Madison Eagles and Deonna Purrazzo stole the show as SHIMMER marked their century with their annual iPPV!
Yes, even though the most recent DVDs you can get of them are TWO YEARS OLD… featuring Kimber Lee (who’s been and returned from WWE in that time). Yeah, it’s not exactly conducive to having a keen following, and that showed in the ticket sales. It’d been noted that this was the only full-on women’s show in New Orleans over ‘Mania weekend, which was a damning indictment on the indy scene given all of the buzz and hype over WWE’s “women’s revolution”.
As seems to be the case for all of this weekend, we’re live in the Ponchartrain Center just outside of New Orleans. Dave Prazak and Amber Gertner are on commentary for this…
Team Blue Nation (Charli Evans & Jessica Troy) vs. Fire And Nice (Britt Baker & Chelsea Green)
Fire and Nice got a loud cheer for their arrival, while Jessica Troy was the only one not shilling her own merchandise. Perhaps she’s just mad that Blue Nation were in purple? You had one job!
Troy and Green work over the arm early on, but Chelsea’s taken to the outside as our first dive almost ended badly when Chelsea flung herself to the outside. Charli comes in and eats a pair of knees for a near-fall, before a Slingblade from Baker counted for nought as Troy had made a blind tag. A 619 from Troy scored a near-fall as Blue Nation took over, trading strikes before a running Meteora from Troy collected another two-count as Chelsea Green was constantly getting knocked off the apron. Evans takes Baker into the corner for some double-teaming as the feed stutters, and we’re back as Baker nails a swinging neckbreaker to get herself a breather.
Chelsea gets the hot tag, knocking down Charli with a dropkick before dropping Troy with a knee to the head. A Famouser from Baker almost put Charli away as the referee lost all control of this, watching on as a wheelbarrow facebuster from Evans and a Troy Meteora to the back of the head collects a near-fall.
Troy knocks down Baker with a pump kick on the floor, before a double-team Stroke dropped Chelsea for the win. An unpopular result, but a pretty decent tag to get us underway given the time they had. I’m hoping this isn’t going to be a card full of sub-ten minute matches… **¼
Veda Scott, Kellyanne & Zoe Lucas vs. Rhia O’Reilly, Mia Yim & Kay Lee Ray
Must. Not. Mention. Shotgun.
It’s weird to see Zoe Lucas as a heel, but needs must. It’s a SHIMMER return for O’Reilly after injury, but it’s Kellyanne and Mia Yim who start us off, with mind games from the Australian. A knuckle lock from Kellyanne leads to a stomp, but Yim responds with a cross armbreaker as they ended up straight in the ropes. Kellyanne works the wrist and starts choking Mia… only to get caught in another armbar as the Aussie hurriedly tagged out to Zoe Lucas.
Kay Lee Ray’s in as well, but she’s forced to cartwheel out of a wristlock as Lucas is taken down in a headlock instead. There’s mat-based stuff as the pair counter away, before we go to Veda and Rhia. Uh-oh. She tries the cartwheel out of a wristlock, and flops badly, before celebrating when she does a cartwheel good. Rhia’s not impressed though, and takes her down with a Curt Hennig neckflip and a PK for a near-fall.
The bad guys take over with a bunch of sneak attacks that the production truck missed, leaving us with O’Reilly getting isolated ahead of a vile kick to the back from Kellyanne. Rhia returns with some forearms, but Kellyanne keeps her isolated, allowing Veda to, erm, choke her behind the ref’s back.
Zoe Lucas nearly got the win with a legdrop to O’Reilly, before Kellyanne returned with a neckbreaker for a lackadaisical two-count, continuing the beatdown as the crowd tried to rally behind Rhia. Eventually, Rhia nails a Samoan drop, and we get tags to Lucas and Ray, with Kay Lee being the proverbial house on fire, single-handedly dealing with Lucas and Scott.
A blind tag gets Yim back in, who charges down Veda with some clotheslines, before an overhead kick eventually took Veda down for a near-fall. Everyone ends outside for some reason, which led to Kellyanne eating a PK from Mia Yim, while Kay Lee Ray took care of the other two with a dive that the cameras miss. Rhia’s axehandle off the apron connects, but it’s not enough for Yim to put away Zoe Lucas with, before her attempt at a package piledriver is stuffed, with Yim taking a DDT to the leg instead.
