100 Percent Fordified: SHINE 1

Ybor City, FL – 7.20.2012

Commentary is provided by Lenny Leonard.

Christina Von Eerie says tonight is the first time she will ever be in the ring with Cherry Bomb. She knows Cherry has traveled all over the world, but so has she. She can’t wait to see what comes of their match tonight. Mercedes Martinez says she has brushed up on her geek culture just so she can be ready to tangle with Leva Bates later tonight. Leva dives into the shot dressed in a Spiderman outfit, then bails. Martinez is not deterred.

Kimberly vs. Veda Scott

Scott hooks Kimberly’s arm on the mat. Kimberly bridges back to pin Scott’s shoulders, forcing Scott to release the hold. Kimberly takes her over in a side headlock. She turns it into a half crab until Scott grabs the bottom rope. Scott throws some kicks and gets two with a basement dropkick. Kimberly gives her a side Russian leg sweep. She transitions into a hammerlock, rolling Scott up for a two count. She snapmares Scott into a crucifix pin. Scott comes off the second rope with a clothesline for two. Kimberly boots her in the stomach and cradles her for another two count. Scott turns Kimberly’s bodyscissors into her own parachute stretch. Kimberly reverses it. Scott charges Kimberly a few times in the corner after escaping the hold. She crossbody’s off the second rope. Kimberly rolls through and throws a flurry of punches at Scott’s head. She gets in a fight with the referee regarding closed fists. Scott gives her the Mind Trip for the pin at 7:13. I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of Scott in AIW and liked what I saw of her too. I had never seen Kimberly before but she stands out with her MMA type offense. Some awkwardness aside this was a good opener. **1/4

Tina San Antonio vs. Santana

Santana blocks a charging San Antonio with a roll-up. San Antonio trips her into a front chancery. Santana armdrags her out of the corner. She tries a cartwheel elbow but gets kicked in the back on her way in. San Antonio brings her off the second rope with a backbreaker. Santana tries a sunset flip. San Antonio holds on the ropes and stomps her in the mid-section. She puts Santana in a pendulum stretch and drops her stomach first into the mat. She picks up Santana by her hair but Santana stops her with a chinbreaker. She gets two with a Side Russian legsweep. She successfully pulls off the cartwheel elbow in the corner. She tries a handspring moonsault but San Antonio gets her knees up. San Antonio sets Santana up for the TSA. Santana counters with a modified Ranhei for the pin at 5:29. There were definitely some awkward spots but they ended up making everything come together in the end. *1/2

Allysin Kay & Taylor Made vs. Su Yung & Tracy Taylor

Made backs Taylor to the corner and slaps her in the face. Taylor aggressively grabs a side headlock in retaliation. Yung tags in and rolls Made up for two. She shakes Made in a full nelson. Taylor tags back in and reapplied the sidehadlock. Made pushes her to the corner so Kay can tag in. Taylor grabs Kay in a wristlock. Yung comes off the top rope with a double axe handle. She gives Kay a Japanese armdrag and Taylor puts her in a modified surfboard. Made runs in and gets thrown down in an armdrag. Yung dropkicks Made to the floor. She tries a suicide dive but Kay cuts her off with an elbow strike. Kay slams her back first into the ring post while Made distracts the referee. Yung gets worn down in the Rudo corner for a long while. She finally tags out upon giving Kay a chinbreaker. Taylor neutralizes both opponents with dropkicks. She throws a flurry of elbows at Kay. She catches her with a powerslam for two. Young gets two also with a missile dropkick. Made and Kay give her a sloppy wheelbarrow/stunner combo for the pin at 13:30. I bet that tandem finisher is awesome when pulled off correctly. I really liked what everyone had to offer, especially Taylor. Kay and Made have a lot of personality and have the opportunity to stand out in SHINE. The botched finish shaves off points but the wrestling overall was quite good. **3/4

Daffney interviews Kay and Made in the aisleway. They call the crowd a bunch of losers and talk about how they are a match made in sin.

