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SHIMMER returned to the Berwyn Eagles Club on September 11 and 12 to tape DVD Volumes 33 through 36. Here's what happened.
To start off, the doors opened over an hour late as we were told that the ring padding was stuck in traffic, and they were waiting for that to be setup before letting everyone in. However, part of that delay was due to a sudden freak shoulder injury to MsChif. She had to be rushed to the hospital, and while she made it back for intermission, her arm was in a cast the entire weekend. She had been on every volume since the beginning. Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa are now the only two competitors with their iron-women streaks still intact. Outside of an explanation by ring announcer Joey Eastman, she wasn't refered to on the show at all.
I don't believe the place was sold out, but it was packed as usual.
SPARKLE Pre-Show
Jordon MacIntyre defeated Knight Wagner in the usual AAW comedy opener.
Mena Libra and Maya Spensen vs. Mia Yim and Taylor Made. Allright opener, especially with Mia. I see her making the main volumes in the future.
Prior to the show starting, we had a ten-bell salute for Midwest Indy wrestler J.C. Bailey, and Luna Vachon.
Volume 33
1. Athena and Bonesaw vs. Rachael and Jessica. I believe this was Athena and Bonesaw's SHIMMER debuts. Rachael and Jessica were billed from the International House of Paincakes. Solid opener, with lots of goofiness. Rachel got the victory.
2. Cat Power vs. Jamilia Craft. OK match. Too much stalling for my tastes. Cat Nap by Cat Power for the win.
Backstage interview by Amber Gertner for Jessie McKay. However, she's interrupted by SHIMMER Champion and former tag partner Madison Eagles, who wants the interview time. Amber informs her that SHIMMER will not let her be a paper champion, and that she will defend the title tonight against Cheerleader Melissa, in a rematch from Volume 30.
3. Leva Bates vs. Allison Danger. Leva was one of the most over competitors on the shows this weekend, as she's very charismatic and entertaining in the ring. Allison was her usual sarcastic self. I forgot the exact hold, but at one point I saw what I noted as the "cutest submission ever." Good match, with lots of mat wrestling and counters. Allison had a type of Shining Wizard for the win. Afterward, she put over Leva, and the company. At that point, Veronika Vice attempted to sneak attack her, but Allison saw it coming and froze her. Veronika appeared at one set of tapings back in July 2008. She wanted an opportunity, and Allison challenged her for right now, but Veronika slapped her and left.
4. Taylor Made vs. Melanie Cruise. Decent match. I see a lot from Cruise as a power wrestler. Her fast-swinging sidewalk slam, and finisher Cruise Control, a Ron Simmons type power slam, are very impressive. Taylor held her own as well.
Cheerleader Melissa backstage promo. She noted that after five years, it was finally her time for her title shot.
5. Misaki Ohata vs. Ariel. Ohata was great as usual with her high flying and submission abilities. Ariel looked good as well. Ohata won with a submission of some kind.
Kellie Skater came out for an open challenge. She now carries out small dumbbells and an energy drink. She claims that she's still undefeated, noting that all her loses didn't really count. As she's talking up to the crowd, Serena Deeb walks up behind her to a huge pop. When Kellie finally turns around, Serena clocks her. A ref comes out and makes the match official.
6. Kellie Skater vs. Serena Deeb. Somewhat short match, mostly back and forth. Despite not wrestling much lately, Serena wrestled just as good as ever. She won with her trademark spear. You could tell that she was thrilled to be back, as SHIMMER was a huge part of the rise of her Indy career.
7. Sara Del Rey vs. Nevaeh. Mostly a squash. Del Rey made her tap to the LeBell Lock. Bryan Danielson was one of her original trainers.
Amber Gertner came out to interview Nikki Roxx. Very straight forward, she wants a title shot.
8. Jessie McKay vs. Nicole Matthews. Great match. Both are perfect at their respective face and heel roles. I believe Jessie hit the Boyfriend Stealer for the win.
9. Ayumi Kurihara vs. Daizee Haze. A rematch from I believe Volume 32, which had a controversial count out ending. Therefore, this match was no count outs. Decent, but surprisingly short match, which Ayumi won with a suplex.
