SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 03 – 12th February 2006
I’ve been working hard catching up on ROH shows so it’s been a while since I’ve got a SHIMMER review posted. I’m glad to return to the promotion though since their shows are really refreshing. An all-female promotion leads to a really unique vibe to each show and even though match quality may not be as good, it’s something different and I recommend everyone check out a few DVD’s. At $15 a pop you really can’t say no. This is their third show or if you prefer, their second night of tapings (since two shows are taped per evening). The date is significant. On this particular weekend in February the northeast of the US was hit with massive snow storms. The same snow storms that forced TNA to pull Homicide, Samoa Joe and Alex Shelley from ROH’s Unscripted 2 event, and ended up causing Austin Aries and Roderick Strong to get suspended. Flight problems meant that Lacey (who was at the ROH show), Ariel and Mercedes Martinez (who are based in the northeast) couldn’t get to Chicago for the SHIMMER events the following evening. That’s obviously pretty tough since Lacey and Martinez are two of the top women in the promotion and had outstanding matches on the first two releases. The card still isn’t bad though, with a main event of Sara Del Rey against Daizee Haze, and Ireland’s Rebecca Knox making an eagerly anticipated debut taking on Allison Danger. Speaking of Allison, she’s not on commentary tonight so Dave Prazak is going solo. We’re in Berwyn, IL.
Rain vs Nikki Roxx
Straight to the ring for this match. These girls don’t even get entrances in fact. Anyway, this should be a solid opener. Rain had decent matches on both the first two shows (but lost both), whilst Nikki Roxx proved herself to be a promising underdog performer when she overcame Lexie Fyfe on Volume 2.
Basic back and forth stuff gets us underway but Roxx tries to get the crowd on her side against the heelish Rain. A sloppy headscissors gets her a 2. Rain comes back with a lungblower. Sound quality is noticeably worse than the first two volumes. Rain traps Nikki in the ropes then dropkicks her in the back before really going mega-heel by using the ropes to pin then pausing to wind up a few fans. Prazak points out that Rain is targeting the back and she further proves his point with a neckbreaker over the knee then a camel clutch (with nostril gouging too). Rain is doing such a good job dominating the match she’s actually getting the crowd on her side. Roxx tries to fire back but gets clubbed down with a clothesline. Nikki looks pretty green out there in this one. Acid Rain blocked so Rain just smacks her in the back instead. Nikki counters the Raindrop with a northern lights suplex but can’t hold a bridge due to the injury. She does manage a flying forearm then takes Rain over with another suplex, but still can’t get enough power in the bridge to win. Roxx tries to go to top and almost falls victim to Acid Rain again. Barbie Crusher (Nikki’s weird finisher from Volume 2) countered into ACID RAIN! That’s enough for Rain to get her first SHIMMER victory at 09:13.
Rating - ** - It was good whenever Rain was in control, but Roxx wasn’t at her best here. She looked weak on offence and sold a few things in classic, WWE diva-esque ungainly fashion. I know DP has high hopes for her but she’ll need to improve on this outing. Rain looked good again and deserves to be in there with a few of the bigger names in SHIMMER (check out Rain/Danger on Volume 2).
Amber O’Neal vs Cindy Rogers vs Tiana Ringer – Elimination Match
According to Wikipedia Amber is 33. Maybe that’s why the WWE only signed her Team Blondage partner (Krissy Vaine – only 26). Anyway, with Vaine gone she’s now working solo. Rogers lost her debut SHIMMER match in a tag against Team Blondage on Volume 1 but was able to defeat Vaine at the next show so she should be familiar with O’Neal. Ringer looked good on both the opening shows – in a losing effort against Shantelle Taylor on V1 then joining Cheerleader Melissa to beat Ariel and Taylor later in the evening at the second taping.
