Post by chrisv on Mar 2, 2006 9:53:51 GMT -6
DVD review Shimmer Women’s Athletes, “Volume 1”
By Chris Vetter
Shimmer Women’s Athletes taped its first-ever show on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 in suburban Chicago. The first DVD, “Volume 1” recently went on sale. After attending the second taping on Feb. 12, I decided to check out the first DVD.
The first think that struck me as odd is how generic the DVD case is, in the sense that the show doesn’t have a ‘flashy name,’ and nowhere on the packaging or inside the DVD case, do they acknowledge the day/date of the show.
Lighting for this event came off really, really well. The crowd was about 70. (The crowd at the recent taping was twice the number here.) Two cameras were used to tape the show, and this is a well-edited production.
On commentary is Dave Prazak (who usually does play-by-play for Ring of Honor) and female wrestler Allison Danger. I’ve heard Prazak & Danger do commentary together numerous times for IWA-Mid South in the past, and they’ve always had a flirting banter during those matches. Here, however, the jokes are put aside and this is all serious commentary from both of them. Just because I’ve heard their past commentary… this straight no-nonsense style here threw me off a bit. But, Prazak is truly the best play-by-play man going, and he proves it again here, telling viewers -- who probably haven’t seen half of these women before – about their history, where they work, and how long they’ve been in wrestling.
I expected more backstage vignettes, though. When Prazak e-mailed me before the recent taping, saying he needed the women there two hours before the show, he wrote, “we have a lot of pre-show stuff to do including promos, photos, etc.” I guess, to me, that meant more backstage stuff would appear on the disc.
The show opened with announcer Joey Eastman introducing each of the 18 women on the show.
(1) Shantelle Taylor defeats Tiana Ringer at 8:36. Solid, average opener. Tiana wore a purple outfit, and she’s the heel. Shantelle is blonde, and she wore pink. Prazak filled us in on their background – they are both Canadian – as the women traded armbars and some good reversals. Ringer slammed her knee into Taylor’s lower back, and she hit a Curbstomp on the lower back for a nearfall. Ringer hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a nearfall at 5:00.
Taylor fought back with some chops. Ringer hit a kick to the back of the head, and she applied a Camel Clutch. Taylor came back with a nice headscissors takedown. They traded chops and slaps to the face. Shantelle hit a missile dropkick to score the pin. *1/2
(2) Krissy Vaine & Amber O’Neal (Team Blondage) defeat Cindy Rogers & Nikki Roxx at 12:53. Vaine has recently signed a WWE contract, and that doesn’t surprise me after seeing her here; she looks like a young Torrie Wilson, and she’s good in the ring. Vaine & O’Neal wore identical #69 pink football jerseys. Rogers wore red pants with a white top. Roxx wore red; she has bleached blonde hair here, and looks much different than when I saw her at the tapings two weeks ago.
The heels stalled on the floor and argued over who would start. Roxx and O’Neal started, and Roxx applied a headlock and hit a few quick spanks on O’Neal. Rogers tagged in, and she worked on O’Neal’s arm. Vaine finally entered at 5:00, but the faces worked her over. Roxx hit a clothesline on Vaine for a nearfall. Vaine choked Roxx. The heels hit a team Russian Legsweep for a nearfall. O’Neal hit a spine kick and twisted on Roxx’ neck, and the crowd rallied behind Roxx. Vaine hit a nice sideslam for a nearfall.
Roxx hit some stiff forearms. O’Neal applied a sleeper at 11:00. Rogers finally got the hot tag, and she hit some hard back elbows and clotheslines, and they fought on the floor. In the ring, Rogers went for a sunset flip on Vaine, but Vaine sat down, reached toward the ropes and grabbed O’Neal’s hands for leverage, and scored the pin. Solid. *3/4
(3) Ariel defeats Rain at 8:45. Good match. Rain wore all silver, and she’s the heel. Ariel wore a black & teal outfit. Ariel hit a slap, and Rain bailed; Ariel followed her to the floor. Ariel slammed Rain’s head on the mat. In the ring, Ariel was in charge early with some back elbows and a bodyslam for a nearfall. Rain choked Ariel in the ropes and hit some kicks to the back. Ariel hit nice basement dropkick to the chest. Rain pulled on Ariel’s hair, and she hit some chops in the corner. Ariel fought back with some chops at 5:00.
