BG Says: SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 5

Commentary on this DVD is provided by Dave Prazak & Allison Danger

Daizee Haze is proud of SHIMMER for changing the face of female wrestling, so she’s happy to accept Rebecca Knox’s 2/3 falls rematch challenge. They show a clip of Haze beating Portia Perez in a match taped for SHIMMERWrestling.com. Here’s a full review of the match, which can be found as a bonus on this DVD;

VS. [Bonus Match]
They lock up and Perez grabs a wristlock. Haze comes back with a headlock but Perez gets a roll up for 2. She gets a sunset flip for 2. Haze hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. Perez hits a hurricanrana and an ugly crossbody. Haze rolls through and gets 2. She hits the Heart Punch and the Mind Trip for the win at 2:29. Sloppy squash for Haze.
Rating: ½*

Ater the match Knox runs out and suplexes Haze to the floor. She awkwardly talks street and promises Haze she’ll beat her later tonight. You can’t hear most of her promo over the crowd, who reprimand her for her foul language. Terrible, terrible promo.

VS.
Lee grabs a wristlock but Rain counters to a headlock. Lee gets a headlock takedown but Rain counters to a wristlock. Lee hits a handspring elbow and gets a roll up for 2. Rain hits an inverted lung blower for 2. She hits a knee kick in the corner but Lee comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Rain hits a clothesline for 2. She hits a bulldog for 2. She puts on a chinlock and slams Lee to the mat for 2. They both go for a crossbody and collapse to the mat. Back on their feet Lee hits a clothesline and a back elbow. She hits a dropkick for 2. She puts on a chinlock and hits a vertical suplex. She holds on and hits another and gets a roll up for 2. Lee tries to go up top but Rain catches her with Acid Rain for the win at 9:19. This was more like play fighting than wrestling.
Rating: *¼

They show clips from the six woman mayhem match from ROH Supercard of Honor. Cheerleader Melissa and MsChif couldn’t keep their hands off each other during the match and MsChif picked up the win by hitting the Desecrator on Rain.

VS.
They lock up and MsChif grabs a wristlock. Rogers counters to a headlock takedown but MsChif gets a roll up for 2. Rogers puts on the Rings of Saturn and then switches to a cross armbreaker. MsChif escapes by rolling her up for 2. She hits the Bubba Bomb but Rogers comes back with a modified Kayak. MsChif counters to a roll up for 2. Rogers puts on a guillotine choke but MsChif again counters to a roll up for 2. She ties Rogers’ legs up and pins her for 2. They continue to trade holds until MsChif goes for a hurricanrana and Rogers’ face gets slammed against the mat. Well that was gross. MsChif puts on a modified Mutalock but Rogers powers out and hits a side Russian legsweep. They trade strikes and MsChif hits the Desecrator for the win at 8:00. They at least looked competent out there and had a little mat-based contest but it wasn’t inspiring in any way.
Rating: **

Nikita is here to take on Lacey. Lacey says the American girls are tough but Nikita says she’s tougher than the other tough bitches in Europe. She’s pretty cute if I do say so myself.

VS.
The female referee needs to tuck in her shirt to look more official. O’Neal complains that Deeb’s wearing pink is a rip off. They lock up and O’Neal grabs an armbar. Deeb hits a pair of armdrags and puts on a hammerlock. O’Neal gets to the ropes. She asks to knuckle up and then hits a cheap shot. Deeb fires back but O’Neal bails and pulls her to the floor. She rams her head into the apron and rolls her back into the ring. Deeb gets a roll up for 2. She gets an Oklahoma roll for 2. She charges blind in the corner but runs into the post. O’Neal stomps her but Deeb comes back with another roll up for 2. O’Neal hits a clothesline for 2. She puts on the leggy nelson but releases to choke her in the ropes. Deeb hits a crossbody to the back and O’Neal no sells it. That smelled like a goof. O’Neal hits a side Russian legsweep for 2. Deeb comes back with a snap mare and a slam out of the corner. She hits a clothesline and a forearm for 2. O’Neal goes to the eyes but Deeb comes back with a spear for 2. O’Neal hits the STO for 2. Deeb rolls her up for 2. She gets another roll up for 2 but O’Neal comes back with a roll up with a handful of tights for the win at 8:12. The finish was awkward and lame but they showed good intensity throughout rest of the match.
Rating: **½

