McXal's Reviews

We've reached the final show of SHIMMER's spring 2012 taping, and the main event is a big one. After keeping bitter rivals Saraya Knight and Cheerleader Melissa separate for all of Saraya's SHIMMER run thus far, the situation has escalated to such an extent that finally there is no choice but to sanction the match; Melissa vs Saraya for the SHIMMER Championship. Beneath that masked Joshi stars Leon and Ray (who have won many new fans with their performances over the weekend) get one last chance to impress - in singles matches against LuFisto and Athena respectively. If that wasn't enough to get you interested, we'll also see a colossal four-team showdown for the Tag Titles as Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara defend against the Canadian NINJAs, Regeneration-X and the 'Queens Of Winning' Sara Del Rey and Courtney Rush. Dave Prazak and Portia Perez provide commentary, we are taped in Berwyn, IL.

It's a second SHIMMER appearance for the New York Knockout, after falling to LuFisto on her debut two shows ago. Her opponent is another newcomer to the roster, meaning both will be extremely hungry for a victory which helps secure them future bookings and a spot higher up the card.

Spinelli is from New Jersey making her a natural geographic foil for the Knockout, who mocks her for being from NJ as she hits a couple of early slams. KC hits a flying crossbody, so NYKO punts her in the stomach seconds later and starts clubbing her in the ropes. She grounds Spinelli with strikes and submissions, quickly making her opponent look ragged and fatigued. Even when KC tries to quicken the pace, Knockout simply puts her back down again with a big boot. Spinelli manages to hit a monkey flip and quickly follows up with a neckbreaker...but then drops to her knees in pain. At last she gets back up, flying at NYKO with a discus clothesline. Knockout tries another big boot to floor KC but this time Spinelli ducks it and plants her with a Tiger Driver to win at 06:06

Rating - ** - I rather enjoyed this for what it was. It was pretty basic, but both of NYKO's matches at this taping have been very watchable almost entirely because she is so completely committed to her bombastic character and gets reactions out of the live crowd as a result. Facing a less imposing opponent than LuFisto for her second match, she set out trying to dominate Spinelli with strikes and ground holds whilst maintaining a methodical pace. KC's method of countering that was quickening the pace and stringing together higher impact moves...and the second she was able to do that she scored the win. Simple and effective, and I have to say I'm a little surprised that - based on in-ring performances - NY Knockout didn't get another look (this is her only SHIMMER weekend that I could find record of)

I believe Mena and Melanie come into this undefeated in 2-on-2 tag bouts, with wins over Hailey Hatred and Kalamity at V42, then Veda Scott and Shazza McKenzie and V45. Despite that, and despite being a SHIMMER veteran at this point, Melanie still hasn't really been able to climb the ranks and has only been booked for two matches at this taping. The stakes, therefore, are high as she needs to ensure she isn't bypassed by talented newcomers to SHIMMER like her opponents tonight. Davina and Mia have had a strong weekend from an in-ring perspective (and have faced high quality opponents), but will likewise know they need wins...

Cruise and Libra jump their opponents before the bell and almost beat them inside ten seconds with simultaneous powerbombs. They try to isolate Mia, but find her too quick and she levels Mena with an enziguri. Rose tags and drops Cruise with a flying shoulder tackle. Mena trips Davina through the ropes to the floor soon after though, restoring the advantage for her team. Assisted spinning sidewalk slam combo gets 2 and has Rose clutching her lower back in discomfort. She tries to hit back with a crossbody, only to find that it does as much damage to herself as it does to Melanie. Yim and again uses her speed; flying at Libra with a running knee strike for 2...so Mena absolutely decks her with a shortarm clothesline. Mia crotches Cruise as she attempts her top rope leg drop, then climbs the ropes for the SKY YIM! She pins Libra to win for her team at 05:22

Rating - ** - A brief, but completely competent smaller babyface versus bigger heel tag team encounter. Rose and Yim have had a great weekend and really helped get this one over by being incredibly sympathetic within their roles. She was only in the ring for a couple of minutes but I thought Rose was outstanding in how she put over quite how brutal Melanie's offence was. It's extremely difficult for Mia to hit the Sky Yim in a low-ceiling building like the Eagles Club so I thought, in the circumstances, the finish looked spectacular too. This turned out to be Mena's final SHIMMER match (Cagematch has no record of her working anywhere after May 2012), meaning once again Melanie Cruise will be going back to the drawing board when we reconvene later in the year...