Much as you’d expect Amber stalls for time working her bimbo gimmick. Ringer tries to cheap shot Cindy (since she’s a heel too). Rogers takes it to both of her opponents, forcing their brief partnership to end in miscommunication. Tiana ends up booting O’Neal out of the ring. The heels take it in turns to take shots at Rogers even though Ringer doesn’t seem too impressed with O’Neal’s schtick. Cindy hits a facebuster on Ringer then an X-Factor on Amber. She’s eliminated at 05:04 and we’re down to Rogers/Ringer. Flipping necksnap gets Rogers 2 but Tiana comes up and nails a spinebuster. Cindy hits a sh*tty looking shoulder block and locks in the TCP. Ringer taps at 07:21.
Rating – DUD – Sorry girls, but I thought that was lame. I’m not a fan of 3-way’s as a rule anyway and this wasn’t very good. Lots of sloppy spots and aside from a little early comedy from Amber, it was mostly pretty dull as well. Tiana and Cindy both look like decent wrestlers but they need some form of gimmick or angle to get themselves over since just going out there and wrestling on the undercard is doing them no favours at all.
Lorelei Lee vs Malia Hosaka
It’s a first look at two of the three debutants on this show. As we heard at the end of Volume 2, Lee earned her shot on the SHIMMER roster by impressing in a tryout match in FIP. Hosaka is from Hawaii and is apparently a multi-year veteran.
Hosaka uses the ropes to add extra leverage on a front facelock in case we hadn’t got the point (from her constant yelling of ‘shut up’) that she’s a heel. Lee goes to work on her arm but is soon on the back foot again such is the ferocity of Hosaka’s attack. After choking for a while Malia opts to kick Lee in the head then apply a camel clutch. Lorelei tries to mount some offence but gets met with another swift martial arts kick to the face. Sound quality on this match is awful. Maybe it’s a problem with my DVD. Hosaka is taking all kinds of shortcuts now, including hair pulls and eye rakes. She tries a Warrior Splash only for Lee to get the knees up. She goes back to Hosaka’s arm with a hammerlock then hauls her up into a surfboard. Malia is still shrieking ‘shut up’ whilst stuck in that hold. Lorelei tries to go back to the camel clutch but gets tossed off and Hosaka chokes her in the ropes. Randomly Lee goes for a Figure 4 leglock which makes little sense after working the arm/back all match. The fans urge Malia to tap but she grabs the hair to escape. Lee hits a standing moonsault but can’t get the win. Hosaka rolls into a bodyscissors, totally no-selling the figure 4 she just almost tapped out to. Lorelei hooks the arm for an Oklahoma roll and snatches victory at 11:54.
Rating - ** - Kudos to the basic story they were telling since it worked well and the fans seemed pretty into it. However, I had some real problems. Firstly – I was somewhat impressed with Hosaka. She looks like she has some skills and was definitely fine in the cranky veteran role (and definitely did it with more modern twists and style than the other ‘cranky vet’ Lexie Fyfe). But she needs to chill the f*ck out. Seriously, you don’t need to scream ‘shut up’ or ‘get out of my face’ or other such phrases every 5 seconds to make a crowd aware that you’re heel. Oh…and don’t work a bodyscissors almost immediately after “almost tapping” to a figure 4. It either makes you look incredibly weak for almost tapping, or your opponent look stupid. I’m not sure what to make of Lee. She seemed to do a good job of getting pummelled for most of the match. But I don’t understand why she switched focus from the arm and back to the leg for no apparent reason half way through the match. This wasn’t bad but it wouldn’t have taken much to be a whole lot better. I suppose you chalk it up as a pretty good debut for both women though.
Hosaka isn’t pleased with the result of that match and puts the boots to Lee post-match. Lexie Fyfe runs out from the back and seems to form some kind of mean old b*tch union with Malia and helps kick the crap out of Lorelei. Cindy Rogers runs out to make the save for no other reason than she’s a nice girl. Lexie hangs around since she has a match…
Lexie Fyfe vs MsChif
MsChif had a great debut match in SHIMMER when she toppled the impressive Cheerleader Melissa, but followed that with a loss to Beth Phoenix on Volume 2. Lexie is also 1-1 coming into this show with victory over Christie Ricci, but then a loss to Nikki Roxx. I was impressed with her ability to dominate a match both times though. Hopefully she’ll have good chemistry with MsChif, who proved a great babyface and her character played well against both Melissa and Phoenix.
