BG Says: SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 4

Your hosts are Dave Prazak & Allison Danger

VS.
They lock up and Roxx grabs a wristlock. O’Neal gets to the ropes and gets a waistlock. Roxx takes her to the mat and puts on a front facelock. O’Neal puts on an armbar and floats into a wristlock. Roxx returns the favor and slams O’Neal to the mat, prompting her to bail. Back in the ring O’Neal boots Roxx in the gut and slams her to the mat. Roxx comes back with a clothesline and a pair of back elbows. She hits a side slam for 2. O’Neal puts on a camel clutch but Roxx gets to the ropes. O’Neal chokes her in the corner and then slams her head on the mat for 2. She puts on a chinlock and slams her to the mat by her hair. She hits an elbowdrop for 2. She puts on a stranglehold but Roxx tosses her away. Roxx gets a roll up for 2. O’Neal goes to the eyes to regain control. She hits a clothesline in the corner and slams Roxx’s face into the mat. Roxx blocks a blind charge and opens up with forearms. She hits a dropkick and a clothesline. She hits a spinebuster for 2. O’Neal comes back with an inverted DDT for 2. She hits a neckbreaker for 2 but Roxx slips in a crucifix pin for 2. Roxx follows up with the Cruncher for the win at 9:21. I don’t care for the telegraphed delivery of the ladies in this match, but that aside this was a decent if completely uneventful opener.
Rating: *¾

VS.
Brookstone is a large and butch looking woman, so I’m hoping she wrestles a style that suits her look. They lock up and Brookstone overpowers Taylor. Yay! They rince and repeat so Taylor tries to take over with kicks to the thigh. She gets a roll up for 2 but gets caught with a backbreaker. Brookstone chokes Taylor in the ropes and then slowly puts her in a pendulum hold. She swings Taylor’s head into the turnbuckle and then drops her for 2. She hits a clothesline but gets rolled up for 2. Taylor kicks her in the shin and rolls her up for 2. Brookstone hits another clothesline and puts on a camel clutch. She yanks at Taylor’s neck for 2. Taylor comes back with the only thing that’s worked for her, kicks, and then hits a dropkick for 2. Brookstone catches her going for a crossbody and hits a bodyslam for 2. Taylor comes back with an interesting looking roll up for the win at 5:53. Brookstone’s gear makes her look like some tough broad from the crowd and she wrestles like she’s drunk or nervous. So although I like that her style is more in connection to her size the match suffered from her poor ability.
Rating: ½*

VS.
Hosaka attacked Lee after their match on Volume 3. Fyfe helped in the beating and Rogers made the save. I’ve never understood why two heels, especially in this case where both are rather large, would flee from one babyface when the numbers game is in their favor. The heels attack our heroines before the bell but they come back with stereo clotheslines. They row their boats, which I’d imagine wouldn’t hurt as much on women. Rogers and Hosaka get things organized as Rogers hits a monkey flip. She hits another and puts on an armbar. She drops a leg on the arm and keeps the hold on. Lee tags in and keeps pressure on the arm. Rogers tags back in and they hit a double clothesline for 2. Lee tags in and controls with armdrags and a dropkick for 2. Fyfe tags in and puts on a headlock. Lee reverses to one of her own and tags to Rogers. Rogers works Fyfe’s arm and puts on the leggy nelson. Fyfe rolls back to escape. She hits a clothesline and tags to Hosaka. Hosaka hits a double chop and puts on a legvice. Rogers powers up and goes to the corner to escape. She puts on a Boston crab but Hosaka powers out and rolls her up for 2. She slams Rogers’ face to the mat and chokes away. Rogers comes back with a crossbody but Hosaka immediately puts on a wristlock. Fyfe tags in and puts on a headlock. She switches to a surfboard stretch and then trades off to Hosaka illegally. They switch back and forth and Hosaka hits a kick to the chest. Fyfe tags in and puts on a camel clutch. Hosaka tags in and hits a headbutt to the gut. Fyfe tags in and gets hit with a vertical suplex. Lee tags in and cleans house. She hits a bodyslam on Hosaka and one on Fyfe for 2. Stereo sunset flips get 2 for Lee and Rogers. Lee pulls Hosaka around by her hair but Hosaka comes back with a vertical suplex. Fyfe comes in and throws Lee into a roundhouse kick from Hosaka. Team Experience hit a double pancake on Lee for the win at 16:02. Lee’s inexperience shows as she looks totally lost out there, but the rest of the match was pretty solid as long as she was on the apron. The main problem with these four is they are awful at making their strikes look legitimate.
Rating: **

