McXal's Reviews

The first SHIMMER weekend of 2010 (taping Volumes 29-32) were really decent. There was so much talent that some matches probably didn’t get as much spotlight, time and attention as you might like. But on the other hand, there was SO MUCH TALENT that all four of the cards were packed with good stuff and as a viewing experience simply flew by. The highlights of that weekend back in April were the Joshi invasion, and Madison Eagles shocking the world to become SHIMMER Champion…and there will be plenty more of both those stories here. The main event of V33 sees the hotly anticipated rematch between Madison and her now-rival Cheerleader Melissa, with the SHIMMER Title on the line. Beneath that Ayumi Kurihara, Tomoka Nakagawa, Misaki Ohata and Ayako Hamada are all back, with Ayumi’s grudge rematch against Daizee Haze really standing out as a high profile bout. There’s also a rematch between Jessie McKay and Nicole Matthews (who stole the show at Volume 30) to look forward to. Dave Prazak and Portia Perez provide commentary for the action, taped in Berwyn, IL.

It won’t feel like a big deal right now, but sneakily making her main show debut here is Athena – probably better known to most as the future WWE star Ember Moon. She teams with Jessie ‘Bonesaw’ Brooks (introduced only as ‘Bonesaw’ here) against the Rachel Summerlyn/Jessica James team that are still relatively new to SHIMMER themselves. Is Rachel still preoccupied with her feud with Daffney, or can she focus on the task at hand and help her team score a big win to progress up the SHIMMER tag team ranks? Athena had a few years of experience under her belt by this stage, and I think clips of her famous top rope diving stunner finish (the ‘O-Face’) were doing the rounds. Brooks was massively inexperienced though, with just a few months of ring-time behind her thus far following graduation from Daizee Haze’s class at the ROH Wrestling School…

Athena is a spitfire from the outset, gamely trying to overpower the bigger Summerlyn without much success. Bonesaw wants a piece instead…and when she gets roughed up too Athena comes back in and insists that Rachel tag in her ‘little munchkin’ partner! Little Jessie James obliges and storms in with a huge satellite headscissors to wipe Athena out! Amusingly, Athena now starts working like a power wrestler and hits shoulder tackles and bullying shoves on the smaller woman. Bonesaw tags again, and when Jessica tries another headscissors Brooks simply POWERBOMBS HER ON HER NECK! Yikes, that looked rough. RUNNING BOOT to Jessica’s ribs by Athena (who is the star of the match thus far), only for the ‘munchkin’ to respond with a POP-UP RANA! James dives off the top rope looking for a crossbody only for Athena to catch her with a spinebuster. These women are letting it all hang out! The debutants are doing a stand-up job isolating James…until Jessie spikes Athena right on top of her head with a swinging DDT. Tags all round, with Summerlyn hitting a BACK DROP DRIVER on Brooks for 2! She then swings Jessica at Athena like a weapon, before the Excellent Tag Team hit ‘You’re Toast’ (double team Gory Bomb) for the win at 08:15

Rating - *** - Well that was a hoot! Clumsily executed perhaps, but the sheer effort all four displayed was admirable enough by itself. Athena really did look like a major star even on this showing, and was by a distance the most enjoyable performer of the match. She had charisma, comedic timing and a natural crispness and athleticism that the other three don’t possess. The three more experienced workers did a grand job leading Bonesaw through too. Other than that ghastly looking neck bomb on Jessica, she didn’t mess up and was used correctly (i.e. as a surly, hard-hitting heavy to back up Athena’s cocky attitude). I’d never have imagined this would have been as reckless and enjoyable as it wound up being.

Despite improving performances, Power’s indifferent won/lost record was starting to threaten her spot on the roster. It was almost a ‘must-win’ match for her against Nevaeh at V32, but she pulled off the victory and moves to this show where she faces the SHIMMER/ROH academy graduate (and Daizee Haze trainee) ‘Jumping’ Jamilia Craft. The masked Craft will be on a real high after she finished the last round of tapings with a huge singles win over Malia Hosaka. 

