McXal's Reviews

I highly rated V43, but it's actually this show which is the one from this taping which really gets the most love. It's another thirteen match opus, so it won't be the easiest show to sit through - but looking at Cagematch at least the formats and match-times are mixed up a little. There is too much going on to run through everything on the card - but there are a couple of obvious highlights. Firstly we have Saraya Knight facing her own daughter Britani - in a No DQ Match (which would also serve as the soon-to-be Paige's SHIMMER farewell). Secondly, the main event - it's a big one. Cheerleader Melissa gets her rematch for the SHIMMER Championship against Madison Eagles, the #1 ranked wrestler in the most recent PWI50. Those two matches alone are probably enough to sell you on the show - before you consider an undercard which includes Kana/LuFisto, Athena/Martinez II, Del Rey/Rush, Deeb/Ohka and Matsumoto/McKay. Dave Prazak and Portia Perez provide commentary for all the action, taped in Berwyn, IL.

Both of these women have been strong contributors to the SHIMMER product all weekend. Kellie has, as usual, been extremely entertaining and her battle with Hiroyo Matsumoto on V43 was really decent. Davina (WWE's Bayley, for those that haven't read any of my other reviews from this taping, or weren't otherwise aware) made her debut this weekend - and hasn't disgraced herself despite working some of the biggest names on the roster. In particular her singles matches with the Canadian NINJAs - Portia at V42 and Nicole at V43 - are well worth watching. But with wins at a premium in the growingly crowded SHIMMER locker room - the stakes are high for this.

Skater is in fine form - offering Davina a protein shake then slapping her in the face when she refuses. She injures Rose's throat with a hotshot into the top rope and stays on it with a series of chokes and chops. Camel clutch applied but Rose refuses to tap out so the Rate Tank switches to start forearming her in the face instead. A shortarm clothesline curtails an attempted Davina comeback...and Skater is now so confident she stops the match and works a half-hearted torture rack whilst squatting! Rose hits a crossbody block and heads upstairs - getting impressive distance to land a diving tackle off the top even though she slipped a little upon take-off. Skate & Destroy wins it for Kellie at 05:35

Rating - * - I'm always pleased to see Kellie pick up a rare SHIMMER win, and I feel like it is crucial for the success of her character that she does occasionally get a win here and there. But, having said that I didn't care much for this match. It was essentially a prolonged squash of Davina - and after she has had great showings with Mercedes Martinez, Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews this weekend it felt weird that Kellie got to flatten her with minimal fuss. For that reason this didn't click with me at all.

Amber Gertner interviews Nevaeh and Sassy Stephie, who are patting themselves on the back about what a great tag team they are (despite losing on the last Volume). She asks their opinion on their tag match against Ashley Lane and a thus-far unnamed partner later...but they don't care and walk off.

Volume 43 was all about developing future women's wrestling stars, and this match is definitely an extension of that too. Taylor has made a handful of main show appearances - and worked some bowling shoe ugly matches. But she'll be the 'senior pro' in this match as she works a young Veda Scott, who is just months into her career having recently debuted from the ROH wrestling school. 

This is pre-lawyer gimmick Veda, and she is totally different - bouncing around, smiling and looking every bit the over-enthusiastic young rookie. 'I think she is excited to be here' - Prazak on her demeanour. She genuinely moves with such energy that she almost topples off her feet on a couple of occasions. It means she starts strongly and Made has to weather the storm. Eventually Taylor blocks the Snapmare Driver into a horrible body slam...and forces Scott to slow down with a surfboard. Veda uses knee strikes to escape, and after a few awkward moments she lands a tornado DDT rolled right into an implant DDT for 2. Taylor hits her version of a Twist Of Fate for the win at 03:31

Rating - N/A - Short, inoffensive and meaningless - I couldn't bring myself to rate this. It isn't really fair to judge someone in one of her first ever matches against a relative unknown on the SHIMMER roster in a match which was barely long enough for them to lock up. It had some obvious mis-steps, but I did like the fire Veda showed in her offence - and also the poise and composure Made demonstrated when having to hold the match together as Veda's inexperience caused issues. This really should have been a DVD extra or dark match though

She debuted at the Volumes taped the previous day and Kalamity made quite an impression. Her hard-hitting slug-fest with Hailey Hatred was enjoyable - and so violent that they wound up forming a team based on mutual respect to fight a common enemy in the form of Melanie Cruise and Mena Libra. She is another newcomer that is still looking for her first win though - so it would be something of a shock if she could get it at the hands of respected Joshi star Tomoka Nakagawa. Tomoka herself has had a mixed taping, which started by losing the Tag Titles, then seeing her tag partner Daizee Haze quit the company, and earlier today saw her lose to MsChif at V43.