Much like everyone else, Lexie seems uneasy due to MsChif’s all around weirdness. MsChif hammers on the neck then slaps on a dragon sleeper but Fyfe is too powerful to keep down for long. Chif continues to control things so Fyfe tries to crawl away – only to be caught in a MutaLock. Headscissors into a submission hold, but Lexie counters with a sidewalk slam and goes right to work on the back. Rolling suplexes draw a 2 count. Camel clutch applied, but Dave Prazak speculates on the effectiveness of that given that Chif is so flexible. She demonstrates that with an ULTRA-bridging roll-up for 2. Lexie puts her in a pendulum then a surfboard, just relentlessly stretching out her opponent. Fyfe starts choking her opponent in the corner but MsChif turns that round with chops and a choke of her own. She double stomps Lexie’s back as she lies prone against the bottom turnbuckle. Camel clutch in the ropes next…as Cheerleader Melissa comes to ringside. MsChif goes for the Desecrator but gets distracted by Melissa. Gateway To Annihilation instead (awesome name for a Final Cut). Melissa again gets the attention of MsChif, allowing Fyfe to nail the TKO. She wins at 10:35.
Rating - ** - I was really enjoying the match pitting MsChif’s tenacity (and flexibility) against the remorseless assault of her more senior opponent, so it’s a shame we didn’t get to see a clear finish, but at least the outside interference was relevant. Melissa made it clear at the end of Volume 2 that she wanted a rematch with MsChif and it’s good to see they’re making a real feud out of it since both ladies are really talented.
Cheerleader Melissa vs Shantelle Taylor
After her brief cameo in the previous match, Melissa actually has an engagement of her own here. She was arguably the outstanding performer at the first taping with surprisingly good matches on both volumes. Shantelle signed a WWE deal in May and these tapings are actually her final night of SHIMMER action too.
Taylor uses her speed to get an advantage over her bigger opponent and defiantly clings onto a side headlock. Melissa has a hell of a job working free as Shantelle finds a number of different ways to keep hold of her. Cheerleader decides to negate the headlock by twisting Taylor’s arm into a hammerlock. Shantelle counters by working the arm herself but veering away from the speed game isn’t to her advantage and Melissa soon seizes control again. Taylor wheelbarrows into an armdrag, proving again that her quickness is her advantage here, and Melissa decides to take a chill on the floor. Showing some inexperience Shantelle tries to give chase and gets caught. Kudo Driver attempted by Cheerleader but Taylor isn’t damaged enough to hit the move on. Taylor nails a handspring elbow but tries another wheelbarrow armdrag and gets dumped with an OCEAN CYCLONE SUPLEX! That was pretty brutal, but Shantelle still fights off the Kudo Driver. Inverted Cloverleaf applied by Melissa and Taylor has a real fight on her hands to find the bottom rope. She battles back from a surfboard and tries to go chop for chop despite her size disadvantage. A forearm flurry gives her an advantage and she follows it with a trio of jumping kicks for 2. But she takes way too long climbing the ropes allowing Melissa to drag her off. SPINNING AIR RAID CRASH! Melissa wins at 17:38.
Rating - *** - Easily the best match on the show thus far, with Melissa again demonstrating that she may well be the most talented woman on the roster right now (and considering Lacey, Del Rey and Martinez are all included there that’s saying something). It wasn’t a complicated match with Taylor playing the plucky babyface to Melissa’s dominance (notice how she gets herself over without constantly shrieking or breaking the rules) but the story was effectively told. This was Shantelle’s best performance to date too. She looked decent in her exchanges with Melissa during their tag match on Volume 2 and they took that chemistry into this one. If anything the finish was a little sudden and I wanted to see them go a few minutes longer.