10. Tomoko Nakagawa vs. Ayako Hamada. Another good match. Tomoko is the perfect heel, and Hamada is criminally underused nationally. It was very hard hitting, and the match saw a lot with water bottles and chairs. Hamada hit a fisherman's driver for the win.
11. SHIMMER Championship: Madison Eagles (c) vs. Cheerleader Melissa. This match had a big-time feel to it. You had the ultimate fan favorite Melissa finally getting her title shot. And you had Madison, who's entrance theme turns the intensity up significantly. Looking back at the history, Eagles cheated to pin Melissa on Volume 30 to earn her title match, which she won on Volume 31. Melissa challenged her on volume 32, which ended with a dramatic stare down between the two. Tonight, the match lived up to the hype. It was intense, hard hitting. We had outside brawling, several near falls. The downfall for Melissa was that she kept going for the Kudoh Driver, a move which no one has kicked out of in SHIMMER, but Madison kept countering, and eventually countered that into her finisher, the Hellbound, which starts as a fireman's carry, but the opponent is then driven head, neck, and shoulder first into her knee, which got her the clean win.
Intermission
Volume 34
1. Kellie Skater vs. Jamilia Craft. Good stuff, nothing spectacular. Skater won with an impact move.
2. Melanie Cruise vs. Leva Bates. Once again, the crowd loved Leva, who was dressed like Iron Man. Of course, that lead to a great chant, the Iron Man theme. Classic small vs. big match, which Melanie won with another hard slam.
3. Nikki Roxx vs. Misaki Ohata. Decent. Nikki with the Barbie Crusher for the win.
4. Daffney vs. Nevaeh. Nothing much to this. Daffney pinned Nevaeh by pulling the tights.
5. Veronika Vice vs. Allison Danger. Decent, which ended with Vice getting the surprise win.
6. Daizee Haze vs. Tenille. An OK match, until the match ended suddenly with Tenille getting the pin, and Daze running to the back, perhaps due to injury. Weird moment. Tenille wrestled again later that night, so this match might be thrown out.
7. SHIMMER Tag Team Championship: The Canadian Ninjas (Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews) (c) vs. Rachael and Jessica. The Ninjas were pretty much scared to start the match. We also saw some schoolyard pranks from Rachael and Jessica. A key moment came early in the match when Portia faked a back injury for a good five minutes. Daffney also came out to distract Rachael, as the two have been feuding, and that lead to the ninjas winning.
8. Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Cheerleader Melissa. Great match. Lots of hard hitting action, which saw Tomoka meet the guardrail several times. Melissa with the Kudoh Driver for the win.
In ring interview with Serena Deeb. She talked about how much she loved SHIMMER and how she rose through the ranks. Portia Perez came out and noted how they started here together, but while Portia was reaching success, Serena left for the money to become a "diva freak show." A challenge was made for Volume 35.
9. Tenille vs. Athena. Again, we think Daizee's match was thrown out. OK match, which Tenille won with a leg lock bridge submission.
10. Sara Del Rey vs. Ayako Hamada vs. Jessie McKay. Outstanding match. Lots of stiff kicks, double team moves, reversals, a bit of comedy, and so much more. Jessie actually pinned Del Rey for the huge upset, which lead to a big match on the next volume.
11. SHIMMER Championship: Madison Eagles (c) vs. Ayumi Kurihara. Not a blow-a-way match, but still solid. Madison with the Hellbound for another title defense.
September 12
Sparkle Pre-Show
2010 SPARKLE Cup: Green Man vs. Red Man. Yes, we saw the return of Green Man, to take on the debuting Red Man. Ten second match, which Green Man won, and thus he gets the 2010 SPARKLE Cup: a shot glass. "Match of the Year" chants. Great stuff.
Jordon McIntyre (w/ Erin) vs. Knight Wagner (w/ Erin). Erin accompanied both out. Short comedy match, which saw Jordon's use of a giant candy cane backfire.
Maia Svinsen vs. Mia Yim. OK match, nothing memorable.
Volume 35
1. Jessica James vs. Melanie Cruise. Fun opener. Cruise countered a submission attempt into her finishing slam for the win.
