McXal's Reviews

The first two events taped this weekend were extremely noteworthy. From major heel turns for Daizee Haze and Madison Eagles, to a flurry of Joshi debutants, the continuing rise of talents like Nicole Matthews, Portia Perez, Kellie Skater and Jessie McKay to MsChif delivering perhaps her most impressive performance yet as SHIMMER Champion. There will be no let-up with V31 either, as there are huge matches scheduled for this one. Top of the bill is another title defence for MsChif, against new #1 contender Madison Eagles. Ayako Hamada returns to SHIMMER for today’s events, and her match with Daizee Haze is certainly one to look forward to. Joshi visitor vs SHIMMER mainstay matches litter the card in fact, with Del Rey/Kurihara, Melissa/Ohata, Matsumoto/LuFisto and Martinez/Nakagawa all coming our way. If that weren’t enough the Tag Titles will also be on the line, plus Daffney is in the building for these shows too! Dave Prazak and Portia Perez provide taped commentary. We head back to Berwyn, IL.

You’ll immediately notice that Kellie’s chest is completely f*cked up after her bruising encounter with Mercedes Martinez at V30. She is a mess, but that hasn’t altered her behaviour or demeanour as she enters the ring. She is starting to get a reputation not only for her big mouth, but also her resilience and ability to take a real beating from some of the biggest names in the company. She needs wins though, and will recognise this as a real opportunity to get one against a talent making only her second main show appearance (and first singles match) in Jessica James.

Prazak points out the irony that Jessica’s diminutive size means this is one of the few times where Skater’s ‘big woman’ act is remotely accurate. She brutally whacks the back of her head against the canvas from a tree of woe position, from which James really struggles to recover. James’ asset is her speed, which she tries to use with a couple of flash pins but is quickly hammered into the ground again with a lariat from the Rate Tank. A rather clumsy flatliner scores for Jessica, and she quickly follows it by nailing the JJ Kick for 2. Kellie puts her away soon after with the diving neckbreaker at 04:52

Rating - * - The entertainment value here came, as Prazak pointed out right at the start, in Kellie actually getting to be the bigger worker for once. In less than five minutes there wasn’t much opportunity for anything more substantial, though a couple of minor mis-steps probably hampered my enjoyment still more. I’m keen to see more of both women though, so obviously didn’t hate this.

The performer we’ll come to know as ‘Billie Kay’ in the years to come is something of a conundrum for SHIMMER right now. Fans are really buying into her, and she is starting to consistently deliver really decent matches (in particular her match at V30 against Nicole Matthews was outstanding). But most of her best performances thus far have come in losing efforts, meaning she is another that needs to start winning big matches rather than just showing her skills within them. Stephie is a newer addition to the roster, but has been impressive in her role too. Both women, then, have much to prove and much to gain from a win here. Stephie’s last appearance was at Volume 29, when she lost to Jessie’s trainer, mentor and sometime-tag partner Madison Eagles.

McKay starts confidently and controls Stephie with a series of headlocks and ground holds. The result is Stephie spending most of the first two minutes trapped in headlocks. Even when she escapes Jessie whips her back to the mat again for a diving double knee strike for 2. Sassy tries to target the back, driving forearms into it then camel clutching her in the ropes. Vertical suplex rolled into a guillotine front choke to do yet more damage to the back and neck. McKay throws her away with a headscissors but now looks in visible pain…and walks into a Russian legsweep. With the Australian looking increasingly injured, the two competitors collide mid-ring trading big strikes. McKay hits a back suplex…but takes so long to follow up that Sassy is back on her feet and ready to retaliate with a swinging slam. Kiss My Sass blocked for the School Girl Crush! Boyfriend Stealer wins it for McKay at a competitive 06:46

Rating - *** - Low-end 3* obviously, but I enjoyed this. Both of these women have been consistent and impressive in whatever role they’ve been given at recent shows, and that more than continued here. This wasn’t bombastic, it didn’t steal thunder from later matches, but it was very well structured, told a sound story which enabled both women to show off their strengths, and ended with a popular win for one of SHIMMER’s top new stars. McKay gets a deserved win, whilst Stephie continues to look a really solid hand on the undercard and capable of stepping into a more prominent role if the opportunity presents itself.