Kalamity is the stockier of the two, and her size means she is able to start formidably; almost snapping Nakagawa's arm out of it's socket with some snug armdrags. Naka retaliates with some armdrags of her own though taking us back to a stalemate. Tomoka starts biting her opponent, out of the sight of the referee, and starts using ground submissions to negate the size advantage. Kalamity tries to strike her way free...so Nakagawa puts her right back down with an eye rake. Chops and elbows from Kalamity - so Tomoka mounts her in the corner to shut her down again, this time with repeated punches. DIVING ELBOW in the corner by Kalamity! The Joshi athlete goes back to choking and cheating in an effort to stifle the Canadian...but can't halt her momentum and is dumped with a neckbreaker. Half crab by Nakagawa to put Kalamity on the ground again. But she is still too big for Tomoka to hit her Fisherman Buster on though. Kalamity counters to a spinebuster, into Kalamityville Horror - earning herself an upset victory at 06:43

Rating - *** - This was my favourite Nakagawa match of the weekend. Admittedly they didn't go very long, but the story they told was tight and perfect to emphasise the strengths of both women before putting Kalamity over huge. Kalamity started in dominant fashion, Nakagawa shut her down - first by cheating and then by working ground holds...but couldn't find a way to put her away before Kalamity fought back and used her power to force her first SHIMMER victory. I wish Dave had had these two women open the Volume with this...

Regeration-X are playing with a remote controlled Dalek in the locker room, which is cute enough in itself...but then it gets even cuter as a shy and awkard MsChif sidles up and eventually gets to play too. Melanie Cruise, Mena Libra and a couple of the Sparkle pre-show regulars come up angrily and demand to know why two of SHIMMER's locker room veterans are 'playing with toys'...almost leading to a fight. Christina Von Eerie pops up and suggests a 4-vs-4 tag tonight! Leva and Allison appear to be planning to keep MsChif as a pet...

The weekend started strongly for the new heel duo of Nevaeh and Stephie as they formed their alliance at the AAW show, Nevaeh beat former partner Ashley Lane on her return to SHIMMER, then the won a tag match against Pretty Bitchin'. Volume 43 saw them lose to Regeneration-X though so this bout decides whether this weekend is deemed a success or not. Mia Yim will be in no such doubt. She is winless but after a brave fight against Kana (V41), a thrilling triple threat spotfest with Athena and Jessie McKay (V42) then a near-showstealing effort against Yumi Ohka (V43) she has truly established herself as a SHIMMER staple. She won't want to leave such a big, breakout weekend for her without a win though...

Ashley starts by taking the fight to Stephie, then wisely tags out to let the 'educated feet' of Mia keep the pressure on. Yim hangs in the ropes to dupe Sassy into falling to the floor - but in doing so turns her back on Nevaeh, who jumps her. Ohio Girls 2.0 maul Yim on the outside, isolating her from her partner who has to watch on helplessly. Lane starts making it worse for Mia by repeatedly trying to invade the ring which obviously distracts the ref and lets the heel duo cheat at their leisure. Sassy locks in her Last Chancery trying to force a submission...but Mia escapes and scrambles her brains with a kick flurry. Hot tag to Lane, who levels Nevaeh with a mafia kick. Nevaeh recovers to hit a German suplex on Yim for 2...but is then hauled out of the ring for a fight with Ashley. Stephie sneaks in to hit Kiss My Sass on Mia - and gets the victory at 06:33

Rating - * - Did anyone follow who was legal at the end there, because I'm certain at least one of those pinfall attempts at the end there couldn't have been legitimate. This was another match which felt like it just existed to give some excess talent booked for the weekend something to do. We already got the Lane/Nevaeh pay-off and I didn't need to see more. I certainly didn't need to see Mia end an excellent weekend for her personally by putting over Sassy Stephie. Yim was the highlight of the match for me, looking terrific both on offence and in generating babyface sympathy when being worked over. She has demonstrated real star potential at this taping - and her development was actually hindered by appearing in this match.

I understand she is a former WWE star, so one of SHIMMER's bigger 'name' talents so therefore has to be on each DVD...but if money was no object I wouldn't have had Serena or Portia work this episode to put over their No Holds Barred Match from V43. Serena won following a spectacular running Spear off a table - bringing a bitter chapter of her SHIMMER career to an end. Somehow she has to bounce back from that to face Ohka - who's hard-hitting, smash-mouth star has posed questions to SHIMMER stars all weekend.

Deeb takes the match straight to the ground, which Portia immediately picks as an attempt to stop her hitting one of her violent kick sequences. Ohka does a really good job using her body and facials to sell her desperation to escape Serena's clutches, and it takes almost three minutes for her to create some distance. Deeb targets Yumi's arm, of course culminating in the Deeb Armdrags to cap off a dominant five minute period. It almost comes as a surprise when Ohka manages to land a clothesline, then works a grounded headscissors  armbar submission of her own (which Portia once again brilliantly calls as relevant as Serena has a history of shoulder problems). Yakuza Kick flurry by Ohka! Serena grabs the arm she'd been working on and uses it to execute La Magistral for 2. A monkey flip scores before Yumi dodges the Spear and MAFIA KICKS Deeb as she pings onto the second rope. Sakura Drop gets 2 for Ohka...only for Serena to fire back with a cluster of lariats against the ropes. THRUST KICK COUNTER to the Spear...for 2! Brainbuster by Yumi, drawing the closest nearfall of the contest. SPEAR! Deeb wins at 11:43

