McXal's Reviews

This weekend has produced one of the best three-show stretches in SHIMMER history. There have been strong matches, long and consistent cards, memorable moments and a whole slew of Joshi newcomers bulking up the quality of the roster immeasurably. The fact that regulars Malia Hosaka, Nevaeh, Cat Power and Tenille will all be working this show having simply not been booked for one (or more) of the preceding shows of the weekend tells you everything about how deep the talent ranks now are. One woman we’ll not be seeing tonight is new champion Madison Eagles. Having shocked the world by returning to SHIMMER and ending MsChif’s ‘Reign Of Torment’, she sits this one out (reportedly she’d been struggling with illness all weekend). It opens up a main event spot for the rival she screwed out of #1 contendership back at Volume 30, as Cheerleader Melissa headlines in a dream match with Ayako Hamada. Underneath that international superstar showdown, there are another host of matches pitting SHIMMER mainstays against high quality foreign imports. Jessie McKay faces Tomoka Nakagawa, Sara Del Rey takes on Misaki Ohata, Mercedes Martinez has Hiroyo Matsumoto, Daizee Haze opposes Ayumi Kurihara (arguably the MVP of the weekend), whilst Sarah Stock is back for her final SHIMMER match to date against Nicole Matthews. Dave Prazak and Portia Perez (with occasional guest spots for Kellie Skater) will once again provide commentary over the action taped live in Berwyn, IL.

It has been another weekend in the trenches for ‘The Experience’s Malia Hosaka, working at the bottom of the card as the grumpy veteran testing the skills of young newcomers. She is 2-0 so far, having beaten Leva Bates in a competitive encounter, then Rayna Von Tosh in something of a horror show. Jumping Jamilia is her final opponent, and another Daizee Haze student. Speaking of the Haze, Craft has pissed off her teacher and suffered at her hands so far. It would be huge for her young career if she could end a tough weekend by scoring a sizeable upset…

Hosaka has a lengthy disagreement with the referee over the legality of Craft’s mask. Turns out it is entirely legal but the shenanigans do throw Jamilia off her game. The rookie holds her ground in a flurry of nearfalls…so Hosaka gives her a few swift kicks to the gut to put her in her place. Malia is consistent with her focus, working a stomach claw next in an attempt to force a submission. Lexie Fyfe (the on-a-stick variant) enters the ring, and Hosaka NAILS Craft with her. Portia on commentary asserts that’s not a DQ because it’s ‘just cardboard’…which wilfully ignores the big piece of wood it’s fastened to. For some reason it’s not a disqualification, and Hosaka places Lexie on top of Jamilia to get an on-a-stick two count. Now she’s CHOKING Jamilia with it!? Then she whips Craft INTO the stick! Even the fans are perplexed as to how the match is still going. Hosaka is pounding on the midsection still…so obviously Jamilia’s choice of comeback spot is a running crossbody. Craft block the Chickenwing Facebuster…and rolls Hosaka up for a SHOCK three-count at 07:11

Rating - * - This was a much better match than Hosaka/Rayna at Volume 31. I can’t say I enjoyed it a whole lot more, but at least it wasn’t as messy as that one. Hosaka has looked reinvigorated this weekend, giving some of her most bombastic performances of her entire SHIMMER career and clearly determine to prove herself as a singles competitor in Lexie’s absence. It didn’t work (these were her last SHIMMER shows) but I’ve liked her energy all weekend – and the Leva match was very decent. Here the ‘Lexie Fyfe on a stick’ gags crossed over from funny to ‘ok that’s just a bloody disqualification ref’, and it was hard to suspend my disbelief after that. Jamilia didn’t have much to do other than take a kicking, but she didn’t mess up even a fraction as much as her SHIMMER Dojo graduate Rayna did. She had only been wrestling a matter of months at this stage, making her performances across the three Volumes she’s appeared on hugely impressive. Kudos for Malia for using what transpired to be her final match to put a promising rookie over.

What does Summerlyn have left in her locker emotionally after suffering a resounding defeat to Daffney at Volume 31? Having her mentor turn on her and repeatedly assault her, and having to deal with a growingly hostile minority of the Berwyn fanbase too, could potentially induce a fragile and troubled mental state. Therefore it probably isn’t a great time to take on probably the most cock-sure athlete on the roster in the Rate Tank. Kellie is 2-1 for the tapings (and the loss was in possibly her best SHIMMER match thus far) and will be very aware of how much her credibility will be enhanced if she ends 3-1. One of those wins was over Summerlyn’s tag partner, Jessica James, at V31.