Jamilia literally jumps through her entire introduction. The bouncing tassels on her gear apparently attract Cat’s feline urges, drawing plenty of laughs as she starts batting Craft’s outfit like a kitty rather than wrestling. Power stalls and dawdles, demonstrating minimal interest in actually working at all. When she does lock up her size and strength see her impose herself on the youngster with some formidable mat work. When Jamilia does knock her down with a tackle, Cat once again leaves the ring. This time it’s a trap, luring Craft towards her where she can ambush with a flurry of strikes. Craft hangs in there and starts attempting flash pins – much in the same way she beat Hosaka last time. The rest of her moveset is so limited that we are expected to buy a basic vertical suplex as a hot nearfall. Power hooks her up for the Cat Nap and takes the victory at 07:25

Rating - * - I really like Cat Power, and I’ve repeatedly said I think she’s more capable than working borderline comedy matches way down the card would suggest. This one didn’t do a whole lot for her though. It was essentially a squash but went on so long, and with so much stalling, that I don’t leave it feeling like Cat has got much momentum. Craft is all courage and effort right now, but hasn’t done much to excite me as a worker in her early performances. Everything she does feels a bit rushed…

Amber Gertner prepares to interview Jessie McKay about the rematch she has requested with Nicole Matthews. But Madison Eagles barges in and orders her former student away. She rants about being forced to defend her title against ‘old losers’ like Melissa…

Considering she’s only made a couple of appearances on the main roster so far, Leva is already strikingly over with the fans. She’s a high-energy, likeable character…but from what we’ve seen of her thus far she’s also pretty capable inside the ring. It’ll be interesting to watch her lock up with what would turn out to be her future tag team partner. Danger ended her war with Portia Perez earlier in the year…and presumably fans are now looking to see what the veteran will do next in SHIMMER.

Bates offers a respectful handshake to the woman who will go on to become her tag partner, before trying to work the mat with Allison and largely being taken to school. Both of these women are really popular so they have a really lively crowd even though the action is relatively low key. Danger gets a little naughty by pulling Leva’s pigtails out of sight of the referee, which shows you how much she wants to win. It’s all very low impact, but it’s enjoyable watching them go back and forth on the mat – and making enough of a impression that Bates gets a genuine cheer when she finally puts Danger in a leg submission. Danger’s response is to crank her into a stranglehold (whilst also yelling at a fan for being on his phone). Bates misses a desperate crossbody…and gets taken to school again with a front facelock. Running knee into the spine by Allison gets 2, breaking away from the methodical mat wrestling stuff for the first time. She follows it with a big elbow into Leva’s jaw…but when she tries a third Leva cleverly hops out of the corner into a sunset flip for 2. Now it feels like Danger is literally making up submission holds as she goes along in her attempt to ‘educate’ Leva, and has a face like thunder when her opponent dares to free an arm and pepper her with chops. Lovelace Choker blocked into a double stomp in the corner by Bates! Danger quickly shuts her down with the running STO, and follows that with the Shimmering Warlock for the win at 10:38

Rating - *** - I think this was only her second match in SHIMMER, but Leva is already so darn likeable. This was hugely different to her match with Malia Hosaka, but similarly very enjoyable. It was a real change of pace – contested almost entirely on the ground and rarely featuring anything high impact at all. It was a chess match as Danger, the ‘gatekeeper of SHIMMER’ and so often the one a young talent seeks out to make their name against (Rebecca Knox, Cindy Rogers, Portia Perez, Jennifer Blake etc), ran the rule over the popular newcomer to the roster. Time and again she tested Bates’ skill and resilience…finding her to be tough, capable and completely unflustered. The SHIMMER fans were as much a part of this as the wrestlers and created an incredibly receptive, positive and supportive environment for these two to work this kind of match. I wouldn’t want every SHIMMER match to be like this – but as a standalone bout this felt very fresh.