Rating - *** - I do wonder if, given the benefit of hindsight and knowledge that Serena wouldn't make another SHIMMER appearance for two years may have convinced Dave to change how he booked her over the last two shows and not had her blow through one of his top heels, then a big Joshi name in quick succession. On a strictly in-ring level Serena's performances at this taping have eclipsed everything else in her SHIMMER portfolio. The SHIMMER Title Match with Madison Eagles was outstanding. I enjoyed her feud blow-off with Portia Perez, and this was also a really clever match. They didn't go overboard, but instead worked a grounded, stiff and sensible style with Ohka trying to batter Serena into oblivion, forcing Deeb to find ways to negate and counter Yumi's stuff. I can't say that Ohka has been my favourite Joshi star SHIMMER have brought in, but she has been consistently strong across all four Volumes - and looks more confident in her 'style' and how it meshes with the SHIMMER fans and roster with each show that passes.

You can position this as a huge falling out over toys in the locker room, but what this one boils down to is opportunity. MsChif and Danger are SHIMMER originals, Leva has been taken under Allison's wing and formed a hotly rated team with her and Christina has entered SHIMMER and quickly become a popular rising star. On the opposite side of the ring from them are a jealous collection of women all fighting and clawing just to get a roster spot. Melanie has run through partners and perpetually scrapped at the bottom of the card. Mena and Bonesaw have appeared infrequently having battled out from Sparkle dark matches, whilst She Nay Nay makes her main show debut with this match. This is about talents who feel underappreciated and are fighting for their spot and paycheck in this company trying to make a point at the expense of more established talents. 

MsChif is still pissed off about the scuffle in the locker room earlier and demands to start the match for her team - making a beeline for Melanie Cruise. CVE fells Mena with a jumping enzi...but Libra recovers and vacates the ring for Leva and Nay Nay to come to blows. 'I tried to kill her baby one time' - Portia Perez casually commentating on Danger entering the ring. Bonesaw spearheads her team isolating Bates from her partners; a segment which of course includes multiple instances of cheating and rule manipulation. Melanie drops the ball and allows Leva to tag to Christina...but redeems herself by royally f*cking Von Eerie up in the corner. Bonesaw wants a piece of that action and DROPS Von Eerie with an elbow smash too. Cruise and Mena continue trying to get their team over by hitting a couple of double teams, then Brooks and SNN get their turns as well - all of whom appear to target Christina's midsection. CVE hits a lungblower on Bonesaw...and dives into the hot tag to MsChif - who once again goes right after Cruise before turning her focus to everyone else. She hits a standing moonsault on Nay Nay...then walks into Cruise Control! Danger trips Melanie out of the ring then takes her out with a diving knee strike off the apron. 138 Facebuster from Christina to Nay Nay, who absorbs it and retaliates with a Rocker Dropper for 2! DOUBLE STOMP/INVERTED DDT COMBO by Regeneration-X! Danger and Cruise start f*cking each other up! GRAVEYARD SMASH from Von Eerie to She Nay Nay! CVE gets the win at 10:03

Rating - ** - At points this was really messy. I'm not sure they ever really settled into the match and at times it felt like a big rabble of performers scrambling over each other to get as much sh*t in as possible before their time allocation was up. Whilst at times that did make it chaotic and hard to follow, it also meant there were times when this was bonkers and very fun. MsChif being more enraged by locker room shenanigans involving a toy Dalek than losing the SHIMMER Title had a quirky charm. Christina Von Eerie looked really awesome again here. Allison Danger was hardly involved, but everything she did contribute was f*cking awesome. On the other side of the ring I enjoyed Bonesaw's quiet, understated violent approach and also felt that Mena Libra was clearly busting her ass trying to positively contribute too. Melanie Cruise was a weaker link though - which is pretty inexcusable given that she was third longest serving SHIMMER combatant in the match after the 'Originals' (Danger and MsChif). The fact that Dave had enough wrestlers at his disposal to chuck this kind of multi-person match and angle into a random undercard bout tells you everything about how he booked too many people for this weekend. It did make me sad we didn't see more of a concerted SHIMMER Originals vs New Breed angle though. Multi-man tags with Sara/Melissa/Mercedes/MsChif/Danger et al against the hot newcomers to the roster could have been really fun...

The Lady Destroyer has already clobbered one Australian talent this weekend, and now has another in her sights. Jessie hasn't had the best of weekends having only won a single match (versus Britani Knight at Volume 43) and not contributing any stand-out moments or great matches. Wins over Hiroyo have come at a premium in SHIMMER competition, and she'll know a big win here instantly puts her right back in the conversation for a future title shot...