Ariel got a Victory Roll for a nearfall, then a Tornado DDT, and they were both down. They traded some stiff forearms, and Ariel hit three snap suplexes for a nearfall. Ariel hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Rain nailed her Raindrop/inverted DDT for a nearfall. Ariel hit an Ace Crusher/stunner for the pin. Good action. **1/4
(4) Lexie Fyfe defeats Christie Ricci at 8:24. Fyfe is older than the other women here, and she wore all black, and she’s fairly muscular. My first time seeing Ricci, who wore red, and she’s the face. They started with an intense lockup and some mat wrestling. Ricci hit a nice Japanese Armdrag, and she worked on the left arm, applying a cross-armbreaker. Fyfe took over with some chops, then she applied a Camel Clutch and cranked on Ricci’s nose! She pulled on Ricci’s hair as Ricci was tied in the ropes.
Ricci came back with a second-rope superplex at 7:00, and both women were down. Ricci hit a flying forearm and a spin kick for a nearfall. Ricci went for a body splash, but Fyfe got her knees up to block it. Fyfe then hit a TKO/spinning stunner for the pin. Average overall. **
(5) MsChif defeats Cheerleader Melissa at 15:03. Melissa wore a pink singlet; MsChif wore her black outfit. Melissa attacked MsChif immediately, and MsChif let out some screams at her! Melissa unloaded some forearms and chops. MsChif hit a shoulder tackle, a clothesline and some punches to the face. Melissa hit a nice back suplex, and she stomped on MsChif’s stomach. Melissa applied a nice inverted cloverleaf at 4:30, and she forced MsChif’s own foot to ram into her head! Cool spot. (And they did play off this spot at the recent tapings.)
Mschif hit a nice hurricanrana and she tied up Melissa’s legs and bridged backward into an Indian Deathlock, but Melissa reached the ropes. Melissa worked on the left knee, and she tossed MsChif to the floor at 8:00. They fought along the guardrail. In another cool spot, Melissa bent MsChif over the guardrail, and tied her up in the guardrail. In the ring, Melissa went for the Copkillah, but MsChif escaped. MsChif hit a Lionsault Press for a nearfall, and they were both down at 12:00.
MsChif hit a hard clothesline in the corner. Melissa came back with two dropkicks in the corner. MsChif hit some doublestomps to the back. Melissa hit a sitdown powerbomb for a nearfall, and the crowd was hot! MsChif nailed the Desecrator/plant DDT on Melissa to score the pin. Very good women’s match. **3/4
(6) Allison Danger defeats Beth Phoenix at 10:42. Good match. Beth Phoenix wore a skimpy pink outfit with a black bowtie; she’s blonde. On commentary, Prazak said Phoenix is a former power lifter and she was in OVW with Jim Cornette. They did the spot early where Phoenix kept running the ropes until she got winded, and the crowd laughed at her. Beth pulled Danger down by the hair. Danger worked on the left arm, and Beth couldn’t kip up. Beth planted some hard chops at 3:30, and Danger hit some chops.
Phoenix kissed Ref Bryce Remsburg to distract him as she choked Danger with her leg. Beth stayed on top with some forearms to the face, and she yelled at Remsburg. She choked Danger with her wrist tape and got a nearfall. They brawled to the floor, with Phoenix still in control. Danger fought back, hitting a faceplant across her knee, then a clothesline, and they both were down at 9:30. Danger hit some forearms and a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall, and the crowd fired up behind Allison. Beth hit a nice Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. They traded rollups, and Danger snuck in a three count for the pin. **1/4
By Chris Vetter
Shimmer Women’s Athletes taped its first-ever show on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 in suburban Chicago. The first DVD, “Volume 1” recently went on sale. After attending the second taping on Feb. 12, I decided to check out the first DVD.
