SHIMMER - WOMEN ATHLETES returned to the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL on Sunday, October 19, 2008. Volumes 21 & 22 of the SHIMMER DVD series were filmed during the course of the event. Here's what went down...
The first two women's bouts of the day consisted of SPARKLE pre-show tryout matches.
1. MELANIE CRUISE defeated CHERRY BOMB with her feet on the ropes for leverage.
2. RACHEL SUMMERLYN defeated "Sassy" STEPHIE SINCLAIR with the Texas Cloverleaf.
The first half of the main show portion of the taping consisted of matches which will comprise SHIMMER Volume 21.
Ring announcer JOEY EASTMAN welcomed the fans to the show and brought out SERENA DEEB for an in-ring interview. Serena stated that she's been in SHIMMER for over two years now, and it has always been her goal to climb to the top of the card and prove that she is championship material. After being forced out of the SHIMMER Title Tournament due to an auto accident on the day of the tourney, she said she has not lost focus of trying to earn a future opportunity at becoming SHIMMER Champion. Serena said that she gave it her all against SARA DEL REY during their match on Volume 20, but the physical punishment to her knee during the match prevented her from continuing to fight. Deeb asked for a rematch against Del Rey, to prove that she could pull out the win if given another chance. Del Rey came to the ring and said she's through wrestling against "bottom of the barrel" talent like Ariel and Serena, and the only thing that matters to her is regaining the SHIMMER Championship. Serena and Del Rey exchanged further words, prompting Del Rey to attack Serena. A referee slid into the ring and called for the opening bell.
1. SARA DEL REY defeated SERENA DEEB with the Royal Butterfly. Deeb put up a strong fight once again, but was outmatched by the brutality of Death Rey.
2. MISS NATURAL defeated LORELEI LEE. This was Natural's SHIMMER debut.
3. DAFFNEY defeated CAT POWER. Daffney grabbed the microphone prior to the match to call out Power, who was able to pull out the victory against Daffney on Volume 20, as a result of targeting Daffney's bad knee. Daffney said the knee is back to 100%, and ended every sentence with the word "meow" as she tried to lure Cat to the ring. Power accepted, wearing a cat mask on her entrance. During the course of the action, Daffney produced a ball of yarn and threw it across the ring, only for Cat to chase after it, among other silliness. In the end, Daffney was able to score her first SHIMMER victory!
4. NIKKI ROXX defeated DANYAH with the Barbie Crusher.
5. "The Croatian Panther" WESNA BUSIC defeated AMBER O'NEAL with the CB4 Driver. The SHIMMER fans in attendance gave Wesna a fantastic reception upon her return, while also taking great pleasure in heckling a quite intimidated and nervous O'Neal. Amber, much like in match against ALLISON DANGER on Volume 7, actually went strike for strike against her hard hitting opponent, which is not a side often seen from O'Neal. Ultimately, she fell victim to Wesna's CB4 Driver. This was the first win for The Croatian Panther in SHIMMER competition, after falling in her initial two outings.
6. The SHIMMER Tag Team Championship Gauntlet was next. Six teams drew numbers at random to determine the order of entry.
A. "The Canadian Ninjas" PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS defeated "The Pink Ladies" MADISON EAGLES & JESSIE McKAY with a superkick/German suplex double team combo.
B. "The Suicide Blondes" LUFISTO & JENNIFER BLAKE defeated "The Canadian Ninjas" PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS with a powerbomb/second rope lungblower double team maneuver.
C. "The International Home Wrecking Crew" RAIN & JETTA defeated "The Suicide Blondes" LUFISTO & JENNIFER BLAKE after Jetta knocked Blake out with a foreign object behind the referee's back.
D. ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated "The International Home Wrecking Crew" RAIN & JETTA following their STO/Yakuza kick double team combo.
E. ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated "The Experience" LEXIE FYFE & MALIA HOSAKA with the STO/Yakuza kick combo to become the first SHIMMER Tag Team Champions!
The entire SHIMMER Tag Team Championship Gauntlet was 45 minutes in length.