Both of these women are very popular which means the Eagles Club crowd are extremely lively from the opening bell. Hiroyo repeatedly decks Jessie to immediately emphasise that she is the more powerful of the two women. A double knee drop into the stomach leaves McKay gasping for air - and sufficiently wounded for Matsumoto to have some fun at her expense; playing to the ground with repeated chest and back rakes. McKay wants a quicker pace and sprints into both a knee strike and facecrusher. She lands a satellite headscissors too, but then tries the same move a second time and is roundly flattened by a sidewalk slam from the Lady Destroyer. School Girl Crush misses, allowing Matsumoto to hit a missile kick. Hiroyo tries to go upstairs again only to be caught by the Aussie - who labours but finally drags her down with a frankensteiner for 2. Back Drop Driver blocked...Jessie tries to counter to a bulldog...but Hiroyo COUNTERS BACK into a Saito Suplex! Kicks by McKay! NO SOLD! RUNNING BACK ELBOW! NO SOLD! SCHOOL GIRL CRUSH FOR 2! Boyfriend Stealer blocked...BACK DROP DRIVER! Hiroyo wins at 06:05

Rating - *** - By some distance Jessie McKay's best match of the weekend. This was pretty much as good as these two talented women were going to get given only six minutes in the ring together. They were a victim of a weekend with so many talents booked that not everything can be given enough time (especially on the fourth show of a LONG taping weekend). Realising they didn't have long, they worked a fantastic and energetic sprint. They had great chemistry, and immediately nailed the idea that Hiroyo wanted to muscle Jessie around whilst McKay was quicker and faster so needed to work that angle. It all built to a number of inventive counter sequences at the end. Best match on the show so far.

The Canadian NINJAs cut a really strong little promo, talking about touring Japan together and calling themselves legitimate SHIMMER main event talent now rather than a 'comedy team' like they were when they were last Tag Champions. 'We are SHIMMER' - Nicole Matthews. She plans to prove it by defeating Ayako and Ayumi to bring the Tag Titles back across the border tonight...

Rush enters this with plenty of momentum, having beaten Nikki Roxx (in what turned out to be her final SHIMMER match) on the previous Volume. This is a step up again though, as she looks to prove herself against the imposing former SHIMMER Champion in Sara Del Rey. She actually has more steam than Sara coming into this one as well. Del Rey is in the biggest slump of her SHIMMER career, having dropped back-to-back matches (versus Kana at V42, then taking the decisive fall at the hands of Hamada in the excellent Tag Title main event to V43). Consecutive losses to top tier Joshi talents have seem Sara demoted into the midcard. She will want to rebound swiftly...

The enthusiastic Rush wants a handshake, which is unceremoniously dismissed by Del Rey. Courtney seems to want to mellow Sara out a little and encourages her to dance! The sound guy pumps some Lady Gaga over the PA system, and the crowd love this. Rush and Bryce Remsburg are goof around and dance...until Sara goes total heel and f*cking MURDERS Courtney with a mafia kick. She tries to work Rush's arm but to Courtney's credit she escapes to hit a Canadian Legsweep. SDR stays on the arm though, which Portia and Prazak put over as a solid strategy as it negates Courtney's ability to hit any of her signature suplex variants. Fujiwara armbar puts the Canadian on the brink of tapping but she courageously refuses...so Sara schoolboys her into the bottom turnbuckle. Indeed, she is so intent on destroying Rush she actually drops her on her NECK from a standard armwrench. Courtney hits a crossbody, right into an exploder suplex...but then curls up on the ground in pain due to the extent of the arm injury she has sustained. She tries to fighting spirit her way out of it - and uses the bad arm to hit lariats and a Sling Blade, but is still in severe pain. Cross armbreaker by Del Rey! But Courtney is a tall athlete and gets a foot on the rope. She somehow executes an assortment of pseudo-comedy roll-ups (brilliantly sold by Sara), but doesn't have the strength in her arm for the Skyward Suplex. ROYAL BUTTERFLY! Del Rey wins at 10:29

Rating - *** - This is such a cool period in SHIMMER history. Watching the roster morph and evolve before our very eyes is wonderful, and every time the two generations of SHIMMER talent meet in matches like this it's usually a pretty fun encounter. Sara remains the ace, but has begun to lose with greater regularity than at any other point during her SHIMMER career. Rush is new, and despite her jovial, somewhat goofy demeanour has continually proved herself to be an exceptionally talented worker. She embodies the massive step up in quality on SHIMMER undercards from even just a couple of years ago. This was a fantastic little bout showing us the best parts of both of these talents. Courtney was charming, engaging, sold and bumped like a trooper and generally produced a strong babyface performance. And for as many great main events as she has had in this company, midcard destroyer Sara is arguably the most fun version of Del Rey. She was utterly flawless here, even adding some brilliant comic timing into her unendingly brilliant wrestling talents. This is her penultimate taping and, even with the roster as full with talent as it's ever been, the Queen of Wrestling will be a colossal miss when she's gone...

Speaking of battles between different generations of SHIMMER talent, a full blown war threatened to break-out between these two at Volume 43. Mercedes is apparently fed up of being stuck on the undercard working the new breed of SHIMMER star...but nevertheless she is a SHIMMER Original with a target on her back. Athena has quickly risen through the ranks to become one of SHIMMER's hottest new commodities and she wasn't holding anything back when she got her shot with Martinez. They brawled to a bitter double count-out at the last show, then in tense post-match scenes it was Mercedes who walked away and refused to continue fighting as the fans rallied behind Athena. Is the Latina Sensation just fed up of fighting precocious newcomers? Or, as Dave Prazak queried on commentary, does she legitimately fear that the Wrestling Goddess has her number?