Reviewing this in April of 2023 is an interesting prospect. At this point both of these women were promising young talents, and as of writing both are still active. McKenzie has seemingly just relocated to the US to pursue her dream of making it big as a wrestler (in a way that she couldn't do in Australia), whilst O'Reilly is based in the UK and in the last couple of years has primarily worked for Pro-Wrestling EVE (albeit with sporadic appearances for other promotions including Rev-Pro and even a sojourn to Japan for TJPW). It's a testament to how strong SHIMMER had become at this point in its existence - now such an internationally reputable organisation that they are able to bring in talent from all over the world; not just as established stars but even young international talents looking to hone their craft. Both women come into this on the back of victories on V47, with Shazza getting a DQ win over Saraya Knight (who is one of Rhia's trainers/influences). 

Rhia lays in an early cheap-shot in the corner which noticeably irritates McKenzie...who SLAPS her opponent coming out of that. O'Reilly looks to use her power to get her ahead, hitting tackles then simply muscling the Australian to the mat head and neck first. Of course, there's also plenty of casual rule-breaking from Rhia - chokes in the ropes, standing on the hair and so on. HEAD DROP SATELLITE HEADSCISSORS by Shazza! Yikes that looked brutal! Rhia survives that and hits back with an exploder suplex for 2. Fearful of McKenzie after that brutal head-drop, O'Reilly applies a deathlock on the legs whilst continuing to pepper her in the head with forearm strikes. Rhiadjustment blocked, and Shazza starts putting O'Reilly on her head again with multiple bulldogs. Shazza Driver wins it for McKenzie at 05:55

Rating - ** - That brutal headscissors spot in the middle certainly spiced this one up. Before that it was very decent; McKenzie winning the crowd over as a relatable babyface whilst O'Reilly used power and calculated rule-breaking to maintain an advantage. But that huge spot in the middle really ratcheted up the drama and whether it was intentional or not, the way they responded - with Rhia fearful, staying grounded and working the legs to avoid further damage whilst Shazza targeted the head and neck again - gave the closing minute genuine drama. 

Throughout this taping the point has been made that the Rate Tank is now a force to be reckoned with. After extensive touring of Japan she has returned more dangerous than ever and that has been demonstrated with her performances across the weekend. Imposing wins over Veda Scott and KC Spinelli came after an outstanding individual performance even in defeat against Ray on Volume 45. She closes out her weekend with her sternest test yet, taking on another Joshi import in the form of the 'World Famous' Kana. The woman who would go on to be known as Asuka in WWE has suffered mixed fortunes at this taping - two defeats and just the one victory (teaming with LuFisto against MsChif and Christina Von Eerie). She has a reputation as one of the most fearsome strikers and dangerous wrestlers in SHIMMER and knows the pressure is really on her to win this one.

Skater wants a handshake, which Kana accepts for some reason even though she's made a point of not shaking most of her opponent's hands thus far. Kellie lands the inevitable cheap-shot...then gets absolutely MURDERED by a strike flurry from Kana! World Famous Kana has an icy expression on her face and looks intent on destroying her opponent, but at every turn Skater fights her and shows defiance (even as she is on the receiving end of multiple strikes and submissions). SLAP DUEL! Kellie ducks an enzi and charges Kana to blast her with a series of kicks to the chest! LEG CAPTURE GERMAN by Kana to stop those! KELLIE NO SELLS! Kana tries to pick her leg again, so the Rate Tank counters to an Anklelock! Kana escapes, ducks the Skate & Destroy and pummels her with more kicks to the head. KICK TO THE FACE! Skater kicks out...but right into a Fujiwara Armbar. Skater rolls through...KANA LOCK INSTEAD! Kana wins by submission at 06:55