Big lariat from Rachel to get us started…which is an amusing opening spot considering it came after Skater proudly proclaimed she was going to ‘steamroll’ her. Summerlyn seems intent on proving Daffney’s ‘always be a rookie’ comments wrong and tries to make an example of the Rate Tank. Kellie has to rake the eyes as we approach three minutes just to take her off her feet. Cross armbreaker locked in on the Texas-native Summerlyn…and Skater takes it right into a divorce court when Rachel fights free. Next she stretches the arm around the top rope, following that with a running elbow smash to the bad arm. They really start throwing strikes at each other and land shots with shocking force, until Summerlyn starts breaking out more big lariats. Running mafia kick almost snaps Kellie in half, setting her up for the Texas Cloverleaf. Skater taps at 06:23

Rating - ** - Better than I’d expected, although I don’t understand why Skater is the one that has to put Summerlyn over. I understand that Kellie’s gimmick is that she has a big mouth that gets her into trouble and she loses a lot as a result…but she’s shown immense promise thus far and I felt could’ve used this win more than Summerlyn (who has an on-going storyline with Daffney to keep her relevant and hasn’t produced the same standard of in-ring performance as Kellie). There was some good stuff in here. Skater drew some genuine laughs with her gimmick, but also did a great job working the arm (which I thought Rachel could’ve done more to sell). Summerlyn’s striking game was impressive and for the first time backed up her ‘Strong Style Diva’ nickname. I could’ve watched them go longer; given how their match was going I imagine the rating may have ended up higher too.

Beyond any doubt, this is a huge match for both of these women. Nevaeh is a former Tag Champion, and Power has delivered strong showings against some of SHIMMER’s big names. However, both are struggling to retain their relevance and with a stacked talent roster have found themselves dropped for shows this weekend (Nevaeh is back for the first time since 29). With so much talent coming into SHIMMER now, their roster spots are in peril and can only be salvaged by winning matches.

The high stakes probably explain the tentative start as both women jostle for superiority. On commentary Prazak acknowledges that Ashley Lane is now absent from SHIMMER due to ‘other commitments’ which is why Nevaeh is now going solo. She looks comfortable on the ground as it negates Cat’s strength and size advantage. Power breaks free by muscling her across the ring then starts pounding on her in the corner. Nevaeh’s speed threatens to open up another opportunity for her, so Cat chokes it out of her in the ropes. A kick flurry into a running knee put Cat down and in position for Nevaeh’s trademark swinging neckbreaker. Power is just too strong for her though; hoisting her into the air again for the Cat Nap. Power wins at 06:19

Rating - ** - It won’t get marks for being pretty or exciting but I dug the psychology behind this. Although Dave couldn’t outright say it on commentary of course, they were fighting for their spot on the roster and the tone they set gave that impression. It was cautious, they didn’t want to make mistakes, and each played to their strengths. Nevaeh wanted to use her speed and technical skills to keep Cat on the ground…but Power was able to muscle the former Tag Champion about at will when on her feet. That was exactly how the finish came too, with Nevaeh throwing fast-paced strikes around only to be dragged into Power’s finishing move whether she wanted to go or not. As a story it was well-laid out and identifiable even if watching it didn’t have you on the edge of your seat.

Amber Gertner has interview time with the new SHIMMER Champion. Madison announces that nobody on the roster is worthy of a title shot therefore she won’t be competing tonight. She will, however, be watching the action closely and seeing who proves themselves to be a credible contender. 

I’ve just looked online and seen that this wound up being ‘Girl Dynamite’ Jennifer Blake’s last SHIMMER match too, which is a real shame. She has been an ally of Allison Danger since earning her respect in a singles match between the two, and had her back in Danger’s war with Portia Perez. As an off-shoot of that feud Danger had a score to settle with Cruise and Social…and when the numbers threatened to overcome the SHIMMER original, once again Jen was on hand to come to her aid. It’s also Annie’s last in-ring appearance too FYI, and although she isn’t as much of a loss as Blake it will mean that poor Cruise has lost a tag partner two sets of tapings consecutively…

Danger sings the Addams Family Theme at her opponents (since she called them ‘Wednesday & Lurch’) at the last show. She then refuses to lock up with Annie and demands she ‘release the Kraken’, i.e. tag Melanie in. All the shenanigans kill two minutes of time with zero wrestling content. Social is a feisty competitor but looks out of her depth trying to chain-wrestle with Blake. It’s only the illegal intervention of Cruise which prevents an early submission defeat for her team. The big powerhouse Melanie puts a beatdown on Blake…demonstrating that all the lucha libre mat skills in the world don’t help when there’s a six foot plus woman smacking you in the back of the head. TOP ROPE LEG DROP BY CRUISE…MISSES! She is a tall woman (in a low-ceilinged room) and that was wildly optimistic! Danger gets the tag…blasting Social with the running STO for 2. Kobashi Chops from Blake to Cruise! X-FACTOR by Annie! Lovelace Choker by Danger! Melanie does her best to break Allison’s neck with an emphatic snap suplex…then starts celebrating and eats dropkick by Girl Dynamite. TOPE SUICIDA TO THE FLOOR by Blake! And she has turn around and dive straight back in to save Danger from a pin after a swinging sideslam. ROPE RUN LUCHA CAR CRASH SPOT FROM BLAKE TO CRUISE! It was supposed to be a rana, but Cruise gave way and they both hit the mat hard. Not what they intended but it still looked pretty wild! Melanie and Allison brawl to the floor as inside the ring Blake hits the PUMPHANDLE DRIVER on Annie! She wins it for her team at 10:29

