Views from the Hawke’s Nest: SHIMMER Athletes Volume 38 Review

This is my first SHIMMER DVD, so let me offer my apologies in advance for screwing up any basic knowledge of the product.

Courtney Rush vs. Daizee Haze: Haze had a lot of heat with the crowd during the intros…Dave Prazak says on commentary that this is Rush’s second Shimmer appearance…after Rush started the match with a flurry of offense, Haze hurt Rush’s arm and worked it over for a while…While Haze argued with the ref, Rush had a quick comeback…Haze almost immediately cut her off with a Heart Punch and a Mind Trip: 1…2…3-NO!!!!!!!!…crowd was shocked by that…ROLL UP BY RUSH: 1…2…NO…Tiger Suplex by Da Haze: 1…2…3…a solid opener to the show…Haze may have definitively won but Rush made an impact on the fans by kicking out of the Mind Trip…Haze is in full-blown heel character here
Match Rating: **1/2

Jessica James vs. Tomoka Nakagawa: Tomoka was disliked by the fans…James seemed to be doing the “Mickie James Hyper and Bouncy Gimmick”…James sent Tomoka to the outside after a nice hurricanranna…Tomoka stalled outside, which lured James to the ropes where Tomoka injured her leg…Tomoka started getting the heat after that…Tomoka locked in a Calgary Crab with a headlock, but James rolled her up: 1…2…NO!…James came back with another hurricanranna, a kick to the head, and a Muta Lock variation…they then did sloppy roll up near falls…Tomoka then hit a nice step up Enzugiri and a bridging fisherman buster for the win…the match was more fun and energetic than the opener but there were some sloppier moments
Match Rating: **3/4

Tomoka then taunted James for losing…Daizee Haze came out and said that she and Tomoka are reuniting as a tag team, because they are winners…Haze’s abdominals are awesome by the way

Regeneration X (Allison Danger & Leva Bates) vs. Nikki Roxx & Ariel: Bates was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, which automatically wins her points from me…Leva and Danger were very over with the crowd…Roxx and Ariel were in control for most of the beginning, but Bates and Danger did some shenanigans to stay in the match…Danger and Bates went for stereo wheel-barrel roll ups but they were both reversed to give Roxx and Ariel the win…not a ton of action but the crowd interactions and comedy were fun
Match Rating: **

Christina Von Eerie vs. Sara Del Rey: This was a rematch from Volume 37, which Von Eerie won by countout when Del Rey crashed into a barricade at the count of ‘9’…that was Von Eerie’s debut in SHIMMER…Del Rey attacked Von Eerie after that match, which started a brawl that the referees tried to split up…Von Eerie has the best mohawk in wrestling…this match was taped in front of the same crowd as Vol. 37, so the crowd should be pretty into the match…Von Eerie almost won with an O’Connor roll right away…Del Rey quickly cut her off and got the heat…crowd hated Del Rey during the heat…Von Eerie came back with head butts, but Del Rey cut her off with a cross arm-breaker…Von Eerie came back with a DDT, and then locked in a choke hold…Del Rey escaped and hit the Royal Butterfly/Butterfly supex combo for the win…a great, physical match…Del Rey may have won clean, but the match left room for another matchup down the line
Match Rating: ***1/2

Cheerleader Melissa vs. Melanie Cruise: they traded shots back and forth until Melissa sent Cruise to the outside…Cruise took over the match back inside the ring…crowd really got behind Melissa, as Cruise worked her over…Melissa came back with rapid punches and kicks to the neck in the corner…Melissa then locked up Cruise’s legs and delivered an awesome curb stomp: 1…2…NO!…Cruise then cut her off with a spinning sidewalk slam…Cruise went for a top rope legdrop, but Melissa rolled out of the way…Melissa immediately pounced and hit a Schweign for the 3 count…Prazak put over Melissa as ready for another SHIMMER Title match…good match that the crowd was really into
Match Rating: ***1/4

They showed highlights of Volume 35 where Portia Perez defeated Serena Deeb with some help from Nicole Matthews…back to the current show, Perez and Matthews come out to the ring and are mocked by the crowd for losing the tag titles…they complain about getting no respect despite their history of success…Serena Deeb comes out and says that she and the crowd are sick of the Canadian Ninjas…Serena books a tag match with herself and Jessie McKay against the Ninjas…Deeb was confident on the mic, but she wasn’t especially dynamic…Matthews calls McKay a “Bella twin with a Australia accent” who is “smart, sexy, and powerful”…the Ninjas tried to run away but Allison Danger and company made a “blockade,” so we get…

Serena Deeb & Jessie McKay vs. The Canadian Ninjas (Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews): Deeb and McKay took it to the Ninjas early until the Ninjas cheated to get the advantage on Deeb…finally, McKay made the hot tag, and she ran wild on the Ninjas…Serena and Perez brawled to the back, while McKay hit a superplex on Matthews: 1…2…NO!…McKay followed that up with the Boyfriend Stealer: 1…2…3!…a formulaic, but well worked tag match
Match Rating: ***