Rating - *** - They had a few communication issues, but it didn't prevent this from being a real scorcher for the relatively brief time allocation they were given. Every Skater match from the taping has emphasised her growth as a wrestler and this was a perfect way to conclude that four-show arc over the weekend. She's the same goofball heel she's always been, but now she really is an exceptionally tough individual as well. Kana didn't come to mess around and absolutely unloaded on her; pummelling Skater all around the ring with strikes and submissions. But it never felt easy for Kana, or like she was dominating. It felt like she HAD to go full throttle and NEEDED to be in kill mode because that was the only way she was going to keep Kellie down. Even at the end when it felt like Kana was on an unstoppable march to victory, Skater was still showing incredible fighting spirit by no selling suplexes, countering submissions and making desperate attempts to land her own finishers. This is up there as one of Kellie's best SHIMMER matches thus far.

It has been a solid weekend for LuFisto, who has played her part in a couple of fun tag bouts with Kana and scored a singles victory over the New York Knockout. But she hasn't really been a featured performer at the taping and will want to end the weekend with a high quality match and victory against an opponent who has made a lot of new fans over the last few shows. Leon and Ray stole the show at V47, but failed to take the SHIMMER Tag Championships back to Japan with them. Can she end her weekend with a win?

LuFisto forces Leon to the mat early in a knucklelock, but the masked wrestler dropkicks her way free. HEADBUTTS by Fisto! She follows them with a facebuster then a violent running knee right to the face as Leon props herself up in the ropes. Leon literally runs the ropes just to escape the barrage of strikes coming her way from the Canadian, rebounding back to land a missile dropkick. Lion Tamer (Leon Tamer?) applied, looking to exploit LuFisto's historically problematic back to her advantage. She hits more kicks to the back as Lu tries to use the ropes to haul herself back up. Gutbuster/somersault senton combo from LuFisto, then an STF as she defies the damage Leon has looked to inflict to the back. SPEAR in the corner by Leon! But she tries it a second time and Lu dodges, causing Leon to wipe out against the turnbuckles and ringpost. Saito suplex gets 2 and dumps Leon on her neck again...but the Japanese star pops back up to hit a spinning powerslam and another missile dropkick. Spear dodged, into a Tiger suplex by Fisto. Diving Star MISSES! SPEAR! Lu kicks out at 2...so Leon climbs for the MAD SPLASH! Leon wins at 08:26

Rating - *** - Frenetic, fast-paced back-and-forth fun here. Everything you like about these two wrestlers you'll get in abundance out of this match. LuFisto hits hard and tries to drop her opponent on her head a lot, Leon is explosive, exciting and astonishingly quick when taking to the air. I liked that Leon's general target for her offence was the midsection and back (in preparation for the Spear and/or Mad Splash) and that LuFisto largely honed in on Leon's neck or head for her finishing holds too...but really this was just a barrage of smash-mouth offence at breakneck speed (and certainly enjoyable as a result).

The Berwyn fans give Leon a loud 'please come back' chant pretty much as soon as the referee's hand hits the mat to administer the three-count.

This would be a final SHIMMER appearance for Hailey, which is a shame as she's been a great addition to the roster - both in singles and in this new team with Kalamity. They face another new duo on the SHIMMER scene in 'MsEerie'; former SHIMMER Champion MsChif and Christina Von Eerie. CVE is actually winless across the weekend so will be looking to rectify that here.

There's a real last day of school vibe to the pre-match here with everyone goofing off, fans demanding the ref check Christina's mohawk for foreign objects then MsChif poking herself in the eye on CVE's hair. Von Eerie starts and looks to ground the powerhouse Kalamity as they work to an early stalemate. Back to goofing around next as Hailey and MsChif congratulate each other on their mutual love of green wrestling attire...and Hatred accidentally pokes Chif in the same eye that she injured on Christina's hair earlier. They go into a slightly clumsy but well-intentioned chain-wrestling sequence, ending when Hailey slaps a Dragon Clutch on the former SHIMMER Champion. MsChif bites her way free, so Hailey refuses to wrestle a cheater and demands that she tags out. MsChif gives her a thunderous headbutt on the way out though. Von Eerie is caught attempting a springboard crossbody and dumped with a fallaway slam for 2. A DVD into the turnbuckles followed by a sit-out powerbomb gets another nearfall, then Kalamity comes in as well to continue the violent onslaught on the unfortunate CVE. Kalamity blocks an attempted strike and plants her with a Nodowa Otoshi before trying to tap her out with a grounded headscissors. Dead Raising by Christina, allowing her to escape and bring MsChif back into the match. Kalamity blocks the Desecrator into an Anaconda Vice backbreaker, followed by a spinebuster. Hatred tries to help but accidentally socks her own partner with a lariat...then gets wiped out with a TOP ROPE DIVE TO THE FLOOR from Von Eerie! Desecrator from MsChif to Kalamity, giving MsEerie the win at 11:41