A parade of strikes breaks out, leaving all six women down, before we’re back to Mia and Zoe… but Yim crumples as her leg’s hurt again. Mia tags out to Kay Lee Ray, who’s instantly stopped, as a Parade of Moves broke out, ending with a Gory Bomb to Veda Scott as Kay Lee Ray… gets knocked onto the turnbuckles by Kellyanne.
Kellyanne drops Kay Lee onto the buckles as Bryce Remsburg loses control (I sense a pattern), before the match ends with a Kay Lee Ray senton to Zoe Lucas. A solid match, but my word, are tags a novelty in SHIMMER? **¾
I know they have a different model, but it’s so noticeable how better SHIMMER’s themes are. Yes, I know that last match had a theme that was literally a GameBoy chip-tune, but still…
Kimber Lee vs. Samantha Heights
After ten volumes off (leaving in November 2016), Kimber Lee made her SHIMMER return here, taking on Samantha Heights… who Kimber Lee beat in one of her last nights in.
It’s an aggressive start from Lee, who took Heights into the ropes, before running into a boot as Heights scored an electric chair armdrag. A running flip neckbreaker only gets her a one-count though, before her shot to Kimber Lee in the corner was telegraphed, allowing Lee to slide to the outside. Mind games allowed Kimber Lee to slip back inside and land a tiltawhirl backbreaker for just a one count, before pulling Heights into the Axel Dieter Special, and then into some pinning predicaments. A stalling suplex adds another one-count as Heights was kicking out nice and early, only to eat a big boot as Lee keeps struggling to get those counts.
Heights mounts a comeback, landing an Asai DDT for a near-fall while the polite crowd kept thanking Kevin Harvey for the time checks. A lungblower from Heights comes next, as does a running kick in the corner, almost putting the former WWE signee away… and that seems to be the last straw as Kimber Lee popped up Heights into a powerbomb, before folding her for the pin. A keenly-fought contest, and a lot more even than I expected – it didn’t exactly feel like this was Kimber coming back with a bang. **¾
SHIMMER Tag Team Championship: LuFisto & Hudson Envy vs. Leva Bates & Delilah Doom (c)
The champions, called the “Totally Tubular Tag Team” go flying early as Doom dove into Envy while Bates nearly crashed and burned from a cannonball off the apron.
Back inside some rolling spears take down the challengers, as Envy charges into the corner, assisted by a Flatliner from Bates. Slingshot knees come next from Leva for a near-fall, as she constantly avoids Envy’s strikes, before both women tagged out, allowing Doom to just about get off a springboard armdrag. The running ‘rana’s more successful for Delilah, but she turns around into a lariat from LuFisto, as the challengers took over, flattening her with a dropkick to the back as Envy gets a near-fall. LuFisto keeps up as Doom’s kept grounded, before Envy’s back in to start throwing some chops.
Tags out follow, but neither was particularly hot as Leva took over, scoring with a knee lift and a hook kick… but this was a match that felt like yesterday’s EVOLVE… decent stuff, in front of a crowd that struggled. Why buy a ticket to sit on your hands?! Leva almost scored the win after a double-stomp to a doubled-over LuFisto, but the tables turn as a Tree of Woe and a baseball slide dropkick had Bates struggling. More stuff follows as a cannonball loosens Leva and almost causes a title change, as does a bridging German from Hudson Envy.
There’s tonnes of quick break-ups from covers, as we headed to LuFisto teasing a burning hammer, before a Koppo kick from Envy wiped out LuFisto, allowing Delilah Doom to roll-up Envy for the win. That looked to be a fast count to hurry the finish as Envy kicked out pretty quick, but it was a fitting end to a decent match that had it’s wobbly moments. **¼
Cheerleader Melissa vs. Shotzi Blackheart
Cheerleader Melissa was once labelled the “Future Legend”, so this is billed as present versus future as Shotzi Blackheart tried to get a bin win. Veda Scott’s on commentary, so let’s see if that draws an improvement.