Amber Gertner interviews Madison Eagles, who tries to argue that her victory over Melissa last time was a fair one. The Punisher is supremely confident of leaving Volume 30 as champion…

Without her ‘Experience’ partner Lexie Fyfe, Hosaka has returned to what she does best – namely lurking near the bottom of the card and acting as a proving ground for the young talent of SHIMMER to test themselves against as they come in. Leva Bates couldn’t beat her at V30, neither could Tenille at V27. SHIMMER Dojo graduate Rayna Von Tosh is the next to pit her wits against the tenured veteran. RVT is currently winless in SHIMMER main show appearances, but has a striking look and has impressed with both her character and workrate thus far. Will she score a huge upset this afternoon?

Hosaka’s griping during Rayna’s needlessly seductive ring entrance may well be more entertaining than this match winds up being. Von Tosh is a tall athlete and looks to use it when grappling with Malia, but invariably the veteran seems to find a way to counter and put the boots to the rookie. Some selective editing covers what appears to be a rather substantial flub by Rayna as she works Hosaka’s head between her legs for the snap facecrusher spot she does. Hosaka survives that and almost decapitates with a spinning heel kick. Next RVT looks for a crucifix pin but struggles with executing that too. Malia looks a little pissed of with that and puts a little extra on her subsequent strikes. Credit to Rayna as she continues to fight gamely – stringing together a sidewalk slam then a neckbreaker. Pointless Sexy Elbow drop gets 2…before she botches a simple duck-under. Hosaka puts her out of her misery with the Chickenwing Facebuster (albeit there was a minor botch on that too) at 06:13

Rating - DUD - SHIMMER has a proud policy of giving young wrestlers a chance. It’s an admirable policy, and one they should stick to as it delivers memorable moments, unearths new diamonds in the rough and continually deepens the talent pool not just for SHIMMER but for pro-wrestling in a wider context. But the downside of that is that they are inexperienced, they lack the consistency of some of the more established talents…and sometimes they have a bad night. This was Rayna’s bad night. She has looked serviceable in her first two matches, but hit the bricks HARD here. Botches came fast and often, leaving Hosaka to obviously hold the match together. No big deal, it happens. The match was short, and will be quickly forgotten about leaving both competitors to move on. Having said that, this did wind up being Rayna’s last SHIMMER match to date…

MsChif pops in for some promo time to remind everyone of all the names she has beaten, and that she is now one of the longest-reigning champions in pro-wrestling. If she has her way, Eagles will just be another name on the already-lengthy list of fallen challengers…

Since losing a great match to Ayako Hamada at Volume 27, Mercedes has put together three consecutive victories and looks to be strengthening her position as she hunts down another opportunity at the SHIMMER Championship. She also holds a victory over Madison Eagles, so knows that will further strengthen her claim for a title shot should Madison beat MsChif in the main event. But her task isn’t easy here, taking on Tomoka who is 1-1 in her SHIMMER career thus far. She debuted dropping a spectacular match to Ayumi Kurihara, but recovered by forming a team with Daizee Haze to defeat Jamilia Craft and Misaki Ohata. After thirty minutes of preliminary bouts this one has a big-time feel. Volume 31 may be about to ignite…

If we weren’t sure that Nakagawa should now be considered a heel, she quickly reminds us by biting Martinez’s arm to score an early advantage. Even when following the rules she is extremely slick and an even match for the SHIMMER veteran on the ground. Mercedes is taller and more powerful though…so Tomoka pokes her in the eyes! The Latina Sensation is pissed at that and quickly tries to hit the Bull Run…but it’s way too early and Nakagawa easily escapes. She wraps a tassel from her gear and uses it to choke Martinez out of sight of the official. Tomoka goes for her version of the Fisherman Suplex finish…which Martinez blocks with a MAFIA KICK! BRAINBUSTER…gets 2! Mercedes seriously looked like she was trying to murder Nakagawa then. The Joshi athlete counters the Bull Run to a DDT, setting her up for the CRB. There’s no submission, but it is still more damage done to Martinez’s neck. Jumping enzi on the neck…into mounted strikes to the neck too. FISHERMAN SUPLEX for 2. Martinez survives that and pummels Tomoka in the corner! Nakagawa climbs the ropes…only for Mercedes to pull her back into the BULL RUN! Martinez wins at 08:55