Rating - *** - MsChif's more light-hearted style has actually been a lot of fun on SHIMMER undercards this weekend. I found her a frustratingly inconsistent champion, but she is more than equipped enough to hold her own in matches like this where a touch of humour in the early-going gives way to fast-paced spots and big offensive strikes in the closing stages. I particularly enjoyed Hatred and Kalamity's work isolating Christina which felt rather violent at points, and the last few minutes delivered plenty of excitement. 

We cut backstage to Cheerleader Melissa preparing for the main event...where she is jumped by Saraya Knight who repeatedly hits her in the leg with a cane, walking away leaving her screaming in pain.

Two of the absolute stars of the weekend. Athena vs Martinez, Athena vs Matthews and the Hamada/Kurihara vs Leon/Ray Tag Title Match are arguably the definitive matches of the weekend so far so it is fitting these two come together to face each other in what could be another blockbuster contest. Athena is looking to cement her spot at the top of the SHIMMER roster and a singles win over one of the Joshi imports could do just that.

Portia informs us that both of these women have a background in gymnastics, which explains in part the poise and precision with which they stalk the ring in the early minutes. Both women seem happy to work the mat early, where Ray mounts an attack on various limbs at different stages. Athena smartly tries to disrupt that by messing up Ray's mask but just can't escape the clutches of her opponent. Athena keeps trying to engineer situations where she can use a theoretical strength advantage but every time Ray is too fast and skilful to let it happen. Ray hits a handspring elbow then a running Stunner for 2...so Athena hits her own version of the handspring elbow, followed by a cartwheeling double knee drop to the midsection. Finally it starts to break down and elaborate mat sequences are replaced by aggressive striking - and at last Athena can use her power, delivering rolling suplexes to rattle Ray. The Joshi star responds with a cartwheel dropkick, but looks a little bedraggled now and isn't quick enough to hit a 619 before Athena can catch and counter her into an anklelock. Ray counters that to an armbar - and ties the arm in the ropes to inflict more punishment when the Wrestling Goddess grabs it to escape. MISSILE DROPKICK TO THE ARM gets 2! Fujiwara Armbar next from which Athena barely fights out...and this time she is powerless to block the 619. MOONSAULT MISSES for Ray! SPRINGBOARD DDT by Athena, leaving both women down! They get up into a vicious strike battle, and transition to the ropes where Ray lands an Iconoclasm. The masked wrestler climbs the ropes, only to be press slammed back down by Athena for 2. Bridging German suplex...back to the Fujiwara Armbar by Ray! Athena's arm barely hanging on now, but she counters the Candle dropkick into an Alabamaslam leave Ray winded again. O-FACE NAILED! ATHENA WINS! In 16:59 the Wrestling Goddess lands a huge victory!

Rating - **** - This weekend has turned Athena into a must-see attraction on the SHIMMER roster. Her matches with Mercedes Martinez, Nicole Matthews and now Ray are all completely different but all utterly great. I loved how tense and finely balanced this match felt throughout. Ray seemed like she had the edge on Athena early, but it never felt like she was inflicting any real damage and Athena always threatened to use her powerful, explosive offence to take the match away from Ray. But when she seemed on the cusp of doing so, once again Ray landed a counter-strike by injuring the arm and giving herself a pronounced advantage. Athena barely hung on but crucially managed to counter one of Ray's signature offensive moves - as a set-up to hit the devastating O-Face. Finally Athena's power and aggression trumped the speed and technical precision of Ray. What a match, check this out if you can.

