By Anthony Beckingham, Women's Wrestling Specialist

SHIMMER DVD Review Series
SHIMMER Vol. 7 DVD review
October 22, 2006
Berwyn, Ill.

The DVD opened with Daizee Haze calling Rebecca Knox out for an Iron Woman match, but then faded out part-way through. Dave Prazak explained her severe injury that would take her out for over a year, ultimately ending her career. Prazak apologized to the fans and wished Knox well.

(1) Tiana Ringer (0-3) beat Lorelei Lee (2-1) at 5:29. Fast paced, unflashy opener. They started by trading hammerlocks until Ringer put Lee down with a fireman’s carry. The match picked up with some rope to rope offense, but Ringer slowed after nearly falling to a crucifix pin. Ringer put Lee down with a choke and kept her there by pulling her hair. Lee picked up momentum and went for a monkey flip, but Ringer caught her over the shoulders and slammed her down. (*1/2)

The show went backstage to Haze who said not being able to wrestle 60 minutes wouldn’t stop her trying her hardest and she offered Melissa, who apparently isn’t booked for a match despite being a marquee name, a match.

(2) “Portuguese Princess “Ariel (1-0) beat Cindy Rogers (2-1) at 8:42. They started, of course, with hammerlock wrist holds but Rogers seamlessly trapped Ariel into an inverted sharpshooter until the rope break came. Rogers let her up respectfully. She pulled Ariel down from a test of strength into a leg trap neck hold. Ariel escaped and turned the match into a big strike affair. After some dropkicks she threw Rogers corner to corner. The match was reset after they collided with a double faceplant. After back and forth strikes, Rogers became frustrated that she couldn’t secure a pin and even used the tights. Rogers Irish whipped her but Ariel caught the Dariel arm trap cutter for the win. Rogers sold frustration, leaving without shaking Ariel’s hand. (**)

Backstage, Lacey insulted Nikki Roxx and said even though she’s a tag team wrestler with Rain, she’d prove in singles competition why no-one’s heard of Nikki.

(3) The Experience (Lexie Fyfe & Molia Hosaka) (2-0) beat Serena Deeb & Portia Perez (0-0) at 7:00. The ring announcer mistakenly added 200 lbs to The Experience’s weight and Fyfe boxed him on the nose while the crowd lapped up Hosaka’s anger. Deeb took Hosaka down with her trademark arm drags but Hosaka soon took control. Hosaka sent Perez into Fyfe’s boot at the turnbuckle as Fyfe stretched. Perez tried to take down The Experience with a crossbody, they both caught her but Deeb knocked them over with a dropkick. Perez was still too far away and became isolated. Deeb took the hot tag until Experience escaped outside. Deeb brought Hosaka in the hard way (i.e. the physically impossible way) and Perez hit a bodyslam. Double team Gourdbuster and Perez took the loss. (*)

Melissa was briefly shown backstage accepting Haze’s challenge. I guess these backstage segments break up constant shots of the ring but they’ve become a little pointless and very generic.

(4) MsChif (3-3) beat Rain (2-3) by disqualification at 8:41. MsChif is mega over with the crowd after her series with Melissa and her scream terrified the referee half way across the ring. She went for pin roll up variants and then hit a bodyscissors take down and floated into a Boston Crab. Rain took a break then came back in and controlled MsChif with chops and forearms. MsChif went for the bodyscissor again but Rain caught her and sat down into a submission. MsChif sold back pain for the rest of the match as Rain choked her from a piggyback. Both went down for the count and MsChif started to dominate with turnbuckle stomps, but then Melissa came out. Rain hit a chinbreaker but Chif kicked out. Lacey came out to help Rain, hitting Melissa in the process. Lacey threw Rain an object but the referee saw her use it and disqualified her while Melissa tried to get at Lacey. (**)

Nattie Niedhart (Natalya in WWE) introduced herself (as if she needed to) as the world’s first female third generation wrestler from Calgary, Alberta. She acknowledged Sara Del Rey was undefeated but warned her “when you mess with the best, you die with the rest” and finished with The Anvil’s laugh.

(5) Allison Danger (3-3) beat Amber O’Neal (1-4) 12:21. Danger started a handclap before O’Neal took control with wrist holds. Daffney joined Prazak on commentary. After a few minutes of slick chain wrestling, O’Neal’s diva attitude angered Danger and she landed brutal punches and strikes. O’Neal hit a low dropkick and began to drop her knees on Danger’s leg. She slammed Danger’s leg around the apron but was kicked into the guard rail. She came back in and continued to kick at Danger’ leg. Danger fought back but instinctively went for a side chinbreaker on her damaged knee and took time to cover. Danger hit five straight suplexes to shock the crowd but again covered too slowly. Things got a bit sloppy when Danger grabbed a punch and rolled O’Neal through for a pin and then an STF for the submission victory. Danger sold her knee as she walked to the back. (**1/2).