Mercedes is all smiles as she comes through the curtain, but there is enough edge and tension to her entrance to let you know that Athena has unsettled her. The ferociously competitive lock-up that starts the match says as much too. Martinez pops Athena in the mouth...but is shocked to see Athena fire right back at her in a strike exchange. The Wrestling Goddess lives up to her nickname by out-wrestling Mercedes...working into a position where she can hit a couple of innovative takedowns that even force Mercedes to flee the ring for a breather. CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! Unlike V43, Athena connected with the spot this time. Martinez absorbs that and throws her HEAD-FIRST into the guardrails! Jesus that looked brutal! Now this starts to resemble a Martinez vs rookie match as she bludgeons Athena on the floor - rocking her with strikes. But the Latina Sensation dials it up a notch too - smashing her opponent's face, then leg, into the metal steps. Martinez is working this like a top tier match now, recognising that Athena's speed and agility is her major weapon and trying to eliminate it by working the leg. She is still having to bust her ass to keep an injured Athena down, going so far as to rake her eyes to keep her grounded. Slingshot neckbreaker gets 2 much to Mercedes' fury! She marches back to the locker rooms in a rage and grabs a steel chair! STEEL CHAIR TO THE LEG! That's obviously a DQ, and a win for Athena at 06:43

Rating - *** - I considered going 4* for this, because the fraction of a match we got here was absolutely superb. Each participant did a phenomenal job enacting and embodying the emotional and character drama behind the physical performances we saw. Martinez, from the second she stepped through the curtain, was different. She did an amazing job playing up that her character felt this SHOULD be another 'I squash a rookie' match, but deep down has been unsettled by Athena's skill and isn't sure she can crush her. Athena, on the flip side, was as babyface as we've ever seen her. But it wasn't an awkward, 'fans cheer me so now I need to be good' babyface performance. It was a 'this woman has pissed me off so I'm too focused on f*cking her up to mouth off to the fans' deal. Both individuals made the match feel like a huge deal. Martinez trying to work the match like a squash, but getting pissed off because Athena refuses to be squashed...so working it like a main event level match - and then still finding Athena impossible to put away - was such a great story. There will be another rematch between these women, presumably at the next taping. If they can recreate the chemistry and magic they had here then that match will steal whatever Volume it's on...

A frantic Mercedes beats the sh*t out of Athena with the chair, then gives her a Bull Run as the ref squad plea for her to stop. The double turn of these two women across the last two Volumes has been incredibly smartly put together. Incredibly, Athena has enough left to grab a microphone and swear revenge on Martinez as soon as her leg is healed...

I've been calling LuFisto under-utilised for several Volumes now. Despite being popular, and having competed in some of the best matches in SHIMMER history, she hasn't done much of anything in recent Volumes. That changes tonight as she is the final opponent selected for Kana on her SHIMMER debut weekend. Wins over Mia Yim and Sara Del Rey put Kana towards the front of the queue for a title shot, but a somewhat surprising loss to Cheerleader Melissa at V43 saw Melissa become #1 contender. Kana will want to head back to Japan with a 3-1 record for the taping and having successfully enhanced her 'World Famous' reputation...

LuFisto explodes from the bell - charging into a Polish Hammer and HEADBUTTING Kana! Kana tries to retaliate but is overwhelmed by the opening salvo from LuFi...until the Japanese athlete scales the ropes and DROPKICKS HER IN THE FACE!  More headbutts from Lu...no sold into an anklelock. These two intense athletes scramble for superiority on the canvas, but it's clear that Kana is keeping the match on the ground because Lu has shaken her with those early strike combos. Kana works the submission holds from multiple positions despite a spirited attempt a ground game from the Canadian. They get back to a vertical base, and the effects of that ground attack are clear as Kana is able to win in a strike battle (notably going after Fisto's bad back to do so). She tries another close-range missile dropkick but this time LuFisto counters with a cannonball senton followed by a nasty facewash. Burning Hammer blocked...SLAP DUEL! KICK DUEL! SPINNING BACK FIST BY LUFI! Kana goes back to the ankle, using it to set up a German suplex. Emerald Fusion by Lu, setting up the Diving Star for 2. Once more Kana blocks the Burning Hammer...into a NECK DROP GERMAN! NO SOLD! BRIDGING GERMAN BY LUFISTO FOR 2! COUNTERED TO A KIMURA! Kana Lock blocked into a tiger suplex for 2. Burning Hammer COUNTERED TO THE KANA LOCK! LUFISTO IS OUT! The ref stops the match, giving Kana the win at 09:14

Rating - **** - This was exceptional, and a prime example of why I've been frustrated at seeing LuFisto languishing at the bottom of the card working happy, smiley inconsequential matches. In all fairness, she reportedly had an assortment of injuries to manage - but she is as good as any of the elite SHIMMER performers, as this match showed. Her ability to switch from smiling, cute, 'comes out with a doll for a manager' lady to a sh*tkicking machine inside the ring is incredible. Kana was almost knocked out of the match right away as she struggled to adjust. The tense battle for superiority between LuFisto - stronger and seemingly a better striker - and Kana - cunning, and lethal on the canvas - was enthralling to watch unfold. There is an argument to be made that this was the best Kana match of the entire weekend, which is saying something...

