BG Says: SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 8

Dave Prazak and Allison Danger provide commentary for this DVD. Has anyone else ever noticed that Prazak, and for that matter many wrestling commentators, talk in Yoga back speak. Why call it “the arm of Danger” when it’s “Allison Danger’s arm,” or why say “admonishing Malia Hosaka is the referee” instead of saying “the referee is admonishing Hosaka,” you know? That’s just a new pet peeve of mine.

Sara Del Rey starts us off by pointing out that Martinez lost the tag match for them back at Volume 6. Martinez challenged her to a match tonight, so Del Rey is going to bring it to her.

VS.
Lee hits a clothesline in the corner to start. Fyfe blocks a back elbow with a kick to the back. She works over Lee’s leg but Lee comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Fyfe puts on a choke but has to break. She chops at Lee’s stomach and slams her to the mat by her hair. She stands on Lee’s hair and rolls her face-first into the turnbuckle. Lee counters a surfboard to a roll up for 2. She puts on an armbar but Fyfe goes to the eyes to escape. She slams Lee’s face to the mat for 2. Lee knocks Fyfe down with weak chops for 2. She hits a side Russian legsweep but Fyfe gets her knees up on a standing moonsault attempt. Fyfe hits the Attitude Adjuster for the win at 6:23. I haven’t seen anything special about either of these ladies yet.
Rating: *

VS.
They lock up and Rogers gets a front facelock. Deeb gets a roll up for 1. Rogers shows a bit of a devious side by not giving Deeb a clean break. Deeb hits a series of armdrags and gets a roll up for 2. Rogers gets a crucifix hold but Deeb gets to the ropes. Deeb hits a pair of monkey flips but misses a kneedrop. Rogers goes after the knee and Danger unfairly bashes her for doing so on commentary. I hate biased babyface commentators. Rogers puts on a modified cloverleaf but Deeb rolls it over. Rogers gets to the ropes. She attacks Deeb’s leg again and stretches her out. Deeb turns it into a roll up for 2. Rogers goes back to the leg but lets her own shoulders go down for 2. Rogers wraps Deeb’s leg around the middle rope and kicks away at it. Deeb comes back with a kneelift and a back elbow. Rogers puts on the TCB for the win at 8:13. Well, the entire match was focused on the leg and the TCB doesn’t touch the leg. That makes me feel like I wasted my time watching the match. After the match Rogers stomps on Deeb’s knee. Allison Danger gets upset about it on commentary, but can’t think about it now because she has a match right now.
Rating: *¾

Cheerleader Melissa is backstage lacing up her boots (while wearing a green outfit) when MsChif comes up to her and throws her some of the chains she likes to wear. Melissa asks MsChif if she thinks the matching outfits will work, but MsChif doesn’t respond. I’m not a huge fan of the “blood feud turns into a tag team” angle, but I’ll give this one a chance.

VS.
They knuckle up and LuFisto goes after the arm. She puts Danger on the mat with a headlock but Danger counters to the head scissors. LuFisto escapes and kicks Danger hard in the face. She hits a side Russian legsweep and puts Danger in an armbar. Danger hits a drop toehold onto the bottom rope and hits the Curb Kick. She rips a bandage off of LuFisto’s back and puts on a camel clutch after messing with the wound. What a hypocrite. She hits a double stomp to the back for 2. She hits a pair of vertical suplexes for 2. LuFisto gets frustrated and mounts Danger to hit some punches. She hits a fisherman suplex and puts on a grapevined anklelock. Danger comes back with a facebuster for 2. She hits a neckbreaker and puts on a full nelson. She scrapes LuFisto’s wound, prompting LuFisto to kick her down. LuFisto puts on the leggy nelson and floats into a cross armbreaker. Danger gets to the ropes. LuFisto hits a pair of running forearms and a boot to the face. She puts on a chinlock and hits a weird looking spear. She puts on a double underhook with body scissors but Danger fights out. Danger kicks the back, prompting reprisal from LuFisto. They continue to trade kicks to the back, which is sooooo 2002. LuFisto hits a northern lights suplex for 2. She puts on a choke and Danger taps out at 13:39. Danger is just the worst kind of babyface, preaching fair play and accosting tweeners for not using it and then wrestling like a heel herself. The match never really got out of first gear, and LuFisto was a bit off of her game. The finish also kind of came out of nowhere.
Rating: **