Hamada and Kurihara have endured a gruelling schedule at this taping weekend, having defended the Tag Titles on every show. They've survived Hailey Hatred and Kalamity, Leon and Ray, and even the Danger/Bates team that they'll meet again here...but now come into Volume 48 facing their sternest challenge yet. Under elimination rules they now face three dangerous opponents who all want gold for different reasons. The NINJAs have held the belts before and will want to end a weekend where both could've walked away as SHIMMER Champion with some gold. Danger is a SHIMMER original but has never held a championship, whilst also idolising Hamada (and sharing lots of history with Del Rey). The 'Queens Of Winning' are the wildcards. Sara (in her final SHIMMER match) is still the best wrestler in the promotion and the inaugural SHIMMER Champion, but she has been hoodwinked into a somewhat unwilling team with keen newcomer Rush. The Berwyn crowd have loved their odd-couple antics across the weekend. Surely they couldn't complete a remarkable story by beating three more established teams to win the belts?

Regeneration-X are dressed like Batman villains and have plenty of fun before the bell, which the crowd like but doesn't feel completely in keeping with a big championship match vibe. Rush too is a manic ball of energy at the outset and gets everyone to agree to let her start. She is much taller that Ayumi...so the champ boots her in the stomach to get us underway. Those two trade nearfalls in a fast-paced opening sequence (with Sara pleading with Kurihara to tag her so she can fight her own partner!). Danger tags and calls out Del Rey, who accepts the challenge - and is almost instantly pinned when the former champ gets distracted by the fans. The match goes to the canvas where Sara dominates, so Allison shows her experience and quickens the pace; landing a lucha-inspired armdrag to throw Del Rey across the ring. Hamada and Matthews in next; Nicole bombarding the Joshi veteran with big boots but struggling to keep her down. Hamada takes her best shots and lays her out with a spinning heel kick. Bates and Perez are the last two in, with Leva's unorthodox character and tactics throwing Portia completely off her game. She regains focus by dragging Leva into the Ninjas' corner, where they can double-team her and establish some dominance for the first time. Del Rey wants a piece of the action too and joins the Ninjas in their work; almost knocking Bates out with a savage knee strike right to the jaw. Portia in particular relishes taunting Danger by torturing her new partner, given that Portia and Allison contested one of the most bitter rivalries in SHIMMER history. Danger makes a save but is slowed in her progress as the resourceful Nicole Matthews literally grabs her by the hair and drags her away from Perez! Matthews trips Danger to the outside, as in the ring Perez rolls Leva up using the tights and eliminates Regeneration-X at 12:16. Hamada and Kurihara notice that everyone has their back turned and charge the ring to ambush the Ninjas from behind, giving them stereo abdominal stretches. Credit to the Ninjas, who absorb that and happily trade blows with the champions in opposing corners. SUPERPLEX from Nicole to Hamada! MISSILE DROPKICK by Ayumi! Sara tags...into a lungblower by Kurihara! MOONSAULT by Hamada! URINAGE! RUSH MAKES THE SAVE! Ayako tries to save Kurihara...but inadvertently lays her out with a mafia kick! Del Rey shunts Hamada away, bludgeons Ayumi with an axe kick...then a POWERBOMB! Sara eliminates Kurihara at 15:48, meaning we will have new champions crowned! That is a great little moment of payback for Kurihara beating Del Rey a few Volumes ago too. Courtney is almost delirious with excitement, but is ordered back to their corner by the curmudgeonly Del Rey...who then LAYS DOWN and tries to convince Perez to pin her! Rush breaks the pin, and all of a sudden everyone stands in the middle of the ring screaming! 'I don't like you' - Sara to Courtney (which Rush hilariously blames on the Ninjas getting into SDR's head). Courtney blind-tags her way in during the melee...and obliterates Matthews with a Sling Blade for 2. The crowd are absolutely LOVING Courtney at this point and loudly chant for her as the Ninjas team up to beat her down, keeping her trapped in their corner and repeatedly finding ways to illegally choke her. If anything, Sara seems to be intentionally distracting referee Bryce Remsburg so the Ninjas get more time to hurt her own partner! Portia has grown exceptionally confident...and piefaces Del Rey in a moment of hubris. AXE KICK BY SARA! CAPO KICK ON MATTHEWS! The crowd go batsh*t for that! Rush hits a bridging German on Nicole...but Sara breaks the pin and walks out. Perez tries to pin Rush...WHO COUNTERS TO A SMALL PACKAGE! COURTNEY WINS! NEW CHAMPIONS! In 24:50, Courtney Rush and an unwilling Sara Del Rey are the SHIMMER Tag Champions

