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Post by Ryan on Apr 27, 2008 22:00:25 GMT -6
For those of you who couldn't make the show, I just wrapped up my fairly detailed (~6 pages in MS word) report and submitted it for posting over at www.411mania.comIt contains all of the results as well as my opinions on the show . . . plus I never once claim that Lacey is pregnant! What more could you want in an article? With the WWE Backlash show happening tonight, the report won't actually run until 12 AM EST as not to bump anything PPV-related from our news section during the period in which the majority of our readers are coming to the site for Backlash info. Sorry that I wasn't able to get this up immediately after the tapings as I have in the past. I decided to attend the after party instead, and, even if I didn't go to Michael Anthony's, I couldn't get the wifi in my hotel to work all weekend. It's up: www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/74135
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Post by nykk on Apr 27, 2008 22:17:14 GMT -6
Some thoughts and opinions on the taping: I would do the dance of joy if it were announced that Danyah and Jennifer Blake were never being invited back. Dreadful. Absolutely the worst part of the entire taping. I've never seen someone smile from bell to bell, even during a collossal Experience ass beating, like Danyah. Two matches for sure I'll be skipping in the future. I'd like to see them in singles matches before I write them off, because I think Blake in particular has a world of potential. But I agree, they didn't make a very good team. She also has the most annoying/catchy music in the history of ever. I've been pushing for Nevaeh for a while, and I was hoping she would be there. She and Ashley make such a great team, and obviously Dave sees the same potential in them that I do, if he's putting them over freaking Lacey and Rain! Cat looked pretty decent too. I wouldn't mind seeing more from her in the future. Lorelei has been so fantastic since coming back to SHIMMER last fall. It's like a completely different person from the Neo-Rookie of 2006. Watching Kong murder someone is always entertaining, and though the fluke DQ win doesn't do much for Ariel, it did make Kong look like she could legit end someone. I really liked the Wesna match. I can't really comment on the match with Cindy, as I really had to use the bathroom, so I was just rooting for it to be over so I could rush over there before the next match. Other than Lacey getting repetitive with the hair pulling and choking and such, I thought the match was fine. Agreed, the match was completely awesome and it's just a shame it had to end like it did with Allison's collarbone. I'm glad Daizee didn't ask me my opinion on this match at the afterparty. I didn't think it was that good either. Well, the tournament match was what, seven minutes? This one got over twenty, I believe. Burnt out crowd aside, this was my Match of the Night. I tried to assure Sara of that fact, that the match wasn't the reason the crowd wasn't responding, but she was just a *little* inebriated at the time. I thought for sure we were going to get her against Melissa at some point, but it was not to be. I was fine with Wesna, and actually pretty damn impressed. I loved her and Kong going toe to toe. This got literal shock from me. I was sitting there with my mouth open. I did not expect MsChif to be the one to dethrone Del Rey, especially at this point. Congratulations, Dave. You got me. That's not easy to do.
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Post by Ryan on Apr 27, 2008 22:23:58 GMT -6
I thought Jetta/Haze was terrible and judging from the reaction of the section I was sitting in alone, I wasn't the only one. The stalling with Jetta and the Wrecking Crew drew immediate X-Pac heat that never let up. Easily the worst singles match of the night in my opinion. I honestly want Jetta and the Homewreckers to stall MORE, because reactions like this always make me laugh. In this "kayfabe is dead" world, it seems like the only way to get people to genuinely hate your guts - especially in front of any indy wrestling crowd that is used to seeing 5,000 moves a minute thanks to acts like the Briscoes - is to just not wrestle for a while. The wrestler gets her desired reaction, and the fans still get to feel smart and like they were not worked because they can come on message boards like this one and explain away their booing with B.S. terms like "X-Pact heat." It's a win-win situation. The fact of the matter is that pro wrestling is a business. Unless it's something that causes you to stop handing your money over to the promotion (or change the channel in the case of a TV-based product), any heat is good heat.
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Post by magnumgecko on Apr 27, 2008 22:25:26 GMT -6
I didn't mean to sound like I was unimpressed with Wesna. I was just unimpressed with how she was utilized and that she didn't get to do more. Both of her matches seemed to be more about her opponents than her, which was weird considering all the hype her SHIMMER debut was getting from Prazak.