VS.
Josie grabs a headlock to start but O’Neal gets to the ropes. She puts on a wristlock but O’Neal gets to the ropes again. She puts on a hammerlock but O’Neal counters to the head scissors. Josie gets an armbar so O’Neal goes to the eyes to escape. She kicks the back for 2. The match loses my attention as O’Neal keeps control by putting her hands on Josie’s jaw. She hits a weak clothesline in the corner but Josie comes back with a lung blower off the second rope for 2. O’Neal goes to the eyes again and puts on a camel clutch. Josie regains control with clothes lines and elbows. She hits the Blockbuster for 2. O’Neal hits a legsweep for 2. They trade chops but O’Neal doesn’t seem to know how to sell. Josie hits the X-Factor for 2. O’Neal hits the ugliest STO ever for the win at 10:31. They never even got close to putting something interesting together here. If the finish was supposed to be a slap in the face to Allison Danger the commentators sure don’t put it over as such.
Rating: *½

Cindy Rogers brags about beating Serena Deeb backstage. Allison Danger approaches her and asks her why she used shady tactics. Rogers is just doing what she has to do to move up the roster. Danger won’t accept that and tells her to do it the right way. I smell a feud a brewin’.

VS.
Roxx kicks the match off with a wristlock. Hosaka slams her to the mat by her hair but Roxx comes back with a hiptoss for 2. Hosaka goes after the arm but Roxx comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Hosaka rakes her eyes across the top rope and tosses her across the ring by her hair. Roxx slams Hosaka out of the corner for 2. Hosaka goes back to the arm and hits a roundhouse kick. She hits a snap suplex for 2. She puts on a camel clutch but Roxx powers out. Roxx puts on a guillotine but Hosaka bites the arm to escape. Hosaka puts on a nerve hold but Roxx escapes and gets a drop toehold for 2. Hosaka puts on the body scissors and rolls Roxx around the ring. Roxx counters to the Kayak and then punts Hosaka’s ribs. She puts on a Boston crab but Hosaka powers out. They hit simultaneous clotheslines and take a little rest. Roxx counters a hurricanrana to a powerbomb for the win out of nowhere at 11:21. A tighter match than the previous ones, but that finish was really abrupt and felt totally tacked on.
Rating: **

VS.
Neidhart puts Ariel on the mat with an armbar to start. She tosses Ariel around the ring with chain moves and pins her for 2. She gets a headlock takedown but Ariel escapes and puts on the head scissors. Neidhart puts on an armbar but Ariel gets to the ropes. Neidhart gets a roll up for 2. Ariel hits a clothesline and a back elbow. She hits a dropkick and Neidhart bails. Ariel chases her around ringside so Neidhart jumps into the referee’s arms back in the ring. Ungraceful as he is referee Brian Gorie drops Neidhart on her rear. Neidhart slams Ariel to the mat by her hair. She hits a snap suplex and chokes Ariel behind the referee’s back. Ariel blocks the Sharpshooter but gets hit with a clothesline. It gets 2 for Neidhart. She hits a knee to the gut but Ariel comes back with a roll up for 2. She gets another for 2. Neidhart hits a Michinoku Driver for 2. She puts on a chinlock but Ariel fights out and hits a basement dropkick for 2. She counters a bodyslam to a roll up for 2. Neidhart hits a snap suplex for 2. Ariel blocks a blind charge and hits a swinging DDT. She opens up with strikes and puts Neidhart down with a pair of clotheslines. She hits a bodyslam for 2. She hits a northern lights suplex for 2. She hits a snap suplex for 2. Neidhart counters the Dariel to a German suplex and puts on the Sharpshooter for the win at 14:31. Much more interesting than the previous matches, with a solid little story and tighter action. That’s the last we’d see of Nattie before she signed with WWE.
Rating: **¾