Danger grabs a microphone and puts Leva over as the future of SHIMMER. Veronika Vice (returning for the first time since making a couple of appearances at V19/20) runs down the aisle and looks set on attacking Danger…but in a nice nod to her history of being attacked by young talents in this company, Allison spots her coming and shuts her down. Rather than fight Allison gives her the mic and a chance to speak…so Veronika demands an ‘opportunity’. Danger calls herself a star-maker in SHIMMER and accepts the challenge for the next Volume…

Another set of tapings, and yet another change in direction for poor Melanie Cruise. At the end of 2010 she was seemingly part of a powerful new group in SHIMMER, managed by Annie Social and under the tutelage of Wesna Busic. But Wesna retired and now her team with Annie is at an end too with Social having made her last SHIMMER appearance. She is once again a singles competitor, and looking to find her footing despite being a tall and powerful figure. Her opponent is an extremely young Taylor Made, barely a year into the business at this point and making her main show debut. 

Made isn’t that much shorter than Melanie, but cuts more of a lithe figure. It means she is the quicker of the two and she scores with an impressive early satellite headscissors. Cruise emphatically shuts her down by grabbing the hair and launching her across the ring. Intent on making an impression, she then declines to cover Made and instead pulls her up off the ground to deliver a knee to the face. Spinning sidewalk slam decks the debutant…but this time she kicks out where Cruise would have taken the win. The plucky Taylor goes for a few pinfall attempts, apparently angering Cruise so much that she tries something excessive and MISSES a top rope guillotine leg drop. Made gets 2 with a diving axehandle from the second only to get her eyes cruelly raked. Cruise Control wins it for Melanie at 06:48

Rating - * - It’s obvious that Melanie’s development as a character in SHIMMER hasn’t been helped by the disappearance of Busic and Social. Therefore I understand why she got an enhancement match here…and whilst this wasn’t offensive it did nothing more than reinforce what we already knew; namely that Cruise is big, tall and powerful. She’s been pedalling the same act and gimmick for a long time now, without advancing much further than the bottom rungs of the roster. At what point does Dave pull the trigger and give her something more substantial…or when does he decide she isn’t capable and scale back her presence? She’s an Illinois native so presumably isn’t particularly expensive to book, and I’ve said before that there is some potential in there. But surely at some point we need to see more from her? There wasn’t much chance to assess Taylor’s early qualities, although she looked quick and athletic enough in taking her licks here.

An angry Cheerleader Melissa is fed up of coming up short and missing out on SHIMMER Title shots. She has some pointed words for Madison after she cheated to beat her last time, boasts about her win over Hamada at Volume 32, and plans to finally become SHIMMER Champion here this afternoon…

Of the four Joshi talents to make their way to SHIMMER at the last tapings, Ohata was probably the one who flew under the radar the most. The villainous Nakagawa entertained and formed a team with Daizee Haze, Matsumoto earned respect by competing fresh off the plane and contesting wars with Del Rey, LuFisto and Mercedes, whilst Kurihara was the star of the weekend. But Misaki’s contributions shouldn’t go unnoticed. A win over Daizee was a strong way to debut, and she ended the weekend at V32 by putting up a hell of a fight against former SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey in one of my favourite matches of the weekend. She’ll return determined to make more of a lasting impression this time, and starts by facing yet another veteran of SHIMMER competition. Ariel is battling to keep her roster spot (as a singles performer anyway) so must treat this chance to work one of the Joshi girls as a major opportunity. A win here would immediately increase her stock and relevance, making it harder to cut her from future Volumes.

