by Anthony Beckingham, PWTorch specialist

The stage was reset in Shimmer after an exciting double bill of volumes that led to Sara Del Rey being unseated as the Queen of Wrestling in the promotion. Given that Del Rey was main-eventing since the promotion's inception - regardless of the existence of the belt - putting MsChif at the top created a whole new slate of main event matches. However, the powers-that-be decided to try something new by booking a Shimmer Royal Rumble, with 30-second intervals, to decide MsChif’s first defense.

Elsewhere on the card, Portia Perez was back and brought her growing loud flare to the proceedings. The Ohio girls continued their run of surprisingly strong tag team matches. A veritable clash of the titans took the semi-main event slot with Shimmer stalwart Cheerleader Melissa taking on the face of WSU, Mercedes Martinez, in what may as well be a title contender match.

SHIMMER DVD Review Series
SHIMMER Vol. 19 DVD review
July 5, 2008
Berwyn, Ill.

(1) Jetta won a battle royal at 11:50 to earn a Shimmer Championship match. Returning wrestler Portia Perez tried to throw Serena Deeb over the top straight away but Deeb took control. Jennifer Blake and Deeb exchanged chops until Perez took them both out with eye rakes. Nicole Matthews came in and the tag partners dominated Deeb until Shark Girl attacked Matthews. The ring filled up, with Ariel coming in and immediately eliminating Matthews to break up the Ninjas. Lorelei Lee skinned the cat but Rain broke her hold anyway while Melissa and LuFisto traded forearms to whet my appetite for a future match. Del Rey entered with a menacing new heel look and dumped Deeb out by holding her monkey flip, followed by two more. Jetta slumped into the corner wailing when she realized Rain was gone.

Kong came in and ran havoc, tossing four women out and then gorilla pressing Perez onto the rest of them outside. As she stood in victory, everyone but Jetta tipped her out while Nikki Roxx made her return as the final entrant. Del Rey made a quick couple of eliminations before Ariel shocked her from behind. Jetta came out of the corner and threw Ariel into the turnbuckle, while walking back to set up a move, Del Rey jumped on the apron and pulled Ariel out to give the victory to the unaware Jetta. Del Rey beat down Ariel outside against the crowd barrier. (N/A)

Entrance order (Elimination order/Eliminator)

(1) Portia Perez (15 Kong)
(2) Serena Deeb (8 Del Rey)
(3) Jennifer Blake (1 Perez)
(4) Nicole Matthews (4 Ariel)
(5) Shark Girl (2 Perez)
(6) Cat Power (3 Deeb)
(7) Jetta (WINNER)
(8) LuFisto (9 Del Rey)
(9) Veronika Vice (5 LuFisto)
(10) Ariel (20 Del Rey)
(11) Rain (10 Rain)
(12) Lorelei Lee (6 Rain)
(13) Cheerleader Melissa (13 Kong)
(14) Nevaeh (7 Del Rey)
(15) Sara Del Rey (19 Ariel)
(16) Allison Danger (11 Kong)
(17) Danyah (12 Kong)
(18) Ashley Lane (14 Kong)
(19) Amazing Kong (16 Martinez/Del Rey/Ariel)
(20) Mercedes Martinez (18 Del Rey)
(21) Nikki Roxx (17 Del Rey)

Daizee Haze explained that the previous Tuesday (at ROH Vendetta II) she hurt her back and later discovered she’d broken some ribs. She called it the worst pain she’d ever been in, but vowed to be back as soon as possible in a bid to win the Shimmer Championship. The 100 percent attendance club continues to wane; it seems to be down to Melissa, MsChif, Del Rey, and Rain.

(2) Portia Perez beat Shark Girl (2-0) at 5:34. Perez received a few heckles about summer school due to her youthful looks while Sharky pretended to, well, be a shark. Danger joined Prazak on commentary and detailed Ariel’s anger at losing a title shot. Sharky but Perez in a standing arm bar and bit her hand, then when Perez complained to the referee bit her on her behind. Shark Girl landed two arm drags but failed a body slam, allowing Perez to trip her onto a rope. Shark Girl ten-punched her in the corner and bit her head, but Perez powerbombed her down and used the ropes to avenge Matthews’s loss. (**)

(3) Serena Deeb beat Danyah (0-0) at 6:33. The ‘80s feel to this match made it stand out. The two babyfaces shook hands and gained applause for a minute of clean drags and throws. After some even chain wrestling, Deeb arm-dragged Danyah and sidestepped a crossbody. Danyah reversed an abdominal stretch into a sliding pin and they reversed cradles evenly. Danyah started kicking Deeb’s legs and hit a dropkick as Deeb channeled a babyface comeback, suddenly ducking out of a leg drop then coming out of the corner with a firm spear. (**)