Rating - *** - Damn I wish they could’ve found more time for this. I was having an absolute blast watching it. She had a 4* match with Kurihara at Volume 29, but for me this was Nakagawa’s best individual performance of the weekend so far. Combining classic villainous tactics with Japanese intensity, precision and ferocity, she was utterly fantastic from the opening seconds onwards. Martinez is significantly bigger than her, but never felt hard to suspend one’s belief and watch Tomoka beat the crap out of her. And for Martinez, this was a match which shows what a well-rounded worker she now is too. At Volumes 29 and 30 she was a dominant, powerful striker and the aggressor in her matches with Jamilia Craft and Kellie Skater. They were both enjoyable and she was great in them. Here she had an entirely different role to play…and was similarly on point. Violent and explosive when she needed to be, but sympathetic and sincere enough in her selling of Nakagawa’s attacks too. The format of the tapings deprived them of a chance to go longer and really dive into a more cerebral and compelling story…but for a nine-minute sprint they certainly delivered the goods.

Volume 30 saw an emotional Allison finally end her war with Portia Perez after winning a violent Last Woman Standing Match. However, she hasn’t forgotten the events of V29, when Melanie Cruise and Annie Social acted as paid goons who blocked the attempts of SHIMMER wrestlers and officials to save her from an attack at the hands of Perez and Nicole Matthews. Getting payback won’t be easy though, as Melanie is an imposing physical specimen and there aren’t many who have clean singles wins over her…

Danger chain-wrestles and works the mat with Cruise, which is obviously to negate her power and work into positions where Allison’s experience will benefit her. It leads to an awesome moment where Cruise looks a little lost trying to chain-wrestle (in and out of kayfabe), so instead just picks her opponent up like a child and drops her throat-first on the top rope. Great use of her size from Melanie…and she uses it again to clobber Danger to the ground with a lariat soon after. Allison knocks her back with a running knee, and appears to have the match won after landing the Lovelace Choker. A combination of Cruise supposedly getting the shoulder up and Annie Social ‘attempting’ to dive into the ring and break the count prevents referee Carley Rae from completing the three count. Cruise and Social make a hash of trying to double-team Danger as well…before Melanie pins the veteran holding the tights to secure a farcical win at 04:49

Rating - * - Allison Danger is nothing if not giving and generous with the younger talent in SHIMMER. She’s basically spent the entirety of her four year run in this company trying to elevate others, from Cindy Rogers to Jennifer Blake to Portia Perez…and now Melanie Cruise benefits to get the biggest win of her SHIMMER career by far. The match even had some really good ideas, with Danger using her wrestling ability but coming unstuck anytime the inexperienced but taller competitor was able to maintain a vertical base. Unfortunately the finish was completely disastrous, including a dreadfully mis-timed false-finish, Annie missing her cue and a botched double team. 

Jennifer Blake makes another unscheduled appearance to come to Danger’s aid, this time by fighting off Social and Cruise as they try to put a beatdown on Allison. A challenge for a tag team match is laid down for Volume 32…

This got personal very quickly after Daffney turned her back on her protégé Rachel at Volume 27, then verbally and physically assaulted her at Volume 28. Now Daff returns to SHIMMER apparently ready to get into the ring and demonstrate to the world why she thinks Summerlyn will ‘always be a rookie’.

