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DVD REVIEW: SHIMMER WOMEN'S WRESTLING VOLUME 15

First off, I’d like to thank Ring of Honor, who are sending me a replacement copy of Volume 16 (mine arrived a little knackered) ,which is completely typical of their excellent customer service. They’re one of those companies that you needn’t fear ordering stuff from. I’ll have a review of that soon.

I’d also like to acknowledge Dave Prazak, who confirmed a couple of little things I observed in my review of volume 13. The show was actually taped on the same weekend as the title tournament, meaning that Lacey and Del Rey were both working their 5^th bout, in the space of little over a day. That’s insane, punishing, commendable, and brave, and I applaud the efforts they made, along with everyone else that weekend.

 On with the review!

-One of the things I’ve been at times critically of ROH for, is their often odd placement of Backstage promos and segments. Guys who weren’t in the main event, opening or closing a show backstage. Sometimes it works, if there is a major development… other times it’s distracting. In Shimmer though, I’ve always been happier when a backstage promo opens, and sets the scene. Not the case here, but they seem to favor kicking off eith some action, which can’t be criticized.

Good reaction for Eden Black, and the typical response to Shimmer’s Barbie Girl, Amber O’Neal. This strikes me as a fine choice for the opening contest, as fans usually find Black energetic and uplifting. As I’m watching it occurs to me that the English lass is actually retiring soon, and will face Jetta in her last ever match. Although I’ve been somewhat critical of Black before, it’s still sad to see a performer on the rise, who is young, keenly learning, and improving constantly, have to bow out thanks to injuries. As she said herself in Fighting Spirit magazine this month, It’s something I’m in agreement with, but it’s unfortunate because she really could have excelled in the way she wanted to if she was able to continue. Best of luck to her.

The match starts off with Amber’s usually tomfoolery, and Black impressing with her no-nonsense, Dave-Prazak coined “indy-riffic” style. Amber gets in control of proceedings, and work’s the back, throwing in a lot of pinfall attempts. Amber locks on a Triangle choke variation, using the top rope for elevation while propped up on it, in a nice spot, that earns her a little extra heat. Amber is actually completely dominate here, and batters the “Jezebel” with a whole bunch of holds, and cheap shots. There’s a fair bit of variety to, so even though it’s one sided- it’s never boring. Randy Orton could learn a thing or to in that respect…

Eventually they go to a double-down, and both return to their feet for a tasty back and forth chop battle. O’Neal ends up landing a huge Facebuster, but only collects the two count. Amber faffs around for too long, and is caught in the Garden of Eden choke, but reaches the ropes. In a great climax, Eden attempts a head-kick, but has her leg caught by Amber, who throws a fore-arm. Black blocks, and immediately drops to the mat with the aforementioned choke once again in place! This time she gets the submission.

Outstanding finish. I’d like to have seen these two go again, as the bout saw Amber grab much of the offence, without her loss looking like a fluke. It left room for complaint, without making the babyface look bad. Good action, and a fine opener.

As per usual, at the beginning, a fan can be heard shouting that Portia is “Five years old”. I’d say closer to 12 maybe… Anyways, I think Portia comes across far more impressively when paired with someone. It brings out her cocky little-person aggressiveness. Matthews is much more laid back. The action kicks off with some strikes by Portia, followed by some quick tagging that sees Ashley Lane pull off a couple of impressive arm-drags. Soon though, she finds herself being worked over much to the enjoyment of the heels. Portia and Nicole actually work very smoothly and throw ins some neat illegal teaming.

Before long, Lee is tagged in, and charges like a house on … yeah that old one, nailing some sweet spots. Lane comes back in, and hits Matthews. She has her down, but the ref is pulled away by Perez before he can count to three. After some scrappiness, about a minute later, Portia and Matthews pick up the tainted win when Portia grabs a handful of tights.