Rating - *** - It may have been hideously sloppy at times (people will talk about Blake and Cruise messing up that rope run spot, but personally I thought Social bumping about half an hour too early on all of Danger’s hot tag strikes looked far worse) but all four women put in 100% effort and made it tremendously exciting. Jennifer Blake has had an under-rated SHIMMER career. Her commitments elsewhere mean this promotion hasn’t seen her best work, but every time she’s been booked she’s almost always done something completely nuts in an effort to entertain. She came off like a star here, and I’m truly saddened we won’t see more of her.

I’ve enjoyed the work of both of these women throughout this taping. McKay has taken her game to another level, consistently delivering solid in-ring performances and even stealing the show at Volume 30 with her awesome match against Nicole Matthews. Tomoka, the Joshi debutant with the most overtly villainous tendencies, has been a blast too. Her thriller against Kurihara at V29 was must-see, she formed an alliance with Daizee Haze at V30…and was outstanding in defeat to Mercedes Martinez at the last show. Unlike Ohata, Matsumoto, Kurihara and Hamada, she lacks a singles victory for the weekend, and would most likely see her stock drop if she’s the only one who returns to Japan without one. Both will also be aware that with Madison Eagles watching the show to scope potential contenders, big wins could move them right up the queue (particularly in Jessie’s case since she is Madison’s former student and tag partner).

Nakagawa is such a heel she quietly shakes the ropes so Jessie trips during her entrance. She bites her in the first minute and spits it into her face too. She is a dangerous wrestler too of course, and asserts her dominance over the Australian almost from the bell. McKay is starting to make her name on her resilience though and she fights back with a kick which drives Tomoka all the way to the floor. Nakagawa has the experience edge on Jessie, which becomes apparent when she trips the youngster to the outside and pitches her into the ringpost. Still McKay won’t stay down…so Nakagawa rakes the eyes! Swinging neckbreaker from Jessie! This girl doesn’t know when she’s beaten! Tomoka has more tricks up her sleeve as well, faking injury to draw Jessie towards her the pouncing to mash her against the turnbuckles. Sliding Meteora flurry by McKay! SCHOOL GIRL CRUSH! FOR 2! Boyfriend Stealer blocked…SCHOOL GIRL CRUSH AGAIN! TOMOKA KICKS OUT AGAIN! She boots Jessie in the head to stop her hitting that move for a third time and leave them both down and out on the ground. When they return to their feet Nakagawa SPITS in McKay’s face, blinding her so that she can hit the Fisherman Suplex. Tomoka wins at 09:05

Rating - *** - The Joshi girls have been a revelation all weekend, and Tomoka’s heel act is as entertaining as any of them. She was, once again, a joy as the detestable rogue running through a seemingly bottomless cheat-bag of tricks. But Jessie McKay has been utterly brilliant all taping as well. She’s been likeable and decent in the past, but this weekend she’s really increased her stock. I’ve praised her match with Nicole Matthews highly, but that was a marquee match given the chance to steal the show. Her performances in lower profile encounters with Sassy Stephie, Cat Power and now here have all been equally good. Madison Eagles is rightly regarded as the top Australian star coming into SHIMMER. Skater has carved out a niche for herself as a big-talking undercard pseudo-comedic act. This weekend McKay made herself a real star attraction for SHIMMER in her own right; likeable as a babyface, endearing, resilient…and above all she can WORK. I must confess her rise to prominence has taken me a little by surprise, but it’s another wonderful SHIMMER success story.

Ayumi Kurihara cuts a promo, entirely in Japanese without subtitles. She seems to be referencing all the people she’s beaten this weekend, and ends by making title belt gestures around her waist and promising that she’ll ‘be back’ (presumably wanting a SHIMMER Title shot…)

There was a point when Portia and Tenille were level pegging in terms of status on the SHIMMER roster. Both were young foreign imports with plenty of talent looking for a chance to prove themselves. But whilst Tenille has played nice, she’s been left treading water and hasn’t even been booked on the last two shows. Perez took a different approach, picking a fight with a SHIMMER veteran (Danger) and raising her stock as a result. She now stands as one half of the Tag Champions and a huge part of the SHIMMER live event experience (hell, she even does commentary now). Last time we saw Tenille was V29, where she delivered her best performance in this promotion to date putting up a hell of a fight against Sara Del Rey. Future bookings may depend on how successful she can be against Perez tonight.