VS.
Ariel and Hosaka start and Ariel gets a series of roll ups for 2. Fyfe tags in and gets rolled up for 2. Ariel is a roll up machine. She gets a backslide for 2. Hosaka tags in and asks for Josie. Josie obliges and puts a wristlock on Hosaka. She hits a bodyslam for 2. She hits a hiptoss and puts on an armbar. Ariel tags in and hits an ugly clothesline. She hits a back elbow and tags to Josie. They hit a double hiptoss but Hosaka goes to Josie’s eyes. Fyfe tags in and hits a facebuster for 2. She goes to the eyes and chokes Josie in the ropes. Hosaka tags in and hits a crossbody. Josie comes back with an enziguiri and tags to Ariel. Ariel hits a pair of dropkicks but Hosaka goes to the eyes to stop her stride. She hits a kick to the face and tosses Ariel across the ring by her hair. Fyfe tags in and hits a side slam for 2. Hosaka comes in illegally and puts on the body scissors. She rolls Ariel up for 2. Fyfe comes in without a tag and puts on a surfboard stretch. She puts on the leggy nelson and clubs Ariel down. Hosaka tags in and they hit a double hiptoss. Hosaka hits a legdrop and a vertical suplex. She goes for a splash but Ariel gets her knees up. Josie and Fyfe tag in and Josie cleans house. Hosaka pokes her eyes but Josie comes back with a sunset flip for 2. She slams Fyfe in the corner and tags to Ariel. Ariel misses a second rope splash and the bad ladies hit a double pancake on her for the win at 11:56. Josie was pretty impressive here and they worked the tag formula better than I’ve seen previously in SHIMMER.
Rating: **¾

They show clips of Cheerleader Melissa’s win over MsChif on Volume 4. I maintain that the match was incredibly contrived and ill conceived and I’m still baffled how other people enjoyed it. I suppose if you are into those CZW brawls this might appeal to you.

VS.
Danger, like her brother Steve Corino, involves individuals in the crowd in her pre-match shenanigans a little too much. The Green Lantern Fan didn’t get ego enough to anger ROH brass and get kicked out on his own, Corino had a lot to do with his inflated sense of self worth. They lock up and Danger hits an armdrag. Melissa slams her to the mat and then puts on a front facelock. She gets a lateral press for 2 and they trade forearms. Melissa clobbers Danger down and hits an elbowdrop. She chokes Danger against the ropes and slams her leg against the mat. She goes for a Vertebreaker but Danger kneels down and gets 2. Melissa stands on Dangers face and gets 2. She puts on a surfboard stretch and hits a bodyslam for 2. She puts on a chinlock and hits crossface forearms for 2. Danger hits a facebuster and a running knee for 2. She hits a neckbreaker for 2. She blocks a blind charge but Melissa catches her with a running knee in the corner. She puts on the inverted cloverleaf but MsChif runs out to distract her. Danger gets to the ropes and rolls up the distracted Melissa for the win at 9:45. This was going along just fine before the lame and clichéd finish. Melissa and MsChif brawl after the match until the curtain jerkers break it up.
Rating: **¼