(6) Nikki Roxx (3-2) beat Lacey (0-3) at 14:58. The crowd chanted, “Nikki rocks,” to cut off the ring announcer. The two traded advantage on the mat. Lacey pulled Roxx’s leg through innovatively, then stood her up into a wrist hold and kept biting Roxx’s wrist. Lacey did the splits to avoid a running Roxx but came up into a clothesline and a Samoan Drop anyway. Lacey was thrown into the corner but jumped onto it, she then kicked back to Roxx and grabbed her hair to knock her head into the turnbuckle a number of times before landing a bulldog. She hit a running double knee strike into Roxx’s back. The crowd got behind Roxx by chanting that Lacey had rabies. Roxx took a straitjacket hold in the middle of the ring. She escaped only to be pulled into a back drop (or a belly to back suplex). Roxx eventually reversed a full nelson into a Northern Lights suplex. Lacey turned the Barbie Crusher into a lungblower and then a Cobra Clutch neckbreaker. Roxx finally hit the Barbie Crusher to win. (***)

(7) Mercedes Martinez (0-2-1) beat LuFisto (0-0) at 13:05. Canada’s “Super Hardcore Anime” LuFIsto proved she’s more than just a garbage wrestling brawler in her debut. They went from mat grapples to speed and ended even, with Fisto squaring up to Martinez. Unable to take advantage, Martinez wrapped up all of Fisto’s limbs and took a break while she unwrapped herself. LuFisto responded with a burst of aggression ending in a Michinoku driver and headscissor hold, rolling her over to bang her face into the canvass. Martinez gained advantage with a Regal Stretch and then battered LuFisto with punches in the corner. LuFisto tried to avoid a powerbomb by keeping her body straight but Martinez pulled her up and landed the move. LuFisto briefly took control but lost it with a missed diving headbutt. While she was dazed, Martinez reset the match with a release German suplex and they both recovered. LuFisto reversed an Irish whip into the DVD but it was not enough, moments later Martinez’s fisherman buster was. (***)

(8) Sara Del Rey (4-0-1) beat Nattie Niedhart (0-0) at 18:46. The quality you’d expect from two of female wrestling’s greatest, as not one moment felt unused. They mixed it up in the middle of the ring, flipping and rolling in and out of submissions and advantage postures. Things built to big moves after Del Rey hit a shoulder tackle. Niedhart began to work as a heel, choking Del Rey on the ropes and hitting some firm forearms to Del Rey’s face. She began to work Del Rey’s knee, with the Sharpshooter in mind, by kicking it and wrapping it around the ropes. She locked in a sort of figure-four leg lock and shoved the referee when he told her to let go. Del Rey rolled a slam attempt into a pin but couldn’t hold her down. Niedhart went for the Sharpshooter but Del Rey almost reversed it until Nattie grabbed the rope break. Del Rey was thrown into the corner but came back off the second rope for a sunset flip. She hit some running big boots and then an arm-trap Northern Lights suplex. The sharpshooter was rolled into a pin and then in another attempt Del Rey just kicked Niedhart’s face. Sara beautifully rolled over an STO into a pin but when the pin didn’t work, she successfully locked in the Sharpshooter. Neidhart rolled under to escape and they ran clotheslines into each other, the third of which Del Rey held onto for the Royal Butterfly hold then slam. (****)

After the match, Mercedes Martinez came out on the microphone and cut the music. She told Del Rey that regardless of who else Sara wrestles on Volume 8, she’ll be wrestling Martinez. Del Rey looked exhausted as she hobbled out of the ring on her bad knee.

(9) Cheerleader Melissa (3-2) beat Daizee Haze (3-3) at 21:59. Haze did a little dance prompting the crowd to ask Melissa to dance. The cyborg with pom-poms declined the offer and instead began working Haze’s arm by bending her wrist backwards while sitting on her arm. They rolled around until Haze secured a sort of Muta Lock with her sitting by the side of Melissa. Melissa escaped a seated double underhook hold and repeatedly struck Haze’s head with such force it bounced off the mat. Melissa picked Haze up to give her a scoop slam but Haze rolled her over with a snapmare and held onto her head, refusing to let go. Melissa finally got free only to meet a tilt-a-whirl headscissors that sent her outside. Haze went up top for the crossbody and an outside brawl began which ended with Melissa putting Haze in a wheelbarrow and whipping her side to side into the guardrail – YouTube it, it’s brutal.

They exchanged nearfalls. Haze attempted a crucifix pin but Melissa stood resilient, then lifted her up then fell into a Samoan Drop. She put Haze in a Tree of Woe and stretched her limbs á la MsChif. Haze tried a monkey flip, Melissa caught her but took a faceplant anyway as the match reset with both trading chops on their knees. The moves built up until Melissa tried the Kudo Driver but Haze refused to be lifted all the way up. Haze tried the heart punch but Melissa ducked and hit a severe guillotine kick. Haze tried another heart punch but Melissa pushed her forward into the ropes and she bounced backwards into a bent Melissa allowing her to quickly hit the Kudo Driver for the first time and take the match. (****)

After a myriad of replays celebrating the back to back double underhook Kudo Driver, emphasizing it being the first time it had been used in Shimmer. While celebrating, The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew rushed the ring and double teamed a tired Melissa. After a few minutes of attacking her, MsChif ran into the ring and clotheslined Lacey and threw Rain out. Lacey grabbed the microphone and challenged Melissa and MsChif to a match. Melissa and MsChif stared each other down, then MsChif rolled out of the ring shaking her head leaving the proposition in doubt.

Overall thoughts: (8.0). The final two matches were high quality, engaging matches that were a joy to watch while the two before that were of similar caliber, but involved too many kick outs of big moves. They were still entertaining, but the two main events had better psychology. The lighting was much brighter in this volume and the entrance stage has a full curtain, screen and lights now. I don’t think they’d be able to get pyro into the low ceiling club, though. It’s amazing to think this volume was going to have an hour long match somewhere in it, with the caliber of match ups that took place it’s hard to think where.

FYI: Volume 7 is sadly sold out indefinitely, but volumes occasionally crop up from the wrestlers to be sold on the ShimmerWrestling.com forum or on eBay. Individual matches can be bought on ClickWrestle.com and all in-print Shimmer Volumes can be found at ROHStore.com.

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