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Post by magnumgecko on Apr 27, 2008 22:36:32 GMT -6
I thought Jetta/Haze was terrible and judging from the reaction of the section I was sitting in alone, I wasn't the only one. The stalling with Jetta and the Wrecking Crew drew immediate X-Pac heat that never let up. Easily the worst singles match of the night in my opinion. I honestly want Jetta and the Homewreckers to stall MORE, because reactions like this always make me laugh. In this "kayfabe is dead" world, it seems like the only way to get people to genuinely hate your guts - especially in front of any indy wrestling crowd that is used to seeing 5,000 moves a minute thanks to acts like the Briscoes - is to just not wrestle for a while. The wrestler gets her desired reaction, and the fans still get to feel smart and like they were not worked because they can come on message boards like this one and explain away their booing with B.S. terms like "X-Pact heat." It's a win-win situation. The fact of the matter is that pro wrestling is a business. Unless it's something that causes you to stop handing your money over to the promotion (or change the channel in the case of a TV-based product), any heat is good heat. All the stalling does for me is give me something to sit on my hands during and fast forward through later. A good heel makes you want to see them lose, the Wrecking Crew's stalling just makes me wish the next match would begin. If it were just before one match, I'd almost call it acceptable, but there were four instances of horribly boring, unfunny stalling that took me straight out of the matches. If that's your thing, good for you. However, several people were yelling "End the match" and "This match sucks" from nearly bell to bell and that's not what I'd consider good heat.
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Post by Ryan on Apr 27, 2008 22:42:28 GMT -6
All the stalling does for me is give me something to sit on my hands during and fast forward through later. A good heel makes you want to see them lose, the Wrecking Crew's stalling just makes me wish the next match would begin. If it were just before one match, I'd almost call it acceptable, but there were four instances of horribly boring, unfunny stalling that took me straight out of the matches. If that's your thing, good for you. However, several people were yelling "End the match" and "This match sucks" from nearly bell to bell and that's not what I'd consider good heat. Either I'm going deaf or they weren't yelling very loudly, because I heard at most two catcalls about the quality of the match which couldn't also be construed as general negative comments towards Jetta as a heel.
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Post by impactpunk on Apr 27, 2008 22:58:05 GMT -6
All the stalling does for me is give me something to sit on my hands during and fast forward through later. A good heel makes you want to see them lose, the Wrecking Crew's stalling just makes me wish the next match would begin. If it were just before one match, I'd almost call it acceptable, but there were four instances of horribly boring, unfunny stalling that took me straight out of the matches. If that's your thing, good for you. However, several people were yelling "End the match" and "This match sucks" from nearly bell to bell and that's not what I'd consider good heat. Either I'm going deaf or they weren't yelling very loudly, because I heard at most two catcalls about the quality of the match which couldn't also be construed as general negative comments towards Jetta as a heel. Go ahead and schedule that hearing check, because most of the crowd was crapping all over that match and it wasn't heat on Jetta, it was a reaction to the lack of wrestling and the mass amount of stalling.
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Post by psychoroach1985 on Apr 27, 2008 22:58:16 GMT -6
Nice review. Makes me want these even more now.
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vicesquad
Sleeping Where I Want
50%
Posts: 68
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Post by vicesquad on Apr 27, 2008 23:22:48 GMT -6
Far be it from me to have any opinions, but I was there so I might as well react.
New talents: I hope that Cat Power is brought back. I enjoyed what she brought to the ring and thought that she contributed well in her matches. She could stand a little polishing, but she is light-years better than Nicole Matthews or Ashley Lane were in their first SHIMMER outings and they have improved nicely. I thought that Neveah (I hope that's a proper spelling) was a good partner for Lane as well. As for the Canadian ladies, I was unimpressed. They may have their good points, but I felt that they were weak as a team and the matches felt like filler.
Tag Teams: I was very happy with the amount of attention given to tag team wrestling. I enjoyed the Experience's outings, especially with Lane and Neveah. I think that match established the younger team immediately and made the Experience look like gold. I may not have particularly enjoyed the new Canadians, but they tried. I didn't enjoy the MNHWC at all, but those ladies just aren't my cup of tea. The Melissa/MsChif v. Del Rey/Danger match was a match of the year candidate for certain.
Positive Change: Many of the girls seemed to simply be "better all around" since previous appearances. As stated, Ashley was in great form and really added a lot in her tag matches. Nicole Matthews was phenomenal and shined like new money out of Portia's diminutive shadow. I hope that Nicole has seen the last of tagging with Portia. Lorelei has continued to improve. I always enjoy seeing her as she is one of my favorite "undercard" wrestlers and always puts a smile on my face. Ariel versus Kong was simply amazing, no pun intended. Ariel channeled some old school Diamond Dallas Page. She took a huge pounding, but kept on finding ways to avoid the loss. Her own natural charisma combined with true technical skill and toughness made me absolutely mark out for the Portuguese Princess!
MsChif as Champion: This was an incredible experience. I have been present for a couple of title changes in the "majors", and witnessed many more on pay-per-view, but I have never been so emotionally involved in a title change. MsChif was one of the two performers that got me interested in SHIMMER and has remained one of my absolute favorites. I think Del Rey was the right choice for first champ, and had a good reign, but having a mid-carder rise to the top through tenacity and skill is reminiscent of the first time that Bret Hart or AJ Styles became the champion of a major organization. It's good for competition, and it's good for the business.