Allison Danger vs Rebecca Knox
SHIMMER is hyping this as one of the main events, despite the fact that Rebecca Knox is debuting, so they must have a lot of faith in her abilities. She’s Irish but spends the majority of her time competing in the US and Canada, and also has experience in Japan. Danger is 2-0 after the first two shows having defeated Beth Phoenix and Rain. She challenged Knox to this match at the end of the Volume 2 DVD.
Jeez they weren’t kidding about Knox being Irish. Her accent is about as Irish as it gets. Prazak puts over her technical ability and says this will be a real test for Allison. They keep it simple to start with and chain back and forth. It’s all pretty smooth which is a testament to the skill of both women – particularly Danger who has gotten SO much better since the first time I saw her wrestle. Five minutes pass and still neither competitor is able to establish any kind of momentum. Knox tries a Strykerlock and they roll back and forth battling over leverage in that hold. Rebecca ties up the legs again and looks to apply pressure to them, but once more Danger is able to counter and reverse the hold against her. Same thing yet again as Knox tries a leg grapevine only for Danger to counter into a half crab. Rebecca leapfrogs over Danger as they run the ropes and she immediately drops to the mat having injured her leg. The fans drop into silence and a bunch of referees run into the ring so it all seems legit. Danger holds the ropes open for them to help her out of the ring. ONLY FOR KNOX TO BOOT HER TO THE FLOOR! SHE’S DOING AN IRISH JIG! Man that’s the oldest trick in the book, and the jig may well make it my favourite heel turn ever. Prazak might as well not bother since Rebecca’s on-going on commentary on her own match is pretty amusing too. She’s also using all kinds of shortcuts to maintain her advantage. A fisherman neckbreaker gets Knox a 2 and I look at the clock to notice we’re fast approaching 20 minutes. That’s just flown by. Danger goes for a desperation Oklahoma roll but Knox is first back to her feet and promptly clubs Allison back to the canvas before raking her face on the ropes. ‘We speak English’ – fans at Knox. Somehow Danger manages to hit a Russian legsweep and both women take their time coming back. Lovelace Choker gets Allison a 2-coint. T-BONE SUPLEX from Knox but Allison kicks out as well. Rebecca tries to get some momentum off the ropes but charges into an STO. Shimmering Warlock ducked and Knox hits a MICHINOKU DRIVER! She gets the victory at 22:54. That’s Danger’s first loss in SHIMMER.
Rating - **** - I think I’m being a tad generous with that rating but it was a hell of a match and I wanted to make the point that it was better than Melissa/Taylor which got 3*. The first 10 minutes were a totally solid back and forth wrestling match which really showed off how good these two are. But it really got good with the Knox heel turn. Her reactions after kicking Danger out of the ring were simply awesome, and after that she did a good job controlling the contest. Much like Melissa/Taylor earlier, I felt that, if anything, the finish came a little quickly and a few more false finishes at the end could’ve helped make this match even better. Still, I loved it, and it’s a match worth checking out.
Rebecca also does awesome, cocky, Blue Meanie-esque dancing to celebrate, prompting the fans to chant ‘you still suck’. Is she trying to become my favourite wrestler in one show?
Sara Del Rey vs Daizee Haze
This is your main event. These women were the final two in the four-way elimination match that headlined Volume 2. There it was Del Rey who came out on top following her Royal Butterfly combo. Haze will be coming for revenge here. This should be a hell of a match between two women who have clearly been chosen to really carry the fledgling SHIMMER promotion.
