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Indy Womens Discussion Thread

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#1 ·

Here it is, by popular demand, the Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread! I'd been thinking, for a while, that there should've been one of these but, until now, I couldn't be bothered to make one myself (SHIMMER also needs to invade the 'Women of Wrestling' section but that's another story). I know that there are quite a few closet wimminz rasslin' marks knocking around WF, so it's time for you to come out of the woodwork and report in.

Some things that might need discussing:

- SHIMMER 33 is now available, for pre-order, here. I don't know who does the covers for SHIMMER DVDs but they've been awesome lately. They put ROH's dismal efforts to shame...
- Ayako Hamada recently parted ways with TNA. I'm presuming that she'll go back to Mexico or Japan on a full-time basis. There's a good chance that means that she won't be appearing at future SHIMMER tapings. Sad times.

- On a more positive note, here's a picture of Misaki Ohata:

Not sure what else needs discussing? Feel free to chime in with whatever you want, on the subject of SHIMMER - past, present and future.
 
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#42 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Rain is still in WSU and imo being used a lot better than she ever was in Shimmer as was Amber O'Neal come to think of it. Jetta Recently returned to the ring after her 'retirement' so it's not out of the question that she'll come back and since it's wrestling never say never to Lacey coming to as a wrestler either.

DP recently posted all the group shots that had been taken at tapings it's really interesting to see how the roster has grown over time and also who has come and gone as well as those who have been there the whole time.















 
#43 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

I gotta say I'm kinda burned out on Shimmer. At least on the recent volumes edited, and Prazak's booking of the title scene. The problem of having such a long reign for a champ is that it has to end with a bang, and immediately establish the new champ as an awesome threat.

But MsChif reign was a bit lackluster, during the last six months, and I'm still not convinced by Madison Eagles. I know she has her fans, but i'm just not seeing it, the same way i'm not seeing what supposedly makes Johnny Gargano so great in Chikara. So Shimmer's actual title scene doesn't do it for me. At all.

(personally, if they really wanted a heel champ, i'd have waited for Nicole Matthews to lose the tag belts, and have her defeat MsChif for the title. But that's just me.)

Now the rest of the recent cards is also a lot to blame for my lack of interest in these past volumes of Shimmer : too many short and so-so matches, that don't do much in the way of feud building, or establishing n00bs girls, and of course, the special attraction matches featuring guests or joshi stars. Yeah, those are good, but they're not doing much in the long term either : more often than not, they're just a way to give something to do for wrestlers who have accomplished everything else in the company, and fill an already stacked card.

(which is kind of why i'm annoyed when Shimmer ĂĽberfans or Diva Dirt fans use Shimmer booking as the example to follow for mainstream companies, as far as women's wrestling goes. Cos nothing screams "long-term mainstream tv booking & buyrates" more than half a dozen forgettable matches, and special attraction matches between random joshi star #123654 vs already established US star, where there's no feud going on)

That said, my old Shimmer volumes are still there, and i'll add to the K-nox love. I still miss her.
 
#55 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Time for a bump, with some titbits of news:

- There are only 15 minutes left to get everything, including SHIMMER DVDs, with 30% off at the ROH Store. Get in quick! Apparently the 30% of offer has been extended until 10am Eastern on Thursday morning (Dec. 23).

- There's a gold and black Death Rey T-shirt available here that I'm sure wasn't there last time I looked.

- Here's a pic of Del Rey after being raped by Papa Briscoe at Final Battle:


- Judging by the latest ROH Videowire it sounds like Serena Deeb might be coming back to ROH sooner rather than later.

- You can still get tickets for the tapings of Volumes 37-40 in Berwyn, IL, on March 26th & 27th by going to www.shimmerwrestling.com and scrolling down.

- SHIMMER Champ Madison Eagles apparently got rave reviews for her performances in a recent visit to Japan for the NEO and S-Ovation promotions. She wore the SHIMMER title belt during these appearances and represented the company well.

Here's a selection of pics:






You can see more of them posted here, credit to the two guys who posted them.

- SPARKLE prospect Maja Mia Svensson has a new blog up here, weighing up the pros and cons of her Christmas. You can see a video of her pre-show SPARKLE match from the Volume 33 taping below:



- You can download the fancy new 3D SHIMMER logo by clicking here and download a pack of five variations here.