2. Mercedes Martinez vs. Misaki Ohata. solid match, which was highlighted by Mercedes holding Misaki in a delayed vertical suplex position for around 30 seconds, which was followed by a devastating brain buster. Mercedes later hit her fisherman's buster for the win. Afterward, she got on the mic and mentioned her six-match winning streak, and how she wants a title shot.
3. Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Nikki Roxx and Ariel. When Daizee came out, she took a sandwich from a fan, based on a bit from yesterday. One of the insults that Daizee receives is that she's extremely thin. Some fans chant for her to eat a sandwich, so she goes to them and says if someone gets her a sandwich, she'll eat it all in the ring on the spot. So after a few minutes of wrestling, she decided to eat it, but then just shoves it in Ariel's face. That was only the start of the tom foolery. At times, instead of putting on submissions, they would be tickling each other, and at one point Tomoka nearly tapped out from it. We even saw the dreaded knuckle sandwich. The match actually went near the end of the time limit, which saw Daizee spit Tomoka's water in Ariel's face, leading to a rollup. Very entertaining match.
4. Veronika Vice vs. Allison Danger. OK match, nothing memorable. Allison hit her signature moves for the win.
Jessie McKay promo in the back. she said that her title match tonight is the biggest match in her career. Madison Eagles was her tag team partner, her trainer, and her friend, but that's now out the door, and she will not be pushed around. Good stuff.
5. Portia Perez vs. Serena Deeb. Very competitive match. Portia put Serena in a submission hold, and Nicole Matthews distracted the ref when Serena reached the ropes, and that allowed her to keep the hold on, leading toward Serena passing out, giving Portia the win.
Amber Gertner interviewed Rachel Summerlyn in the back. She's taking on Sara Del Rey later tonight. Standard interview.
Kellie Skater came out for another challenge, which was answered by the returning Amazing Kong, who had missed the last six volumes.
6. Kellie Skater vs. Amazing Kong. Basically a slightly extended squash. Kellie got some moves in, and kept posing up to Kong at every chance, but was basically destroyed, which ended up her receiving an Amazing Bomb.
Madison Eagles interview in the back. She's not worried at all about her title defense.
7. Sara Del Rey vs. Rachel Summerlyn. Competitive early, until Daffney came out to distract Rachel again, which lead to Sara hitting a rolling kick on the back of Rachel's head. From there, it was all around Rachel's hand, as Sara would focus on each individual finger with stomps and holds, right up through making Rachel submit. After the match Daffney ran out to beat up Rachel some more, until she was pulled away by referees.
8. Nicole Matthews vs. Amoco Hamada. Great match. Very competitive with numerous power moves and kicks. Hamada won with the Hamada Driver, I believe.
9. Cheerleader Melissa vs. Ayumi Kurihara. Another strong match. Lots of great moves, such as the powerful slams from Melissa, and the high flying and sudden submissions from Ayumi. Of course, we had a fun battle on the floor. The match actually ended suddenly when Ayumi rolled up Melissa with a backslide.
Backstage promo from the Ninjas. They rip on Serena, and say they'll be main eventers in single roles soon.
10. SHIMMER Championship: Madison Eagle (c) vs. Jessie McKay. Fantastic main event. This had everything you need in a great match. A historical back story. Solid wrestling. Emotions from both wrestlers. And all the support from the fans to see the underdog face beat the evil heel. The primarily story of the match was that Madison worked on Jessie's kneecaps, with tons of hard hits and brutal submissions. It was basically like she was abusing her as if she was nothing. But Jessie did make several come backs and came very close to winning on numerous occasions. However, the end came when Jessie was on the top rope, and Madison caught her for the Hellbound. Again, great match.
Intermission
Volume 36
1. Mercedes Martinez vs. Nikki Roxx. Very solid opener from the two veterans. Mercedes got another win, and continues her winning streak, so I expect her to get another title shot next year.