Kana (who has pissed off SHIMMER mainstays by refusing to show respect or shake hands all weekend) shakes hands and bows to LuFisto after that as fans give them both a standing ovation, along with 'please come back' chants for Kana. They'll be seeing a lot more of her...

From the moment the Knight Dynasty first appeared at this taping it seemed like something wasn't right. Rebecca Knox was gone, and Saraya seemed to have lost all patience with her daughter. At Volume 42 we saw her throw young Britani to the 'wolves' (in the form of Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara) then blame her for their failure to win the SHIMMER Tag Titles, and it all boiled over at V43 when Britani lost to Jessie McKay. Saraya publically berated her daughter, disowning her from the family and mocking her for being a 'hot prospect' with lots of companies interested in her despite not being able to win. An intense scene followed as mother and daughter came to blows. In the end it took four or more fully grown men to carry Saraya out of the building as Britani challenged her to a fight...

Fans chant 'we want Britani' over Saraya's entrance, much to her mother's fury. The atmosphere for this, considering how deep we are into the taping, is f*cking hot! Saraya boots her daughter's legs during her entrance...but Britani responds by tying her mother in the ring apron and pounding on her. It's a fiery start from the younger Knight, who snaps off move after move whilst being roared on by the fans. HANGING DDT OFF THE APRON BY SARAYA! Sweet Saraya isn't holding back at all and violently tosses Paige into the guardrails and ringpost. Britani goes after her mother's bad knee (apparently injured by Cheerleader Melissa in the UK years ago - sewing a seed for future issues), then starts wheelbarrowing her mother face-first onto the railing! She tries to take the fight into the crowd, but Saraya dumps her back over the guardrail hard onto the floor. Britani grabs a trash can lid from other section of the crowd and pops Saraya in the head! SARAYA WON'T GO DOWN! Her eyes are rolling around in her head but she refuses to hit the deck despite Britani wearing her out with the weapon. Eventually Saraya strikes low to kill Britani's momentum then takes her turn waffling her with the lid. DDT ON THE TRASH CAN LID! Knightmare applied by Saraya - but too close to the same weapon which Britani uses to beat her way free. Saraya looks f*cking crazy as she almost goes full Nigel McGuinness in braining her daughter against the ringpost, then gives her a Stunner neck-first on the guardrail. Britani retaliates by mafia kicking her mother through a chair! They mess something up with Britani coming off the top rope...then repeat the spot and almost f*ck it up even more second time which takes some of the steam out of things. Saraya gets it back with an intense cross armbreaker, that Paige sells like total death. Britani escapes with some ugly but brutal-looking short powerbombs, then hits the KNIGHT LIGHT! Britani gets the popular win in her SHIMMER farewell at 14:02

Rating - *** - I'd go so far as to call this the best 'grudge match' in SHIMMER since Melissa/MsChif. That isn't saying much as SHIMMER doesn't do many, but tonally this was fantastic. The crowd (bar a couple of idiots) were also awesome and gave some of their most heated reactions of the entire weekend. They messed a few spots up, it got really ugly at times and holy f*ck did they ever overdo it with that bloody trash can lid...but everything else was perfect. It was framed as a mother vs daughter war, and they spitefully tore into each other. It looked incredibly rough with both women beating the hell out of each other. It's also easy to forget that Britani Knight is still a teenager at this point. It was inevitable she'd be rough around the edges. But she carried herself like a star, and put her body through a remarkable amount of punishment considering she'd already agreed a WWE developmental deal by this point. She'd debut in Florida Championship Wrestling (the precursor to NXT) soon after. Thankfully Saraya will stick around and still has a huge role to play in SHIMMER...

It isn't actually that long since the NINJAs last had the Tag Titles, but a lot has happened since they dropped them to the Seven Star Sisters. Matsumoto and Ohata wound up losing the belts to Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa, who in turn lost them to current champions Hamada and Kurihara which caused Daizee to quit SHIMMER. Portia wound up on the losing end of her bitter feud with Serena Deeb, whilst Matthews came out on the upper end of her rivalry with Jessie McKay. In the time between the March and October tapings the NINJAs toured Japan together - an experience which they believe has turned them from 'comedy' team to serious contenders and cemented their status as main event talents in SHIMMER. But if they want to back up that claim, they need to beat Joshi veterans like Ayako, or one of the best Joshi wrestlers in the world right now in Ayumi. Hamada and Kurihara's defence against Madison Eagles and Sara Del Rey at V43 is my favourite SHIMMER tag match to date. Was it a war from which the champions - themselves still finding their feet as a duo which emerged from a competitive rivalry against one another - still carry wounds that the Canadians can exploit and regain their belts?