Ohata takes Ariel straight to the mat and stretches the sh*t out of her. Camel clutches, armbars and chokes all come in quick succession. It’s immediately clear that Ariel needs to make a huge step up if she is to survive an opponent of this quality. The Portuguese Princess does her best in looking for a Boston Crab…but once again is made to look foolish as Misaki picks her leg from under her and grabs an anklelock. Ariel realises she needs to use her size rather than her speed or technical skill…and smashes through the Joshi visitor with a low dropkick. Ohata throws some elbows, but the SHIMMER original retaliates and knocks her clean off her feet. Fisherman suplex rockets Ohata back to the canvas once again and gets a nearfall. Ohata tries her running crossbody spot but Ariel COUNTERS to a diving front slam. COUNTERED AGAIN to a Fujiwara armbar by Misaki! Ariel muscles out with more elbows and uses her power again with a flurry of suplexes. So Ohata grounds her with yet another cross armbreaker! This is gripping stuff! Misaki takes to the skies with a missile dropkick then grabs her opponent for the FAIRY LOCK! Ariel taps, giving Ohata the win at 06:58

Rating - *** - This was Ariel’s best SHIMMER match in a very long time. It’s up there with the Nattie Neidhart and Cheerleader Melissa encounters for her best SHIMMER performance ever in fact. When SHIMMER began she was a dependable character; smiling and popular with decent ring-time and experience on the independent circuit. But as the company has grown and independent wrestling has slowly evolved she’s become far less relevant. Her act hasn’t changed, but there are now lots of much better wrestlers than her – quicker, faster, stronger, younger, more athletic…and generally starting to eclipse her. Against that back drop this match told a compelling story. As usual she came out blowing kisses and smiling…and within seconds Ohata was beating the sh*t out of her. No more goofing off with her friend and tag partner Nikki Roxx, here she was against an elite performer who was going to snap her limbs off if she couldn’t step up. In the ensuing minutes the momentum swung back and forth as Ariel used her size, power and striking in an almighty effort to thwart Misaki’s substantial technical skill. Ultimately it wasn’t enough…but this remains a simple, dramatic and completely relatable match. Probably the best thing on the show so far. Ohata has a real flair for these undercard sprint matches.

Kellie Skater makes her way to the ring for some promo time next. She proudly proclaims herself to be the toughest competitor in the SHIMMER locker room…and questions whether anyone left even has the guts to come out and face her. That draws out Serena Deeb, making her return to SHIMMER after her run in CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society in WWE…and she wants to fight!

Sporting a buzz cut, Deeb obviously looks very different to the last time we saw her more than a year ago. She was loved by the fans, and evidently had Prazak in her corner too as she left in the midst of perhaps the hottest streak of her SHIMMER career (after the trilogy with Sara Del Rey, the MsChif title match and defeating Mercedes Martinez). After being part of the infamous SES angle on TV, but then released from her contract, what skills has she learned from the big leagues to bring back to SHIMMER? And has she done her homework on the kind of fighter the Rate Tank is? Kellie has a big mouth and heaps of charisma, but loses these big time singles matches often. Squashing Serena’s comeback would be a serious feather in her cap.

Deeb is pumped up, driving Skater out of the ring then almost falling over the top rope after her as she celebrates her ‘homecoming’ with the Berwyn fans. Because she is the Rate Tank, Kellie tries to fight her opponent like she’s seven feet tall – pushing her round and doling out disrespectful slaps. Serena isn’t remotely impressed or intimidated and retaliates by trying to go after the ribs to set up for her Spear finish. Tackle in the corner misses though and sees Deeb collide shoulder-first with the post. The Rate Tank is instantly on the ensuing injury with a cross armbreaker too. She stays on the arm relentlessly, to the extent that even her strikes are aimed at the injured body part. Her arm hangs limply by her side…but then she starts a comeback by using the bad shoulder to hit a tackle. Then she uses the bad arm to throw her usual jab sequence too. Urgh…I hate that. Spear nailed (at least she used the good arm for that), giving Deeb the win. I didn’t hear an opening bell, but match time was around 7 minutes.