VS.
Ringer avoids Danger to start. They fight over a waistlock and Danger puts Ringer on the mat. Ringer comes back with a wristlock but Danger reverses to a headlock. Ringer escapes and bails. She hangs Danger on the top rope but Danger doesn’t let her stay in control for long. Ringer dodges a charge that sends Danger’s shoulder into the post and hits a kick to the back. She hits seated dropkicks from every angle for 2. She hits another kick to the back and rubs Danger’s face in the mat. She hits an ugly vertical suplex for 2. Danger comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Ringer cuts off any momentum with a legdrop for 2. She stretches Danger’s back but Danger comes back with a facebuster. She hits a knee to the face and gets a roll up for the win at 11:09. This match largely resembled one that a group of kids could perform in a swimming pool.
Rating: *¼

Rebecca Knox at a nearby pizzeria brags about beating Allision Danger on Volume 3. She thinks Daizee Haze has smoked too much pot for wanting to face her in the main event of tonight’s show.

VS.
Del Ray is undefeated at this point at 2-0-1. She grabs a headlock to start but Rain reverses to the head scissors. Del Ray comes back with a hammerlock and then switches to a wristlock. Rain tries to attack the arm but Del Ray keeps her on the mat. They knuckle up and Del Ray goes back to the arm. She reverses a wristlock to a stranglehold. Some of the crowd chants for the heel Rain and Del Ray gets distracted. She puts on the head scissors but Rain slugs out. Del Ray climbs the ropes but Rain pulls her down by her foot for 2. She dropkicks Del Ray in the ropes for 2. Del Ray dodges a blind charge and climbs the ropes. Rain again catches her and slams her down for 2. She hits a seated dropkick for 2. She hits a double knee strike in the corner for 2. She climbs the ropes and chokes Del Ray but Del Ray comes back with a northern lights suplex for 2. Rain puts on a sleeper hold and hits a backbreaker for 2. They clothesline each other down and then trade slaps. Del Ray boots Rain in the face and then in the gut. She hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Rain blocks a blind charge and hits a spinning lungblower for 2. Del Ray counters the Rain Drop to a German suplex for 2. She puts on a standing butterfly lock and then suplexes Rain down for the win at 14:06. The work was tighter in this than it has been in previous matches and, aside from Rain’s unconvincing strikes this was the first enjoyable match of the show.
Rating: **½

