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Post by starlamollynora on Oct 30, 2009 11:45:10 GMT -6
Any idea when SHIMMER Volume 26 will be ready for purchase from ROH? This year? 2010?
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Post by NJ_ on Oct 30, 2009 12:10:05 GMT -6
Any idea when SHIMMER Volume 26 will be ready for purchase from ROH? This year? 2010? When will Volume 26 come out for purchase? December.
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Post by freaky on Oct 31, 2009 6:32:10 GMT -6
I just got done with volume 25. I'll do a more comprehensive report in a day or two, but I just want to say that GODDAMN, THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
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Post by stew on Oct 31, 2009 19:35:04 GMT -6
Soooo... we're a quarter of the way towards the epic release of SHIMMER Vol 100: "Centenary"... let's see what's good and bad in this one. The main event was excellent. Wesna's my girl, and she looked the business against MsChif. Big, strong, stiff, totally not intimidated (Wesna completely no-selling 'Chif's scream was superb, for example). I have no complaints about the finish either - a clean finish which enhances rather than detracts from the championship, and while 'Chif established her credentials as "The Woman", Wesna's really not hurt as it took two Code Greens and a Desecrator to keep her down. The disappointing run of "unsatisfying endings to Ashley/Nevaeh matches" on SHIMMER Volumes continued unabated, with The Ohio Girls 'winning' via DQ over Death Rey and KONG~!. Yes, that's a DQ win to go with their Dusty Finish defense against The Homewreckers. Yeesh. Honestly though, if they weren't going to put the titles on SDR & Kong, why bother booking the match? No Portia on the latter stages of the disc, following her tag match earlier on the show, so sadly no mentions of Sara *DEL* Rey, either The other upper card matches were good. Mercedes vs Serena was strong stuff. In hindsight, knowing that Serena is gone after the next volume, it felt inconsequential, which is a shame. I liked that Deeb got punished by being dropped on her face the first time she tried the victory roll (too busy appealing to the fans), and then the second time, she didn't **** around, applied the roll and got the pin. The tag match with the NINJAs vs Haze/Danger was good as it had a more emotional edge than anything else on the show. Not a lot else that can be said about it, really. As far as the undercard portion of the show went, the big winner was "Everybody's Favourite Girlfriend" Jessie McKay - who had a breakout performance with a far more competitive match than I could have previously reasonably believed with Cheerleader Melissa. This was your textbook example of getting both parties over in one match. Melissa got the win with her big move, but McKay's performance was such that (a) Melissa's win was all the more impressive, and (b) Jessie ended up with so much more credibility than she did going in. Also looking great was Tenille, who looked approximately a billion times better against Jetta in the opener than she did in her previous singles meeting with Amber on v23. She's got a definite likeability, and good solid Stormwrestling Academy base. I was gobsmacked when she pulled out the win with the Sunset Flip. Great job all round. Jennifer Blake vs Rain was good. I keep waiting for all the pieces of Jen Blake to fall into place and for her to have that truly breakout performance, but it hasn't ever quite happened. It didn't happen here either, but it was as good a performance out of "Girl Dynamite" as I've seen. Looked a tad awkward towards the end, but a decent match. As for the rest... only Cat Power stood out in any way during the inconsequential four way - and that was as much due to the fact that she carries herself with the swagger of a star than anything else. Skater pulled out a rope-walk rana, but there was nothing else to report. Summerlyn got heckled pre-match. LuFisto vs Amber flew by, and was enjoyable for what it was. Loved the "Glitter Attack". After a shocker on the last volume, Amber at least looked better. Nikki Roxx beat Melanie Cruise way too easily. It was a bit like the Daffney match in that Melanie looked alright, then it was suddenly over. I don't think that Cruise should be beating Roxx by any means, but it was as if as soon as Roxx decided that she wanted to finish it, she was able to finish it. Melanie was, at least, put over on commentary strong as being one for the future under Social and Wesna's guidance. Oh, quick word re: Lacey & Annie Social, by the way. Please stop doing the same interference spots (you know the sort... Wrestler distracts referee, Manager chokes the opponent on the bottom rope). If you're going to do the same thing, there's no point in having you both. Either find other ways to interfere or change it up so that the manager does the distracting, allowing the wrestler to get their own heat by cheating behind the referee's back. Or get a signature item like Jimmy Hart's Megaphone or Jim Cornette's racket. Something to make yourselves different from each other. Good volume. Not the strongest of the weekend of tapings, but it wasn't bad. The best match of the show was the main event by a mile, with decent support from Martinez/Deeb, Melissa/McKay and the NINJAs vs Haze/Danger.
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Post by stew on Oct 31, 2009 19:38:00 GMT -6
Double post
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Post by freaky on Nov 1, 2009 10:58:53 GMT -6
I'm going to be repeating a lot of what stew said, but I've got some differing opinions, so bear with me.
First off, I agree with the matches at the top of the card. MsChif v Wesna was a great outing, and the fact that MsChif struggled to beat the Croatian Panther with a number of her signature moves before nailing the Descecrator shows the toughness of Wesna, as well as the effectivness of that DDT. Annie Social barely got involved too, which made for a more enjoyable pure match. I prefer the main events determining who's the best by being the better wrestler, no necessarily having interference, so I'm giving two thumbs up to this match.