2. Bonesaw vs. Jamilia Craft. Ok match, but some great spots from Bonesaw. Jamilia got the win.
3. Taylor Made vs. Mena Libra. Libra won, nothing memorable from what I can recall.
In ring interview with Sara Del Rey, who promptly tells Amber to leave. Basically, she too has a problem with Serena returning. Serena comes out to confront her about it, with Sara saying no one wants you here, but Madison Eagles follows to say the same thing to Serena. More wrestlers come out to support one side or the other. After we have a four on four face off, referee Bryce Remsburg suggests them settle things in a Survivor Series elimination match. Serena, Hamada, Ayumi, and Melissa vs. Madison, Sara, Tomoka, and Daizee.
4. Leva Bates vs. Cat power. OK match. Cat went for the figure four, but Leva rolled her up.
5. Veronika Vice vs. Jessica James. Good stuff early, but otherwise forgettable. Vice hit a swinging neck breaker to win. It was also a short match.
Rachel Summerlyn interview. She was so angry that she had to submit as a result of Daffney, that she vows never to quit again, and she turns that into a challenge to Daffney for an I Quit match.
6. Misaki Ohata vs. Kellie Skater. For each match, Kellie's introduction from ring announcer Joey Eastman gets seemingly longer and longer. Good match. Misaki kept trying to lock in an arm bar until she was finally able to for the submission win.
7. Jessie McKay promo backstage. She says she was this close to winning the title. The Ninjas come out mock her, and they decide to give her a tag title match. Tenille comes up at that point, and says she has unfinished business with them, so that's the match later tonight.
8. Athena vs. Nevaeh. Allright match. Nevaeh hit a German for the win
9. SHIMMER Tag Team Championship: The Canadian Ninjas (Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews) (c) vs. Jessie McKay and Tenille. Lots of stalling early on. Tenille was in most of the match. The ninjas hit a combo superkick, German suplex for the win.
10. Daffney vs. Rachel Summerlyn: I Quit Match. The wrestler had to say "I Quit" into the microphone in order to submit. Daffney came out first to talk trash. Rachel came running out to begin instantly. It started off odd as they went straight for a lockup, and stayed in it as they went around the ring. Then came the weapons as Daffney used a trash lid, a chain wrapped around her first, and a golf club, busting Rachel open. But she would not quite and kept taking the abuse. Eventually, she was able catch Daffney on the ropes and give her a Texas cloverleaf from the top rope. Afterward, Daffney was in tears, saying she was so proud of her. Jessica James came out to celebrate with her partner.
11. Shim-vivor Series eight person elimination tag. Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, and Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Serena Deeb, Cheerleader Melissa, Ayumi Kurihara, and Ayako Hamada. AWESOME. I can't think of any last match of the evening in the three years I've been to tapings that had as much energy as this match did. I don't know if you can say it was the best main event in history due to the amount of competitors in it, but it is near the top of the list. The match started off with some classic rivalries one on one, such as Ayumi vs. Tokoma, and Serena vs. Sara. But it got crazy in a hurry. Everyone was brawling on the floor, and we had a duo moonsault and body press from the top rope to the floor from Hamada and Kurihara respectively. Back in the ring, we had some more fun. Serena and Ayumi had Sara and Madison in a submission hold together, and Hamada slides in front of them for a photo opportunity. Then we had a chain of sleepers, where each one put a sleeper on the other. The last person on the chain, Melissa, took them all down with a DDT, like a stack of dominos. Of course, she had to apologize to her teammates for taking them out. At that point, we started getting the eliminations. I believe the order of elimination was Tokoma, Ayumi, and Serena and Daizee together. Hamada was able to get a surprise pin on Sara, and then her and Melissa double teamed Madison to win for the team. Ayumi and Serena came back out to celebrate. Afterward, Hamada challenged Ayumi to a match, and although Ayumi wanted it in Japan, they agreed to have a second match here in SHIMMER.
And that was the show. As for the afterparty, in lieu of planned activities, it was just one long dance off that went on for hours. I dare say it was so good, that some dancers were being violated. It was so good, Dave Prazak rushed to get the camera, so this could end up on a DVD!
As for show recommendations, you get solid main events in each show that I feel are worth the costs of the DVDs. I think 35 was the overall better show, but 36 has the best main event.
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