Portia has her elbow taped after a long weekend of competition which Tenille spots and goes right after wristlocks and armbars. An armdrag sends the Ninja running for the ropes for some respite (and to demand that Tenille ‘show some sportsmanship’). Despite Portia’s attempts to instigate a ‘no arms’ rule, Tenille continues to attack her injury. The Canadian quite literally tries to run away…until Tenille swings AROUND the ringpost into a Yakuza kick. Going to the outside proves to be in Portia’s favour though, since it presents her with a chance to choke her opponent on the top rope. Emma’s neck is apparently a target as Perez lands multiple neckbreakers alongside strikes and submission holds all focused on that same body part. ROARING ELBOW almost takes Portia’s head off! Tenille follows it with a pseudo-Rainmaker for 2! School’s Out gets 2 for Portia, and does still more damage to the head and neck. Tenille blocks the superkick…and pulls Perez to the mat for a bridging deathlock, which she’s won matches with in Australia and only fails today because her foe was able to rake the eyes. At last Perez hits her Superkick, and scores the win at 09:48

Rating - ** - This was a lively match, which the live audience were heavily into and deserves a little more love than a 2* rating would suggest. Unfortunately, however, there were multiple niggling little issues which I couldn’t see past. Tenille has potential, but doesn’t seem to have the ability to connect with the audience that Jessie, Kellie or Madison (her fellow Australians) have. I also really didn’t like her using that bridging deathlock (think the Emma Lock but facing the other way) spot as a finish, given that Portia had pretty obviously worked her neck in the minutes beforehand. As a character Portia is entertaining, and the connection the crowd had to this was largely down to how she fills the room whenever she competes. I’d like to see what she can do in a high profile singles match with some of SHIMMER’s better names. Nicole Matthews has had that opportunity and has really developed as a result. Right now Portia feels a step behind her Canadian NINJA partner…but that may be more due to lack of opportunity rather than lack of ability. 

As SHIMMER’s top gun (in spirit, even if she’s no longer in the title picture), Del Rey has taken great pride in facing guest talent, going all the way back to her awesome match against Nattie Neidhart. That attitude has meant she has signed on for multiple matches against the new Joshi talent – and is currently 1-1 with an infamous win over Ayako Hamada followed by a defeat in an epic clash with Ayumi Kurihara at Volume 31. Ohata started her SHIMMER career with victory over stalwart Daizee Haze, and she’ll be eyeing up another major scalp before heading home…

Ohata exudes quiet confidence as she takes Sara to the canvas and attempts to take the fight to her there. Del Rey is, of course, an extremely dangerous mat technician in her own right and it breaks down into a really intense exchange of holds. Misaki is completely believable as a threat to Sara. The Death Rey smirks as she cranks onto a dominating Boston crab…but isn’t smiling moments later as Ohata brilliantly dives into an anklelock grapevine to leave her writhing in pain. The Joshi star nicknamed the ‘Blue Fairy’ is on fire, camel clutching Sara and getting so confident she even starts clawing at the nostrils and mouth. The aggression in Del Rey’s response is remarkable. She REALLY sells the incredulity that this little Japanese girl in a frilly blue dress and bow tie is really holding her own trading submissions with her. Del Rey swats aside the running crossbody that Ohata used on Haze…but is then shocked again as Ohata armdrags her into a cross armbreaker! OHATA SLAPS DEL REY IN THE F*CKING FACE! CROSS ARMBREAKER! Del Rey escapes…so Misaki incessantly dropkicks her! FROG SPLASH…GETS SARA’S KNEES! CAPO KICK BY SARA! Royal Butterfly, but Misaki blocks and starts pounding on Del Rey again. MAFIA KICK! OHATA KICKS OUT! German suplex…only for Misaki to convert to a victory roll. RUNNING CROSSBODY…GETS 2! ROYAL BUTTERFLY! Del Rey finally puts Ohata away at 10:45