VS.
Kong intimidates Roxx with a scream to start. Nice, it looks like Kong will be everything that I was hoping Fyfe would be. She powers Roxx to the mat but Roxx comes back with a slap. Kong dodges a dropkick and hits a splash for 2. She hits hard chops from the apron and pulls Roxx to the floor. She slams her head against the steps and rolls her back into the ring. She hits a legdrop for 2. She puts on a chinlock and slams Roxx to the mat. She goes back to the chinlock and swings Roxx around before slamming her again. She hits a neck thrust for 2. She lifts Roxx up in a choke and slams her down. Roxx comes back with a flying forearm and puts on a figure 4 leglock. Nice strategy. Kong can’t get close enough to slug out so she goes to the ropes. Roxx tries to put the hold back on but Kong kicks her away. Kong hits an avalanche for 2 with a cocky cover. Roxx tries to fire back and gets Kong down with multiple forearms for 2. Kong slaps her down and hits a vertical suplex for 2. Roxx hits a pair of dropkicks in the corner and pulls Kong’s face to the mat for 2. She hits a second rope dropkick but Kong gets right up and hits a clothesline. She hits a powerbomb and a clothesline against the ropes. She goes for another but Roxx ducks out of the way and Kong falls to the floor. Roxx climbs the ropes and dives onto Kong on the floor with a crossbody. Back in the ring Roxx gets 2. Kong comes back with a double underhook facebuster for 2. She hits a bodyslam and a second rope splash. She lifts Roxx up at 2 and gets rolled up for 2. Roxx gets another roll up for 2. Kong comes back with a series of strikes and a sit out powerbomb for the win at 10:39. Kong definitely has an element that was missing from SHIMMER. This was a really solid big woman/little woman match that I think established Kong better than a nothing squash would have. Good job ladies.
Rating: ***

VS.
Lacey avoids the lock up and grabs an armbar. Nikita gets a roll up for 2. Lacey kicsk the back but Nikita returns the favor. She puts on a seated abdominal stretch and rolls Lacey up for 2. Lacey puts on a front facelock but Nikita comes back with a headlock. She gets a drop toehold and hits the Curb Stomp. She hits an armdrag and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Lacey bails and stalls for time. Nikita drags her up by her hair but Lacey snaps her arm over the top rope. She hits a clothesline and then works over Nikita’s arm. Nikita comes back with a sunset flip for 2. She gets a backslide for 2. She gets a small package for 2. Lacey comes back with a clothesline and then yanks on Nikita’s arm. She hits Separation Anxiety for 2. She hits a clothesline in the corner but Nikita returns fire with strikes. Lacey theoretically drops Nikita onto the turnbuckle for 2. She puts on a hammerlock but Nikita escapes with a chinbreaker. She hits a neckbreaker and a monkey flip. She blocks a blind charge and hits a second rope dropkick. She hits a Samoan drop for 2. Lacey grabs an armbar but Nikita powers out. Nikita hits an enziguiri for 2. Lacey goes after the arm again and hits an inverted DDT while holding a hammerlock for 2. Nikita hits a Manhattan drop and an uranage backbreaker for the win at 14:54. This got pretty sloppy by the end but it’s always fun to see someone using Roderick Strong offense in a match. Nikita being able to power through all the arm damage to pick Lacey up for the uranage was somewhat frustrating.
Rating: **½