The NINJAs try to intimidate Ayumi...but run away when Hamada steps up to defend her partner. They try to jump Ayako from behind only for the veteran to ignore their offence and deck them. Nicole tries to go after Kurihara's arm...but eats a signature violent dropkick from Ayumi. Matthews actually rocks Hamada with a couple of strikes - which I really like as a subtle part of the continued ascension Nicole is making to the top of the card. The challengers actually seem to relish trying to work over Hamada, rather than Kurihara as you might expect. Matthews hits a sweet frankensteiner on her, leaving her in position for Portia's sliding DDT for 2. Nicole makes an error - hitting a missile dropkick which rockets Hamada into her corner and allows her to tag Kurihara. Ayumi enters the fray and soon decimates Matthews with her brutal missile dropkick spot. Urinage blocked...and Nicole hides behind the ref causing Ayumi to deck him with an elbow! With the ref down Nicole DROPKICKS A CHAIR INTO KURIHARA'S FACE! Kuri retaliate with a Raven drop toehold...before booting the chair into Nicole's face again. FUNKY COLD MEDINA! But Kurihara and Hamada combine to kick out of the groggy referee's count. Just Facelock applied by Perez! Escaped by Ayumi...right into a flatliner. Portia levels her with a chair behind the ref's back again, getting another nearfall before Ayako lunges in to break the count. The ref goes down again as chaos amongst the four combatants rages! CHAIR-ENFORCED MOONSAULT BY HAMADA! MATTHEWS BREAKS THE PIN! Superkick by Portia! On the floor Hamada wraps a chair around Nicole's head and smashes her into the ringpost! URINAGE ON PEREZ! Kurihara pins Portia to win the match at 08:53

Rating - *** - It was disappointingly short, silly and overbooked, but in a weird way this was exactly the match the fans needed after the violent brawl between the Knights. We already got to see Hamada and Kurihara work a killer main event level tag match at this taping. Another would've been great of course, but it wasn't needed here. They had fun, and crucially I thought this did a hell of a job putting over the growth of the Canadian NINJAs and portraying them as a genuine threat to top tier names. Yes they needed ref bumps and a chair - but little things like Nicole out-striking Hamada, or Portia kicking out of the chair-sault really did contribute to establishing the Canadians as serious threats. Although they've been appearing regularly, Hamada and Kurihara are still technically Joshi guest-stars. Therefore I genuinely sensed people expecting the belts to go back to the NINJAs after a couple of tapings of turmoil with the titles being passed around repeatedly - especially once we started getting ref bumps and chair shots. That definitely added a layer of drama and tension, and drew an even bigger pop when the Joshi stars retained the belts. It all but guarantees they'll be back for more high quality tag bouts next time...

An elongated video package puts over the history of this rivalry, and sets the stage for one of the biggest SHIMMER Title Matches to date. Eagles infamously cheated to beat Melissa in a #1 contenders bout on the road to dethroning MsChif and becoming SHIMMER Champion. It was a genuinely shocking moment, and one that Madison has had to bust her ass throughout her entire run as champion to erase. She dominated MsChif, the longest reigning SHIMMER Champion ever, twice. Melissa came for revenge for that controversial finish - and was cleanly beaten. Madison has ruled SHIMMER, earning a PWI50 #1 slot and defeated all comers. But her record wasn't unblemished. She was pinned by Melissa at Volume 36 as part of SHIM-vivor Series, leading Melissa to call for another title shot. Now paranoid and ducking her rival, Eagles refused and told Melissa she needed to earn another opportunity by working her way up the card. And so she has done that, with wins over lower card talents like Melanie Cruise, rising stars like Athena, Britani Knight or Christina Von Eerie, international stars like Kana...and another tag victory over a team containing Madison at Volume 39 as well. Melissa's claim for another shot became undeniable. She has been one of the outstanding performers in SHIMMER since the very first show. She claims it is her destiny to become SHIMMER Champion - and despite countless setbacks and disappointments she is here to realise that destiny...

Eagles spends the majority of her entrance and the ring introductions dicking around, so it isn't any surprise that as soon as the bell rings she sprints to the floor and stalls. She spends more than two minutes stretching and keeping as far away from Melissa as she possibly can. Eventually the Future Legend snaps - sprinting around the ring into a series of colossal simultaneous lariats which knock both champion and challenger to the floor of the Eagles Club. Madison tries to run into the crowd...so Melissa chases her to the back of the building swinging punches and throwing chops! The fight goes into the bar of the Eagles Club now - with both women trading strikes on top of the bar itself! This is shades of the legendary Falls Count Anywhere Match Melissa contested with MsChif in the very early days of SHIMMER. Eventually the fight explodes through the guardrails into the aisle - with the challenger dropping a segment of the metal railing down onto Madison's prone torso. KICK TO THE FACE by Madison! Melissa responds by smashing her between guardrail and ringpost. Melissa is going crazy - burying Eagles under a pile of chairs with an impotent Bryce Remsburg close by begging her to stop! Eagles uses more kicks to keep the Cheerleader at bay, leaving her slumped over the merch table. The fight won't stop! They fight up the steps towards the front door of the building - before Melissa throws Eagles down the same steps to the floor. The champ is taking some unheralded but seriously brutal bumps in this one. And she keeps fighting too - tackling Cheerleader into the guardrails as we finally make it back to ringside. She smartly returns it to the ring apparently backing her technical and MMA skills to help her after Melissa's experience brawling on the floor gave her the edge before. CATTLE MUTILATION! It opens up an injury on the back of the challenger which Eagles tries to exploit. The challenger tries the Air Raid Crash...but her back gives way. SAMOAN DROP INSTEAD! That was awesome...and she comes up selling her back too! CURB STOMP! Madison has enough left in the tank that she can actually bridge out of that pin, and she decks Melissa again with a leg lariat seconds later. YAKUZA KICK! Melissa no sells and tries to annihilate the champ with strikes! Now Madison no sells and starts hammering on the back again! SPIDER GERMAN SUPERPLEX! HELL BOUND COUNTERED! ROUNDHOUSE KICK! HELL BOUND BLOCKED AGAIN! AIR RAID CRASH! MADISON KICKS OUT! Melissa sinks to her knees thinking she had it won! RUNNING AIR RAID CRASH NAILED! EAGLES KICKS OUT AGAIN! Fans chant for the Kudo Driver, but does Melissa still believe she can win? Kudoh Driver blocked...HELL BOUND BLOCKED. ROLL-UP! MELISSA WINS! MELISSA IS SHIMMER CHAMPION! WHAT A F*CKING MOMENT!  She has realised her destiny at 18:24!