Rating - ** - Skater was excellent once again, and Deeb looked thrilled to be back. But Serena’s terrible sell on the arm injury during her comeback almost killed the match for me. Kellie had dominated the arm for several minutes. For Serena to no-sell it the way she did really took me out of the entire match. She is a better worker than that…

Deeb’s elation at being back in SHIMMER is rather touching. She literally does laps of the Eagles Club and almost weeps in front of the SHIMMER logo positioned over the entrance…

Nikki Roxx isn’t scheduled to wrestle on this show, but does get to be interviewed inside the ring by Amber Gertner. She states that her goal is to get back into the SHIMMER Championship picture. 

It’s possible that Del Rey is still smarting over her loss to Ayumi Kurihara at Volume 31. She still hasn’t had her rematch for the SHIMMER Championship, and bolstered by the knowledge that she already has a victory over Madison Eagles on her resume, will be eying up singles wins at a rapid rate to force a title opportunity. She and Amazing Kong were involved in a controversial Tag Title match with Nevaeh and Ashley Lane back when they were Tag Champions. Has either woman forgotten the violent, weapon-filled drama that played out last time they were in a ring together?

Nevaeh’s strategy to fight the imposing Death Rey is a simple one; she grabs a side headlock and legit clings to it for all she’s worth. Almost a full two minutes pass and she still hasn’t let go…until Sara finally snaps and throws her down onto her legs so hard I’m surprised she didn’t break one. An emphatic backbreaker follows, then some murderous kicks whilst the former Tag Champion is ensnared in the ropes. Nevaeh retaliates with a running neckbreaker (headlocks do work the neck after all), which only annoys Del Rey more and provokes her into delivering a violent series of rolling backbreakers for. Running STO by Nevaeh next (the neck again), then she goes into the sort of flash pin that the likes of Kurihara have beaten Del Rey with in the past. No dice there though…and Sara shuts her down with a mafia kick. LEBELL LOCK! Using the WWE finish of her trainer Bryan Danielson, Del Rey takes the win at 05:07

Rating - *** - As five minute squash matches go this was very decent. Del Rey looked good, Nevaeh’s offence was believable and followed a consistent logic, and Sara ends with an emphatic win which makes her look stronger than ever as she recovers from putting Ayumi Kurihara over at the last taping. It’s fitting that Del Rey used American Dragon’s WWE finish to win, as she really has assumed the same spot in SHIMMER that Danielson held in ROH for so long. She may not be champion anymore, but she remains the best worker by a mile so is perpetually around the main event scene, always on hand to pull out a classic when needed, and even when tucked away in low profile undercard matches like this still finds a way to crush it. She is a phenomenal worker…

With so many big names in attendance and so many noteworthy moments occurring at the last tapings, it perhaps went under the radar that these two had one of the best matches of the entire weekend. Hailing from Canada and Australia respectively they are hardly local to Illinois, but they are now accepted as SHIMMER regulars and two of the fastest rising stars in the company. Nicole’s relentless and focused attack on Jessie’s ribs saw her defeat the likeable and tenacious Australian in the previous encounter at Volume 30. A rematch is most welcome, and there’s no doubt that Jessie will want to even the score from last time…