Rating - **** - What a war this was. The quality was borderline obscene given how hard Sara had fought in her match with Kurihara earlier in the day. It was by far my favourite Ohata match of the weekend (and considering she’s also faced Daizee and Melissa that’s a real compliment). All weekend Dave has shilled her proficiency as a grounded technician and submission specialist. Well this was the pay-off, as she took the fight to a Death Rey still shell-shocked from falling to defeat to a Joshi fighter at Volume 31 – stretching and bossing someone who has been established as one of the finest American female technicians currently working. Once again, on an emotional and performance level Sara was superb. You didn’t need to be familiar with their characters or their recent history – Del Rey acted out this story with her body without any need for explanation. She was the big bad, the bully, the hometown athlete protecting her ‘turf’. But with confidence rattled after the Kurihara loss, she just couldn’t get a foothold and grew more and more desperate as Misaki had answers to everything she tried. Going 4* on a ten minute sprint always gets me plenty of comments…but this deserved it. The drama was palpable, the story-telling was smart, the pacing was excellent and it felt like they ended right as the match was peaking. In the time they had, they couldn’t have got this much more right…

This is an interesting match and will be a hugely contrasting match to the high level technical stuff we just saw between Del Rey and Ohata. Daff turning on Rachel Summerlyn and adopting a more aggressive, sullen persona in SHIMMER took everyone by surprise. What we don’t yet know is how her former tag partner and managerial client MsChif feels about it. We also don’t know where MsChif’s head is at after losing the SHIMMER Championship at Volume 31. In my review of V31 I called the end of her title reign as ‘sad’. The match with Madison itself felt ‘sad’ to watch, as the energised, motivated, tall and lethal Eagles just had too much in the tank for a champion fatigued by almost two years of staving off high level challengers. The last think our Soul’s Tormentor needs now is a weird encounter with her old manager in a pissed off mood…and she certainly needs a win if she wants to position herself for a swift championship rematch.

Daffney gets a microphone and berates MsChif for having her head turned by the title and forgetting about their team. MsChif calls her out for having HER head turned by TNA…and with that the fight is on. And by fight, I mean slightly awkard exchanging of wristlocks and headlocks. It seems that Daff’s strategy is not to relinquish hold of the former champion, making it impossible for her to hit her signature high impact moves or even use her flexibility. Even as they trade big elbow strikes they still retain a grip on each other. Daffney starts attacking Chif’s bad knees (dick move) leaving her struggling to stand. The match starts to resemble MsChif/Madison, with Daffney dominant and apparently able to pick Ms apart at will. Limping lariats from MsChif, who counters the Lobotomy only to see Gateway To Annihilation and the Desecrator blocked in return. Finally Chif successfully lines up the Desecrator to score the win at 08:55

Rating - ** - This one definitely had an odd vibe which I didn’t really like, but in a weird way that’s actually pretty good booking. MsChif dropping the belt to Madison at V31 was such a big shock that there was always going to be a pretty weird atmosphere for her second match of the day, in front of the same fans. To mitigate that booking her into an uncomfortable, jarring match against a former partner (closing off the kayfabe storyline loose thread of ‘whatever happened to the Scream Queens’ too) was a sensible choice. The crowd watched on uncomfortably as MsChif – visibly upset at losing the belt and being personally attacked by her former friend – had to dig deep and find a way to overcome an opponent who knew her every move and was also willing to attack her big weakness like an asshole. As I said, I didn’t like the vibe, and I didn’t really like the slow-paced methodical match. But I can see the logic in it, and it felt like a necessary match even if it wasn’t one you’ll want to watch again.

This is the Dark Angel’s final SHIMMER match, which is a real shame. She’s never been anything more to SHIMMER than an occasional international guest star, but she is a top drawer talent and hasn’t had a single bad match since debuting way back during the SHIMMER Title Tournament. 

Stock was born in Canada so takes offence to Nicole’s introduction as ‘representing all of Canada’…to which Matthews retorts that she isn’t a real Canadian because she lives in Mexico. The Dark Angel uses the lucha skills learned in Mexico to shred her opponent to pieces in the early exchanges. Matthews is made to look foolish for the first few minutes and seemingly cannot cope with the elaborate lucha-influenced chaining that Sarah throws her way. She gets desperate and hopelessly misses a springboard crossbody block…but finally has enough and curtails the ‘lucha shenanigans’ (in Portia Perez’s words) with a sit-out gourdbuster. The Canadian Ninja is all over the midsection of the Dark Angel because (again in Portia’s words) you can’t do any ‘lucha jumping around’ with busted ribs. Even when Stock fights out of assort submission holds, Matthews thwarts any potential comeback with a well-timed poke to the eyes or pull of the hair. At last Stock hits a belly to belly suplex…but collapses alongside the fallen Tag Champion due to the pain stemming from her ribs and back. KICK DUEL! SPRINGBOARD REBOUND DROPKICK BY STOCK! REBOUND STUNNER! When Stock turns it on she is SO good, although only good enough for a two-count at that juncture…before Nicole plants a missile dropkick into the ribs then lands THE LARIAT for 2! Vancouver Manoeuvre blocked, into Stock’s version of the Rings Of Saturn! Nicole then blocks Stock’s Tiger Driver to convert into a northern lights suplex – crushing the ribs again – to get another nearfall. Matthews escapes La Reienera to hit a GERMAN SUPLEX! Still just 2! Portia Perez ‘abandons commentary’ and appears at ringside trying to feed Nicole one of the Tag Title belts. She then causes a commotion to distract the ref…but it’s Stock that capitalises. She dropkicks the belt into Matthews face and picks up another high profile SHIMMER victory at 12:30