Cherry Bomb vs. Christina Von Eerie

After initially looking for control on the mat, both women hug after reaching a stalemate. Von Eerie breaks a waistlock and knees Bomb in the mid-section. Bomb snapmares her into a basement dropkick. Von Eerie ducks a kick. They each get a nearfall. Von Eerie ducks a yakuza kick. She tries jumping off the second rope but trips and lands on her knee. Bomb drop toe holds her onto the bottom rope and dropkicks her from the floor. In the ring Von Eerie breaks out of a side headlock. She dropkicks Bomb to the second rope for two. They exchange chops in the corner. Von Eerie gets two with an enzuigiri. She puts Bomb in a bow and arrow. Bomb rolls out and kicks Von Eerie in the chest. A missile dropkick follows. Von Eerie O’Conner rolls her for two. Bomb wants an ankle lock. Von Eerie tries blocking it with a headscissors but Bomb is avail to evade that. She then puts Von Eerie in “Anger is Beauty”, her version of the Cattle Mutilation. Von Eerie makes it to the ropes to escape. She kicks Bomb away and heads up top. She hops over Bomb who tries to throw her down. She hits the 138 (a reverse slam) for the pin at 8:04. That was just getting going when it ended. Nonetheless they both fought hard and put on something pretty engaging for the time they were given. **3/4

Reby Sky vs. Jayme Jameson

Jameson arrogantly pats Sky across the face after bringing her to the corner. Sky throws some forearms and hits a dropkick. Jameson begs off in the corner. Sky kicks her in the stomach and delivers an axe kick. She legdrops the back of Jameson’s head for two. Jameson hooks Sky’s arm and rams her shoulder into it. Sky blocks a hip toss and leg drops Jameson into the canvas. Jameson backs Sky to the corner to block the Twist of Fate. She catches Sky’s crossbody attempt and delivers a fallaway slam. She misses an elbow drop due to showboating for too long. Sky I unable to lift her up for a slam. Jameson throws forearms at her back. She stretches Sky’s back across one of the ring posts too. A few rolling suplexes can’t put Sky away, so Jameson puts on a Camel Clutch. Sky uses a chinbreaker to escape. She comes back with a flurry of offense, including a spinwheel kick in the corner. She brings Jameson out with a bulldog for two. Jameson goes for a slam. Sky slips out and gives her a reverse DDT. Jameson backslides her. When that fails, she spins her out in a slam called the Double D drop. Sky comes back with the Twist of Fate for the pin at 9:12. I was never a detractor of Sky, but I would be lying if I said I expected a lot out of her. I was quite impressed with how proficient she ended up being. Jameson was fine but at times did not seem to be cooperating (unintentionally of course). Not a bad effort at all. **1/2

Lenny Leonard comes to the ring. On behalf of Ring Belles and Diva Dirt, he and Daffney present one of the 2012 Legacy Awards to Jazz. Jazz is thanking the fans for the honor when Mercedes Martinez comes out. She tells Jazz to get the back because now it is her time to shine. Daffney keeps Jazz from attacking and helps her out of the ring.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Leva Bates

Bates is wrestling in her Spider Man outfit. She gets in a tree of woe to be checked by the referee. Martinez dropkicks her while she’s upside down. She lights Bates up with repeated strikes in opposing corners. Bates hops over her. She lands a Japanese armdrags and a headscissors. She huracanrana’s Martinez to the corner. Martinez throws Bates onto her chest and stomach. Bates recovers on the floor. She ascends to the top rope and shoots webbing into Martinez’s face. She then comes in with a missile dropkick. Her web shooter malfunctions allowing Martinez to get in a big boot. She boots Bates in the corner. Bates shoots more webbing which makes Martinez angry. She chokes Bates on the middle rope. Bates comes back with a Shiranui for two. She tries a bodyscissors which Martinez counters into a German suplex. She chokes Bates in the air before slamming her down. Martinez brings Bates to the top rope. Bates brings Martinez down with a sunset bomb. She double stomps Martinez in the back for two. Martinez blocks her superkick. A huge spinebuster and a fisherwoman’s buster give Martinez the win at 8:09. Martinez is so awesome in the alpha female role. Her bullying the geeky girl was the best way possible for her to portray her personality right off the bat. Bates is a terrific underdog too and helped make everything come together. ***

Nikki Roxx vs. Rain

Roxx tries a few different pinning variations right away. She grabs a front facelock when that plan does not work. Rain uses a chinbreaker to escape and puts on a side headlock. She throws some elbows at Roxx’s neck. After some punches and forearms in the corner she goes for a hip toss. Roxx reverses it and slams Rain. She rolls to the floor before Roxx can go for a cover. Roxx tries pulling her back in by her hair. Rain catches her with a neckbreaker in the ropes. She puts on a cravate and sends Roxx throat first into the ropes. An axe kick to the forehead leads to a Camel Clutch. Roxx powers up and drives Rain into the corner. Rain boots her back down for two. She mockingly chops Roxx’s chest up while she has her in an abdominal stretch. She turns that into a Japanese strangle hold after poking Roxx in the eyes. She gets two with a back cracker. Roxx shoves Rain to the corner to break a cravate and tosses her overhead with a slam. She punches Rain ten times in the corner and boots her down for two. Roxx heads up top. Rain throws her down for a two count. Roxx comes back with a Black Tornado Slam. Rain kicks out. She also kicks out of a boot. Rain then rakes Roxx’s eyes and rolls her up while holding the tights for the pin at 15:18. That went on a little long, but the wrestling was really good up until the finish. ***

Daffney questions Rain in the aisle about the way she went about winning the match. All she says is that she made an example of Nikki Roxx and plans to make an example of many others as well. Roxx attacks and the two women fight backstage.

