Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2013 19:58:36 GMT -6
I watched it live on the internet, and I have not gone back yet to watch it a second time (except to see Hamada & Athena's entrances that I missed live due to lag on the streaming feed). I was intensely hyped for this show and there's no way it could live up to my astronomical expectations. I am posting this obviously sometime after the event so it's had some time to sink in. I imagine the live crowd must have been blown away, especially if they'd never seen indy women's wrestling before.
I agree that the ring looked a little sloppy, I guess the canvas looked like a red sheet draped over it, but on closer inspection it looked secured and I didn't notice anybody trip over it. I did see Shazza trip during her entrance, but I think she may have done that on purpose, as she tripped during one of the recent DVD tapings too.
So my reaction for Shimmer Vol 53 is...... (drumroll)
Not bad. This was my first IPPV (or PPV for that matter). I was nervous at the start, that I would miss something, but then there were lots of delays. The sound was bad at first, but it cleared up. I enjoyed the first match with Yim and Kong. I didn't like that I couldn't hear the entrance music very well, but I thought it was cool to hear her TNA theme again. Funny to think she did more wrestling in that single match than in her entire WWE career (I realize that wasn't her fault, but still).
The segment with Jessica Havok and friends beating up on Serena Deeb I thought was pretty boring, and mostly unnecessary because the audience probably has little clue these folks are anyway. But oh well, I can live with it. I'd only seen Havok in a few matches prior to this and she looks like a giant here compared to most of the other Shimmer wrestlers. Wow!
The matches overall were great. I enjoyed Mercedes vs. Ayumi. The breaks in between matches weren't enough sometimes to get a bathroom break in, but then again I guess the crowd there had it worse off.
The cage match wasn't as good as I had been hyped up to be. The lack of crawling over the side was one thing, and it was harder to make out the action (except in the close shots). Maybe some of that was the resolution (I had it on "high" and put up on a big widescreen LCD HD tv, just so you know). I notice how un-PG Saraya was being. Granted, she's been pushing the envelope since she got here, but wow. Ear/eye muff the kids...!
Overall a great show. I found myself wanting more, but I will admit that during the live show there is a "lull" period of maybe one match where I'm really tired, before I get my "second wind" and can enjoy the rest of the action. I know, it doesn't take much energy to watch wrestling as to wrestling it (duh) but 7 hours of wrestling in one day is a lot to take in! Thankfully I still have vol. 50 to watch.
The visual quality was pretty good for streaming, but still not nearly the visual quality of the current DVD's (closer to the first generation of Shimmer discs or the better clickwrestle clips). Sound quality was uneven at times, but always understandable. I thought the zoomed out cameras (and lack of some coverage on one side of the ring on the outside) was a little annoying at times, but overall it was the best I could have expected, I suppose. Part of me was upset that I couldn't be there live (even if I could have had the time to travel), but then I probably would have been further back than at the smaller shows Shimmer usually puts on, and the "zoomed out view" would be closer to what I'd have actually seen being there, probably.
Somebody's voice was audible at one point saying "this doesn't seem like 500 people" and I tend to agree. Most of the time it didn't seem like there were over 700, or much more than at the typical "packed house" at Berwyn. That's not a criticism, it is just a sentiment I agree with. Not that it needs to feel packed.
The one moment that really hurt to watch was Lufisto seemingly taking a moonsault off the top rope onto concrete and lying there face down for several seconds not moving. I could see that they were all bent over her and Nicole Matthews was on the ground checking her condition. Then she was suddenly up again. I hear now that her knee is swollen. I was fearing at first that she had died (I've heard of wrestlers getting killed messing up rope moves before), or gotten a concussion. Still an injury like that is potentially career ending (look at what happened to Madison Eagles). I'm glad to hear it wasn't worse, but that moment really gave me a sick feeling, and it took me awhile to recover. I couldn't really enjoy the rest of the match, except for the hope that she was going to make it. I basically am resigned to the fact that she probably won't wrestle at the live show, maybe even ever again. Hate to be a pessimist, but those were my feelings at the time. Lufisto has thought about retiring for a long time now, but anyway, I've said my piece on that already. Ayumi's match was great, just great. I am a bit sad that she's retiring, but if it's for real, I'm happy that she's getting out before too many more injuries. I'm sure she can do other good things with her free-time after closing her wrestling career. I'm sure she can do things like managing or commentary or training if she still wants to be connected to the business, with her reputation.
The commentary of 53 I thought was surprisingly good. I realize live commentary is a lot harder to do well, but I think everyone involved, Portia, DP, Amber and Danger all did great. Better I think even than the post-production commentary they do on the DVDs (and yes, I am thankful for the option to listen to the matches without commentary on the latest batch of DVDs, hope that feature stays!).
Also, this show cried out for the streamer brigade! I could have sworn that first match had rolls of toilet paper being thrown, but I could be wrong. I'm glad there were some streamers, but still. I knew going in that it wouldn't be as great as it has been lately.
Gotta say, I'm not a big fan of Jay & Silent Bob, but I thought Leva's facial hair was a great addition to an already facial-hair studded presentation. It seemed like just about all the men involved in this show were sporting some kind of whiskers. I half imagined that DP had a goatee on commentary. I never did spot the "commentary booth" though, if one existed. I guess it must have been opposite the camera though, because they claimed not to be able to see some things that happened up front if I recall correctly.
No MsChif?!! In the words of Bryan Alvarez,
MINUS FIVE STARS!
(okay, that's overkill, but I did miss her, I guess this means she'll be more fresh for next week's show and that can only be a good thing!)