Rating - *** - I really like the work of both of these two women, so it didn’t surprise me at all that this was an enjoyable match. It had some pretty clear faults, but both of them are such fun to watch that there was plenty of good stuff packed in too. The actual structure was very strong and split into three very enjoyable periods; firstly with Stock’s lucha style making the brash Matthews look silly, secondly with Nicole attacking the ribs to nullify it, then thirdly the finale with both ladies hitting big spots going for victory. The finish sucked obviously. Of course it was cheap, but with the benefit of hindsight and knowing that this was Stock’s last appearance, it made zero sense putting her over Matthews. For me it kills the momentum Nicole has gained from pinning MsChif at V29 and stealing the show with her win over McKay at V30. Sarah is a world class wrestler (and, by the way, has been critically under-utilised this weekend) but if she isn’t going to appear regularly it does hurt that she leaves with yet another win over a SHIMMER core roster name. Having said that, Nicole was well off her game for this one too, looking fatigued and potentially feeling the wear of another long weekend. I didn’t like Stock making no attempt to sell the ribs after her big comeback either. It was a good match, but the lousy finish and the complete lack of attention the finer, more subtle dramatic points that make something great (such as we saw with Del Rey/Ohata) mean I can’t go higher on my rating.

What a debut weekend it has been for Ayumi. She stands 3-0 in SHIMMER competition, including a great match with fellow Joshi newcomer Tomoka Nakagawa plus a classic with Sara Del Rey at Volume 31 which stands out as one of the best SHIMMER matches ever. Can she complete an unprecedented sweep and score another big win over another founding member of the SHIMMER roster? Her opponent has had quite a weekend as well. Daizee has already lost to two of the Joshi women in Misaki Ohata and Ayako Hamada…but she has also turned heel, formed a new alliance with Tomoka, and attempted to beat respect into her former student Jamilia Craft. The Joshi women have had her number all weekend – can Daizee end the taping with her hand raised?

Ayumi even gestures that she wants the SHIMMER Title during her introduction, and the crowd emphasise it by chanting ‘undefeated’ at her. Daizee isn’t even paying attention and lounges in the corner yelling at the fans…until Kurihara walks up and kicks her right in her bad back. ROPE RUN HANGING ARMBREAKER! Next Ayumi’s signature hard dropkicks legitimately rocket Haze across the ring. Daizee needs a quick response, and comes back by attacking the same bad arm and shoulder that Del Rey exploited at V31. She pummels the shoulder with forearm strikes to set her up for an armbar takedown. Kurihara doesn’t want to make the same mistakes that she did against Sara so tries to block more attacks on the arm with repeated slingblades…only for Haze to show the influence Nakagawa has had on her by using her ‘unseen illegal object’ choke spot to put Ayumi on the back foot once again. The weakened arm means Kurihara can’t hit her Urinage yet…so she piles into the Haze with elbow strikes. ARM CAPTURE NORTHERN LIGHTS by Haze shuts that down! Heart Punch into the YAKUZA KICK! FOR 2! Looking to snap the shoulder for good Daizee attempts the Tiger Suplex, but it’s COUNTERED TO THE URINAGE! Daizee blocks the missile dropkick- by shoving Kurihara off the top rope to the floor. She unsportingly refuses to let Ayumi re-enter the ring, meaning she gets a shockingly unsatisfactory count-out win at 09:14

Rating - *** - I’ll stress that my 3* rating is for the match itself, not the dreadful finish. Before that I thought this was great. The execution was spot on (not something you can always say about Daizee Haze matches), the story was brilliant, the little nods to previous matches this weekend were hugely enjoyable. They were having a really fun little match…which was pretty much ruined by the lousy booking at the end. I can give the benefit of the doubt to Stock going over Matthews. She was a major star, she’d already put MsChif over this weekend, and for all Prazak knew he would bring her back down the line so it wasn’t fair to job her twice. But there was no reason to book this crap. Haze has had a decent weekend establishing her new villain persona. Fans already bought into it – there was no need to ram it home with a dirty win here. Similarly Kurihara has been arguably been THE story of the weekend, even over a change in SHIMMER Champion. After putting her over Del Rey at V31 and setting her up as a future challenger to Madison, she simply HAD to finish 4-0 for the weekend. Now she ends it 3-1, and although dubious I don’t think this is a loss that ‘protects’ her in anyway. Unsporting though it was, Haze still found a way to ‘beat’ Ayumi. Ultra disappointing, and completely unnecessary – leaving a real downer of a blemish on Kurihara’s brilliant weekend. 