Just okay, there wasn’t an awful lot to this at all. But what they did, was well-executed and certainly worth watching for. The heels could develop into a neat little team,

Ahh the sounds of Girls Aloud. That can only mean Jetta is on her way. No reaction at first for the Coventry lass, as the fans clearly knew little of her at the time of this taping, but that would soon change, as she’s a fantastic prospect. I hate Serena’s music. HATE IT. It fills me with dread, even though I do like Serena. Personal taste, I know…

Jetta has the crowd all over within seconds, and Deeb is a lively fan favourite. At one point, Danger hilariously says “I don’t speak British” on commentary, in response to Jetta’s thick Coventry accent. Some basic Arm Wringers and Wrist looks commecnce the action, and both women jostle for position for some time. Solid wrestling. Serena wakens Jetta up with some crazy Overhand chops to the chest. They all look nasty indeed. Jetta regains control with a customary eye-rake, before working the arm. Lots of comical distracting of the ref throughout this by Jetta, who breaks the rules at every opportunity. Serena goes for a few flash pinfall attempts, but can’t put Jetta away, who comes back with a sweet Neckbreaker. Smartly, she goes back to the arm, but loses out when she gets more ambitious and repeatedly attempts to rush Deeb in the corner. Each time she ends up tasting a turnbuckle. I definitely think she should add the Flair flop to her repertoire. Another thumb the eye puts the Brit back in control, but she can’t maintain it, as Serena, erm, has her way with her. Jetta cheekily slaps her in the face, and the two go back and other, before Jetta hits an awesome Stranglehold Lungblower! She keeps a hold of the hold, and earns a submission victory.

Nice little, almost old-fashioned bout, that clearly establishes Jetta’s persona. Impressive win for her as well, and a good instigator for a mini-feud. Jetta has wide variety of neat little touches that so many heels are too afraid to utilise, for fear of spoiling their “coolness”.

-Becky Bayless introduces Alison Danger for an in-ring Interview. New Music! Something of an improvement too, though by no means something I’d consider listening to, ever..

Alison banters with the fans throughout these segment, who actually have more to contribute than Becky does. Danger talks about the future, and as she mentions the Shimmer title, Cindy Rogers interrupts and attacks her! Another Cindy/Danger match?!?

I’m going to assume that Alison gets the win her, and moves on, as Cindy already won the previous 2/3 Falls tussle, and has been sufficiently elevated by the feud. Cindy’s top-knot is world class stuff.

Heated brawl, as you would expect, with Cindy again impressing with her agressiveness. They battle on the outside, and Cindy gains control, taking it back into the ring. Alison lands some stiff strikes, but Rogers is able to fend her off. She continues to punish her with clotheslines, but Alison is able to duck one, and hit’s a Running Knee. She misses her variation on the Shining Wizard though, and ends up tasting a perfect Vertical Suplex. This is like a condensed version of their feud, summing it up within the context of one straight-forward bout, as if it’s come full circle. Danger nails a Neckbreaker across her knee, with Rogers in an elevated position, in the most impressive spot of the match, before finishing her with Old School Expulsion.

Decent, but much shorter than you would expect. It was akin to a brief match between two former rivals on Raw, following a prolonged PPV rivalry. Satisfying enough, it felt like they were putting the lid on this one.

On paper, this looks to me like an easy excuse to put the MHWC over. But, Ariel has gained a lot of steam in terms of popularity lately, and Josie has improved immeasubly through her past couple of appearances, so we’ll see how it plays out. Rain has become so ridiculously charismatic recently, she’s becoming one of my favorites on the roster. She has this crazy range of demented, and slightly evil, but also oddly hot facial expressions, that she puts to really food use.

God. I’ll never, ever get used to Ariel’s horrible music.

-We’re briefly interrupted by Becky Bayless, backstage with Alexa Thatcher. Decent promo, odd placement. Was this perhaps to give it a “live” feel a little more?

We return to the bout, and it’s the usual HWC antics. Rain locks on a Side-headlock on Ariel, bawling out a “Yeaaaaaaahhhhhh” in slow-motion as she does so. Ariel can actually be seen laughing to herself at this point. Rain does this repeatedly, and I disturbingly picture her chewing tobacco. Ariel takes over, and Rain attempts a kip up, but can’t lift herself, in a funny spot, and ends up dropped with a lovely running drop-kick. Lacey and Josie tag in, as Lacey slows the action down. Lacey opts for a more high-pitched “yaaaaahhhhh”, as she struggles for superiority. Josie’s a solid, meat-and-potatoes babyface.

She works hard, and gains the advantage over Lacey, double-teaming the Minnesota native before allowing Ariel to take charge. Rain distracts Josie when she returns to the fray, leading us into the heat period. Good, basic tag match. The Home Wrecking Crew pull out some of their usual tricks in prolonging the beating on Josie. Rain however, misses three successive elbows and in an ingenuous hope-spot, Josie nails her with a move that follows up on the damage to the arm. Great spontaneity.