Daffney obviously has no plans to contest an actual match with Rachel, and tries to school-boy her during the introductions to cut this one very short. She’s obviously in Summerlyn’s head and screams more abuse at her as she chokes her in the ropes. With no rules in play Daff revels in being able to choke and rake eyes as she sees fit…then starts braining Rachel on the apron when the fight spills outside. To indicate how unhinged Daff actually us, she loses her grip on the match by getting into an argument with referee Bryce Remsburg when he refuses to count her random attempt at pinning Rachel on the floor. Summerlyn capitalises to toss her into the guardrails…so Daff brings it back inside and low blows her. Lobotomy nailed, and Daffney scores the win at 04:53

Rating - * - Well that was anticlimactic. I’ve lamented Daffney’s presence in SHIMMER as a necessary inconvenience for so long. A recognisable ‘name’ to maybe draw a few fans; an experienced locker room veteran to stand out in a promotion largely populated with talented younger women, but a slightly annoying, irrelevant presence as an in-ring performer. That has changed with this feud. I love her darker persona, and she is hugely watchable as an unhinged and violent mentor trying to beat up a disappointing student. The problem I have is that this isn’t getting Summerlyn over at all. Hell, the Berwyn crowd are now loudly jeering her. Once again here Daffney was great to watch. But this was a complete squash. I didn’t come away wanting to see Rachel get revenge. I came away wanting to see Daffney go and work with someone else. I don’t think that’s what they were going for…

This should be interesting. Hiroyo was brilliant, even in defeat, in her debut match against Sara Del Rey. Considering she basically jumped off a plane from Japan and went straight to the ring to compete, her efforts yesterday were nothing short of miraculous. Hopefully after some sleep she’ll be even better today. Her opponents don’t get any easier or less violent – as she now faces one of the hardest hitters in SHIMMER. LuFisto is 2-0 this weekend, and looking to rebuild after dropping a couple of SHIMMER Title shots at MsChif in quick succession. 

The bell rings…and Lu sprints across the ring throwing elbows at the Joshi visitor like they are going out of fashion. HIROYO RETURNS FIRE! The ref has to separate them, and they split having laid down a clear marker of how they want to approach this one. Matsumoto traps LuFi in the corner and starts biting her ass! And as with yesterday everything she does is accompanied by an enormous smile. She has a great time camel clutching LuFisto with fingers buried deep in her nostrils for good measure. Lu has ha enough…and plants Hiroyo with a DVD! Hair pull camel clutch by Lu as payback for Matsumoto’s actions of minutes earlier. Hiroyo goes for the eyes to escape that…only for Fisto to splatter her with the cannonball senton in the corner. STIFF elbows from Matsumoto land…and are followed by a high missile dropkick for 2. Back Drop Driver COUNTERED to a German for 2. DIVING STAR gets another 2 for LuFi. Hiroyo blocks the Burning Hammer…then counters into a brutal torture rack gutbuster. Still she can’t hit the Back Drop Driver though, and Lu kicks her in the head. BACK DROP DRIVER! Matsumoto wins in a frantic 07:40

Rating - *** - I’m almost out of breath just watching that. They didn’t have much time, so worked as hard and as fast as they possibly could to create a real spectacle. It was an inspired piece of booking pairing these two together, as they made for wonderful opponents. Both slightly off-the-wall with a whacky persona that somewhat disguises how wild they can be inside the ring, it made great fun watching them brutalise each other in the most unconventional of manners. Don’t let the short time allocation fool you. This is one of those times when keeping it short REALLY worked in their favour. They didn’t let up or pause to catch their breath…and just beat the crap out of each other from the first to last bell. 

This might not be the best time to be Misaki Ohata. Like the rest of the Joshi crew, she’s been extremely impressive in her debut weekend – especially in her first match, defeating Daizee Haze. Sadly she’ll now come across Cheerleader Melissa, who will be in a foul mood after Madison Eagles cheated to beat her and snatch #1 contendership to the SHIMMER Championship from under her nose. It’s a title Melissa has chased since its inception without really getting close to it. Always on the cusp, but never quite breaking through to challenge…she’ll be looking to vent some real frustration on Ohata this afternoon.