Rating - ****1/2 - Artistically speaking this probably isn't the 'best' match in SHIMMER history. It was actually very hard to see bits of it, such are SHIMMER's limitations with lighting and videography equipment. But this was a gutteral rollercoaster of emotions. You had a smiling, stalling, smirking #1 ranked wrestler in the world and dominant champion ducking and diving for all she was worth. And she stood across the ring from a woman who has been at the core of this product since the first show. She is now one of only two women who has appeared on every Volume (her and Del Rey). She has been a main eventer for most of that time. Her early-Volumes feud with MsChif did almost as much to put SHIMMER on the map as Mercedes and Sara. This is a woman who has fought all over the world honing her craft, and has been consistently overlooked and under-rated. I adored how different this match was. The first ten minutes were BRILLIANT. Eagles stalled, provoking Melissa to go batsh*t crazy and evoke the spirit of the MsChif/Wesna feuds by brawling all over the building - going to physical and emotional depths she thought she'd never have to sink to again as they brawled around the building. Eagles fought for her life, eventually making it back to the ring and turning it into a wrestling match - where we know she has the edge as she'd already beaten Melissa cleanly. But tonight Melissa wasn't to be denied. She fought through a back injury, she countered all the finishing sequences that had beaten her before...culminating in the PERFECT finish as she used a roll-up (clean, not a cheating one like Madison) to mirror how this rivalry first began. The pop for her win and the raw emotion on her face (Melissa has a lot of strengths, but she doesn't always convey emotion that well) were such poignant moments. Credit to Madison too; she has had the best run of any SHIMMER Champion so far in terms of amassing a body of high quality work, and this was a terrific way to end her reign. She beat the sh*t out of her body to help create this moment for Melissa. For SHIMMER fans this is absolutely must-see - meaning Madison has actually delivered three all-time SHIMMER great matches this weekend.

The pop for Melissa's win just doesn't stop! The whole building is on their feet to see her lift the belt, and she circles the ringside area to celebrate with everyone before trying to leave. THEN NICOLE MATTHEWS ATTACKS HER! She promised to be a main event player in SHIMMER, and she just picked a fight with the top dog in the company! VANCOUVER MANOEUVRE ON THE BELT! 

Tape Rating - **** - In terms of the pure quantity of good wrestling, this weekend is arguably SHIMMER's best ever taping weekend. I don't know that any of the Volumes are the best individual 'show' the company have produced (although this show is celebrated as such by some)...but the relentless consistently of the wrestling across all four shows is quite remarkable. For so long this company struggled with a somewhat light-weight undercard propped up by some world class talents at the top. That isn't the case now. The roster for this weekend is so packed it feels like 90% of the roster could convincingly carry a main event and there are GREAT wrestlers who really didn't get enough time in the ring all weekend to show it. Volume 44 didn't feel as focused on building new stars in the way I loved Volume 43...but this show was about great moments. Britani Knight saying goodbye to SHIMMER with a violent win over her mother. Kana and LuFisto beating the sh*t out of each other. Athena and Mercedes completing a memorable two-show double turn. Ayako and Ayumi surviving the Canadian NINJAs to survive as Tag Champions. Cheerleader Melissa's emotional title win, then Nicole creating a very Canadian NINJA-esque breakout moment of her own. This show could've comfortably lost the first half hour, and it isn't all good...but, as with every other show this weekend, the amount of good wrestling is mind-blowing. Hiroyo vs Jessie could comfortably main event a SHIMMER Volume. Instead they get six minutes and STILL deliver a compelling sprint. The same could possibly said for Serena Deeb and Yumi Ohka, or Sara Del Rey and Courtney Rush. This is a loaded card, which rattles along at an amazing pace and culminates in an all-time great SHIMMER moment. You should own it if you can find the DVD, or check it out on StreamSHIMMER if you can't...

Top 3 Matches:

3) Britani Knight vs Saraya Knight (***)

2) Kana vs LuFisto (****)

1) Madison Eagles vs Cheerleader Melissa (****1/2)