SHIMMER VOL. 1

This is my first time to experience a SHIMMER DVD. I should probably warn you when I do a review, it is kind of a stream-of-consciousness thing. I don’t do recaps. I just kind of give my thoughts on one match at a time. I also find out who these gals are as I go.

1. Shantelle Taylor vs. Tiana Ringer

There was a great opener on the card. There was a lot of back-and-forth. I’ve never seen a women’s match like this before. Not only was this an impressive match, but this was women doing this. I would have been blown away if there were men wrestling in this match. Shantelle Taylor is not only extremely gorgeous, but she is a great athlete and had a great match. I am entirely blown away.

2. Team Blondage (Krissy Vaine & Amber O’Neal) vs. Cindy Rogers & Nikki Roxx

I liked the Team Blondage gimmick. They just need to never be given mics. Best I can figure out what Blondage was the comedy match of the night. I really like the story that they told. As the match went on, it went into more of a serious tag team match.

3. Ariel vs. Rain

I know that Lacey and Rain were the cornerstone of the American Women indies scene a few centuries ago. So this was not my first time to see Rain. I remember once watching an IWA-Mid South match where they both got felt up by Joel Gertner. It’s amazing to see how far women’s wrestling has come in 10 years. Forgive me for saying so, but the female ref is cute. This was a very solid match. Rain plays the heel very well. Ariel gave her a killer DDT and Rain sold it like a decapitation. Rain dominated most of the match, but Ariel walked away with an out-of-nowhere win.

4. Lexie Fyfe vs. Christie Ricci

Fyfe is kind of a muscular sight to behold. Ricci is dressed in red with a great smile trying to get the crowd into it. This crowd was pretty dead throughout the whole night. It made me a little disappointed for the ladies. They worked really hard in this match. And this crowd gave back very little. It looks like they built Fyfe up to be a monster. And Ricci didn’t need the win as she has enough natural charisma to get over with the crowd.

5. Cheerleader Melissa vs. MsChif

Cheerleader Melissa did not look like a cheerleader. I saw MsChif once before on a Ring of Honor iPPV. I really like Chif’s ring style. She is very serpent-like. The crowd got into a really funky looking Texas Cloverleaf where Melissa bent MsChif’s all kinds of ways. Then Chif did a Camel Clutch from a bridge, like an upside down Camel Clutch. I’ve never seen anything like this before from wrestlers, much less female wrestlers. This was such an awesome match. MsChif walked away with the win.

6. Allison Danger vs. Beth Phoenix

Of course I’ve been in love with Allison Danger since the first time I saw her. And Beth Phoenix is the top of the women’s division in North America. The two utilized their strengths very well. Phoenix used her power very well. She used a knife edge chop that probably still hurts Danger. Danger bumped and sold like crazy. She was a human ragdoll. Danger beat her out of nowhere with a roll-up. Good match.

7. Sara Del Rey vs. Mercedes Martinez

I have seen Sara Del Rey before and she has all my love and respect. We had some intense forearms and chops. The drama was really good. The thing about Sara Del Rey is that she looks like she’s going to kill you. The crowd seemed to get into this one. Sara Del Rey has such passion in her face. You can just see so much love for what she does. And it went to a 20-minute time limit. So intense, so brilliant.

8. Lacey vs. Daizee Haze

When my Baby Girl is older and would rather watch something else other than Dora, we’re going to watch a lot of SHIMMER. Haze is such a good natural face. Lacey was very good heel, very engaging with the crowd. This was a very good match filled with a lot of near-falls. It was a great main event and you could tell that things were changed with this match.

Have you ever watched a wrestling event where you knew your outlook on wrestling changed? There was a really intense WCW Nitro match between Savage and Flair where I was on the edge of my seat, not knowing who was going to win. ECW Hardcore Heaven ’97 was my first ECW Pay-Per-View. And not that there were any epic matches on that show, I knew I was hooked. The first time I ever saw CZW was a moment that completely blew me away. My first Ring of Honor tape (Yes, I said tape) had the epic match between Low-Ki, Christopher Daniels & Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan as he’s known now). And then there was AIW’s Absolution 6 where I saw my first Gregory Iron match. And now there is this SHIMMER DVD where I watched my first all-women’s wrestling match.

I know the WWE Women’s Division is a ridiculous joke. This is a place where women can wrestle and not have to worry about busted implants. The action was ridiculously awesome. The commentary was strong and respectful. This was a great, great card and worth watching if you have never seen it before.

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