Shotzi tries a headlock, but gets barged away as she’s shoved into the ropes, as Melissa took her down with a slam, before missing a speeding elbow drop. Blackheart takes her into the corner for a knee and a DDT, but Melissa trips her back into the corner as she started to go after the legs with some Dragon screws.
A leg grapevine sees Melissa tease a submission, but Shotzi’s back with a sunset flip to score a two-count as Melissa goes right back to the leg, kicking away at it before rolling into a Trailer Hitch, kicking her with her spare leg as we eventually got a rope break. The crowd roars behind Blackheart though, as she nails two chinbreakers and a lungblower, then a Slingblade as Shotzi started to chain together her offence nicely.
Blackheart trips Melissa and hits some running knees for a near-fall, only to get caught with a Samoan drop for a solid two-count. An enziguiri gets Shotzi back in it for another near-fall, before she crashed and burned with a back senton, allowing Melissa to nail an Air Raid Crash for the win. This was brisk and fun to watch – Shotzi’s got quite the reputation, and she can only improve as she continues to gain experience. ***
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Madison Eagles
Commentary tipped off that Eagles’ knee braces could be a target, but Madison scored an early takedown as the match had a rather measured opening.
Eagles rolls away from a toe hold, as she cartwheeled into a wristlock as the pair went move for move with each other. Madison keeps hold of a hammerlock, but Purrazzo scores by going after her knees, with the Australian trying to counter out into an armbar… doing so successfully. The pair continue to segue from headlock to headscissors, before Eagles goes right into an armbar, with Deonna escaping and trying the same as the pair kept going tit-for-tat. A waistlock looked to be moot as Eagles shrugs off Purrazzo and easily lifts her up… only to reply with some wicked forearms as Madison decked her with one of her own. Tit for tat!
A crucifix almost goes wrong, but Purrazzo gets it off as she tries to surprise Eagles with some rapid pinning attempts, before trying for a Fujiwara armbar. Eagles teases the Hellbound, but instead nails a Go To Sleep instead, before she pulls Purrazzo into a grounded Octopus.
More tit-for-tat strikes left Purrazzo down, but she avoids a suplex and finally finds her way into an Octopus hold, except she slipped out and was met with a headbutt. A side Russian legsweep follows though, and Purrazzo tries again for the armbar, before getting kicked in the head. Deonna returns the favour, but finally gets taken into the corner with a death valley driver as a simple head kick got the win. This was excellent stuff, head and shoulders above what preceded it – even without knowing any storylines, as the mat-based stuff had me hook, line and sinker. ***¾
Nicole Matthews vs. Toni Storm
Somehow this is Toni Storm’s debut in SHIMMER. That’s a LOT of schedule conflicts, or bad scouting!
Matthews made a point of trying to bully the referee from the off, as her and Storm’s feeling out process was a little humiliating for the “SHIMMERtaker”. Second time was the charm though as a headlock takedown had some success, but the pair matched each other move-for-move, with Storm getting the upper hand with some finger manipulation and an armbar. An armbar from Storm led to a rope break, so Toni switches things into strikes as she booted Matthews in the chest before she went to those hip attacks. Matthews takes Storm to the floor next, where Toni gets whipped into the ring post, then into the steps as she took over, blasting Storm with an elbow and a dropkick in the corner.
Storm mounts a comeback with chops in the corner, but a big knee from Matthews rocks her in the middle of the ring ahead of a camel clutch. The feed goes weird as we return to Matthews kicking Storm on the apron, but Toni launches into a huge comeback, dropping Matthews with a German suplex… but Nicole comes back with a superplex for a couple of near-falls. A side Russian legsweep keeps Matthews ahead, but some kicks get caught as a leg-trap German almost gets Storm the win, before Matthews almost nicked it with an inside cradle. While she complained to the ref, Toni teased a Strong Zero, but it’s escaped as a Fisherman neckbreaker gets Nicole a little closer, before a Mark Haskins-like bridging armbar gets Toni the flash win. This was a nice little match, helped by characters that were solidily good or bad… and augmented by the fact that both folks here could go in the ring. ***¼
Heart Of SHIMMER Championship: Tessa Blanchard vs. Shazza McKenzie (c)
So, this is where the DVD backlog bites, as DVD-only fans will be up to Nicole Savoy winning the inaugural Heart of SHIMMER title two years ago. There’s been some movement since, as Shazza won the belt last July and has had six defences since.