VS.
Haze is coming off being the first victim of Cheerleader Melissa’s Kudo Driver. Ringer tries to avoid Haze in the early going. Haze armdrags Ringer out of the ring and hits more armdrags when Ringer gets back inside. She gets a roll up for 2. Ringer hits a crescent kick and a spinebuster for 2. Impressive. She hits an elbowdrop for 2. She hits a backbreaker for 2. She bites Haze in the corner and hits a running kick to the chest for 2. She hits a knee to the gut and a snapmare for 2. Haze gets a roll up for 2. She gets a jackknife pin for 2. Ringer hits a clothesline for 2. She puts on a chinlock chicken wing and slams Haze to the mat. Haze gets a series of desperate roll ups for 2. She gets a crucifix pin for 2. Ringer hits a big boot to the chest and chokes away. Haze dodges a running knee and Ringer gets crotched on the second rope. Haze rolls her up for 2. Ringer hits a pair of elbowdrops and a legdrop for 2. Haze hits a pair of clotheslines and a pair of back elbows. She hits a head scissors takedown and a dropkick in the corner. She hits a basement dropkick in the corner for 2. Ringer puts on a standing full nelson and then slams Haze to the mat on her face. She hits some mounted punches but Haze counters the South Palm Beach Driver to a sunset flip for 2. Haze hits the uranage and slugs away until the referee pulls her off. Ringer crotches Haze on the top rope but Haze counters the South Palm Beach Driver to the heart punch and hits a dropkick to the side of the head for the win at 13:53. Solid if unfocused match, but it picked up enough at the end to make it the best match of the night so far.
Rating: ***

A clip from Volume 7 is shown. In this clip Cheerleader Melissa comes out to the ring during MsChif’s match against Rain, seemingly to distract MsChif. The commentators remind us that MsChif and Melissa had their blow off match on Volume 6. Lacey knocks Melissa down on her way to help Rain cheat. Rain gets disqualified and Melissa is pissed. Later on the in the evening Lacey and Rain beat up Melissa until MsChif made the save. The Minnesota Home-Wrecking Crew managed to unite enemies Melissa and MsChif and lose a match by disqualification at the same time. Volume 7 wasn’t a particularly intelligent evening for Lacey and Rain.

VS.
MsChif and Melissa have their matching outfits on, I guess as a way of intimidating their opponents. Rain and MsChif start. MsChif makes the mistake of turning her back and Rain attacks her. MsChif screams and Rain bails. Back in the ring MsChif gets a roll up for 2. Melissa and Lacey tag in and trade slaps. Melissa puts on a leglock and MsChif keeps Lacey from getting to the ropes. MsChif tags in so Lacey goes to the eyes. Rain tags in and hits a neckbreaker after a cheap shot from Lacey. It gets 2. Lacey tags in and kicks the back for 2. Rain tags in and they ram MsChif into the turnbuckle. Rain dropkicks MsChif’s back for 2. Lacey tags in and hits a drop toehold so that Rain can hit an elbowdrop for 2. Lacey puts on a reverse bow and arrow and hits an elbowdrop. Rain tags in and stretches MsChif out. MsChif gets a sunset flip for 2. They trade roll ups until Rain starts kicking MsChif around. Lacey tags in and the Crew hit a double legsweep for 2. She crotches MsChif around the post and Rain hits a dropkick to the face for 2. Rain knees MsChif’s head and tags to Lacey. MsChif finally makes the tag but the referee misses it and won’t allow it. Lacey hits a knee in the corner but MsChif catches Rain with a DVD off the second rope for 2. Melissa makes the tag for real and cleans house. She hits the Curb Stomp on Lacey for 2. MsChif and Melissa go for stereo roll ups but the referee won’t allow it. Well that was a waste of time. Lacey hits a lung blower on Melissa for 2. Melissa comes back with a back suplex for 2. MsChif tags in and hits the Obliteration off the second rope for 2. Rain runs in and hits the Raindrop for 2. Melissa hits the Air Raid Crash on Rain. Lacey rolls MsChif up for 2. The mist misses Rain and the Crew hit a double-team Tomikaze for 2. Lacey hits the implant DDT on MsChif for the win moments later at 15:06. The heat segment on MsChif went on so long that I started to lose interest, but there was an action packed final sequence. Rain really needs to up her game, as she’s noticeably a step beneath the rest of these ladies. Unlike Mercedes Martinez and Sara Del Rey, Melissa and MsChif keep cool heads with each other after the match.
Rating: **¾

