[Kid Kamikaze10]

Looking at the Volume 33 card reminded me of something.


I REALLY need to re-watch Matthews/McKay I.

[Azusa Nakano]

I will post up a review of Vol. 33 tomorrow! Looks awesome, and the cover for 34 looks amazing, just might buy that one.

[Les Kellett Lariat]

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.
  
  

  Originally Posted by Portia Perez

  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.
  
  

  Originally Posted by Portia

  Hair-pulling's not illegal in Japan.

  Originally Posted by Prazak

  What?!? It's universally frowned-upon, Portia.

  Originally Posted by Portia

  Well you won't go to jail for it...

  ...and then a few seconds later...
  
  

  Originally Posted by Portia

  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.

[musdy]

I was hoping Eagles/Melissa would be great but now I might pass on this show.

[thephenomenalone]

Originally Posted by musdy

I was hoping Eagles/Melissa would be great but now I might pass on this show.

Yeah Eagles vs Melissa was a little disappointing but the McKay vs Matthews and Nakagawa vs Hamada matches make it still worth picking up.

[dezpool]

It's been a while since i've seen Shimmer, has Portia replaced Danger on commentary now?

[Rated Y2J]

Originally Posted by dezpool

It's been a while since i've seen Shimmer, has Portia replaced Danger on commentary now?

She did commentary on vol. 32 so I believe she has, unless Danger was doing it on Vol. 33, which i'm now about to watch.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Originally Posted by dezpool

It's been a while since i've seen Shimmer, has Portia replaced Danger on commentary now?

More often than not, Portia is the color commentator these days.


However, it does alternate between her, Danger, and rarely, Kellie Skater.

[Dalexian]

Just started watching my first volume of SHIMMER (32). Already a big fan of Girl Dynamite!

[fredcatcheur]

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.)