Nicole wants to establish dominance on the canvas and maintain the methodical pace that suited her well last time. McKay keeps her at bay but there is no doubt that it’s the Ninja who is the aggressor in the opening minutes. Tempers flare and they talk trash to each other…which creates some distance which benefits McKay and enables her to land a flurry of running strikes. Matthews’ response is a clinical dropkick into the ribs which knocks Jessie out of the ring. That tactic served her well in the last match, but Jessie appears to have it scouted this time as she lies in wait for Matthews and nails her with a swinging headscissors to the floor! Nicole doesn’t like that at all…driving a knee to the gut then driving high impact kicks into the ribs as the Australian slumps against the guardrail. We are witnessing a scene-for-scene reprise of their last match now as Matthews peppers the ribs. The difference this time is that Nicole is even more cocky and talks even more trash to both her opponent and the fans. McKay lands a stranglehold neckbreaker…so once again Nicole knees her hard in the ribs then smirks as she collapses to the mat. McKay just won’t be beaten though…and eventually they just stand eye to eye in the middle of the ring simultaneously pulverising each other with elbows until they both fall to the ground! Multi-revolution headscissors from Jessie, then a hurricanrana and a back suplex for 2! Nicole uses NINJA SKILL to evade the School Girl Crush and turns into the LARIAT TO THE RIBS! FOR 2! Recognising that she needs to hit the move that brought her victory last time Nicole looks for the Vancouver Manoeuvre…but McKay blocks it, so Nicole SLAPS HER IN THE F*CKING FACE! HARD! ROUNDHOUSE KICK BY JESSIE gets 2. Boyfriend Stealer blocked with boots to the ribs only for Jessie to NO SELL! NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX ON THE RIBS! STILL 2! SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA BY NICOLE…COUNTERED WITH A MID-AIR SCHOOL GIRL CRUSH! NICOLE KICKS OUT! Boyfriend Stealer blocked with knees to the midsection! GERMAN SUPLEX! MCKAY KICKS OUT! Vancouver Manoeuvre COUNTERED TO THE BOYFRIEND STEALER! JESSIE WINS! Another superb match between these two is over at 14:17

Rating - **** - They’ve done it again! More excellent stuff between these two wonderfully matched opponents. You could argue that they didn’t do enough to iron out some of the low points of the last match (some minor sloppiness, plus McKay not selling the ribs all that much) which is a shame, but thankfully they also took all that was good about the V30 clash and built upon it here. Matthews was louder, prouder and more cocksure from the opening bell. She won last time, so was full of confidence and quickly slid into the same strategy that brought her success. Just as with last time Jessie needed all of her resilience and courage to avoid defeat…but this time she was able to pull off major counters to Nicole’s signature spots, culminating when she converted the Canadian’s finisher into her own to snatch the win. The wild thing is that after great matches at two consecutive tapings, I still come away from this feeling like these women have more in the tank and could still do even more if they get a third rematch down the line…

Things got extremely controversial when these two ladies last met, at Volume 32. The now-villainous Daizee Haze ended Kurihara’s undefeated streak at her debut SHIMMER taping, but only in an enormously unsporting count-out manner when she refused to let Ayumi back into the ring to continue fighting. The fans didn’t like it, and Kurihara suffered a damaging defeat just as she’d made it known that she wanted to get into the SHIMMER Championship picture. This is the rematch, and the twist this time is that there is no count-out rule in place to protect The Haze.

Haze attacks Ayumi from behind during the introductions and bludgeons her from the outset looking to stop the Joshi star from getting off the starting grid. Kurihara is a dangerous striker though and drives the SHIMMER original back with big shots then the hanging armbar. Like V32 Daizee kicks her opponent to the floor…but this time as there’s no count out Haze continues the assault out there with chops and a vicious stomp to the back of the head. Ayumi’s back is injured when Daizee repeatedly shoves her into the ring apron…and that seemingly causes her to lose her temper and start violently elbowing Haze on the mat. So Daizee starts dropping sentons on the bad back which causes Kurihara to let up. Portia points out that everything Daizee does is punctuated with a pin, making Ayumi expend energy and hurt her back even more. That back is crushed with a German suplex…and Ayumi is now a little ragged as she comes up trying to trade elbows. RUNNING DROPKICK TO THE FACE! MISSILE DEATHKICK…MISSES! The Haze tries to remove the turnbuckle pad…but takes far too long and walks into the Urinage! Ayumi gets a cathartic win at 09:12

Rating - *** - Strangely I actually preferred the body of their previous match. It seemed to have a little more dynamism than this one, and therefore held my attention slightly more. But of course, this one has a much better finish, with Kurihara simply proving herself to be too good even for Daizee. As good as Kurihara is, I thought it was actually Haze’s performance as a heel which stood out above anything else above this one. I wasn’t convinced by her as a heel at the last taping and didn’t like her delivery at all. It was better here for sure.