Sara *DEL* Rey and Amazing Kong beat themselves. Ashley and Neveah didn't really put up much of a fight. Sure, they survived, but I never got the impression that the challengers were ever in trouble. A shame, as because their opponents were so intimidating, it meant most of the support was for the champs for the first time in any of their defences of the SHIMMER volumes. When they're against more charismatic teams like the IHWC or the Canadian Ninjas, they get shown up for being a little vanilla.
Mercedes Martinez v Serena Deeb was a nice match - and like stew pointed out, a little redundant considering Serena's signing with WWE - but I felt like there was something more in them that we didn't get to see. Not that this was a bad match, I'd never say that - but I reckon if this was a main event, it would have been an utter stormer.
Nicole Matthews is on the verge of superceding Portia Perez as the best member of the Canadian Ninjas. She's utterly awesome.
I had low expectations for LuFisto and Amber O'Neal, considering Amber's shocking outings on 23 and 24, but this was better. Possibly because LuFi is a veteran and wouldn't take any liberties.
Cheerleader Melissa really does have a knack of bringing the best out of her opponent. Be it Alexa Thatcher, Jennifer Blake or in this case Jessie McKay, her physicality helps when her opponent executes a comeback. The amount of fire shown by McKay made this her breakout match, and I hope we get to see more of that in the future. Some of Jessie's moves were a little sloppy in paces, but I'll gladly accept that in exchange for the heart shown by Everybody's Favourite Girlfriend. Keep it up.
However, I don't think it was the best match of the undercard. I'd give that to Blake v Rain, which I thought was an awesome outing for both of them. Rain's singles matches have been patchy, but I thought she was totally on form here. As for Blake, I've been very open about her flaws since her debut in early 2008 - she rushes things, doesn't think things through and sometimes exchanges function for fashion - but she was great here. Everything she did was well executed, well paced and made sense. It's such a shame that she's not going to be there in a week, as I was really looking forward to seeing her growth. Considering how many strides she's made since her SHIMMER debut, she's going to be amazing within a couple of years. I now consider myself a Jennifer Blake fan.
For the first time, Melanie Cruise looked 6 feet tall - partly because she's stood next to pint-sized Annie Social, and because she was wearing full length tights rather than a skirt, which visually stunts her height. The match was fine, but I'd have liked to have seen more or Cruise doing her thing.
The four-way was a nothing match. Kellie Skater hit a nice rana from the ropes, but the ending was a hotchpotch and didn't raise or deflate anyone involved. Rachel Summerlyn having an argument with the heel section during her introduction didn't do her any favours though - if you're a babyface and you're getting heckled, pretend you didn't hear it rather than address it, or play up like Nikki Roxx did to get the sympathy from everyone else.
However, I must point out something which distracted me - Ariel adjusting her gear all the way through the match. This is something I noticed with Wesna and Serena Deeb too. Serena's is because of her *enhancements*, but I think Ariel and Wesna may need to do a little cardio to get back to the shape they were in.
Finally, Tenille put herself on the map by beating Jetta, which is a good shot in the arm for her. Looking forward to seeing her live in a week.
I'll echo was stew said about the managers doing the same tactics, but I feel that Annie Social is the more effective character out there, as Lacey seems more focussed on being goofy, and I don't think it suits her as much as it does Rain and Jetta. She should be the serious member of the IHWC with the business head on.
Plus, Annie needs to talk more. I love her accent so much - especially during that training video with Wesna teaching Melanie to be more aggressive.
***
Overall, I really enjoyed this volume, with some serious breakout and coming-of-age performances, a solid undercard, as well as a quality main event.
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Post by LardWarriorELPS on Nov 1, 2009 20:03:40 GMT -6
I was watching Ohio Girls vs Kong/Del Rey on the bus, and some old guy was like "IS THAT TNA?" and I was like "Nope, shimmer." Random story I know, but hopefully it could mean a new shimmer fan.
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Post by nicoleeee on Nov 3, 2009 20:27:28 GMT -6
watching vol 25 now (great show btw) and just curious as to who the second blonde is in the promo with wesna/social/cruise? i see kimberely kash but couldn't place the second one (the one cruise hits)? prob a stupid question but its annoying me now
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Post by SHIMMER office on Nov 4, 2009 5:45:38 GMT -6
Her name is Juliet.
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Post by Stevie on Nov 4, 2009 6:29:44 GMT -6
EDIT: Nevermind. Mis-read the post.
Speaking of 25, I'm still waiting to see whatever it was in-ring that made Kellie Skater such a cult sensation that weekend. I mean don't get me wrong, I like her and she's certainly growing on me as a performer but I am still somewhat befuddled by the hype. Maybe something on 26 can explain it?
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Post by haysihawk on Nov 4, 2009 10:45:04 GMT -6
What hype, exactly? I don't recall anyone saying she was amazing or anything. She's just somebody new who has an amusing indestructible "tank" gimmick while being anything but, so she stood out.
