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And FINALLY, here is my live report of the SHIMMER Volumes 43-44 DVD tapings on Sunday October 2 at the Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL.
Dark Matches
A. AAW Six-Man: The Awesome Threesome (Knight Wagner and Jordon McIntyre w/ Miss Eryn) and El Tigre Gordo defeated The Clash (Cameron Skyy, Tommy Teznik, and Austin Mannix). Saving for the ending, it was pretty much the same thing as on Saturday.
SPARKLE
I. Jett Riley & Kimberly Maddox defeated Buggy Nova & December. December is a regular from the Chicago area with a more traditional cheerleader character, which obviously wouldn't be used here. Good match.
II. KC Spinelli defeated Su Yung. Another good match.
SHIMMER Volume 43
1. LuFisto defeated Maja Svennson. A short match that was mostly dominated by LuFisto.
2. ReGeneration X (Allison Danger & Leva Bates) defeated Sassy Stephie and Nevaeh. RX were dressed as Marty and Doc from Back to the Future. Decent match from all four.
3. Nicole Matthews defeated Davina Rose. A short, quality, hard hitting match. Davina had been impressive all weekend, while Nicole continued to show why she should be in main events matches.
4. Hiroyo Matsumoto defeated Kellie Skater. Skater said that she challenged Hiroyo specifically because she claimed to be a Lady Destroyer. Hiroyo wanted to have the referee check Skater's gym bag, and he surprisingly pulled out a Pikachu hat, which Kellie gladly admitted was hers. Kellie then wanted to do a test of strength with Hiroyo for the right to her flag. For the actual match, it was the usual mix of comedy and fun that you'd see from both. That said, there was one scary moment where Hiroyo was thrown out of the ring, and her leg landed right on top of the guardrail. Kellie also used the flag as a weapon, but Hiroyo was victorious.
5. Saraya Knight defeated Ariel. Saraya did her usual job of terrifying the crowd. She also stalled quite a bit and constantly called Ariel fat. An all right match. Saraya hit a sunset flip power bomb for the win.
6. Courtney Rush defeated Nikki Roxx. Roxx came out with one of Joey's stud jackets from his manager wardrobe as a rib (Joey is also a manager on the independents, including in AAW). Courtney wanted to do a pose down first, which saw Nikki break out some Hulk-a-Mania moves. A very good match. I'd say it's Courtney's best showing to date.
7. Yumi Ohka defeated Mia Yim. Excellent match. Yumi is just devastating with the running boots. And Mia once again held her own. Yumi won with a tiger suplex.
8. MsChif defeated Tomoka Nakagawa. Obviously, both of them share two notable characteristics of dress in green, and spitting a substance. So to start, they did the "like looking in a mirror" bit. A short, basic match. MsChif actually missed the mist, but still won with the Desecrator.
9. Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez ended in a count out draw. Another quick, but extremely intense match. These are two of the hardest hitters on the roster, and they were dealing. The match quickly moves outside, and ends in a count out as neither could get back in. Athena wants the match to restart, and Mercedes thinks about it, but decides against it.
10. Jessie McKay defeated Britani Knight. A very solid match. One notable highlight saw Jessie hit a hurricanrana on the floor. But the story came after the match. As soon as it ended, Saraya came out, ordering Jessie to leave. She was just tearing up into Britani, and basically doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. And sure enough, Britani had enough and finally socks her, and the battle is on! We end up with a full five minute pull-apart fight. The person who came out the worst was Kevin Harvey, who ended up taking a brutal low-blow from Saraya. All sorts of officials and referees and pre-show wrestlers came out to try and stop it, and the fight stopped and started at least five different times. Near the end of it, Britani says that Rebecca left the team because of Saraya, and that now she was going to leave her too. She challenged her to a match, and the fight resumed again. Saraya actually had to be carried away with one person holding each of her limbs. Just an amazing segment, which created one of two significant matches for the weekend's final volume.