Ohata gets PUNCHED OUT by Melissa, who looks extremely intimidating as she completely no-sells Misaki’s opening salvo. Sensibly Ohata stops trying to throwdown with the Future Legend and goes to the mat instead. The Joshi star as a reputation as a submission specialist, but such is Melissa’s momentum that she dominates her on the canvas too. Misaki visibly gets desperate; if she can see a limb she just grabs it and tries to stretch it no matter where she is situated. Even when she tries to leave the ring Cheerleader simply drags her back by the hair for an emphatic body slam. RUNNING ARMBAR by Ohata! For the first time she is hurting Melissa…but Cheerleader’s strength is such that she stands up to deliver a ONE-ARM POWERBOMB! Kondo Clutch! Kudo Driver blocked...into the same running crossbody spot that beat Daizee! Melissa tries to counter it…but Misaki rolls through into an armbar! She counters Melissa’s Samoan drop next and tries to flash pin her multiple times over. Melissa is just too strong though and eventually does muscle her into the Samoan drop. Misaki can barely stand…but still counters the Kudo Driver and still keeps trying pinning combinations. Missile dropkick DISMISSED by Melissa! BRUTAL KUDO DRIVER! Cheerleader wins at 09:46

Rating - *** - The more I watch of these old SHIMMER shows, the more I’m convinced that Cheerleader Melissa is one of the most under-rated workers of the modern era. She is just phenomenally good, and in so many different types of match. I loved the story they told here, and seriously considered going to 4* on it for the richness of the plot alone. Melissa was defiant and dominant, looking to send a message after being screwed over by Madison last time out. She was very much like a Terminator, marching forward at all times looking to crush the smaller Ohata. But Misaki was a valiant fighter – who refused to quit, kept getting up and kept trying different things to beat her. From strikes, to submissions, to things that worked yesterday, all the way to just endlessly trying to pin Melissa so she could get away. Nothing worked…and Misaki was finally beaten in the most violent manner possible. The step up in quality from the young American girls like Cruise, Rayna or Summerlyn to the levels the Joshi ladies, or Melissa/Sara/Mercedes/Madison/LuFisto is so huge…

Whether Ariel and Nikki have done enough to earn this title shot is certainly up for debate. Ariel’s stock has dropped significantly in recent shows, to the extent that she was left off Volume 30 – something she’ll be keen to atone for here. After Portia missed a weekend with Swine Flu, and was battling Allison at V30, the NINJAs haven’t defended the belts much however, so we probably are due more Tag Championship competition. Rising star Nicole Matthews may be the story here. She dropped a really strong undercard match with Roxx back at Volume 19 which some consider the start of her rapid rise up the SHIMMER singles ranks. She’s had a great weekend thus far too, pinning SHIMMER Champion MsChif in the main event of Volume 29, then stealing the show with victory over Jessie McKay at 30. 

Rather than shake hands, the Ninjas try to sell their new shirts to the challengers which is quite fun. It doesn’t work since the challengers end up stealing them like playground bullies…before more comedy ensues with Ariel trying to put on Portia’s basically child-sized shirt! The match is more than two minutes old before they make any kind of physical contact…and even then it’s fleeting as Matthews runs for cover and calls for a time-out from Nikki Roxx. They show off their ability to do needless flips and cartwheels, and Ariel wants in on the action too with a roly poly! The Portuguese Princess mugs Perez with a lariat as she attempts a tentative somersault of her own…and pretty soon the challengers are on top with an almost Young Bucks-esque flurry of rapid tags. Portia lands School’s Out on Ariel and quickly drags her back to the Ninja corner to isolate her from Roxx…but it’s short lived and Ariel hits a tornado DDT to escape. POLISH HAMMER from Nikki to Portia, followed by the Cutie Special on Matthews. Ariel SUPLEXES PORTIA ONTO NICOLE’S FACE! Perez rescues her partner with a superkick on Ariel. Funky Cold Medina finishes Nikki off, and the champs retain at 08:23

Rating - ** - The comedy portion of the match was very well done. They played it for laughs and generally got them; it was genuinely very humorous. The problem is that it didn’t really go anywhere after that. They didn’t have much time, and the comedy segment took so long that everything else they did (aside from a fun finishing sequence) felt both unhealthily rushed and completely inconsequential. Having been a staple of the roster since the first Volume, Ariel is starting to get left behind as the overall quality of the roster improves sharply. Girls like Portia and particularly Nicole, who came in after her, now seem far more athletically capable, with a far greater range of character and emotion, than she does. 