The first think that struck me as odd is how generic the DVD case is, in the sense that the show doesn’t have a ‘flashy name,’ and nowhere on the packaging or inside the DVD case, do they acknowledge the day/date of the show.
Lighting for this event came off really, really well. The crowd was about 70. (The crowd at the recent taping was twice the number here.) Two cameras were used to tape the show, and this is a well-edited production.
On commentary is Dave Prazak (who usually does play-by-play for Ring of Honor) and female wrestler Allison Danger. I’ve heard Prazak & Danger do commentary together numerous times for IWA-Mid South in the past, and they’ve always had a flirting banter during those matches. Here, however, the jokes are put aside and this is all serious commentary from both of them. Just because I’ve heard their past commentary… this straight no-nonsense style here threw me off a bit. But, Prazak is truly the best play-by-play man going, and he proves it again here, telling viewers -- who probably haven’t seen half of these women before – about their history, where they work, and how long they’ve been in wrestling.
I expected more backstage vignettes, though. When Prazak e-mailed me before the recent taping, saying he needed the women there two hours before the show, he wrote, “we have a lot of pre-show stuff to do including promos, photos, etc.” I guess, to me, that meant more backstage stuff would appear on the disc.
The show opened with announcer Joey Eastman introducing each of the 18 women on the show.
(1) Shantelle Taylor defeats Tiana Ringer at 8:36. Solid, average opener. Tiana wore a purple outfit, and she’s the heel. Shantelle is blonde, and she wore pink. Prazak filled us in on their background – they are both Canadian – as the women traded armbars and some good reversals. Ringer slammed her knee into Taylor’s lower back, and she hit a Curbstomp on the lower back for a nearfall. Ringer hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a nearfall at 5:00.
Taylor fought back with some chops. Ringer hit a kick to the back of the head, and she applied a Camel Clutch. Taylor came back with a nice headscissors takedown. They traded chops and slaps to the face. Shantelle hit a missile dropkick to score the pin. *1/2
(2) Krissy Vaine & Amber O’Neal (Team Blondage) defeat Cindy Rogers & Nikki Roxx at 12:53. Vaine has recently signed a WWE contract, and that doesn’t surprise me after seeing her here; she looks like a young Torrie Wilson, and she’s good in the ring. Vaine & O’Neal wore identical #69 pink football jerseys. Rogers wore red pants with a white top. Roxx wore red; she has bleached blonde hair here, and looks much different than when I saw her at the tapings two weeks ago.
The heels stalled on the floor and argued over who would start. Roxx and O’Neal started, and Roxx applied a headlock and hit a few quick spanks on O’Neal. Rogers tagged in, and she worked on O’Neal’s arm. Vaine finally entered at 5:00, but the faces worked her over. Roxx hit a clothesline on Vaine for a nearfall. Vaine choked Roxx. The heels hit a team Russian Legsweep for a nearfall. O’Neal hit a spine kick and twisted on Roxx’ neck, and the crowd rallied behind Roxx. Vaine hit a nice sideslam for a nearfall.
Roxx hit some stiff forearms. O’Neal applied a sleeper at 11:00. Rogers finally got the hot tag, and she hit some hard back elbows and clotheslines, and they fought on the floor. In the ring, Rogers went for a sunset flip on Vaine, but Vaine sat down, reached toward the ropes and grabbed O’Neal’s hands for leverage, and scored the pin. Solid. *3/4
(3) Ariel defeats Rain at 8:45. Good match. Rain wore all silver, and she’s the heel. Ariel wore a black & teal outfit. Ariel hit a slap, and Rain bailed; Ariel followed her to the floor. Ariel slammed Rain’s head on the mat. In the ring, Ariel was in charge early with some back elbows and a bodyslam for a nearfall. Rain choked Ariel in the ropes and hit some kicks to the back. Ariel hit nice basement dropkick to the chest. Rain pulled on Ariel’s hair, and she hit some chops in the corner. Ariel fought back with some chops at 5:00.