11. Serena Deeb defeated Portia Perez in a No Holds Barred match. Amazing match!!! It started with an intense stare down, and they instantly brawled outside the ring. After some chops against the guardrail, they went back in the ring with a trash lid. Nicole Matthews tried to interfere, but Davina Rose cut her off, and took her to the back. There were plenty stiff kicks and punches all throughout the match. Later on, they brought out a HUGE table. It was originally setup in the corner, but neither could put the other through it. And actually, the table was so big, that the ref had to help each wrestler move it around. Portia tried to hit a move on Serena through the table, but after some back and forth punches, Serena hit Portia with the spear off the table! What an end to the match, and the feud!
12. Cheerleader Melissa defeated Kana. Another great match. This was a first time ever meeting between the two. Lots of submission attempts, kicks, and even blocks. Melissa hit the Air Raid Crash for the win. A few seconds after announcing the win, Joey Eastman announced that Melissa had become the #1 Contender for the SHIMMER Championship. And thus, we get our rematch that's been 11 volumes in the making.
13. Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada defeated Madison Eagles and Sara Del Rey to retain the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship. Great match! 20 solid minutes of intense action! The teams quickly brawled outside, but then settled down and went back in. Eagles and Del Rey spend the early portion beating up Ayumi. At one point, Eagles put Ayumi in a variation of the Boston Crab, but modified it enough so she could kick Ayumi in the back of her head. Once Hamada came in, everything broke down. At one point, Eagles ended up enduring Ayumi's armbar from the corner, and a series of headbutts from Hamada all at once! There was even an Ayumi crossbody from the top rope to the floor. Numerous kickouts as well.
Intermission
SHIMMER Volume 44
1. Kellie Skater defeated Davina Rose. Kellie is not just playing a character, as she has a lot more strength than you'd think. A quick opening to get the crowd back into it from intermission.
2. Taylor Made defeated Veda Scott. OK match, nothing much to note.
3. Kalamity defeated Tomoka Nakagawa. A short but intense match that saw Kalamity hit a lot of power moves, including a diving elbow into a sitting Tomoka in the corner.
4. Nevaeh and Sassy Stephie defeated Mia Yim and Ashley Lane. Another good match. I apologize that I'm not remembering more details for many of the under-card matches. Not taking notes and taking a couple thousand photos will that.
5. Serena Deeb defeated Yumi Ohka. Very good match. I felt this was a tale of two halves. The first half saw a heavy focus on chain wrestling and submissions. Then they turned things up with a bunch of power spots. And as I noted earlier, Yumi's kicks are devastating! I believe Serena hit the spear for the win.
6. ReGeneration X, MsChif, and Christina Von Eerie defeated Mena Libra, Melanie Cruise, She Nay Nay, and Bonesaw. Unfortunately, I missed most of this match as I had to start deleting photos to clear space on my memory card (sorry AAW preshow), and to make sure I had enough battery life for the main events. It was good action, although this was an example of what happens when you have a roster of that size.
7. Hiroyo Matsumoto defeated Jessie McKay. Another good match. Lots of stiff moves and kicks in this one. Jessie hits a great Yakuza kick of her own. After the match, Hiroyo's flag pole actually broke, so she destroyed it completely.
8. Sara Del Rey defeated Courtney Rush. This was a lot of fun, and not necessarily for the wrestling. Before the match began, Courtney wanted Sara to lighten up. And then she says they should dance. So of course....... Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" starts playing! We have a dance off! Courtney's doing her dance, and even referee Bryce Remsburg is showing a few moves. But of course, Sara just kicks Courtney instead of dancing. Sara did dominate the match, primarily by working over her arm with a variety of armbars. After winning with the Royal Butterfly, Sara did break out a quick cabbage patch dance.
9. Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez by DQ. Once again, this match quickly spilled to the outside. But during the fight out there, Athena hurt her knee. Despite that, Mercedes couldn't put her away. So, she goes to the back, brings back a chair, and starts beating the hell out of her, getting disqualified. Mercedes ends up smirking at the fans, and just walking away. Athena, which still down, grabs a microphone, and says when her leg heals, she'll be back to get her.