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TailsAlone
Seether
Not dead, just resting
Posts: 144
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Post by TailsAlone on Nov 7, 2009 21:58:25 GMT -6
Bought this one during the sale, along with 23. I think 25 was the second best volume of the May tapings, personally. Some matches were quite a bit better than others, but all of them clicked--which has not always been the case in previous volumes. First, the preview video. The part with Wesna teaching Melanie how to be more aggressive was great. The part with Annie Social talking, not so much. She has one of the most annoying voices I've ever heard. Normally I don't mind Midwestern accents, since I have one myself--but she sounds almost like she's parodying someone. Ugh! Tenille/Jetta was one of the best openers of any SHIMMER show. Talk about getting someone over; Jetta certainly did that here. Tenille gave us the kind of breakout performance that every SHIMMER rookie searches for, on only her second night with the company. She's something special, that one. The post-match beatdown was effective and gave them a place to go on the next volume (Tenille vs. Rain). The 4-way match was just okay. A little better than I expected, but still just a way of featuring four wrestlers they didn't know what else to do with at the time. If it's between a 4-way and the tag match formula they usually do (Rachel/Ariel vs. Kellie/Cat), I'd take the tag match. Cat got a well-deserved win after a predictable finish that took Kellie and Ariel outside. Summerlyn got some heat. I wonder if she'd do better as a heel in the future. Roxx/Cruise could have been much better. Cruise came off looking weak the day before, because she was beaten too easily and she didn't use her size advantage effectively enough; same problem here. Rain/Blake made me happy again. A great, consistent back-and-forth contest with Rain really getting down to brass tacks, instead of goofing around a lot like she does sometimes. Personally I think Blake would have been the better choice to go over, but Rain did benefit from the win and it was one of her better singles outings. Melissa/McKay was a surprise. The psychology really worked; coming off her losses in 23 and 24, Melissa starts strong and stays that way, expecting to beat up the smaller rookie easily; McKay doesn't let her, showing some real toughness before the inevitable finish. LuFisto/Amber was an improvement over Amber's 23/24 matches. It was almost as good as her slugfests with Wesna and Mercedes, though not quite. I don't know why they don't give Amber a real push; she's a deceptively gifted brawler who has shown that she can keep up with the top talent in the company as long as she has enough time and gets in enough offense. Ninjas/HazeDanger was a good match, and a better way of continuing the Portia/Danger feud. Danger's trying her best, but it doesn't look like she's at all in ring shape yet. This worked because Daizee wrestled most of the match, while Danger got the key pinfall. The beatdown afterwards was another good decision, but not really enough to convince us that Danger was unable to compete in Volume 26. After all, she took a much worse beating in 24 and still came right back to wrestle in 25, looking none the worse for wear. Deeb/Martinez started out good and got great towards the end, when they picked up the pace and went for the big moves. I still don't think Deeb is quite main-event level, even though she plays an excellent face. Nothing personal to Serena, but I'm not a fan of the "enhancements," and she had to adjust her top so many times that it became a distraction. Considering that Deeb was leaving for WWE, I don't know if I would have put her over Mercedes. But it was a good match anyway. The ReyKong/NevaehLane match made sense after the events of 24, but they kind of booked themselves into a corner by doing it. They had no plans of putting the belts on Del Rey and Kong, yet if Lane and Nevaeh beat them it wouldn't be convincing. So, after a fun match where the champs are fighting their hearts out just to survive, we have to see a rather weak DQ ending. I know it was necessary, but it didn't do a whole lot for either team. Wesna/MsChif was awesome. After seeing the most annoying manager in history help Wesna get wins over Melissa and Lufi, the fans were chomping at the bit to see Wesna get beat and Annie get knocked out, too. At least the first one happened here. Social stayed out of the way as the two women had an excellent, hard-hitting encounter. After one of MsChif's best title matches, she yet again scored the win with a Desecrator, and the arena rejoiced. A great end to what was, overall, a very good Volume 25.
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Post by Woo on Nov 12, 2009 7:20:42 GMT -6
Still waiting for my DVD *cries*. Postmen suck.
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Post by LardWarriorELPS on Nov 12, 2009 10:38:35 GMT -6
I had a problem with the Mschif/Wesna match, just because Wesna kept getting right back up after big moves like Code Greens and such. Otherwise it was fine, but it kinda kept me from fully getting into the match.
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Post by Derrick8171 on Dec 4, 2009 0:42:49 GMT -6
Speaking of 25, I'm still waiting to see whatever it was in-ring that made Kellie Skater such a cult sensation that weekend. I mean don't get me wrong, I like her and she's certainly growing on me as a performer but I am still somewhat befuddled by the hype. Maybe something on 26 can explain it? I think it's because she's cute, has a cool accent, and (despite being a heel) has a strong likeability factor about her. She's got some charisma and attitude and has shown strong potential for a young worker. [they really do grow some decent rasslin chicks in Australia, don't they? -- DP, let's have Sway next time, eh?] She's not yet awesome, but she's dagblasted cool. . .
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