Ariel got a Victory Roll for a nearfall, then a Tornado DDT, and they were both down. They traded some stiff forearms, and Ariel hit three snap suplexes for a nearfall. Ariel hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Rain nailed her Raindrop/inverted DDT for a nearfall. Ariel hit an Ace Crusher/stunner for the pin. Good action. **1/4
(4) Lexie Fyfe defeats Christie Ricci at 8:24. Fyfe is older than the other women here, and she wore all black, and she’s fairly muscular. My first time seeing Ricci, who wore red, and she’s the face. They started with an intense lockup and some mat wrestling. Ricci hit a nice Japanese Armdrag, and she worked on the left arm, applying a cross-armbreaker. Fyfe took over with some chops, then she applied a Camel Clutch and cranked on Ricci’s nose! She pulled on Ricci’s hair as Ricci was tied in the ropes.
Ricci came back with a second-rope superplex at 7:00, and both women were down. Ricci hit a flying forearm and a spin kick for a nearfall. Ricci went for a body splash, but Fyfe got her knees up to block it. Fyfe then hit a TKO/spinning stunner for the pin. Average overall. **
(5) MsChif defeats Cheerleader Melissa at 15:03. Melissa wore a pink singlet; MsChif wore her black outfit. Melissa attacked MsChif immediately, and MsChif let out some screams at her! Melissa unloaded some forearms and chops. MsChif hit a shoulder tackle, a clothesline and some punches to the face. Melissa hit a nice back suplex, and she stomped on MsChif’s stomach. Melissa applied a nice inverted cloverleaf at 4:30, and she forced MsChif’s own foot to ram into her head! Cool spot. (And they did play off this spot at the recent tapings.)
Mschif hit a nice hurricanrana and she tied up Melissa’s legs and bridged backward into an Indian Deathlock, but Melissa reached the ropes. Melissa worked on the left knee, and she tossed MsChif to the floor at 8:00. They fought along the guardrail. In another cool spot, Melissa bent MsChif over the guardrail, and tied her up in the guardrail. In the ring, Melissa went for the Copkillah, but MsChif escaped. MsChif hit a Lionsault Press for a nearfall, and they were both down at 12:00.
MsChif hit a hard clothesline in the corner. Melissa came back with two dropkicks in the corner. MsChif hit some doublestomps to the back. Melissa hit a sitdown powerbomb for a nearfall, and the crowd was hot! MsChif nailed the Desecrator/plant DDT on Melissa to score the pin. Very good women’s match. **3/4
(6) Allison Danger defeats Beth Phoenix at 10:42. Good match. Beth Phoenix wore a skimpy pink outfit with a black bowtie; she’s blonde. On commentary, Prazak said Phoenix is a former power lifter and she was in OVW with Jim Cornette. They did the spot early where Phoenix kept running the ropes until she got winded, and the crowd laughed at her. Beth pulled Danger down by the hair. Danger worked on the left arm, and Beth couldn’t kip up. Beth planted some hard chops at 3:30, and Danger hit some chops.
Phoenix kissed Ref Bryce Remsburg to distract him as she choked Danger with her leg. Beth stayed on top with some forearms to the face, and she yelled at Remsburg. She choked Danger with her wrist tape and got a nearfall. They brawled to the floor, with Phoenix still in control. Danger fought back, hitting a faceplant across her knee, then a clothesline, and they both were down at 9:30. Danger hit some forearms and a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall, and the crowd fired up behind Allison. Beth hit a nice Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. They traded rollups, and Danger snuck in a three count for the pin. **1/4