7. "Portuguese Princess" ARIEL defeated CHEERLEADER MELISSA & AMAZING KONG & "The Latina Sensation" MERCEDES MARTINEZ in a Four Corner Survival Match to determine who would get a SHIMMER Title Match on Volume 22. Late in the contest, Martinez hit her signature fisherman buster on Melissa, but the pin attempt that followed was broken up. Martinez and Kong battled to the floor, as Ariel capitalized by following up on Melissa with the Dariel to lead to the pinfall, and #1 contender status for Volume 22.
8. SHIMMER Champion "Your Soul's Tormentor" MsCHIF defeated DAIZEE HAZE to retain the SHIMMER Championship after hitting the Desecrator (her fourth defense since winning the belt). This was Daizee Haze's return to SHIMMER action after being forced to miss Volumes 19 & 20 due to a back injury. Prior to the injury, Haze had been on a SHIMMER winning streak. Haze had proven she could pin MsChif during the summer of 2007 on Volume 14 in Florida, so Chif granted Daizee this SHIMMER Title Match opportunity out of respect.
Volume 21 closed with a locker room promo by SERENA DEEB, who said that she is not going to let the Del Rey setback cause her to lose focus on working her way into title contention. Serena said she would face anyone on the roster necessary in order to prove herself, whether it be Cheerleader Melissa, Mercedes Martinez, Amazing Kong, or anyone else. MsCHIF interrupted, praising Serena's drive and determination, and her strong efforts against Del Rey, the woman who MsChif defeated to become champion. Chif told Serena that if she can beat Del Rey, she will give Serena a title shot any time she wants it. The two shook hands, and Serena thanked MsChif for the opportunity.
Following intermission, matches were taped which will comprise SHIMMER Volume 22.
1. RAIN of "The International Home Wrecking Crew" defeated DAFFNEY with the Acid Rain (Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex).
2. DANYAH defeated CAT POWER to earn her first SHIMMER victory.
3. AMAZING KONG defeated RACHEL SUMMERLYN following the Amazing Press.
New SHIMMER announce team member VALERIE MALONE introduced her guest ALLISON DANGER for an in-ring interview. Danger explained to the fans that after being sidelined for a second time due to PORTIA PEREZ re-injuring her collarbone on Volume 20, Danger decided to start working on the "next generation of SHIMMER stars" and is (quite visibly) pregnant. Danger said when she returns to wrestling next year, she has one thing on her mind, and that is payback for Perez. This brought Portia out to the ring, who began to berate Danger for "gaining weight." Words between the two got heated, and Portia commented that "We can do this right now," as senior official BRYCE REMSBURG began to look concerned for Danger's well being inside the ring. Perez declared that she would not only end Danger's wrestling career, but she'll "end something else right now," and went to hit the ropes to potentially attack Allison, but Bryce tackled Perez before she was able to do anything. Several referees immediately hit the ring and both held Portia off from getting anywhere near Danger, and quickly got Allison out of the ring and to safety. Perez and Danger both shouted at one another as they were held apart. The feud between these two competitors will certainly heat up in 2009 when Danger is back in condition to re-join the active roster.
4. "The Experience" LEXIE FYFE & MALIA HOSAKA defeated "The Pink Ladies" MADISON EAGLES & JESSIE McKAY with the double team gourdbuster. The fans chanted "Please come back" for The Pink Ladies as they made their exit.
5. "The Latina Sensation" MERCEDES MARTINEZ defeated AMBER O'NEAL with the fisherman buster. Once again, O'Neal displayed her toughness by hanging with one of the heavy hitters on the SHIMMER roster.
6. CHEERLEADER MELISSA defeated "Girl Dynamite" JENNIFER BLAKE with the Air Raid Crash. This match saw the action go all around the ringside area, as Blake put up one hell of a fight against a main event level star.