In just two shows, Daizee’s heel turn has gained real momentum with the Berwyn fans. When we started these tapings she was still one of the most enduringly popular performers on the roster, so it’s quite a change – but it really has worked. Her entrance alone draws as much legitimate heel heat as anyone else has all weekend (bar the finish to Eagles/Melissa). She may be small in stature, but she is no stranger to stepping up to the sternest tests SHIMMER has to offer. From Del Rey to Melissa, to Mercedes to Kong – she has fought valiantly against all and generally given as good as she has gotten. Hamada returns from TNA for her second batch of shows, having taken a win over Mercedes Martinez but then dropped a match to Sara Del Rey which some consider to be among SHIMMER’s very best.

Hamada deliberately intimidates Daizee, who is skittish and repeatedly flees to the floor to agitate both the live crowd and her opponent. Amusingly the crowd start calling her ‘Lazy Daizee’ due to her lack of interest in actually working the match. When she does start wrestling she does so by pulling the hair then grabbing Hamada’s tights as she tries to pin her. Ayako eventually loses patience and begins kicking lumps out of her illusive and big-mouthed rival. To Haze’s credit, her response to that is to go after Hamada’s legs – which is a completely logical thing to do. Sadly it has little effect and soon Hamada is stomping on her head and kicking her some more. She then starts drilling Haze with some of the most aggressive body slams you’ll ever see. Hamada tries to run the ropes with a lucha armdrag, but Haze isn’t a rookie and isn’t stupid; she spots it coming and jerks her off the top rope with ease. She then tries a body slam like Hamada hit earlier…but comically collapses under Ayako’s weight and gets her brains scrambled with a jumping enzi. To the top rope goes Hamada…landing her outstanding moonsault. Hamada Driver blocked…powerbomb blocked…SUPERKICK! LIGERBOMB! LAST GASP KICKOUT by Daizee! Nearfalls don’t get any closer than that. Heart Punch…Yakuza Kick dodged! HAMADA DRIVER! She wins at 10:35

Rating - *** - Let’s start by stating that this was a decent match, which I didn’t dislike at all. However, it doesn’t stop it from being possibly one of the biggest disappointments of the weekend. These two could have torn the house down. Hamada is hugely respected, and Haze’s new heel persona has really taken off. They are both hugely talented…and I wanted to see a lot more than a brief ten minute match where they played half of it for laughs and didn’t really seem to get serious until the last knockings. Under different circumstances this could have been match of the weekend. Instead it barely scraped into 3* territory and won’t even make the Top 3 on this Volume…

Few would deny that, of the Joshi talents brought in for the weekend, Ayumi is the one who is having the best weekend thus far. 2-0, including a spectacular show-stealer against Tomoka Nakagawa, she has made a real impression. Her reward is to get into the ring with the Death Rey, herself coming in red hot having impressively defeated Ayumi’s fellow Joshi star Hiroyo Matsumoto at V30 (she also beat Hamada at Volume 28). It may be her debut weekend but if Kurihara can find a way past Sara this afternoon she surely becomes an instantly credible contender for the SHIMMER Championship.