10. Kana defeated LuFisto. Excellent match. These two beat the living hell out of each other. A whole bunch of headbutts and kicks. One of my favorite moves from Kana involves her blocking an opponent's kick and turning it into an Ankle Lock. Lots of submission holds as well. Well worth seeing. Kana was able to win with a chokeout. Afterward, Kana finally shakes her opponent’s hands, and then poses with a SHIMMER T-Shirt.
Ring Announcer Joey Eastman said it best here: "I can't wait for this match."
11. Britani Knight defeated Saraya Knight. Fantastic match! Lots of great stuff here. First, Britani countered Saraya's sliding kick by lifting up the ring skirt. Later on, Saraya hit Orton's elevated DDT, but instead of from the ropes to the mat, it was from the ring to the floor! While on the floor, Britani actually picked up Saraya, and slammed her knee into the ring post. Remember, these two are really mother and daughter. Another fun moment saw Britani drop Saraya throat first over the guardrail twice, and then even threw her over it (which saw yours truly getting kicked in the arm by Saraya's foot). Next saw a trash lid involved, and they each hit each other with it several times, including numerous head shots. Later on, Saraya tried getting Britani to submit, even using the ropes for extra leverage. Once again, just a great match. About 15 minutes of emotional action. Britani got a "Thank You Britani" chant, and Saraya simply hobbled off.
12. Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada defeated The Canadian NINJAS (Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews) to retain the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship. This was an action packed 10-minute fight. Both teams were hitting their big moves right away. The NINJAS brought a chair in, and it used several times by both teams, which included seeing a corner dropkick, Raven's drop toehold, and most impressively, a top rope moonsault by Hamada! The champs retained.
13. Cheerleader Melissa defeated Madison Eagles to become the NEW SHIMMER Champion. Awesome match!!! Melissa had not been wearing cheerleader outfits in recent matches, but she brought it back for this match. Madison did a LOT of stalling to start. She basically refused to get in the ring. So instead, Melissa went to her and they started fighting all over the building. At one point they bought on top of the bar, a moment that I don't believe the bartender saw coming! Then they came to our area, and staring throwing each other into the guardrails, knocking them over. Back in the ring, Madison kept trying to get the submission win, but Melissa refused to quit. At the end, we saw several counters, and numerous finishers hit, but with each other still kicking out. And just when we thought Madison would hit the Hell Bound for another victory, Melissa rolled her up for the three count, for a HUGE pop. The crowd was going crazy during all this. Melissa was almost to the point of cheers. Fantastic moment. But, right as she was leaving, Nicole Matthews sneak attacked her. She took her out with the Roll of the Dice, and posed with the championship. Huge heat for Nicole!
And that concluded a fantastic weekend of shows. While I always feel that each volume is worth checking out, my top recommendation is for Volume 44, especially for the Knight Dynasty implosion, and the Championship match.
Notes: I don't know if the building was officially sold out, but if they didn't, it was pretty close as the place felt packed...Including SPARKLE, 49 wrestlers were used, by far a record...Because there were so many wrestlers, during intermission, several of the wrestlers had tables at ringside for merchandise, which was certainly better than trying to fit everyone against the wall...Doors opened quite late both days, no surprise...Large professional cameras were used for this taping, which should lead to a huge improvement in video quality...Four cameras were incorporated: two at ringside, and two hard cameras at the production area, although only one was being operated...For every set of tapings, the number of international fans buying tickets has gone up, which shows just how dedicated the fan base is...Several male wrestlers were watching the show, including Arik Cannon and Colt Cabana, along with Marty DeRosa...Cat Power was at the after party, but I don't know if she was there in an official capacity like Lexie Fyfe is...Thousands of photos from the weekend are now up at www.dirtydirtysheets.com, but I believe the plan is to also feature those galleries right here on PWInsider.com, so stay tuned for those...As a reminder, all new DVD releases can be ordered from SHIMMERWrestling.com. The older DVDs can be ordered from ROHWrestling.com until their quantities run out, at which point they'll also become available at SHIMMERWrestling.com. Remember that the ROH Ringside Membership's 15% discount does apply to the SHIMMER DVDs as well.
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