7. DAIZEE HAZE defeated MISS NATURAL with the Heart Punch/Mind Trip combination.
VALERIE MALONE welcomed her next guest to the ring, SARA DEL REY. Sara angrily said that she saw the "agreement" between MsCHIF and SERENA DEEB at the end of Volume 21, but since she is a main eventer, she has someone else look over her contracts for her, and brought out "Sweet & Sour" LARRY SWEENEY. Sweeney said that he came to Berwyn simply to inform the fans that, as Sara's agent in Ring of Honor, he is negotiating to get her a rematch for the SHIMMER Championship, but it will happen in an ROH ring, rather than in front of the undeserving fans of Berwyn, IL at SHIMMER. He also stated that since Del Rey has already beaten Serena twice, there's no reason for her to wrestle on Volume 22, and suggested that she go back to the limo for some sushi and take the rest of the night off. Sweeney said he would never come back to Berwyn again.
8. JETTA of "The International Home Wrecking Crew" defeated NIKKI ROXX. As Nikki had Jetta up in position to go for the Barbie Crusher, Jetta raked Nikki's eyes and quickly rolled her into a small package for the pin.
9. SHIMMER Tag Team Champions ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated "The Canadian Ninjas" PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS with the STO/Yakuza kick combo to retain the belts.
10. LUFISTO defeated "The Croatian Panther" WESNA BUSIC with a burning hammer in a very physical International Dream Match.
11. SHIMMER Champion "Your Soul's Tormentor" MsCHIF defeated "Portuguese Princess" ARIEL with the Desecrator to retain the SHIMMER Championship (her fifth defense since winning the belt). Immediately after the match concluded, SARA DEL REY stormed the ring and attacked MsCHIF, saying she's coming for her title. SERENA DEEB then hit the ring, both to save MsChif, and bring the fight to Del Rey once again. Senior Referee BRYCE REMSBURG rolled into the ring as Del Rey and Deeb began to fight, and after pausing to think about it, he decided to call for the opening bell, adding an impromptu second main event match to Volume 22.
12. SERENA DEEB defeated SARA DEL REY in the final match of Volume 22 with the spear. The Berwyn fans got behind Serena more than ever as she fought with everything she had to achieve her goal. Del Rey focused the attack on Serena's arm for the duration of the bout, which saw Serena go for the spear on more than one occasion. During the closing moments of the match, Del Rey nailed Deeb with her series of running boots off the ropes, but Serena kept popping back up, fired up more and more, screaming in the face of Del Rey to bring it on. As Del Rey went to hit the ropes again for another boot, Serena followed her, hitting the ropes as well. As Del Rey turned back around in the center of the ring, Serena nailed the spear with great momentum and hooked the leg tightly for the three count, as the Eagles Club crowd erupted! As Serena celebrated her victory, Del Rey worked back to her feet and blindsided Deeb, leading to MsCHIF coming out to save Serena. As MsChif got the better of Del Rey and Serena got back up herself, they went to double team Del Rey by shooting her into the ropes, but LARRY SWEENEY came to ringside and pulled Sara out to the floor. Sweeney quickly escorted Del Rey toward the locker room, shouting that the title would be coming back where it belongs, but not tonight... it'll be in ROH, under his terms. MsChif then raised Serena's hand in victory as Serena's music played to close the show.
ALLISON DANGER thanked the fans for their support as they made their way out of the venue. She announced that though this taping concludes SHIMMER's 2008 Season, SHIMMER will return to action during the spring of 2009 with another taping. In the interim, both the SHIMMER Championship and the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship will be defended on Ring of Honor events during the winter.
We'd like to extend a huge thank you to the over 200 fans who came out to support the women athletes of SHIMMER live on Sunday in Berwyn. Though we were just under a sellout attendance figure, we realize that times are tough given the current state of the economy, and your continued financial support of independent wrestling during this period is greatly appreciated.
Photographers Gilda Pasquil, Walter Lippmann, Buddy LaMantia, and Ricky Havlik were in attendance to capture the taping on film. Look for their photo galleries to be online during the coming weeks.
If you were in attendance at the taping, post your live thoughts on the show.
Here are some preview pics taken by Gilda Pasquil...
www.shimmerathletes.com/