Rating - **** - I can't think of many matches I've had more fun watching in all 48 Volumes of SHIMMER thus far. There are better wrestling matches of course, but this was just so intensely entertaining and had me hooked for the full 25-minute run-time. The Sara/Courtney narrative was brilliantly executed; the tension and frustration building in their team slowly all the time - but alongside a number of other really fun stories. There were moments where we saw Danger get to show her respect to Hamada - one of her heroes - once again. The feud between Portia and Allison was perfectly referenced, as was the former Dangerous Angels team of Allison and Del Rey. The fact that Sara only noticeably 'bailed' on the match and her partner once she'd avenged her V31 loss to Ayumi was an AWESOME touch of detail too. It all built to a brilliant showdown; the Eagles Club completely behind Rush as she fought not only the dastardly Canadian NINJAs but the efforts of her own partner to thwart her. All four women were excellent - not necessarily with the quality of their wrestling, but in how fantastically they acted and emoted this complex story. This is DEEP into the fourth show of a long taping weekend, but they were getting some of the biggest reactions from this four-show run. Sara Del Rey ends her incredible run in SHIMMER (where she proved beyond question she is one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time) by making Courtney Rush a star, delivering a wonderfully memorable moment. It is a slightly unusual, but brilliant way to leave...

Sara comes back and furiously berates Courtney for winning...then takes both belts and walks out by herself! A fitting end to the 'Queen's time as the Ace of SHIMMER Women Athletes.

So here we are at the match SHIMMER officials 'never wanted to sanction'. As a DVD bonus you can actually see the UK match where Melissa and Knight brawled all over the building. Saraya would sustain a grotesque injury to her knee - sustaining a serious laceration to her knee on a drinks can on the floor reportedly - which Melissa then attacked rather than allowed her to get help. Saraya's career was in jeopardy for some time (Portia and Prazak on commentary even talk about their being a risk that the leg would need to be amputated), but she did make it back to the ring and has spent all weekend paying others off to injure Melissa since SHIMMER wouldn't book a match between them. But after Nicole Matthews, Portia Perez and Jessie McKay all failed, Sweet Saraya finally took matters into her own hand...and officials were left with no choice but to sanction this match. She got a measure of revenge by brutally attacking Melissa's legs with a cane in the locker rooms earlier. Is the SHIMMER Champion in any condition to defend her belt as a result?

Melissa can barely walk and is kicked in the knee again by the challenger as she tries to hobble up the steps to get into the ring. HUGE SLAP by the one-legged champion! It is only momentary relief though because Knight comes back with repeated, precise kicks to the knee which take her down again. Knightmare blocked, so Saraya goes back to kicking at the injury...until she finally can apply the Knightmare. Somehow Cheerleader escapes and lands a back suplex, then grabs a desperate Kondo Clutch merely to keep Saraya at bay. Her complete lack of vertical base makes it easy for Saraya to escape though and she comes back with a Boston crab then an STF to further ravage the injured leg. Melissa needs the ropes just to stand, so Knight smartly starts wrapping her leg in the same ropes to inflict more damage. The way Melissa defends herself in this match is really smart. She can't stand, but can swing her arms so delivers brutal slaps. Then she goes to submissions, looking to buy herself time to recover. And when she finally gets into a position of control she literally mounts Knight and starts BOUNCING HER FACE OFF THE CANVAS! It is simple, but visceral and brilliantly captured by whomever is capturing the footage. But a bad knee means Saraya always has a means to escape...and she's now so angry she sits on top of Melissa and starts relentlessly slapping her. Still Melissa fights to evade the Knightmare, but now she can't even haul herself up using the ropes. ONE-LEGGED SAMOAN DROP! But the champion crawls away from that screaming in pain and clutching her knee. Knight goes low to block a Kudo Driver attempt and KNEES THE BAD LEG to block the Air Raid Crash as well. In one last blast of energy Melissa starts falling into flash pin attempts but can't force victory...and Knight starts striking the leg again. KNIGHTMARE LOCKED IN! WITH THE ROPES FOR EXTRA LEVERAGE! The ref doesn't see it and Melissa taps at 14:56 - we have a new SHIMMER Champion!