We start with back-and-forth wrist work as Blanchard looked for an early lead, only to get caught with a Euro clutch for a surprise near-fall. The pace is high, and the stuff mostly connects… and then Blanchard slips as she climbed the ropes for a lucha armdrag. Blanchard held on as she blocked a snapmare, shrugging off the brief knock to the knee as she took McKenzie into the ropes for some forearms.
Tessa shoves Shazza into the ropes, but misses as she went for a diving uppercut, crashing into the ropes before a forearm to the back sent the champion down hard. A dropkick follows for a near-fall, as Blanchard wrenches away on the arm for a while, but McKenzie tries to kick her way back into it… only to get decked with another forearm. We move up to back-and-forth strikes as Blanchard sensed blood, but she’s taken into the ropes for some kicks from the champion, who followed in with a crossbody off the top for a near-fall. Blanchard misses with a hammerlock DDT, but succeeds with an Ace crusher for a near-fall, only to get caught with a belly-to-back suplex after McKenzie started a comeback.
Boots in the corner led to a near-fall for the champion, but she gets caught in the corner and dragged out of it with a lungblower as McKenzie came within a hair’s breadth of losing her title, which prompted her into a fightback, only to get knocked down from a superplex as a flying lungblower from Blanchard sent McKenzie rolling to the outside. Back in the ring, McKenzie fights on the top rope as she eventually takes Blanchard down with an avalanche Stunner… and that’s your lot! Not a popular result, but a hard fought win for McKenzie, who almost capitalised on Blanchard’s early slip before having to fight from behind. ***½
SHIMMER Championship: Mercedes Martinez vs. Nicole Savoy (c)
The crowd has noticeably reduced as fans left for the NXT show – which is a big problem of these weekends when you have competing shows all over the area.
It’s a rematch from SHIMMER 99, as former champion Martinez cashed in her rematch clause, and instantly went for the wrist before decking Savoy with a dropkick as the ex-champ was really on offence. A neckbreaker dumps Savoy for a near-fall, as Martinez barely let her get out of the gates here. Eventually Savoy manages to slip in a backdrop suplex before turning her hand to a submission attempt, only for her attempts at kicks to get caught and turned into a powerbomb as the title nearly changed back the other way.
Savoy hits back, rolling Martinez into a cross armbreaker, then into a Rings of Saturn, before a flurry of strikes led to a nice ‘rana as Savoy picked up a near-fall, only for a Saito suplex to dump Savoy on her head in return. Nicole’s back with a German, before the pair ran into each other with big boots at the same time. They exchange strikes for a spell, going tit-for-tat, with Savoy’s wild knee in the ropes sending Martinez loopy. A trifecta of suplexes gets countered by Savoy as she hits back with a pair of butterfly suplexes, before Martinez countered the third one with a rope-hung neckbreaker for a two-count. Martinez standing on Savoy’s chest almost went awry as she was pulled down into a submission attempt, just as Mercedes thanked the infernal time checker.
A headbutt from Savoy kills a superplex attempt, as she follows in with a swandive headbutt of her own for a near-fall. Savoy lands a strait-jacket German, but has to roll through to try a Dragon suplex… which gets elbowed away as a wild Fisherman’s buster dumped Savoy. Martinez can’t make the cover immediately, and so only gets a two-count as Savoy got a foot to the rope. Mercedes tries to force a submission with the surfboard into a Dragon sleeper, but Savoy elbowed free and ran in with knees to the chest, before trapping Martinez in a Rings of Saturn for the submission! A nice title defence as Savoy does the double over the ex-champion in a match that was solid without really getting into upper gear. ***¼
SHIMMER 100 was a good show – in a vacuum. Not knowing any storylines or anything surrounding the product, I was at a disadvantage, but while the early matches started out rough, things quickly picked up and ended on a high. Madison Eagles was the star of the show here, as her match with Deonna Purrazzo grabbed my attention, while Blanchard/McKenzie ran it close in the semi-main. Overall, this card is well worth a watch if you have even a passing interest in women’s wrestling.
Now, if I never have to hear a polite “thank you” to a time check ever again, it’ll be too soon…