- Allison Danger is re-launching the former Japanese women's promotion Pro Wrestling SUN in the United States. She's doing this under the wider umbrella of Steve Corino's WORLD-1 organisation. Apparently, she doesn't intend to compete with SHIMMER but rather complement the already existing U.S. women's companies, by doing something different.

- Volume 34 should be released any time soon. This show features a main event of Eagles defending her title against Ayumi Kurihara. You can see the DVD art below:



Other than that, I'm about to watch Volume 33 so I should have some thoughts to post in a few hours time.
 
#61 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Some random things that I noted down whilst watching SHIMMER 33. Naturally, they contain SPOILERZ:

  • Some of the new talent looked good. Athena looks like she has a lot to offer. Taylor Made looks promising too. I'd already seen her in that pre-show match and she definitely has something about her. Leva Bates' in-ring ability isn't anywhere near as good as her gimmick.

  • Allison Danger is brilliant on the mic.

  • Craft vs. Power was a great match. Power has to be on her way towards the top end of the card.

  • Serena vs. Skater was awesome. Probably Skater's best ever match. Highly recommended.

  • SDR vs. Nevaeh = fast paced

  • Matthews vs. McKay was a good back and forth match and another one that was fast-paced and impactful. Nicole kicked out of a HUGE Schoolgirl Crush. Reminded me of the kind of thing Tyler Black would randomly do when Gabe was gradually turning him face.

    I'm not that excited by McKay, in general, but Nicole keeps getting better and better.

    Portia's commentary on Nicole's match was gold, as evidenced by the following comment on the “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chants.

    Portia Perez said:
    You won't get any Canada chants up in here. These fans are a bunch of racists.

  • Portia was on fire during Hamada-Nakagawa too, winding up Prazak by questioning the rules of wrestling.

    Portia said:
    Hair-pulling's not illegal in Japan.
    Prazak said:
    What?!? It's universally frowned-upon, Portia.
    Portia said:
    Well you won't go to jail for it...
    ...and then a few seconds later...

    Portia said:
    Big Boot? Is that not illegal?!?
    This went on for the whole match. It's a must-watch for the commentary, regardless of the fact that it was one of the better matches in SHIMMER history.

    Hell of a false finish in this. The entire finishing sequence was all kinds of awesome.

    What a fucking match! I can...not...belieeeve that's the first time those two have ever wrestled each other!

    Seems like Nakagawa is one of those people who is really, really good at making stars shine even brighter.

    I actually started marking as soon as Hamada's entrance music first hit here. That shows how good she is. The crowd was going mental when she came out too.



  • The crowd was red hot for the start of Melissa vs. Eagles as well. I don't remember there being a SHIMMER atmosphere like this before. The crowd must have sensed/wanted a title change. They didn't get one though. Not even close.

    For the first ten minutes it was pretty much what you'd expect from two main-eventers with a grudge.

    TBH I don't really “get” Eagles. She's too rangy, which makes everything that she does slightly awkward and unorthodox.

    Melissa looked too weak in this, for me. Didn't get much offense in and got pinned cleanly.

    She did a bizarre leg lock about 15mins in, which was interesting.

    Match ended after about 17mins.

    Wasn't a big fan of this match. It was just OK. I don't know if it'll look better if/when I re-watch it.


Overall, this show probably had one of the best top to bottom cards you'll see on a SHIMMER DVD. Serena-Skater and Hamada-Nakagawa are must-see IMO and a few other matches were really good. I just thought the main event struggled to follow Hamada's awesomeness.

So, that's it. I also added some more bits of newz into my newz post. It pretty much sums up the goings on of the past month in the SHIMMERverse.
 
#67 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Just started watching my first volume of SHIMMER (32). Already a big fan of Girl Dynamite!
 
#68 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Just finished watching vol 33.

Wasn't too impressed with the first hour, hour & 1/2 of the show. The new girls didn't make much of an impression on me (that said, Athena does have presence & attitude, contrary to her partner), and up until DelRey/Nevaeh, the action wasn't really memorable (Serena/Skater had potential, but was way too short at barely 7 minutes, and wasn't that great if you're neither a Skater or a Deeb mark).

I liked the Lebell Lock finish of SDR/Nevaeh (but then again, barely 5 minutes is unsufficient), Matthews/McKay II was very good, Daizee/Kurihara II was solid, Nakagawa/Hamada was great (but ultimately, it was nothing more than another special attraction match)... and the title match was once again somehow disappointing, as far as i'm concerned. Just like Shirley Crabtree, I really can't seem to really be invested in Eagles matches - even with CheerMel looking mighty fine. But at no point did I felt that Melissa could win the match and dethrone Eagles on her first title defense. Also, Eagles' finisher seems kinda weak.