VS. [2/3 Falls]
Rebecca Knox is only 19 and she’s easily one of the more talented women on the roster. They show a clip of Haze beating Knox in their first match here. Knox stretches and does a jig to eat up stall. Haze’s dance is slightly less graceful. Haze puts Knox on the mat to start. They trade holds and exchange pin fall attempts, with Haze focusing on Knox’s legs. Haze hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar but Knox reverses to an armbar of her own. She gets a headlock takedown but Haze reverses to a full nelson. Knox gets a leglock but Haze gets to the ropes. She hits the KneeDT but Haze counters to a chinlock. Knox hits an armdrag and puts on another armbar. She trips Knox up, sending her face to the mat. Knox puts on a chinlock and gets a crucifix pin for 2. Haze gets a takedown for 2. She puts on a front facelock and rolls Knox up for 2. Knox hits a neckbreaker for 2. She takes a powder so Haze follows her out with a suicide dive. She boots Knox in the face to make time to tie her laces. Knox unloads with strikes and sends Haze into the barricade. Back in the ring Knox gets 2. She hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Haze dodges a legdrop and Knox dodges a missile dropkick. Haze this the heart punch and a Yakuza kick to win the first fall at 17:22. They trade forearms to start the second fall. Haze puts on a butterfly lock but Knox flips into a pin for 2. Knox puts on an armbar and then hits a dropkick for 2. Haze gets a jackknife pin for 2. Knox puts the armbar back on but Haze comes back with a legsweep. She puts on the head scissors but Knox returns fire with shots to the legs. She kicks at Haze’s face and hits a big boot. She gets a roll up and uses the ropes for leverage to win the second fall at 23:10. Haze starts the third fall by hanging Knox in the Tree of Woe. She hits a knee to the midsection for 2. She gets la magistral for 2. Knox hits the double springboard dropkick for 2. She puts on a reverse figure 4 leglock but Haze gets to the ropes. Haze puts on a camel clutch and flushes the toilet for 2. Knox hits a back suplex but Haze rolls her up for 2. Haze hits the heart punch and gets a sunset flip for 2. Knox takes out Haze’s knee and puts on another leglock. She uses the ropes for leverage and Haze is too weak to keep her shoulders off the canvas, giving Knox the win at 28:03. Their first match was crisper but I may have seen it through rose-colored glasses as everything else on the Volume 4 DVD was underwhelming. This was a solid match but on a show with other good matches it’s easier to see where the ladies looked unsure of themselves.
Rating: ***¼

Allison Danger flips out and runs to ringside to complain. She gets on the microphone and complains that since Haze pinned her clean twice and she had to use the ropes to get both of her pin falls. She wants to take on Knox in a pure wrestling rules match on Volume 6 so that both competitors will be able to use the ropes.

VS. [No Time Limit]
They show clips of their first match, highlighting that Martinez almost won with a fisherman buster but the count couldn’t beat the time limit. On Volume 3 Del Ray challenged her to a rematch with no time limit. They lock up and then dodge each other’s offense. They knuckle up and trade kicks. They hold the knuckle lock and exchange forearms. They trade vertical suplexes and get right back up to their feet. Del Ray gets an armbar but Martinez counters to a leglock. Del Ray gets a hammerlock but Martinez reverses to a chinlock. Del Ray powers out and works over the ankle. Martinez fights away but the damage has been done. She puts on a headlock but Del Ray comes back with a leg grapevine. Martinez counters to a toehold but Del Ray gets to the ropes. Del Ray grabs a chinlock and when she can’t put on the Mexican surfboard she locks in a camel clutch. She puts on the head scissors but Martinez rolls her up for 2. Del Ray hits a pair of big boots but Martinez blocks a third and hits one of her own. She blocks a crossbody by hitting a dropkick for 2. She dumps Del Ray to the floor and follows her out to ram her into the barricade. Back in the ring Del Ray blocks the fisherman buster by rolling Martinez up for 2. She hits a forearm for 2. Martinez hits a backdrop and chokes Del Ray against the ropes. She puts on a chinlock and hits an inverted brainbuster for 2. Del Ray hits a chimeraplex for 2. She sets Martinez up top and hits a butterfly superplex for 2. Martinez hits a side suplex for 2 after taking time to get her wits back. Del Ray knocks her to the floor and follows her out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Martinez puts on the Koji clutch but Del Ray rolls her up for 2. Martinez goes back to the hold and Del Ray rolls back again for 2. Martinez keeps the hold on but Del Ray is able to roll her up a third time for the win at 23:55. I didn’t much care for the finish but the rest of the match was just as good as their first against each other. Del Ray offers Martinez a rematch any time she wants one.
Rating: ***½

Hosaka & Fyfe talk about how great it has been to be teaming up. They’re going to remain dominant and undefeated against anyone who has the guts to get into the ring with them.

Melissa and MsChif have both agreed to a Last Woman Standing match on Volume 6.