Clips from the Martinez/Del Rey matches from Volume 1 and Volume 5 are shown. After Del Rey’s win at Volume 5 they teamed up to take on the Minnesota Home-Wrecking Crew on Volume 6 and lost, causing Martinez to challenge Sara to this match.

VS.
Martinez attacks Del Rey on her way to the ring. Del Rey whips Martinez into the barricade as Danger makes it all about herself on commentary. In the ring the match proper starts with a knee to the gut from Martinez. Del Rey boots Martinez off the apron and follows her to the floor with a somersault dive. Back in the ring Del Rey puts on a surfboard stretch. She hits a catapult but Martinez comes back with crossface forearms. She puts on a chinlock but Del Rey comes back with a pair of armbreakers. She goes for a cross armbreaker but Martinez gets to the ropes. Del Rey hits another armbreaker and puts on an armbar. They slug it out and then fight to the mat. Del Rey unloads with forearms but Martinez comes back with a Mexican chinlock. Del Rey boots Martinez down and puts on a cravat. She hits knees to the face and suplexes her with the cravat for 2. Martinez counters a powerbomb to a sunset flip for 2. She hits a superkick as Prazak announces that SHIMMER will be crowning a champion in 2007. Martinez brings Del Rey off the top rope with a German suplex. Del Rey bails so Martinez follows her out with a suicide dive. She rams Del Rey into the barricade and kicks at her midsection. She drops her neck on the barricade and gets 2 back in the ring. Del Rey puts on a modified STF but Martinez bites her to escape. Martinez hits a spinebuster for 2. She hits a DDT and climbs the ropes. Del Rey cuts her off and brings her down with a fall away slam. Martinez comes back with forearms and counters a powerbomb to a butt splash. She hits a running knee and a spinebuster for 2. Del Rey comes back with a T-bone suplex. She finally hits the powerbomb for 2. Martinez goes low (?) when Del Rey goes for the Royal Butterfly and gets a roll up for 2. She hits four side suplexes for the win at 18:50. Martinez now has the distinction of being the first woman to beat Sara Del Rey in singles competition. The match was every bit as good as their first match back on Volume 1, putting it on par with the best matches in the company’s history.
Rating: ***½

VS. [Bonus Match – Available at SHIMMERWrestling.com]
No commentary for this match. Lee opens up with armdrags but Del Rey comes back with a butt butt. Lee hits a backflip into a back elbow for 2. Sara hits a back elbow and a backbreaker. She holds on and hits a gutbuster for 2. Lee gets a sunset flip for 2. She gets a roll up for 2. Sara comes back with the Royal Butterfly for the win at 2:19. Too short to be worth anything.
Rating: ¼*

The 411:  The main event is great and the matches that immediately precede it are also very good. The problem is that the first half of the show is very tough to get through. I’ll give this a recommendation based on the quality of the main event and a solid Ringer/Haze match, which is more than many of the previous SHIMMER DVDs could boast.
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]