So, all in all, would I recommand watching this volume ? Sure, why not. Buying it ? Let's just say that if i had a Shimmer dvd to buy, #33 wouldn't be at the top of my shopping list. Eleven matches (+ interviews & backstage segments) on a 176 min card still seems way too much, especially when most older volumes had 7-9 matches, tops, and globally much stronger cards.

(And the more I watch recent Shimmer volumes, the more I miss Jetta & the IHWC's mid-card comedy.)
 
#69 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Just finished watching vol 33.

Wasn't too impressed with the first hour, hour & 1/2 of the show. The new girls didn't make much of an impression on me (that said, Athena does have presence & attitude, contrary to her partner), and up until DelRey/Nevaeh, the action wasn't really memorable (Serena/Skater had potential, but was way too short at barely 7 minutes, and wasn't that great if you're neither a Skater or a Deeb mark).

I liked the Lebell Lock finish of SDR/Nevaeh (but then again, barely 5 minutes is unsufficient), Matthews/McKay II was very good, Daizee/Kurihara II was solid, Nakagawa/Hamada was great (but ultimately, it was nothing more than another special attraction match)... and the title match was once again somehow disappointing, as far as i'm concerned. Just like Shirley Crabtree, I really can't seem to really be invested in Eagles matches - even with CheerMel looking mighty fine. But at no point did I felt that Melissa could win the match and dethrone Eagles on her first title defense. Also, Eagles' finisher seems kinda weak.

So, all in all, would I recommand watching this volume ? Sure. Buying it ? Not so sure. Eleven matches (+ interviews & backstage segments) on a 176 min card still seems way too much, especially when most older volumes had 7-9 matches, tops, and globally much stronger cards.

(And the more I watch recent Shimmer volumes, the more I miss Jetta & the IHWC's mid-card comedy.)

I miss the Homewreckers too. And I actually agree with you quite a bit about this volume.


I like Athena, and a bunch of people in the matches before Del Rey's, but none of them were that great. Decent, but I wasn't too engaged.


I kinda liked the SDR match, Daizee's match was fun, Hamada's match was fantastic, and the title match was MsChif/Stock disappointing. Quite frankly, it seems like anytime you have a match after Hamada, it's bound to disappoint, whoever you are.


However, the match of the volume for me was Matthews vs McKay. It wasn't the most technically sound match (though it was good on that end too), but it was the most engaging to me. Much like their Vol 30 match, which I was able to watch recently, it was brutal and action packed. McKay is a great face in peril, and I'm not surprised she's moving up the card.

But honestly, I've been more impressed by Matthews. Similar to Cat Power earlier this year, she's had a string of pretty dang good matches, and she's getting better and better. However, the thing that makes me such a fan of her is that she's not only a good wrestler.

She's a great worker, something that SHIMMER has been losing since the Homewreckers left the promotion.
 
#70 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

I don't mind short, sharp matches (in wrestling in general) as long as they're done well. Seven to ten minutes of crisp action can often be more entertaining than a long-winded slog.

There are, probably, too many matches on the average SHIMMER DVD though. I'm not sure whether the Volumes are deliberately designed to be dipped in and out of, rather than to be watched from start to finish.
 
#82 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

I don't mind short, sharp matches (in wrestling in general) as long as they're done well. Seven to ten minutes of crisp action can often be more entertaining than a long-winded slog.

There are, probably, too many matches on the average SHIMMER DVD though. I'm not sure whether the Volumes are deliberately designed to be dipped in and out of, rather than to be watched from start to finish.
I think the short matches are something we just have to accept due to the way Shimmer operates. Shooting several volumes together rather eliminates the possiblity of hour long matches if the women are going to apear on more than one dvd. Also, because of the gap between tapings, it's impossible to know who will be available next time. The danger is that if just 3 of the top women were missing (let's say Del Rey, Melissa and MsChif) the whole card is fucked. By compromising on match length in order to squeeze a few more in they can at least ensure that, in the event of injury to top stars, they have some women who've been seen on previous volumes rather than using complete outsiders.
 