Rain’s facials are again, completely ludicrous and amazing. Josie makes the hot tag, and a minute later, the faces hit a Heart Attack! But Rain breaks up the subsequent pinfall attempt, and dropkicks Josie to the outside, before they combine to finish Ariel.

Solid, though unspectacular bout. The sort of win that these two need to be getting every couple of shows, especially if they come up short in some of their bigger one-on-one outings. Josie’s tumble to the outside at the end look a little awkward, with her hip seeming to clip part of the guard-rail. She does favor it a little thereafter. 

After the match, Rain is picked up by her partner and carried to the back, in a comical moment.

-Daffney and MsChif are backstage. Daffney cuts an awful promo, that is so high-pitched, my ears vomit somewhat. MsChif screams.

Lately, Melissa has been adding a little more zing and personality to her “hard-girl” act, and it’s working wonders. Here, she comes to the squared circle with a hugely increased presence, which is one of the factors I feel she needed to make the next step up the ladder. So yeah, well done Melissa… as a bonus the fans are hot for her here tonight, and there’s a good atmosphere at the outset of this one. It’s also the biggest match of Alexa’s Shimmer career.

They lock up and immediately Melissa impresses with her Power, locking on unshakeable holds on Thatcher, establishing her young foe as being the underdog. Typical strategy that works, as now Alexa will have to really leap above her current level to keep up. They work some nice headlock takeovers and pinfalls, which Melissa dominates, but subsequently loses out to a big boot. At one point, Alexa goes for a Hurracanrana, but Melissa powerfully converts it into a Boston Crab. Lovely spot. She then hit’s a vicious Curb Stomp that isn’t so lovely…

Sometimes I look at Melissa, and ponder whether or not she’s in character, or genuinely enjoys the more devastating offence she dishes out. It’s either commendably convincing, or disturbingly genuine. She brutalises Alexa around the outside for a while.

Back in the ring, Dave seriously builds up the impact of the Kudo Driver, which Melissa fails to hit, but the tease has the crowd by the scruff of the neck. They do some reversals, and a couple of roll-ups, and by this point this match has developed into something special. Alexa’s selling and comebacks are magnificent. She has the potential to be crowned the she-version of Shawn Michaels. Melissa though, strikes her with a chop so hard, she clearly doesn’t need to sell it, ouch… but Alexa fights back with a swell Release German. She then dodges a Samoan Drop, but fails to avoid a sickening Kudo Driver.. And that’s all she wrote. In an awesome touch, Alexa simply remained in a folded-up position on the mat, until a bunch of referees removed her from the ring. However, it convincing enough that I immediately worry she is genuinely hurt.

The great thing about these two, was that they offered a mix of striking, and counter-wrestling, whilst delivering in both. Both girls threw convincingly stiff strikes, that didn’t detract from the seamless grappling sequences, but rather added to them immeasurably because they were believable. Easily one of the most enjoyable ten-minute matches I’ve seen this year. It was also great, because it was a major step in the right direction for Melissa, who is overflowing with talent.

-they show clips from Volume 14, of Daffney injuring her knee in a match with Lexie Fyfe, and subsequently being beat-down by “the Experience”, before he allies made the save. T’was a good little angle, and nice to see the recap which strengthens the grudge match aspect of this.

I can’t remember off the top of my head who the announcer was on volume 14 but he sounds awfully like Steve Carell. So much so, I can’t help but want him to utter random lines from Anchorman.

They stall for a long time at the start of this, which I’m not convinced is appropriate in this situation. When they finally get started, Daffney and Malia commence with some really fine chain-wrestling. MsChif tags in against Lexie, and looks good, until her foe goes for her knee. The former Mona returns, and turns it up a gear, hitting a nice cross body, but falling prey to a nasty eye-rake. The heels then brutally work over the knee for some time. When Daffney gets the hot tag, it’s a doozy indeed. The wailing banshee of Shimmer cleans house, and then effectively combines with her equally noisy companion. Before long, MsChif tumbles though, and ends up in a submission that shows off her flexibility. A moment later, and a Double-Gordbuster to Daffney earned the baddies the win.

Not too bad, but the finish was rather abrupt, and Mschif just looked at Daffney getting pinned. Huh? Why didn’t she break up the count? I also thought that it suffered somewhat from being too similar to the earlier tag match, while being fairly similar. Again, they didn’t do anything unusual, and I thought that for something of a “grudge” match, it was seriously lacking. Not much of MsChif.