Sara stalks and closes the gap on Kurihara…then makes contact and commences violently headbutting and stretching her out. She visibly focuses on Ayumi’s arms and shoulders, which is significant because she has a history of shoulder problems. It’s an imposing start by the former champion, and I love that Kurihara immediately starts selling her shoulder. She shows no fear though…and starts lighting up Del Rey with massive elbow strikes, even after Sara starts kicking at the bad arm. That’s not the smartest move given Sara’s size advantage though…and the California native mauls her down and starts kicking at the arm again. Next comes an ultra-aggressive hammerlock, which Ayumi sells like she is legit being murdered in the middle of the ring. With a burst of adrenaline Kurihara charges at Del Rey with a series of Sling Blades…but that renders her arm limp and unusable at her side and Del Rey coolly drags her to the mat again for a punishing surfboard. Even when she escapes that Del Rey starts kicking her in the shoulder blades again…then pulls her up BY THE ARMS into a facebuster for 2. Tilta-whirl backbreaker next, and Sara’s precision is so good that she even delivers that high so as to land it across the shoulder blades rather than the lower back. Prazak correctly spots that she is now simultaneously working the back and arm – such as working a version of the camel clutch but with the arms captured too. Quite incredibly Ayumi is still fighting, and since her arms don’t work she uses her knees and legs instead! She’s too injured to suplex Death Rey though…so climbs up Sara’s back for an Octopus Stretch. Sara powers out and seriously looks like she’s trying to KO Kurihara with elbows in the corner. She goes for one last knock-out blow…COUNTERED TO A HANGING ARMBAR BY AYUMI! FLYING CROSSBODY…BUT SARA CATCHES HER! FALLAWAY SLAM dropping her on the bad back and shoulder! ARGENTINE BACKBREAKER GETS 2! Royal Butterfly COUNTERED TO THE CODEBREAKER! Kurihara climbs the ropes for the TOTAL DEATH MISSILE DROPKICK! SARA KICKS OUT! NECK DROP URINAGE! DEL REY KICKS OUT AGAIN! KARELIN SUPLEX BY SARA! This is incredible! Ayumi starts trying flash pins…AND SHE GETS THREE! KURIHARA WINS! At 17:00 she pins Del Rey!

Rating - ****1/2 - Hell yes! This one was superb, a privilege to watch and up there with some of the best SHIMMER matches I’ve seen thus far. Sara Del Rey is an incredible worker. Not just an incredible female worker…but legitimately one of the best around, period. The quality of what she did was unbelievable, and it really doesn’t surprise me that WWE would eventually come and sign her up not to wrestle, but to teach the next generation of female (and male) superstars how to work. A fan kept heckling her for being a ‘bully’ here, and that was a brilliant description of her persona and tactics. As she’s done to many others, she set up from the opening bell to boss Kurihara around. Intimidating, dismissive and downright nasty – she was the perfect contrast to the smiling, endearing and ‘cute’ (I don’t mean that negatively, it’s part of her gimmick) Ayumi. And the thing about Sara is, she’s been brilliantly booked since the very first show SHIMMER have produced. She doesn’t lose often, so when she does it REALLY means something. The losses to Martinez, MsChif and Deeb are all infamous, simply because her aura is so well protected. Kurihara sneaking past her with a schoolboy pin, therefore, felt like an EPIC moment. And one that Ayumi more than deserved for her own great work here. She makes a great babyface for the reasons I’ve already listed, but even above that the way she sold for Sara like she was genuinely killing her in the ring only amped up the tension further. Her match with Tomoka was an exciting spectacle, and a terrific exhibition of the Joshi style. But this was better, it was richer, it was deeper…and more dramatic by far. This one is must-see…

We know how we got to this point. Eagles has returned to SHIMMER in a big way this weekend, with a definitive victory over Sassy Stephie then a controversial (i.e. she cheated) win over Cheerleader Melissa in the #1 contendership match she’d talked her way into. A world-renowned performer, and the trainer of the majority of the Australian girls we see regularly in SHIMMER, she hasn’t been on a huge amount of Volumes for one reason or another…but she is a huge threat to the champ. MsChif won’t be afraid of course, having beaten everyone from Daizee Haze to Amazing Kong in defence of the belt. If she wins here she makes it to a full two calendar years as champion, though what she has already achieved is a phenomenal accomplishment. 