We get a clip from “EVOLVE 14” where Sara Del Rey defeated Santana Garrett in a SHINE Preview match. Sara was not impressed with Santana and that night demanded the best competition for the debut SHINE show. With that, she challenged Jazz to a match. Jazz accepted the challenge, bringing us to our main event. You can watch this video here.

Sara Del Rey vs. Jazz

They opening lock-up brings them to the corner. Sara pie faces Jazz and Jazz shoves her down. Jazz brings her down in a side headlock. Sara turns it into a headscissors. Jazz turns that into a modified sharpshooter. Sara crawls to the ropes to escape. Jazz puts on a front facelock which Sara also escapes. Jazz throws crossfaces at Sara while she has her in a Camel Clutch. Sara kicks out of her pin attempt. Sara throws some kicks at her mid-section. She gutwrenches Jazz up into a suplex. Jazz suplexes Sara into a pin. Sara claws her face and shoves her down. She chokes Jazz on the ropes. Jazz comes back with kicks to the ribs and a legdrop. She slams Sara’s chest into the ring apron multiple times. Back in the ring she sits down onto Sara’s chest and stomach. Sara tries for the Royal Butterfly. Jazz shoves Sara to the corner and drives her shoulder into the mid-section a few times. Sara whips Jazz across the ring and follows with the Koppu Kick. Sara gets in a few headbutts before whipping Jazz to the corner. Jazz catches her coming in with a big uppercut. Jazz throws some jabs and a haymaker for two. She strings together three consecutive butterfly suplexes. Sara gets her foot on the ropes to break the pin. Sara rolls Jazz into a cross armbreaker. Jazz gets her feet on the ropes, but Sara throws a few kicks to get her feet down and reapplies the hold. Sara is forced to release upon Jazz getting the ropes the second time around. She throws a crescent kick to Jazz’s head and brings her down into a Fujiwara armbar. Jazz gets the ropes again. Sara works over the arm a little more before delivering a Northern Lights suplex. Jazz kicks out. Sara puts on the Royal Butterfly. Sara suplexes her out of that. Jazz kicks out which Sara cannot believe. Jazz blocks an oncoming boot. She dragonscrews Sara into an STF. Sara struggles to make it to the ropes but eventually does make it. She pulls Sara away and reapplies the hold. Once again Sara makes it to the ropes. She throws Jazz face first into the second turnbuckle. Jazz comes back with the Jazz Stinger (an X-Factor) for the win at 21:28. These two showed that they are in fact two of the best women’s wrestlers on the scene. They did a beautiful job picking each other apart (Sara with the arm and Jazz with the mid-section), building drama and having the work pay off in the end. There was no better choice to cap off SHINE’s debut show and they did not disappoint. ***3/4

Su Yung and Tracy Taylor are backstage. Yung is disappointed in their loss. She wanted to make a statement on the first show. Taylor to say they will make it work next time and that the fans have yet to see the best of them. Christina Von Eerie and Cherry Bomb are checking up on each other after their match. They’re still chummy even though they hurt each other. Allysin Kay says that her and Taylor Made plan to do a lot more damage when they return to the Orpheum at SHINE 2 next month. Made says nobody stands a chance against them. Jazz thinks what Mercedes Martinez did earlier tonight was rude. She tells Martinez to come get some next month.

The 411: I think the first show, despite a fairly uneven under card, shows a lot of promise. The roster by and large has really good competitors who are either capable of putting on good matches or show promises of getting there. Really this show more served to get over characters and position who is one what side of the ledger. Sara and Jazz had a kick ass main event to really set the show over the edge. I wouldn’t say that the show in and of itself was something totally worth going out of your way to see, but I do think this set the table for the future of the company which looks very promising. On it’s own it’s a thumbs in the middle. You can pick up this DVD from EVOLVE's store or watch the show On Demand from WWN Live. You can check out all of my EVOLVE, DGUSA, ROH, and other non-CHIKARA reviews over at the 100% Fordified blog.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]