Positive reactions for both ladies, which is no shock .Sarah has quickly become one of the favourites on the roster, thanks to her sterling work, but Daizee is still a sentimental favourite. Collar and elbow tie-up, followed by some impressive roll-ups. Excellent opening. They get the patented Jerry Lynn ovation. The follow with some mat-wrestling, including an array of arm-drags from Sarah, and headlocks from Daizee, and it’s beautifully fluid stuff. Stock eventually gains a moment’s control with a Half-Boston. Haze evades this, but ends up locked in a body-scissors. She struggles, even bridging backwards for a pinfall attempt, but Stock keeps the scissors locked on. Breaking free, the two go and forth for several minutes in an absolutely sensational sequence, that’s akin to watching one of those crazy rallies in a Tennis match that sees the crowd piddle themselves. Stunning .It would be a wasteful exercise to list off the moves, as opposed to just simply saying this is exhilarating. Even when they botch a Wheelbarrow Suplex effort, they cover for it magnificently.

More back-and forth spots occur, and Daizee comes out on top, leading Stock to roll to the outside. Sarah boots her opposition off the top rope, and is able to build momentum, impressively working over Daizee’s back. She locks on a modified Torture Rack, which looks awesome, but Daizee counters with a roll-up. Sarah goes back to the uh, back, and I’m loving this stuff. Haze’s hope spots are fantastic, believable, and exciting. Stock is pushed as being especially vicious and aggressive here by the announcers.

Daizee reverses a German Suplex attempt with one of her own, turning the tide. They both get to their feet, and exchange standing switches. Daizee strings a few strikes together as the crowd get behind her! The Haze flattens her opponent with an impressive Crossbody off the top, to the outside. Great looking spot. Back inside the ring, Sarah fights back with a Back-Drop-Driver for the two count, and destroys Daizee with a Wheelbarrow onto the top turnbuckle.

Daizee goes retro with a Reverse Indian Deathlock, which I can’t get enough of… like, no one is using this great hold! Sarah gets to the ropes however. She then picks up the victory following a tight roll-up off a Mind Trip attempt.

Superb bout. Really enjoyable stuff, and in terms of pace, blows away everything else on the show that has came before. Stock is just an absolute revelation, and Daizee is a really underrated performer. They went all-out, and delivered in spades, but finished in a manner that left me thirsting for a rematch.

-Sarah Stock cuts a promo backstage on her Volume 16 title shot. Pretty good too.

Here we go… big match atmosphere for this one folks. Kong cuts out to a hugely positive reaction, which is no surprise given her status with literally every fan in the building on their feet. I still think, even here, Sara looks too friendly and settled, although she does make some attempt to look a little more focused for Kong. Kong looks terrifying.

At the bell, Sara immediately goes for her challenger, and takes her to the outside, hitting a big dive. Good start- Sara isn’t intimidated and shows a willingness to take the fight to the undefeated Kong. Kong fends off her comparably weaker chops though, and they go back and forth, with the Challenger actually goes for a take-down, which leads Sara to shoot for submissions. This is really good stuff. It’s as if neither woman has went so far to actually underestimate their opponent, but at the same time, they’re impressed by the scale of dominance (for Sara), and resilience (as Kong would be experiencing).

They battle to the outside for a few minutes of stiff action, that see’s Del Rey repeatedly taste the ring posts, and guardrails. Back in the ring we get a well-contested Test of Strength, that Kong obviously excels in. Death Rey fights back with some kicks, and Samoa Joe-esque bursts of strength. The commentators keep referring to Kong’s attempts to go for the legs, and take out Death Rey’s base, which is a sensible thing to point out. Sara strings some inventive combinations together, but you get the feeling that none of it is quite having the desired effect. Kong takes control of proceedings by catching Death Rey on a Cross-body attempt, dumping her, and hitting a big Leg-drop. This impressive action, with the crowd completely into everything.

