** SHIMMER DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens **
April 26, 2008 – – – Berwyn, Illinois
SHIMMER Women Athlete’s Volume #17
TAG TEAM MATCH
The International Home-Wrecking Crew (Rain & Jetta w/Lacey) vs. Jennifer Blake & Danyah: With the addition of Britain’s Jetta to the established tandem of Rain & Lacey, the team known as the Minnesota Home-wrestling Crew has officially become the “International” Home-wrecking Crew. While Rain & Jetta take the developing tag team division by storm, Lacey will dive back into the deep end of the singles division where she belongs. The Home-wreckers were up against the debuting Canadian tag team of Danyah & “Girl Dynamite” Jennifer Blake. Danyah is in phenomenal shape, and while she is somewhat clumsy in her offense, her energy is refreshing. Jennifer Blake is a tiny little blonde with an explosive elegance worthy of the name “Girl Dynamite.” She reminds me of a young Talia Madison (TNA’s Velvet Sky) when she first got started. Rain & Jetta dominated Blake for a long time before Danyah got the hot tag and secured a brief advantage. After a while, Jetta nailed Danyah with a stunning Stranglehold Lung-blower and rolled into a Stranglehold submission for the very impressive victory. However, I must say this was a very strong showing for Danyah & Girl Dynamite from Canada.
SINGLES MATCH
Nicole Matthews vs. Shark Girl: Nicole Matthews, another lovely Canadian, is too young and inexperienced to be playing a heel in SHIMMER – but that is what she is. Shark Girl is being portrayed as an import from the orient, but everybody knows that it’s really the vivacious Daffney under the mask. The British Columbia beauty had no choice but to be heel against a fan-friendly character like Shark Girl. The pretty little Shark won the match and sent Nicole Matthews pouting all the way to the locker room.
TAG TEAM MATCH
The Experience (Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka) vs. Ashley Lane & Neveah: Lexie Fyfe was sporting a brand new haircut that she got five days beforehand when she appeared on Monday Night RAW portraying “Hillary Clinton” in a parody match against a fake “Barack Obama.” The new hair style actually makes the heel Fyfe look really cute. The Ohio-based tag team of Ashley Lane & Neveah are a couple of blond bombshells who could have a starring role in any man’s dreams. Ashley Lane (previously known as Lexi Lane) took a tremendous beating at the hands of the Experience. Neveah eventually got the hot tag and enjoyed a brief flurry of offense before getting decimated by Fyfe & Hosaka for the finish. This match was almost a carbon copy of the Rain/Jetta vs. Danyah/Blake match. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Lane & Neveah as they evolve with the tag team division.
SINGLES MATCH
Amber O’Neal vs. “Country Girl” Lorelie Lee: This would be a rematch from Volume 16, where Lorelei Lee scored a rare victory over Amber O’Neal. Despite being on the longest losing streak in SHIMMER history, Amber O’Neal seemed quite enthusiastic as she pranced to the ring for a second chance at the lovely Country Girl. O’Neal got serious very fast and attacked Lee from behind during her entrance. Lorelei quickly turned the tide, and Amber became increasingly frustrated with her own inferiority. Amber regained her composure and took the fight to Lorelei Lee, dropping the Diva act and finally taking the task seriously for a change. Amber successfully avenged the loss to Lorelei by scoring a slick pinfall via a roll-up to finally end the losing streak that has held her down for so long!
SINGLES MATCH
Daizee Haze vs. Cindy Rogers: Cindy Rogers has certainly come a long way since she debuted on the very first SHIMMER DVD. Although she doesn’t look like much on first glance, she has proven to be one of the most consistent performers on the roster and possesses the ability to hang with just about anybody in the ring. Before the match, Rogers had the audacity to assault Daizee’s flower gimmicks and throw them into the crowd. Roger targetted the Haze’s knee and did a pretty good job messing up the slender limb of the Woodstock flower-child. Daizee struggled to fight through the pain, and managed to score a surprise roll-up to score a pin over the Definition of Technician. After the match, a thwarted Cindy Rogers stole Daizee’s flowers, so Daizee retaliated by stealing Cindy’s trademark leather jacket.
