proper comeback sequence, with time to properly sell the effects of Roxx’s work then I’d have bought it. But they didn’t, and knowing they had so little time this just didn’t feel like the right match to have. It wasn’t bad, and as I said, some of Nikki’s work was really good. But ultimately we chalk up another pretty underwhelming championship main event for MsChif. I’m a fan of her, but I’m going to be controversial and say that I’m starting to think she’s run her course as champion. She doesn’t seem as over or overtly popular with the live audience as many others on the roster, she isn’t the sort of heel that draws much heat either, she isn’t a reliable workhorse who delivers quality matches regardless of opponents like Melissa or Del Rey, and she doesn’t have the fear factor of someone like Kong. MsChif has delivered some of the best and most memorable matches in SHIMMER history – but at this stage it feels like the belt is very much making her rather than the other way around. I think both MsChif and the SHIMMER Title might benefit from separating and going in different directions…
Tape Rating - ** - Quite a strange show to rate. As usual with SHIMMER DVD’s it breezes past and is an extremely easy watch. Not everything is perfect but the hard work of the talent on display is always evident. Hamada/Martinez and Melissa/Matthews were matches of real quality too. But the issue with some SHIMMER shows is that the bottom of the card (where the less experienced or talented workers tend to dwell) can sometimes drag down the top…and that was the case here. Outside of a decent showing from Kellie Skater (and a welcome return to top form for Allison Danger) there really isn’t much else to see here. In a near-three hour card my view is that there just wasn’t quite enough decent content to go higher on the rating. I believe SHIMMER have just launched their own VOD service though – and if you’re a subscriber then you definitely aren’t wasting your time if you dig out Hamada’s debut or another breakout performance from the woman who’d go on to become known as the ‘SHIMMER-Taker’…
Top 3 Matches
3) Allison Danger vs Kellie Skater (***)
2) Ayako Hamada vs Mercedes Martinez (****)
1) Cheerleader Melissa vs Nicole Matthews (****)