Sara takes the advantage again, and keeps Kong down with a Surfboard-type hold. She throws some Forearms and Head butts, but they have no effect, and the Champion is treated to a huge slap. Amazingly (ho hum..) Sara attempts a German Suplex, but she ain’t hitting it yet… Again, Kong is down, without appearing seriously hurt. Sara hit’s a hugely impressive Moonsault on a standing Kong, but only gets a two-count. She attempts the Royal Butterfly, but Kong powers out, and hits her with a horrible looking Jay Driller. Sara dodges the Amazing Press (good thing as well), and once more attempts a German. Failing, they end up in a stiff Strike exchange, that Kong gets the better of. She charges Sara, and is caught with… yep, A Release German Suplex! Holy Crap, that was impressive. The fans leap to their feet, applauding, and rightly so. Many remain standing.

Kong Lariats her way out of the Royal Butterfly, but her Powerbomb attempt is blocked. Sara hit’s a couple of serious head-kicks, before getting her foe into the Royal Butterfly! Eventually she releases her overhead! Awesome spot, and in unison the fans seriously pee their pants with excitement. This is hot, and Sara’s efforts throughout this have any of the formly split fans, back on her side. As she crawls over for the cover though, Kong catches her with a Backfist!

Both women are slow to get up, and Kong does so, but collapses, and thus fails to answer the ten-count! The match ends in a stoppage in Sara’s favour thanks to be counted down. Some fans boo the finish, and understandably so, as it’s inconclusive.

Unbelievable match. The fans really helped with the atmosphere of this one, as it felt like an absolutely crucial effort right from the get go. The build-up to Sara’s big spots was like a dictionary definition as to how to get moves over. They really superbly built the anticipation for these, and also delivered, which aided in softening the indecisive ending, because although we got neither a pinfall or a submission, we were still treated to the action that we expected. And sprinkled throughout the entire encounter was some of the hard-hitting action that we now expect from both Del Rey and Kong, but in a really vital, heated context. The climax itself, for me, was absolutely perfect. It would have been horrible to take the title off Del Rey just a couple of shows after winning it. However, at the same time, it would have really hurt Kong if she lost via pinfall or submission. So instead of derailing the momentum of either lady, we’re treated to a fantastic encounter, and the perfect ground-work for what could prove to be an epic rivalry down the line. One of the finest Shimmer match-ups thus far.   

One of the better Indy releases of the year at this point, Shimmer Volume 15 is nonetheless worth buying for Kong/Del Rey alone. That bout is a fantastic piece of work, closely tailed by the thrilling clash between Haze and Stock. But having both of these matches on this one release, for me, makes it an absolutely essential purchase.

The Scream Queens versus the Experience was the biggest disappointment on the DVD, as it just didn’t get going, and felt repetitive. It was in fact thoughh, probably the only one, as although neither the first tag, the Eden Black fight, nor the Alison Danger match stood out, or were memorable, but they were both sufficiently entertaining. Jetta and the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew were good value in their bouts, while Alexa Thatcher and Cheerleader Melissa had the best effort outside of the top two pieces...

Obviously, Volume 15 will be of higher value to those who have been following the promotion, but that isn’t to say it is not a good starting point for newcomers. It really does a super job of establishing the different players as we go along, and is definitely noob-friendly. Big time recommendation.

Back up to Number One for the Champion, who produced a Phenomenal, Herculean effort against Kong. Expectations were really high for this, and she delivered a match to truly be proud of. Still should use Ride of the Valkeries as her entrance music however!

Continues to be exciting and the centre of attention wherever she goes. Will surely feature around the top of this chart so long as she’s active.

Once more, a memorable showing, featuring this great athlete. Could be top-two after the title match with Del Rey on

Lacey slips a couple of spots thanks to her mid-card placement across Volumes 15 and 16. Obviously, she’ll leap back up to the top as soon as she returns to main events, as she’s (along with Kong), the most over member of the roster, in addition to being incredibly versatile.

Great showing for Daizee, who looked like a main eventer even in her defeat. She seems to be building a long, slow legacy, and it should make the moment (should it occur), where she raises the title, really special when it eventually happens.

Great performance from Melissa who looks so much more comfortable now in her role. Good match, that saw her bring the best out in her opponent.

This display could see her lose a little momentum. She’s done very well indeed in her tricky role, but it’s hard to see where she’ll go from here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this wacky review/rant/gibberish. I would hope it had at least as much depth as Aldo Montoya’s jockstrap, and the entertainment value of Shawn Michaels‘ hairline. If you have any comments, I welcome and encourage all feedback. Please get in touch at bazilalfonso@hotmail.com or on my myspace page… www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc Until bell-time, thanks again.