Rating - **** - It is fair to say that this match got something of a mixed reception. It certainly wasn't a lusty brawl around the building or a bomb-filled fight like you might typically expect from such heated rivals. But for the story they were looking to tell with this, it was absolutely fantastic. More than a decade has passed since, and time gives you the chance to gain some real perspective - and appreciate the real quality of what we were watching here. It wasn't necessarily exciting but damn they really did execute on the vision for the bout brilliantly. Melissa's selling was phenomenal. When she walked out for her entrance an incredibly theatrical, exaggerated limp I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to keep up that level of performance...but I needn't have worried. She believably sold EVERYTHING here. Not just Saraya working her leg. But even delivering a simple slap to her opponent would leave her doubled over in pain. I don't think she stood un-aided once in the entire match. All of her (limited) offensive bursts in the matches came in stages whereby she'd first need to escape whatever Saraya was doing, then she'd need some kind of wear-down hold just so she had time to recover...before she was even able to think about hurting the challenger. Little by little, Saraya broke down her resistance. It didn't happen in a single blow and there wasn't a significant knock-out strike; she just chipped and niggled away at Melissa's resolve and will to fight. Every time Melissa rallied, expending huge amounts of energy just to stay alive, Saraya would simply get back up and deliver another vicious little kick or nasty little punch to the leg. By the end Melissa couldn't even stand, and having seen the last of her energy reserves depleted going for vain, hopeless pinning attempts, Knight finally picked her off. Having worked for 44 Volumes to finally climb to the top of SHIMMER and win the championship, Melissa has the belt torn away from her in her first taping as champion by her most bitter foe. It is brilliant story-telling, and this match is something of a hidden gem. I really look forward to seeing where this story goes next.

After Saraya taunts her with the belt then leaves, Melissa gets on the mic and says that Knight has now 'unleashed a monster'. She vows to get her title back...then collapses as the show ends.

Tape Rating - **** - This is my favourite DVD from this taping. From top to bottom it is a consistent card (even the filler matches from the newer talent at the bottom of the card are all pretty decent on V48), but it is the top three matches that make this show - and they are all must-see. Athena/Ray is a spectacular, athletic and thoroughly modern wrestling match which still stands out as pretty groundbreaking eleven years later, the Tag Title four-way is one of the most entertaining/feel-good matches from SHIMMER's entire run, and the main event sees a new SHIMMER Champion crowned in a sad, ruthless, vindictive manner which I think is much easier to appreciate and respect all these years later. Prazak's booking and SHIMMER as a promotion are at their very best when he tells these condensed stories across a weekend or series of tapings, and the way he developed the Melissa/Saraya angle across the V45-48 weekend was really enjoyable, with a finish which completely makes sense and leaves a LOT more story to tell with those two women when we reconvene later in the year. There might be better individual matches from other shows at this taping, but this has a strong card and ends with three consecutive (and quite unique) bangers. Nothing here touches Athena vs Martinez (V45) or Hamada/Kurihara vs Leon/Ray (V47) if you're only looking to dig into individual matches, but is testament to the relentless quality of SHIMMER Women Athletes that they continue to deliver high level matches that make almost every show a worthwhile use of your time. I cannot speak highly enough of this promotion...

3) Cheerleader Melissa vs Saraya Knight (****)

2) Athena vs Ray (****)

1) Ayako Hamada/Ayumi Kurihara vs Regeneration-X vs Canadian NINJAs vs Sara Del Rey/Courtney Rush (****)