(4) Ashley Lane & Nevaeh (1-1) beat Cat Power & Veronica Vice (0-0) at 7:05. Vice and Lane traded arm twists as Prazak put over the Ohio girls’s victory against The Experience. Lane executed some armdrags, so Power tagged in and Nevaeh ducked under. A staggering Power took a double team arm twist then double dropkick but Vice broke up the pin. Lane became isolated and had her back worked with strikes and body slams. Power set up a leg-trap dragon sleeper and held Vice’s hand for extra torque. After a second time of this, Lane hip-tossed Power and Naveah came in to set up Vice in the STO position as Lane dropkicked her into it. Power was close enough to break up the pin which broke the verisimilitude for me, especially as I wanted this match to go on longer; the Ohio girls understand tag matches. (**)

(5) Amazing Kong (6-2) beat Lorelei Lee (2-6) at 4:23. Lee, bizarrely sporting chaps, has so little to offer she can’t even sell Kong. Everyone joined in with Kong’s “weighing none of your damn business” billing. Lee sold a single chop to the chest for a while, then tried a running crossbody off the ropes but just fell over before being tossed into the corner and stamped on. A fan chanted for more chops and Kong stopped, then stretched her with a camel clutch. Lee fought back but Kong sidestepped a handspring elbow. Kong did her series of backhand slaps and a final discuss punch to win. (*)

(6) Nikki Roxx (8-5) beat Nicole Matthews (1-1) at 10:08. Roxx received a "Welcome Back" chant after absenting herself for four volumes to be exclusive to TNA. She returned bald channeling Sinead O’Connor. The crowd had fun with the “Nikki Roxx, Nicole sucks” chant. Roxx threw Matthews around but soon fell to Matthews’s stylish moves before being choked on the ropes and having Matthews do a standing dive onto a rope-choked Roxx. Prazak recounted Roxx’s rise up the ranks and that Matthews could kick-start her own with a win. She choked Roxx and claimed victory during the referee’s five count. Roxx came back into it with a kick out of the corner and a Samoan drop. The match was reset after Matthews reversed a suplex into an inverted DDT by floating over. Matthews came off the ropes, but Roxx caught her with the Barbie Crusher. (***)

(7) Allison Danger (7-7) beat Jennifer Blake (0-0) at 11:20. Neither babyface gained advantage from a lock up; Blake climbed up the three turnbuckles for leverage in the hold but Danger comically let go and she fell flat on her face. Danger twisted Blake’s arm something rotten until she kipped up to twist Danger into a wristlock. Danger tried to flip Girl Dynamite over her back, btu she landed on her feet and threw Danger out of the ring. She feigned a suicide dive, then went out to set up Danger in a chair with a superkick. Her attempt at the ole dropkick was met with a charging lariat from Danger. Inside, Danger toeheld Blake and rolled through into a Boston crab. Blake punched free then chopped Danger, channeling Kenta Kobashi, but it wasn’t worth a pin. Danger attempted the Old School Expulsion but Blake pulled Danger down into a pin, but she in turn made an arm-trap cradle to win. (***)

After the match, Danger shook Blake’s hand and grabbed a microphone. She thanked Blake for a return match after her collar bone injury and was proud she could help another Canadian into Shimmer as “everyone knows I’m 50 percent Canadian, 50 percent awesome, and”, the crowd finished off her saying. Music played and the Canadian Ninjas came out. Before Perez could speak, Danger asked Perez if her mummy packed her cookies - to be fair, she was eating one. Perez grabbed the microphone and mocked Danger for using terms like “Canadian talent” when she’s only a diet-Canadian. Matthews challenged them to a tag match to find out which team was “frickin’ awesome.” This is gonna be a feud to watch.

(8) LuFisto (1-1) beat Rain (4-7) at 10:19. Rain was sporting a Lacey t-shirt from ROH’s "Where’s Lacey?" angle. The returning LuFisto from Montreal, Japan took down Rain after some kicks. After a jackknife backdrop, Rain took a rope break and then grabbed Fisto’s hair for control. After choking her, she used a front-nelson bodyscissors hold but Fisto stood up in the hold and hit a DVD. Her arms hurt too much to try a pin so she went up top but Rain bodyslammed her from the turnbuckle. She applied a straitjacket then torqued it with her knees in Lu’s back, but she was made to relinquish it after being pushed back into a pin.