Mercedes Martinez vs. Rachel Summerlyn: Summerlyn and Jessica James must be a tag team because Summerlyn was doing the “Mickie James Hyper & Bouncy” gimmick as well…Mercedes is one of the few on the SHIMMER roster that I have seen before (except those who compete in ROH or Chikara)…they traded a lot of moves for a while…Summerlyn brought Mercedes to the top rope for some type of fireman’s (or firewoman’s?) carry type move, but Mercedes reversed it into a super bulldog…Mercedes followed that up with a sliding facewash in the corner…Summerlyn came right back with a huge release German suplex, but Mercedes kicked out…Mercedes then came back with a fisherman’s buster…this was a pure exhibition match…the work was really impressive (and the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves), but I was frustrated with the lack of character interjection…they seemed to go just from move to move…once again though, the actual execution of all the moves was very crisp
Match Rating: **3/4

The backstage interviewer brought out MsChiff for an interview…MsChiff says she wants the rematch that she should have already had…Madison Eagles interrupted and said that she is not wrestling tonight…MsChiff accuses of her of ducking a “true champion”, so Eagles ran into the ring, and apparently we have…

Madison Eagles© vs. MsChif [SHIMMER Title]: Madison repeatedly tried to get MsChiff counted out to get out of the match…MsChiff then sent her to the outside, and went out with her to do damage…MsChiff hit a real nice hurricanranna on the floor…back in the ring, they trade nearfalls…they reversed and kicked out of some big moves, until Eagles put MsChiff away with Hell Bound…it seemed to me that these two are capable of having a much longer match down the line…this match was similar to the last match (trading moves back and forth), but with clearly established characters, it was so much more enjoyable…MsChiff got a nice ovation after the match
Match Rating: ***1/2

3S© (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata) vs. The Knight Dynasty (Saraya Knight & Britani Knight w/ Rebecca Knox) [SHIMMER Tag Titles]: The Knights immediately got heat for not being American…Saraya is Britani’s mother…Britani has also just been signed up by the WWE and will be reporting to FCW sometime after the Volume 41-44 tapings…3S jumped the Knights at the bell and hit stereo dropkicks and stereo baseball slides…Knox distracted the ref, which allowed the Knights to get the advantage…initially, they worked over Matsumoto, but she made a tag to Ohata who was quickly overcome by the numbers game as well…Knox was constantly distracting the referee, and attacking 3S behind the ref’s back…Matsumoto got sick of the interference so she just went into the ring and did an assisted splash with Ohata to retain the belts…98% of the match was the Knights getting heat, so the finish felt rushed, but the match was loads of fun…the Knights are a great act, so it is a shame for SHIMMER that Britani is moving on
Match Rating: ***1/4

Ayako Hamada vs. Ayumi Kurihara: big match feel in the crowd…Prazak puts this matchup over as a big deal…they were striking the shit out of each other early on…they were going back and forth for a while until Hamada gave her a DDT on the ring apron…Kurihara managed to comeback with a powerbomb back in the ring, followed up by a pair of running knees in the corner…but Hamada comes back with a stiff kick to the head…they are showing FIGHTING SPIRIT~!…Hamada gets sent to the outside, and Kurihara then wipes her out with a top rope cross body to the floor…Kurihara goes for a top rope cross body in the ring but Hamada stops her with a drop kick…Hamada with a brutal running knee!: 1…2…NO!…more stiff knees to the head!…Codebreaker by Kurihara!…Another Codebreaker!…Urinagi Suplex!: 1…2…3-NO!!!!!!…wow, that was a sick move that needs to be stolen…Hamada out of nowhere hits a Fire[wo]man’s Carry Driver…three kicks to the head…MADE IN JAPAN!: 1…2…KURIHARA KICKS OUT!!!!…MADE IN JAPAN AGAIN!: 1…2…3!!!!!!!!!…awesome match!…this match was clearly a couple of notches ahead of everything else on this card…this is a match worth going out of your way to see
Match Rating: ****

Hamada thanks the crowd for coming to the show…Hamada reminds the crowd that the Japanese people will never give up (in light of the recent natural disasters that happened soon before the time of these tapings)…end scene

This DVD can be purchased on the SHIMMER website HERE

SHIMMER Athletes is running a two day, 4 DVD taping this weekend in the Chicago area. Tickets can be purchased at the SHIMMER website

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Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.

The 411: As I said, this was my first SHIMMER DVD and I was definitely impressed. The show reminded me of an Evolve show because the show is carried by in ring action, and is highlighted by the times when the wrestlers integrate character into their matches. If you have only seen Divas matches (and most Knockouts matches in the last 2-3 years), you are missing out on great women’s wrestling. Eagles especially really stood out to me; her face work in Chikara is good but she is far more interesting as a heel here. It was also nice to see Del Rey wrestle as she has been mostly reduced to manager work in ROH. Worth mentioning again, the main event is really great and worth the $15 DVD asking price (not to mention the other 5 ***+ matches).

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]