#71 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Thing is, i've got no problems with short 5/7 min matches, as long as they give me some reason to get really involved. Whether they're only part of a feud, building up to something bigger later, or they're going at a frantic pace due to storyline reasons (a grudge match, a squash), or to make some room on the card for a longer main event, i'm okay with it.

But when it's a one-off match, without any build-up or follow-up, or any kind of great/memorable action, it invariably leaves me unsatisfied. And with its 11-12 matches per dvd, Shimmer has had quite a lot of those, on recent volumes.

Now, I don't really know why Prazak went from 8-9 matches per card to 11-12. Probably to help all the sparkle girls get some ring time and exposure, and give matches to all the puro wrestlers. Which is good in theory, but kinda weighs down the show in practice.

And I feel the company is in a state of flux : on one hand, they're trying to build up the next generation of Shimmer wrestlers, on the other, they're still trying to fit as much Shimmer veterans (Melissa, Kong, SDR, Danger, Ariel, Nikki, Mercedes, MsChif) on the card as possible, and on top of that, there's the puro girls, and the occasional returning wrestler (Serena, Sarah Stock). It makes for a very crowded roster, and kinda lacks direction. But hopefully it'll get better.
 
#72 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Diva Dirt's Christmas Women of Wrestling Podcast is up here. It features SHIMMERers Allison Danger and Kellie Skater.

The guys who do this podcast know their shit but have a tendency to talk about LayCool too much (I guess that's what pays the bills).

Danger has her own podcast on diva-dirt.com and I know the Women of Wrestling podcast had a decent interview with Dave Prazak a while back, if you look around the site.
 
#73 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Shimmer Volume 33

Rachel Summerlyn and Jessica James vs Athena and Bonesaw **

-Decent opener, I actually quite enjoy the team of Rachel and Jessica. It was the first time I saw their opponents Bonesaw and Athena in action, they seem to be fairly good competitors for the little time I was able to see them in the ring. I possibly see Jessica and Rachel challenging for the tag titles in future shows.

Cat Power vs Jamilia Craft ***

-Once again a great match put on by my girl Cat Power, and Jamilia Craft is awesome as well. This was a short match but was very solid and I enjoyed, hoping we see them in a series because they work very well together in the ring.

Allison Danger vs Leva Bates ** 1/4

-A fun match, Danger still has it in her to deliver in the ring and she proved it with this one. Leva is definitely a future star in Shimmer and I still expect big things from Ally, she is one of the girls who are destined to hold the Shimmer Championship.

Melanie Cruise vs Taylor Made * 3/4

-This was sorta meh to me, No offense to Melanie but I enjoy her more when she is in tag team action with Annie Social, they should be the next heel team to hold the titles after someone takes the from The Ninjas.

Misaki Ohata vs Ariel *** 1/4

-I LOVED this match, Misaki is becoming one of my favorites and I seriously hope she continues with Shimmer because her matches are always fun to watch, This wasn’t quite as good as the one against Del Ray but still a very good match. The fairly lock ftw!

Serena vs Kellie Skater ** 3/4

-Happy to see Serena back in Shimmer competition, and picking up a win. Kellie is impressing me even more each volume and she will definitely be a big time player in the future of Shimmer.

Sara Del Ray vs Nevaeh ** 1/2

-As always, it is fun to watch Death Ray in action but I really wanted to see Nevaeh get the W here. I would like to see another encounter where Nev pulls out the upset and perhaps she goes on a winning streak until the eventual return of Lane when she loses the KO title in TNA so that they can have a match together :) I marked for the Crossface though lol I love that hold.

Jessie McKay vs Nicole Matthews *** 1/2

-As expected, this was an epic match and now that they are 1-1 I am hoping we get some gimmick match between the two (Have not looked at any of the future cards yet hehe, I like to be surprised for the most part) But I seriously want to see them go at it one more time or two because they work so well together, this was one of the best matches of the night hands down.

Daizee Haze vs Ayumi Kurihara ***

-Just like their last match on the previous volume this was very high paced action and all around awesome, Was glad they kept the winning streak of Kurihara in tact as it makes her upcoming match on Vol. 34 all the more interesting. (Again I do not read spoilers or look at cards for future shows past that of what is the next show)

Ayako Hamada vs Tomoka Nakagawa ***

-After seeing this match, I was saying to myself it would be one hell of a tag team if Hamada and Nakagawa joined forces because they are two of the world's finest cruiserweight style women's wrestlers and as a team they could go very far in SHIMMER, I feel. Great stuff with the water bottle, these two are another couple of women with great chemistry and putting them in a team will only be a good thing imo.