SINGLES MATCH
Amazing Kong vs. The Portuguese Princess Ariel: The crowd was in extreme awe of the massive Amazing Kong (known in the TNA circle as AMAZING Kong). Ariel skipped out to the ring pretending to not be scared of her colossal opponent. God bless Ariel for believing that she had an ice-cube’s chance in hell of getting anything over on Kong. Talk about oblivious. A few moments into the match, Kong rammed Ariel head-first into the guard rail and all I can say is, “that looked like it really hurt!” Kong went backstage to get a chair, but referee Laura bravely snatched it away from her. Back in the ring, Kong challenged Ariel to a classic Greco Roman Knuckle-lock, but poor Ariel couldn’t reach. Ariel went to the second rope so she could pull off the feat, but double-crossed Kong with a boot to the face and a flying elbow! Kong quickly recovered and splashed Ariel for a two count. Kong began the methodical destruction of Ariel, but Ariel would just not let herself get pinned. Basically the same match that Kong had with Nikki Roxx last year. Ariel is great, but I don’t believe she is worthy of that kind of triumph. For every devastating move Kong delivered, Ariel would find a way out of it or kick out after a two-count. Kong got pissed off at the female referee, so she kicked her in the belly button and gave her an Amazing-bomb! The other referees came out to check on their fellow zebra and senior referee Bryce Ramsburg disqualified Amazing Kong and fined her for putting her hands on a referee. The fans began chanting Ariel’s name so I guess the match served its purpose of getting Ariel to the next level – maybe.
SINGLES MATCH
Mercedes Martinez vs. Wesna Busic: The long awaited American debut of the Croation Panther, Wesna Busic, has finally come to fruition. This proved that SHIMMER will go to extreme lengths to bring in the top women wrestlers from all over the world to add as many different flavors to their product. I’ve seen Wesna on some ChickFight DVD’s and I became an instant fan of hers and I know you will too. Mercedes Martinez had just recently returned to active wrestling following a shoulder injury that had her side-lined for over a year. There’s only one way to find out who the “hardest hitter” is between two very competitive wrestlers. Late in the match, Wesna planted Martinez with a CB4-driver and it looked like Mercedes may have re-aggravated her shoulder injury. Double M immediately rolled out of the ring, but Wesna was like a Shark and turned her opponents “injury” into a target. Wesna turned up the heat, but Martinez fought back with loads of heart and countered another CB4-driver and nailed a Fishermens-buster for an inspiring victory. Martinez helped Busic to her feet and they embraced as a show of respect. After the match, Becky Bayless congratulated Mercedes Martinez and welcomed her back to the SHIMMER roster. Mercedes said she was happy to back and claimed that if she was not injured she would be SHIMMER champion because she is the only person in SHIMMER who has defeated Sara Del Rey (the current champion). Mercedes said she would go through Del Rey, or anybody on the roster, to get the SHIMMER championship.
SINGLES MATCH
Lacey (w/Rain & Lacey) vs. “Dark Angel” Sarah Stock: Sarah Stock is the best female wrestler in the world in my humble opinion – and I’m ‘just’ arrogant enough to believe that my opinion counts for something in the wrestling business. Lacey was accompanied by her fellow Home-wreckers, Rain and Jetta. One thing I do not understand is how a trio of man-haters can call themselves home-wreckers? Maybe it’s just that the men love them so much that their relationships with their girlfriends and wives are negatively affected. Sure, why not. Lacey really stepped up her game, after spending recent times working in the tag team division with Rain. Sometimes Lacey’s “cheap heat” tactics get on my nerves (not in a good way), but there is no question she is one of the most skilled girl wrestlers SHIMMER has to offer. Dark Angel was blessed with the most perfect combination of natural beauty and natural ability of anyone I can think of. The fish-net stockings and exposed butt cheeks are hardly necessary but certainly appreciated by myself and so many others. In a way it makes her even more dangerous. It was a long hard-fought match that was so good that it would be a crime not to sign a rematch for sometime in the near future. Lacey worked over Sarah Stock’s back, but the Dark Angel stuck with it and was eventually able butterfly Lacey’s arms and connected with the Tiger-driver for the victory!
TAG TEAM MATCH
The Dangerous Angels (Allison Danger & Sara Del Rey) vs. Cheerleader Melissa & MsChif: The systematic development of the SHIMMER tag team division continues with a very high profile tag team main event. All four of these girls are adored and respected by the fans, but that didn’t mean there was any lack of heat – especially when long-time rivals Cheerleader Melissa and Sara Del Rey were grappling in the ring. I’m just waiting for Allison Danger to “pull a Paul Orndorff” and turn on her partner so she can go after the SHIMIMER championship. That did not happen. The closing moments of the match were very intense. Del Rey reversed the Code-Red from MsChif into a Dragon Sleeper. Melissa came in and cracked Del Rey from behind and planted her with an Air-Raid Crash. MsChif followed up with the Unhallowed Grace (Lionsault) on Del Rey. Danger made the save after a two-count. MsChif put Del Rey out with the Desecrator but the referee was busy breaking up a fight between Melissa and Allison! Del Rey was totally out of it, but somehow managed to tag Danger in, just as MsChif tagged in Melissa. Melissa briefly fought with Danger until planting her with an Air Raid Crash and scoring the 1-2-3 to win the match for her team! The story of the match was how MsChif dominated SHIMMER champion, Sara Del Rey!