VS. [Falls Count Anywhere]
MsChif won a heated match between these two on Volume 1 and on Volume 3 Melissa cost MsChif her match against Lexie Fyfe. MsChif tells the referee not to check her for weapons because there are no disqualifications in this match. They brawl to start and MsChif gets a drop toehold. She puts on a dragon sleeper but Melissa comes back with strikes in the corner. She hits a pair of bodyslams and an elbowdrop for 2. She puts on a surfboard stretch but MsChif reverses to a stranglehold. Melissa comes back with a Bubba bomb and then pulls MsChif’s leg behind her own head. Jeeze. MsChif fights away and rolls Melissa up for 2. Melissa hangs her up in the Tree of Woe and stands above her to pull her arms up. MsChif is the Jack Evans of SHIMMER. Melissa hits a double stomp to the back but MsChif comes back with another roll up for 2. She gets another for 2. Melissa hits the Curb Stomp for 2 after MsChif desperately avoids the inverted cloverleaf that would undoubtedly include Melissa ramming MsChif’s own foot against the back of her head. Melissa goes for said cloverleaf again so MsChif kicks her to the floor. She follows Melissa out and bits her face. They fight into the crowd where MsChif chokes Melissa with a chair. Melissa goes to the hair to escape and rams a chair into the back of MsChif’s head. She slams MsChif’s face into a wall for 2. MsChif bleeds as Melissa drags her outside the building. Melissa hits a bodyslam on the sidewalk for 2. MsChif throws Melissa into a steel pole and then brings her back into the building to toss her down a small staircase for 2. She puts on a painful looking chinlock over a chair and then chops her for 2. Melissa unloads with forearms for 2. MsChif gets a sunset flip for 2. This turns into a really miserable looking pin fall exchange. Melissa pulls out a wooden board on wheels and slams MsChif onto it. She slides MsChif under the stage and keeps her locked down there. I don’t understand what the point of that is, she asked for a rematch to beat MsChif and can’t do so from this position. MsChif comes out of a different part of the stage and mists Melissa when she goes for a chair shot. She hits a back elbow for 2. She goes for the Desecrator but Melissa reverses to a roll up for 2. She slams MsChif on the board again and rolls her under the ring, forcing her to hit her head on the apron and roll into the guardrail on the opposite side. The whole thing gets 2. They fight up to a table near the entrance where Melissa sets a table on MsChif’s head, puts on the inverted cloverleaf and rams her own foot into the chair until MsChif taps at 26:13. Prazak tries to sell it as the most violent match he’s ever seen but really it was just incredibly long and painfully boring. The finish was creative but took forever to execute and the cool spots were all equally contrived. The whole thing just frustrated me. I know that Ari Berenstein has been pimping this match on the ROH message board as of late, but I have to say in this case I don’t understand what he and those who agree with him see in this stuff.
Rating: *

VS.
Knox showed a devious side in her match with Allison Danger on Volume 3 and thus Danger is heavily rooting Haze here. Haze is four for four on being involved in SHIMMER main events so I guess she’s the focal point of the company. They lock up and Haze grabs a headlock. Knox reverses to a dragon sleeper and pins Haze for 1. She hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. They fight on the mat until Knox comes up with a guillotine choke. Haze reverses to a roll up for 2. She puts on a front facelock but Knox escapes and goes after the leg. She puts on a unique leglock and uses the ropes for leverage. She switches to a headlock but Haze escapes with the head scissors. Knox goes after the arm but Haze comes back with a roll up for 2. She puts on a headlock but Knox reverses to a hammerlock. The fight continues on the mat and already this match is more entertaining than everything else on this DVD. Haze rolls Knox up for 2 and puts on a headlock. She gets an armdrag and aback elbow. She hits a clothesline and Knox bails. She breaks the count a couple times, frustrating Haze. Haze tries to dive off the top rope onto her but splats on the floor. Knox takes advantage and rolls her back into the ring. She hits a series of kicks to the back and an elbowdrop for 2. She puts on a submission that looks like it doesn’t hurt at all and then rolls Haze up for 2. She hits a scary pumphandle suplex and a legdrop for 2. She puts on an inverted toehold but Haze gets to the ropes. Haze counters a bodyslam to a roll up for 2. Knox stops her momentum with a backbreaker for 2. She hits a running forearm and a back suplex for 2. Haze starts unloading with forearm but Knox levels her in response. Knox hits a fisherman neckbreaker for 2. She hits a senton but Haze returns fire with a forearm to the back. She hits a legdrop and holds on with the head scissors. Knox ducks the heart punch and hits a German suplex for 2. Haze gets a roll up for 2 and then flushes the toilet for 2. Knox hits a T-bone suplex but misses a double springboard legdrop. Haze climbs the ropes and hits a dropkick. She follows up with the heart punch and the Mind Trip for the win at 20:13. The first half of the match was all well executed chain wrestling. The second half was equally entertaining action. The finish saw karma bite Knox in the ass as she injured her foot going for that legdrop and subsequently lost the match. Serves her right for faking injury on Volume 3.
Rating: ***½