Madison Eagles © vs Cheerleader Melissa - SHIMMER Championship. *** 3/4


-Excellent main event, I am really behind both these girls and hope that when Eagles does lose the belt is to Melissa in some sort of gimmick match but for now I am greatly enjoying the reign of Maddie Eagles. This match was totally awesome, Eagles works extremely well for a big woman and I dare say she is the best "Big Woman" in women's wrestling, even better than Kong and even Death Ray who are both awesome in their own right. I love the emotion of Melissa and the storytelling it adds even more to this match as it is her first shot at the gold.

Once again another spectacular showing for Shimmer, definitely cannot wait to see what is next :)
 
#74 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Just wanna post some of my favorite Shimmer wrestlers past and present.

Past
Alexa Thatcher - I was becoming a big fan of hers, but then she just disappeared.
MSHWC(Lacey, Rain, Jetta) - Lacey is one of my favorite women wrestlers ever.
Tiana Ringer - Loved her in ring style.
Rebecca Knox - Just flat out great in the ring.

Present
Cheerleader Melissa - My favorite women's wrestler of all time.
Ayumi Kurihara - Once saw her suplex Aja Kong in a Joshi match a year or so ago I became a fan.
Nicole Matthews
Jennifer Blake
Hamada
Misaki Ohata
Sara Del Rey
Daffney
Neveah
Veronica Vice

Also these wrestlers who may be added to my favorites list once I see more of them are Athena and Taylor Made.
 
#75 · (Edited)
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

LOL@the whining over wrestlers wrestling long matches...I'll tell you this..you would of hated watching wrestling when I was coming up because that's the way it ALWAYS used to be. The Jumping Bomb Angels vs the Glamour Girls at the original Royal Rumble in a 2/3 Falls match for the WWF Women Tag titles was the definition of great wrestling and if you can't get hooked in by great wrestling or appreciate the craft, this is probably isn't for you and you should stick to the botch fests that someone like Melina puts out every week. Now...

Just finished watching Volume 33 yesterday...

Nicole Matthews continued her hot streak of matches....love watching her work. One of the fastet learners of ring psychology of the last 5 years, no question. Jessie McKay took a nice stiff slap to the face..she was a little off in those transitions but good work nonetheless.

Hamada put on another beautiful performance and even put over the heel post match. Not surprising. She loves getting everyone involved over.

Rachel Summerlyn and Jessica James vs Athena and Bonesaw...timing was off a little in this match. OK match.

Jamila Croft vs Cat Power. Cat Power is deep in her character. Better in the ring than Croft.

Taylor Made vs Melanie Cruise...Taylor Made looks as animated as Jessie McKay in many ways but the right person went over.

Ohata vs Ariel....good match. Ohata needed a victory.

Serena vs Kellie Skater..she returned to a mighty reaction. Great to see her back and kicking ass. Nice match and it will be good to see her in the mix of things for the title.

Nevaeh vs Sara Del Ray. Now..I like Nevaeh for selfish reasons. She has a nice bubble ass but as usual, Ssra Del Ray went over but sold her ass off for when the kid did get some offense.

Ayumi Kurihara vs. Daizee Haze...good as expected. And it was good to see Kurihara go over. She's getting pretty damn over with the crowd.

Madison Eagles vs Cheerleader Melissa. Melissa came out to the pop of the night yet again and had huge chants...personally, I don't care if Eagles is the new champ or not, I thought that Melissa should of went over or at least loss unclean. As always, GREAT selling from Melissa, nice stiff strikes, smart ring awareness, fun submission wrestling..pulled the crowd in with the close falls. She's an absolute delight to watch...my favorite performer of the year alongside Chris Jericho himself.
 
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#77 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Unfortunately, where I'm from I can't get SHIMMER DVDs :( And I don't have acredit card so i can't pre-order.

So I do the illegal thing and download torrents. So far Volume 31 is the latest up on the site.
Rohstore.com accepts paypal and moneyorders, I think. You can hook your paypal account up with your bank account and use your cash from your account to draw from for payments, if you don't have a credit card.
 
#79 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Is Kong back yet?
 
#96 ·
Re: Official SHIMMER Discussion Thread

Cover art for 35 & 36:
It looks good...can't wait to see the 8 woman elimiation match.
 
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