The crowd predictably hate that, and Haze throws a few crotch chops before sprinting to the locker room so doesn’t even get to bask in the heel heat it was designed to draw. Kurihara is left alone to accept a deserved standing ovation for her superb work…

So Ayumi Kurihara ends her weekend at 3-1…but she isn’t alone in chasing a 4-0 streak on this episode. Mercedes is also unbeaten thus far, and is well-documented at wanting another shot at the SHIMMER Championship as soon as possible. With Eagles not competing but watching this show to scout top challengers, Martinez will be well aware that a 4-0 sweep puts her at the front of the queue with an almost undeniable case for an opportunity. Standing between her and that goal is Hiroyo Matsumoto. We possibly haven’t seen her at her very best due to her crazy schedule, but her encounters with Sara Del Rey and LuFisto were both hard-hitting and aggressive affairs. It will be more of the same when she meets the Latina Sensation this evening…

They work the canvas early and with admirable intensity. There isn’t much purpose or direction, so it is entirely the ferocity of delivery that makes it thoroughly watchable. They take turns missing dropkicks as the pace quickens and continue to mirror each other until breaking for a completely deserved round of applause. Martinez breaks cover first and unleashes some of the big chops that made mincemeat of Kellie Skater…so Matsumoto instantly puts her to ground in a Boston crab. As with her debut against Del Rey, Hiroyo smiles broadly as she sadistically bends the rules to stretch her opponent as far as possible. She looks set to pick apart the back of the Latina Sensation, until Mercedes jerks her into a neckbreaker then grinds on the neck some more with a Regal Stretch. Bull Run blocke with elbows…so Martinez does the same right back when Hiroyo tries her Back Drop Driver. SHOTGUN missile dropkick by Matsumoto! AND AGAIN! Even after taking all that punishment from the SHIMMER veteran Matsumoto continues to smile. Mercedes attacks the neck again with a running powerslam for 2, flowing straight into the Three Amigas (with brainbuster conclusion)! BACK DROP DRIVER BY MATSUMOTO! But she’s too beaten up to capitalise! When she finally does get back to her feet she simply raises her arms and charges at Mercedes with her full body weight. Tokaido Otoshi gets 2! BUCKLE BOMB BY MERCEDES! YAKUZA KICK! BOTH WOMEN DOWN! Still Martinez can’t hit the Bull Run…and walks into a TORTURE RACK BOMB by Hiroyo for 2! Back Drop Driver COUNTERED TO THE BULL RUN! MERCEDES WINS! 12:24 is your time

Rating - **** - Martinez ends the weekend 4-0 (and hasn’t lost since V27), whilst Hiroyo delivers the great match she’d been threatening but not quite produced in the previous two Volumes. As I said during play-by-play in those opening minutes, there wasn’t necessarily immense depth or content to what they were doing, but it was hugely entertaining due to the sheer force and conviction they were executing everything with. It was never complex – evenly matched mat work, Matsumoto worked the back, Mercedes worked the neck, some big spots at the end etc – but it really worked. It lacked the subtlety of Del Rey/Ohata, but had more excitement and a bigger finish. I’m not sure I could tell you which I preferred.

Since she’s the last of the Nakagawa/Ohata/Kurihara/Matsumoto crew to compete this weekend, Hiroyo essentially stands in the ring to accept a standing ovation on behalf of all of them, and visibly nods her head as the Berwyn fans chant ‘please come back’ to her.

Melissa has had a lousy weekend. She watched her tag partner MsChif get pinned in a Tag Title loss to the Canadian NINJAs at Volume 29…and used that as motivation to respectfully put her team with the (now former) SHIMMER Champion on hiatus so that she could challenge for MsChif’s championship. Madison Eagles had other ideas though, swooping in and quite literally stealing her title shot in extremely controversial circumstances at V30. Having lost a Tag Title Match and missed the chance to become #1 contender to the singles belt, Melissa then had to watch in anger as Eagles comprehensively defeated MsChif to become the third SHIMMER Champion…and then promptly opt not to work this Volume. It leaves a gap in the main event, and one that the Cheerleader will want to fill with a huge win over the world-travelled and hugely experienced Hamada. With Martinez on a winning streak, Kurihara standing out amongst the new Joshi crew, Nicole Matthews cleanly pinning a SHIMMER Champion, MsChif’s record warranting a title rematch and Sara Del Rey looking immense too, Melissa knows perhaps only a win keeps her anywhere near the front of the queue for a shot at Madison.