Even someone of Madison’s height finds the blood-curdling screams of the SHIMMER Champion unnerving. MsChif clearly recognises her as a dangerous foe though, and attempts to end it early with a flurry of pinfalls on the Australian. Eagles shadily hides behind Bryce Remsburg, then jumps out from behind him to start peppering Ms with all kinds of strikes. Sliding Shining Wizard-esque knee strike almost takes the champ’s head off and disrupts her momentum for the first time. MsChif uses her flexibility to take the match to the ground…but her opponent is a proficient technician and a capable mixed martial artist too, so has no problem overcoming her down there and using that flexibility to almost snap her in half. Cattle Mutilation with added deathlock on the legs sees Madison apparently trying to snap all of the champion’s limbs at once! Madison is barely breaking sweat and is an imposing specimen as she runs through an assortment of stretches that tear MsChif’s body apart. Ten minutes in and the challenger is putting on a clinic, with Chif apparently incapable of living with her on the mat. Bravely MsChif fights to her feet and lands Gateway To Annihilation…but before she can capitalises Madison trips her back to the mat and unloads with more mounted strikes. LARIAT! HELL BOUND! IT’S OVER! THE REIGN OF TORMENT IS OVER! The crowd is in stunned silence, almost in disbelief that at 11:57, Eagles has become the third SHIMMER Champion!

Rating - *** - This is something of a controversial match. Madison would go on to prove herself a worthy champion and establish her reputation in America as one of the world’s best…but at this stage some of SHIMMER’s core audience hadn’t yet bought into her. They certainly weren’t keen on accepting her as champion – ending the popular MsChif’s title reign and also depriving them of a much-anticipated and seemingly inevitable MsChif/Melissa title match. Personally I think they got the tone dead right with this one, and Eagles has now cemented herself as a legitimate main event talent (if she hadn’t before). The match went almost twelve minutes – and we watched MsChif’s Reign Of Torment slip away in a slow, sad and melancholic manner. Having fought so bravely, for so long and beaten a veritable who’s who of SHIMMER competition...this was the moment her tank hit empty. Entering on a high after delivering one of her most impressive performances against Sarah Stock at V30, she just wasn’t prepared for, and couldn’t cope with, how dangerous Eagles truly was. With almost two years of title defences wearing down her body, she had no answer as Eagles pulled her to pieces on the mat. Her attempt at a comeback was brief, stuttering and unsuccessful…and she eventually succumbed to a comprehensive defeat. It might not have been the match the SHIMMER faithful wanted, and at the final bell it genuinely did feel sad to see MsChif crushed so resoundingly. But the story itself was a great one, and it makes Eagles in a huge way. I understand the feelings of those that are frustrated – back in 2004 I didn’t feel like it was the right time for Samoa Joe’s two-year ROH World Title run to end when he dropped it to Austin Aries as I felt they had more stories to tell with him as champion. But as Gabe didn’t with Joe in ’04, Dave Prazak has decided the story he wants to tell is Madison as champion…and she now sits atop the SHIMMER mountain with big shoes to fill, plus a big target on her back. Luckily she more than has the chops to cope with that pressure…

Tape Rating - *** - This was the most inconsistently paced, and uneven of the three shows taped thus far this weekend…but it’s also the one that is absolutely essential viewing. There are obvious low points, and the divisive creative decision in the main event will doubtlessly annoy some…but for SHIMMER fans this is critical viewing. Kurihara/Del Rey was an exceptional match which I could watch over and over, with so much intricate and subtle detail that you’ll be spotting new little touches even on second or third viewing. And the main event, the conclusion of the Reign Of Torment, and the start of the ‘year of the Eagles’ was compelling viewing even if the match was one-sided. It is only right to point out that it didn’t feel like anything other than Sara/Ayumi got enough time. Matches like Haze/Hamada, Melisa/Ohata, Martinez/Ohata, LuFisto/Matsumoto or MsChif/Eagles could all have been as good as Del Rey and Kurihara…but they had to be packed into ten minutes or less. Ultimately one can’t complain at a show featuring some of the most memorable moments in SHIMMER history, alongside a veritable procession of ultra talented female athletes. 

3) Hiroyo Matsumoto vs LuFisto (***)

2) Cheerleader Melissa vs Misaki Ohata (***)

1) Ayumi Kurihara vs Sara Del Rey (****1/2)