Ayumi winning means we get more of her delightfully zany entrance theme blaring out as she celebrates. She once again gestures that she is coming for the SHIMMER Championship…

Unlike Kurihara, who has been able to string together multiple high-profile victories to put herself into title contention, Hamada only has a 2-2 record. She’s delivered some outstanding performances, and her losses were to high ranking competitors like Del Rey and Melissa…but without consistent wins she won’t get a title shot. She’ll have big plans to rebound from her loss to Cheerleader Melissa at Volume 32. Coincidentally, Nakagawa also has a 2-2 record in SHIMMER thus far. All to play for then, and a win is of the utmost importance if either of these Joshi athletes wants to follow Ayumi into contention for SHIMMER gold…

Tomoka quickly establishes that she remains a villain by kicking away her opponent’s offer of a handshake. Hamada makes fun of her for being short…provoking a comical response from the childish Nakagawa – who keeps dodging the veteran then dancing like an idiot to celebrate. She starts dragging Hamada around by the hair…until she gets her head taken off by a brutal superkick. Nakagawa has no choice but to flee the ring to gather herself. Next Ayako no sells a missile dropkick, so Tomoka rakes her eyes and boots her out of the ring. Nakagawa looks comfortable brawling on the floor, although so is Hamada as we saw during the Del Rey match. Nakagawa whips her INTO A CHAIR! That looks to hurt Hamada’s back, with Naka adding insult to injury by repeatedly clubbing her rival about the head with a plastic water bottle. The bridging fisherman suplex – a move Tomoka has won matches with previously – gets a significant nearfall. SLAP DUEL! They legit pound on each other, with Ayako winning out and escorting her opponent to the corner and delivering a superplex for 2. Nakagawa spits water into her face then lands a SHINING ENZIGURI! Ayako climbs the ropes but MISSES THE MOONSAULT! CRB BY TOMOKA! Hamada won’t quit…so eats the Unare Gowan for 2. Once again Hamada uses a superkick to recover and follows it with the PYRAMID DRIVER FOR 2! AP Cross COUNTERED to a schoolboy which gets Nakagawa a 2! AP CROSS NAILED! It’s over this time, giving Hamada a win at 12:22

Rating - *** - I never felt this was as electrified and intense as the Kurihara/Nakagawa all-Joshi match from a few shows ago, but this match had a very similar vibe. We got to watch two women who have a totally different style to the western core SHIMMER roster, so putting them together enabled them to give us a taste of authentic Japanese Joshi work. That means big strikes, hot nearfalls, a thoughtful, circumspect beginning which relentlessly built to the roaring crescendo. Some of the work felt like filler, and it didn’t shake that vibe of being an exhibition match, but it really is hard to find any kind of serious substantive fault. Nakagawa’s pantomime bad guy act also served as an entertaining foil for the more stoic, less charismatic Hamada.

This is among the most hotly anticipated SHIMMER Championship Matches to date. Honourable and admirable though MsChif’s reign was, rarely did she enter a scheduled defence with as much heat with her opponents as these two have. Melissa, a standout since Volume 1, desperately wants to be SHIMMER Champion, but always seems to come up short when it comes to getting title shots. That was the case again at the last tapings, when Eagles shockingly cheated to beat her in a #1 contendership match. The fans were outraged at The Punisher’s actions…and then shocked when she decimated MsChif to claim the title in emphatic fashion. Madison then sat out Volume 32 by claiming nobody had done enough to warrant a title match. She watched the action from the locker room – and will have witnessed Melissa’s win over Ayako Hamada in the main event. It drew Madison from the back for a heated staredown, and we now do get the Eagles/Melissa rematch with the belt on the line. Their first match was decent without blowing anyone away. They have the ability to put on something really special though…