Haze tries to trade holds with Del Rey from the bell, which seems a little misguided given the size disparity between the two, as well as the fact that Sara is an established technical specialist. She manages to hold her own though, then drops down into an overhand wristlock as Del Rey tries to nip up. Del Rey is determined to prove she CAN in fact do nip ups and just about manages. The fans demand referee Bryce Remsburg nip up too…and he does a better one than Sara. She now wants to regain some dignity and challenges Daizee to a test of strength, but it was a ploy as she stretches Haze in a Japanese stranglehold. She dishes out a big backbreaker next and Daizee suddenly seems in a fair bit of trouble. She goes for a bulldog but gets dumped back-first on the canvas. Haze musters up a satellite headscissors then demonstrates more quickness by going for flash pins on Del Rey from a number of positions. Sara catapults Haze into the bottom rope and clamps on a camel clutch. Daizee manages to escape the hold by biting her opponent’s hand. But Del Rey just kills her momentum with big boots then a fallaway slam for 2. BRUTAL STF applied and that’s an appropriate time for Prazak to remind everyone that Sara was trained by Bryan Danielson. As if that wasn’t bad enough Del Rey starts HEADBUTTING Haze from behind. She unleashes a vicious chop/forearm sequence combo in the corner then headbutts Daizee down at the 15-minute mark. Haze manages to roll out of a powerbomb into a bridging roll-up but can only score 2 with it. Yakuza kick misses though so she has to settle for countering a German suplex into another quick roll-up attempt. Del Rey tries to overwhelm her with forearm smashes only to run into a kick to the side of the head. The Haze to the top for a MISSILE DROPKICK! HEART PUNCH! But Sara is aware the Yakuza kick is coming and steps into the ropes to avoid it. She tries to scoop Daizee into a powerbomb much as she did at Volume 2…but this time she COUNTERS WITH A RANA! Del Rey blocks the Mind Trip and hits a GERMAN SUPLEX! That gets her a second victory over Daizee at 19:47.
Rating - **** - Again I feel 4* is maybe a tad generous, but I loathe ¼ ratings and this was a hell of a way to main event the show. As much as I criticise Daizee for being sloppy at times, she is AWESOME playing off against bigger/better opponents such as Del Rey, or Lacey as we saw on Volume 1. Meanwhile Sara is just so talented. The reason the fans were so into the match at the end was because she was so convincing as the unrelenting badass wearing Daizee out during the heat segment. She’s got great submissions, terrific strikes and looks really smooth out there. I’m sure Dave Prazak sleeps pretty well at night knowing he’s got women like these main eventing his promotion.
Backstage afterwards Del Rey vows to remain undefeated in SHIMMER. She challenges Mercedes Martinez to a rematch, this time with no time limits.
Clips of Melissa/MsChif from Volume 1 air with Dave Prazak announcing they’ll have a rematch on Volume 4 – this time under Falls Count Anywhere rules.
Daizee Haze wants Rebecca Knox on the next show, and suggests she doesn’t try to pull anything like she did with Allison Danger tonight.
Tape Rating - *** - In terms of top to bottom consistency this was SHIMMER’s best effort to date, which is no small feat considering they were deprived of two main event level talents in Lacey and Mercedes Martinez, as well as Ariel, one of their more talented midcarders. There was only one match on the show which was what you’d call “bad”, and that was pretty brief. Everything else was at least 2* solid, and the late withdrawal of talent meant pretty much every match got a decent time allocation. This was also the first time we really saw some SHIMMER storylines start to develop, with the Melissa/MsChif feud intensifying, the formation of the Fyfe/Hosaka team, Rebecca Knox debuting then going heel etc. All that plus three solid matches at the top of the card with more outstanding displays from the likes of Melissa, Haze, Del Rey and Danger. Overall I’d say the show wasn’t quite as good as Volume 1 (simply on the strength of the Martinez/Del Rey and Haze/Lacey main event combo being better than Knox/Danger and Del Rey/Haze) but it’s still a commendable release. I look forward to Volume 4 which features Rain/Del Rey, Haze/Knox and that Melissa/MsChif Falls Count Anywhere match which lots of people have been hyping.
Top 3 Matches
3) Cheerleader Melissa vs Shantelle Taylor (***)
2) Sara Del Rey vs Daizee Haze (****)
1) Rebecca Knox vs Allison Danger (****)