Prazak and Portia play up the mutual respect between these two, which largely plays out as they work to an early stalemate. Hamada looks to be quicker and steps up a few gears with lucha-influenced combinations that Melissa can’t match. But she’s a skilled athlete in her own right, and Melissa reacts sensibly by repeatedly grounding Ayako and working submissions so she can’t use those bursts of speed anymore. Jumping DDT by Hamada! Like with that lucha flurry earlier, it’s another step up by Hamada which Melissa doesn’t initially deal with. Ayako repeatedly boots her in the face…until Melisa has enough and GERMAN SUPLEXES HER ON HER HEAD! NO SOLD BY HAMADA! She flings herself at Cheerleader with a satellite headscissors and looks for La Ayakita. Melissa continues the theme of Hamada stepping up the pace only for her opponent to find a coping strategy – this time with a Samoan drop then the CURB STOMP! Kondo Clutch locked in, once more using a submission to nullify the skills of the international star. She tries to come off the ropes but Ayako rolls at her with kicks and palm strikes…before mounting the ropes for a frankensteiner! MISSILE DROPKICK! MELISSA NO SELLS…SO HAMADA SUPERKICKS HER HEAD OFF! Melissa slumps through the ropes to the arena floor in a heap. Hamada gives chase and hits a JUMPING DDT ON THE APRON! TOP ROPE HAMADA-SAULT TO THE F*CKING FLOOR! That was nuts, and I don’t think Hamada even looked where Melissa was before diving off the top like a psychopath then! Incredibly Cheerleader gets a shoulder up on the subsequent pin. Hamada Driver blocked into the AIR RAID CRASH! Kudo Driver COUNTERED TO THE HAMADA DRIVER FOR 2! HAMADA DRIVER AGAIN! Only for Melissa to tenaciously roll through the ensuing pin! HUGE PALM STRIKE DUEL! SUPERKICK! RUNNING SHOTEI! MELISSA KICKS AGAIN! She ducks an attempted knockout kick from Hamada and nails the KUDO DRIVER! Having been on the brink of defeat, Melissa snatches an astonishing win at 19:37

Rating - **** - If you don’t enjoy overblown, stereotypical puroresu main event clichés then this probably won’t be the match for you. Strike exchanges, neck drops, apron bumps, big false finishes, dives to the floor, no sell sequences; in many ways it was a ticklist of all of those tropes people become accustomed to. But their job here was to deliver a big-time, authentically ‘joshi’ main event experience and they got it exactly right. And they did throw in some structure to it which I really liked. Hamada was the standard bearer and the aggressor, constantly going up a gear and manipulating Melissa – using her vast experience and multiple offensive styles to perpetually unsettle the SHIMMER veteran. But Melissa, a vastly experienced competitor in her own right and fuelled by the fury of her rough weekend, always found ways to overcome. When Ayako wanted to use flashy lucha sequences she put her on the mat and stretched her. When Hamada wanted to bully and strike her she German suplexed her on her effing head. And just when Hamada’s all-out assault (complete with crazy moonsault to the floor and multiple Hamada Drivers) looked set to conquer…Cheerleader found a way to land the Kudo Driver. It’s her big-time finish, the move nobody has kicked out of in SHIMMER, and its mystique and aura only grow now it effectively beat the great Ayako Hamada. A fitting, memorable main event to cap a really strong SHIMMER weekend.

After waging war with each other for almost twenty minutes Hamada and Melissa face-off again. They aggressively slap each other…then warmly embrace and raise each others hands as they receive a standing ovation. Melissa grabs a microphone and trash-talks Madison, calling her a cheater and demanding a title shot. Eagles herself runs in and teases a brawl…but backs away and poses with the belt instead. It’s evident that they have business still to settle…

Tape Rating - *** - This Volume didn’t feel as consistent as some of the other shows this weekend. It was choppy, some of the finishes were ill-advised, and some of the matches you might single out as potential show-stealers probably under-delivered. In many ways this felt like a bit of a throwback to the very early days of SHIMMER. No championships on the line, plenty of inexperienced young talent on the undercard meaning the first hour didn’t click, a solid undercard Allison Danger Match, before the reliable stalwarts Sara Del Rey, Mercedes Martinez and Cheerleader Melissa enter the building and the quality increases exponentially. The good far outweighs the bad though. Even the Haze/Ayumi ballsack of a finish was preceded by a great little match. The quality of the THREE 4* bouts on this Volume mean that this remains value for money (and certainly worth picking out if you’re a SHIMMER streaming subscriber)

3) Mercedes Martinez vs Hiroyo Matsumoto (****)

2) Sara Del Rey vs Misaki Ohata (****)

1) Cheerleader Melissa vs Ayako Hamada (****)