Melissa looks to be in phenomenal shape, and gets a rapturous response from the fans. She sprints across the ring and doesn’t waste anytime before tearing into the champion with thunderous strikes. Madison has no choice but to leave the ring, which is a tactic she deployed effectively against MsChif too. Upon returning Eagles sensibly tries to control the challenger by working the mat, but finds the Cheerleader a dangerous foe when it comes to trading holds too. Madison is tall and has extensive MMA training but just can’t find a way to shut Melissa down. She teases a Curb Stomp (one of Melissa’s moves) but has to settle for a front choke when her opponent powers away. The challenger attempts to work the legs of the tall champion…which Madison doesn’t like one bit and prevents by dragging her to the floor and tossing her into the railings. Australian Cloverleaf applied to stretch out Cheerleader’s back, although she fights to the ropes with the backing of a super-loud Berwyn crowd. The champ locks onto a potential back injury to her challenger, and has some really fun methods to damage that body part. Melissa’s back gives way when she attempts her signature Samoan drop, leaving fans wondering whether she is now even capable of the Air Raid Crash or Kudo Driver. Even landing a basic strike appears to hurt Melissa now, which Madison gleefully exploits with a Boston Crab. RUNNING DOUBLE KNEE STRIKE TO THE SPINE gets 2! This is starting to resemble the MsChif match in that it’s another dominating masterclass from The Punisher. Still Melissa can’t hit the Samoan drop…so instead she boots Madison in the face and hooks her into the KONDO CLUTCH! The challenger has an adrenaline rush and hits the SAMOAN DROP at last! Eagles pounds the back to block the Air Raid Crash and hits a diving knee strike! Hell Bound blocked…LARIAT INSTEAD to drop Cheerleader on her injured back once more. Hell Bound COUNTERED TO THE AIR RAID CRASH! But as Melissa recoils feeling her injured back, Madison smartly rolls out of the ring yet again. She forces Melissa to expend more energy coming to retrieve her too. Kudo Driver blocked into a roll-up with the tights FOR 2! CURB STOMP BY MELISSA! ROUNDHOUSE KICK BY EAGLES! HELL BOUND NAILED! Eagles retains at 16:57!

Rating - **** - This was the match we all wanted from them last time. A decent time allowance, no bullsh*t finish, just two outstanding wrestlers locking horns and delivering the goods big time. Eagles is another one of those workers who does the clever little things so well. The references she made to her match with MsChif, a match she won handsomely, were so relevant here. It meant that when Melissa put up significantly more of a fight than the former champion, it made her look incredibly strong even in defeat. Melissa has been a powerhouse, a bully and a ferocious competitor for her entire tenure – and given how pissed off she was it was natural that she’d fly out of the blocks looking to bludgeon Eagles. Madison hung in there using her years of experience and diverse training backgrounds and eventually opened up the decisive injury to Melissa’s back which wound up bringing victory. Crucially, it prevented the Cheerleader from hitting any of her finishing moves and although she fought hard, without them she couldn’t force the win. There is definitely more mileage in these two as opponents though, so I truly hope this rivalry continues

Tape Rating - *** - Chalk up another really enjoyable SHIMMER event here. It is possibly lacking another genuinely ‘great’ match to put it up there with the best Volumes, but it’s another fun and easy watch from start to finish. It was a DVD which showcased and developed stars of the future, furthered existing rivalries, gave us visiting foreign performers doing incredible things inside the ring, and two fantastic rematches from previous shows which really need to be seen. McKay/Matthews and Eagles/Melissa are the obvious selling points of this DVD, and they are both excellent. If you were disappointed in the last Madison vs Melissa encounter this one will instantly make you feel better as it more than lives up expectations (and still left more in the tank for another match you’d hope). Even Ariel stepped up to deliver her best SHIMMER match in years. Not a total slam dunk, but the kind of strong and consistent live show which has made SHIMMER such an enjoyable promotion to review for so long. The constant effort and work-rate from an entire roster determined to bust their asses and deliver the absolute best match possible with whatever time they are given make these events so effortless to review and easy to recommend

3) Ayako Hamada vs Tomoka Nakagawa (***)

2) Jessie McKay vs Nicole Matthews (****)

1) Madison Eagles vs Cheerleader Melissa (****)