So overall great job Shimmer on your first IPPV!!! I'd say 3.5 out of 5 (if 5 is for example Volume 42, probably my favorite episode). And yes, I'd buy the DVD for superior visual quality. Wonder how the commentary will be done?
I agree that the ring looked a little sloppy, I guess the canvas looked like a red sheet draped over it, but on closer inspection it looked secured and I didn't notice anybody trip over it. I did see Shazza trip during her entrance, but I think she may have done that on purpose, as she tripped during one of the recent DVD tapings too.
So my reaction for Shimmer Vol 53 is...... (drumroll)
Not bad. This was my first IPPV (or PPV for that matter). I was nervous at the start, that I would miss something, but then there were lots of delays. The sound was bad at first, but it cleared up. I enjoyed the first match with Yim and Kong. I didn't like that I couldn't hear the entrance music very well, but I thought it was cool to hear her TNA theme again. Funny to think she did more wrestling in that single match than in her entire WWE career (I realize that wasn't her fault, but still).
The segment with Jessica Havok and friends beating up on Serena Deeb I thought was pretty boring, and mostly unnecessary because the audience probably has little clue these folks are anyway. But oh well, I can live with it. I'd only seen Havok in a few matches prior to this and she looks like a giant here compared to most of the other Shimmer wrestlers. Wow!
The matches overall were great. I enjoyed Mercedes vs. Ayumi. The breaks in between matches weren't enough sometimes to get a bathroom break in, but then again I guess the crowd there had it worse off.
The cage match wasn't as good as I had been hyped up to be. The lack of crawling over the side was one thing, and it was harder to make out the action (except in the close shots). Maybe some of that was the resolution (I had it on "high" and put up on a big widescreen LCD HD tv, just so you know). I notice how un-PG Saraya was being. Granted, she's been pushing the envelope since she got here, but wow. Ear/eye muff the kids...!
Overall a great show. I found myself wanting more, but I will admit that during the live show there is a "lull" period of maybe one match where I'm really tired, before I get my "second wind" and can enjoy the rest of the action. I know, it doesn't take much energy to watch wrestling as to wrestling it (duh) but 7 hours of wrestling in one day is a lot to take in! Thankfully I still have vol. 50 to watch.
The visual quality was pretty good for streaming, but still not nearly the visual quality of the current DVD's (closer to the first generation of Shimmer discs or the better clickwrestle clips). Sound quality was uneven at times, but always understandable. I thought the zoomed out cameras (and lack of some coverage on one side of the ring on the outside) was a little annoying at times, but overall it was the best I could have expected, I suppose. Part of me was upset that I couldn't be there live (even if I could have had the time to travel), but then I probably would have been further back than at the smaller shows Shimmer usually puts on, and the "zoomed out view" would be closer to what I'd have actually seen being there, probably.
Somebody's voice was audible at one point saying "this doesn't seem like 500 people" and I tend to agree. Most of the time it didn't seem like there were over 700, or much more than at the typical "packed house" at Berwyn. That's not a criticism, it is just a sentiment I agree with. Not that it needs to feel packed.
The one moment that really hurt to watch was Lufisto seemingly taking a moonsault off the top rope onto concrete and lying there face down for several seconds not moving. I could see that they were all bent over her and Nicole Matthews was on the ground checking her condition. Then she was suddenly up again. I hear now that her knee is swollen. I was fearing at first that she had died (I've heard of wrestlers getting killed messing up rope moves before), or gotten a concussion. Still an injury like that is potentially career ending (look at what happened to Madison Eagles). I'm glad to hear it wasn't worse, but that moment really gave me a sick feeling, and it took me awhile to recover. I couldn't really enjoy the rest of the match, except for the hope that she was going to make it. I basically am resigned to the fact that she probably won't wrestle at the live show, maybe even ever again. Hate to be a pessimist, but those were my feelings at the time. Lufisto has thought about retiring for a long time now, but anyway, I've said my piece on that already. Ayumi's match was great, just great. I am a bit sad that she's retiring, but if it's for real, I'm happy that she's getting out before too many more injuries. I'm sure she can do other good things with her free-time after closing her wrestling career. I'm sure she can do things like managing or commentary or training if she still wants to be connected to the business, with her reputation.
The commentary of 53 I thought was surprisingly good. I realize live commentary is a lot harder to do well, but I think everyone involved, Portia, DP, Amber and Danger all did great. Better I think even than the post-production commentary they do on the DVDs (and yes, I am thankful for the option to listen to the matches without commentary on the latest batch of DVDs, hope that feature stays!).
Also, this show cried out for the streamer brigade! I could have sworn that first match had rolls of toilet paper being thrown, but I could be wrong. I'm glad there were some streamers, but still. I knew going in that it wouldn't be as great as it has been lately.
Gotta say, I'm not a big fan of Jay & Silent Bob, but I thought Leva's facial hair was a great addition to an already facial-hair studded presentation. It seemed like just about all the men involved in this show were sporting some kind of whiskers. I half imagined that DP had a goatee on commentary. I never did spot the "commentary booth" though, if one existed. I guess it must have been opposite the camera though, because they claimed not to be able to see some things that happened up front if I recall correctly.
No MsChif?!! In the words of Bryan Alvarez,
MINUS FIVE STARS!
(okay, that's overkill, but I did miss her, I guess this means she'll be more fresh for next week's show and that can only be a good thing!)
So overall great job Shimmer on your first IPPV!!! I'd say 3.5 out of 5 (if 5 is for example Volume 42, probably my favorite episode). And yes, I'd buy the DVD for superior visual quality. Wonder how the commentary will be done?