They exchanged forearms and ran into a two-way clothesline. Again they exchanged loud chops to dueling chants until Rain was thrown into the turnbuckle and took a lunge kick to the face. LuFisto missed a diving headbutt, but reversed the Rain Drop into the Burning Hammer, an Argentine DVD, to win. (***1/2)

(9) Sara Del Rey (14-2-1) beat “Portuguese Princess” Ariel (7-4) at 14:24. Del Rey’s new look – black body suit with silver boots and raised, angled eyebrows along with a long overcoat - garnered Undertaker comparisons from the fans. She attacked Ariel as soon as she was out of the curtain, threw her in the ring to start the match and then introduced her intimately to the guardrail. After two minutes Ariel was thrown inside but took more beating. Eventually she ducked a clothesline and tried a myriad desperate cradle pins but Del Rey put paid to that with a single, brutal forearm that even the referee sold. The crowd desperately chanted for Ariel to no avail. Del Rey went up top and was bodyslammed down.

After the double down, Ariel delivered the strongest forearms she’s thrown in Shimmer with a flurry of speed but delivering a suplex took the steam out of her as she sold her prior beating. Desperate, she tried to hit the Dariel, but Del Rey threw her down and kicked her in the back of the neck. Ariel went up top but Del Rey caught her in a crossbody and threw her into the Royal Butterfly to set up the suplex and a win. (****)

(10) Mercedes Martinez (4-2) beat Cheerleader Melissa (8-6) at 15:47. Danger talked up the match’s championship implications. After an even lock up, Martinez had to use a rope break to escape an arm hold but Melissa put it straight back on after a headlock. She escaped and put Melissa in a cloverleaf and then added a camel clutch to it. She dominated Melissa with corner stomps and escaped a protracted standing surfboard stretch with a mule kick. They traded chops and Martinez put on the Regal Stretch.

After escaping, Melissa’s anger broke through with brawling strikes but Martinez kicked out of a curb stomp. After a brawl outside, they gave each other German suplexes, then after the double down traded forearms on the way up which lead to a flurry of pin attempts. Melissa failed a Kudo Driver but kicked out of a brainbuster. After a Samoan Drop, Melissa again tried and failed the Driver which left her vulnerable to a fisherman suplex. (****)

Becky Bayless (Cookie in TNA) interviewed Del Rey backstage about her heel turn. Del Rey explained that losing the title caused her change, she claimed to be the only reason Shimmer has its reputation and shouted down Bayless’ riposte. She vowed to punish everyone until she had the belt back.

(11) Shimmer champion MsChif (7-6) beat Jetta (1-1) at 14:05 in her first Shimmer Championship defense. Jetta pre-emptively dedicated her title win to Lacey & Rain and said she’d force Shimmer to be in England so everyone else had to wrestle with jet lag. MsChif screamed her into the corner. They did a test of strength and Jetta forced Chif down to a bridge but she fought back and screamed her way free. Jetta dominated with some chain wrestling but MsChif broke free and threw her around until Jetta took a time-out. MsChif baseball slid her into the barrier. Jetta shouted blue murder while taking arm holds, then bit Chif’s hand to take control.

MsChif tried to scream her way free, but Jetta covered her mouth, and made a comically proud face having thwarted her. She went to set up the straitjacket lungblower but MsChif rolled out and worked her shoulder. Jetta sold the shoulder injury, barely using her left arm, but managed to hit a suplex outside. She guillotined MsChif on the way back in then superplexed her, rhetorically asking the crowd why she did the risky move. She desperately used the ropes and tights for pinning leverage to no avail. Jetta put the straitjacket on MsChif but she turned round, holding their hands in place and barged Jetta’s shoulder twice which eased her to a Desecrator DDT win. (***1/2)

Overall thoughts: 9.0 A superb volume of Shimmer that unfortunately finished on a missed beat. While there was nothing wrong with the main event, it wasn’t quite as good as the matches that preceded it. And, while I’m a big fan of Jetta, there’s just something that doesn’t feel right about her being in the main event. However, she reined in the comedy to an acceptable level, proving that she could hang at the top, much like Lacey in Vol. 14. While I do like Shimmer following through with a Rumble concept to put an unlikely player in the main event, it’s an especially risky thing to do for a first title match.

Still, I'm looking forward to a much better test of her mettle when she takes on Martinez, who met the expectations with her match against Melissa that, like Del Rey’s match before, had that intangible X factor that brings up the hype. In general, after the rumble match, which actually wasn’t that good aside from the fun of entrances and so many people in the ring, the whole card was a cut above most volumes before and puts the Reign of Torment in good stead for the future.

FYI: Vol 19 can be found, along with all other Shimmer DVDs, at ROHStore.com, with more information for live tapings and discussion available at ShimmerWrestling.com

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