Comedy in Wrestling: My first inclination is that there is no place in wrestling for comedy, but that isn't true. It's okay to have a laugh here and there. Unfortunately, it seems that more and more circus scenes are cropping up in SHIMMER. Some humor in the matches (like Rain bellowing "YEAH!" with every arm wrench) makes me laugh, but stalling for five or ten minutes with repetitive humor gimmickry is a little much. I can never enjoy an MNWHC match because they have become parodies of themselves. Likewise, I felt that Daizee, who was once a highly regarded wrestler in my house, had just degenerated into a cartoon character. And Sharkgirl... To each his own, I suppose.
Wesna or Mercedes: Two big names were on hand in the forms of Wesna and Mercedes. I enjoyed a lot of Wesna's other work, but am not a fan at all of Mercedes. I just don't like her. Either way, it was Wesna's debut and Mercedes' return. I've been reminded a thousand times that Mercedes held a win over Del Rey back in the days before the championship. Big deal. Orlando Jordan beat John Cena before Cena was champ, but he couldn't do it today. Claiming that Mercedes is on Del Rey's level is ridiculous and unrealistic. I hate that Wesna got the ultimate disrespect of having to lose cleanly to the returning Martinez and then immediately get killed by Kong. Bottom line - Wesna is superior to Mercedes, and should have been booked that way.
Lastly, there is no such thing as "American Joshi". My apologies to whoever thought that tag fit SHIMMER, but it's wrong. Professional wrestling is an American enterprise that is practiced globally. Japan didn't invent it, popularize it, or perfect it. There have been many good Japanese wrestlers, but to give another culture credit for pro wrestling. "Professional Wrestling" is the only proper name. If anyone disagrees with this, then consider how the word puroresu is properly pronounced -- "pro-wres".
Sorry to go so long. I had a great time at the show and can't wait to go back in July.
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Post by magnumgecko on Apr 27, 2008 23:28:19 GMT -6
I couldn't agree more with everything there.
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Post by Ryan on Apr 27, 2008 23:42:56 GMT -6
Lastly, there is no such thing as "American Joshi". My apologies to whoever thought that tag fit SHIMMER, but it's wrong. Professional wrestling is an American enterprise that is practiced globally. Japan didn't invent it, popularize it, or perfect it. There have been many good Japanese wrestlers, but to give another culture credit for pro wrestling. "Professional Wrestling" is the only proper name. If anyone disagrees with this, then consider how the word puroresu is properly pronounced -- "pro-wres". I'm not the biggest fan of the "American Joshi" label either, albeit for different reasons. I don't have a problem generally with using terms like "joshi" or "puroresu" or "lucha libre" as opposed to "professional wrestling." To say otherwise is essentially the same as arguing that we need to refer to every song as nothing more than "music," whether it's punk rock or easy listening. There are stylistic differences there that warrant subcategories. Yet, at the same time, I don't think that SHIMMER contains enough stylistic similarities to actual joshi for the "American Joshi" tag to fit. Is it similar to joshi in that it's women's pro wrestling which is taken seriously with an emphasis on athletics? Yes. However, when you look at the moves which are typically performed in SHIMMER, the way that most of the matches are structured, and the manner in which storylines are booked, it's nothing like Japanese women's wrestling. Don't get me wrong, it's GOOD wrestling, but stylistically it's got far more in common with some of the U.S. territorial promotions of the 1980's than it does with anything to ever come out of Japan. Dug the video otherwise, though.
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vicesquad
Sleeping Where I Want
50%
Posts: 68
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Post by vicesquad on Apr 28, 2008 3:58:44 GMT -6
Dug the video otherwise, though. Absolutely. The video was great, as is the type of action I'm used to seeing in SHIMMER. I'm just no fan of the Joshi title.
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Post by SHIMMER office on Apr 28, 2008 8:29:53 GMT -6
I am sitting here reading over alot of your posts regarding the debut of the Canadian girls, particularly Jen Blake and Danyah, I felt the need to put something out there. Both these girls are still new to the business. They are working hard, paying their dues and they busted their asses on Saturday night. You guys need to realize, no wrestler will ever get better until we are taken out of our comfort zone and put into matches that force us to grow and that take our work to that next level. If the "logic" of giving up on them after their first outing with SHIMMER (or with any company) was used consistently then there would be no Allison Danger. I stank up some rings in my early days and both women are light years ahead of where I was when I broke in. Not one of us will ever get better if we are never given the chance to be in the ring. I watched the match and I can say I was proud of those girls and I can not wait to see how they grow with time and experience.
-AD
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Post by SirRobin on Apr 28, 2008 8:47:03 GMT -6
For those of you who couldn't make the show, I just wrapped up my fairly detailed (~6 pages in MS word) report and submitted it for posting over at www.411mania.comIt contains all of the results as well as my opinions on the show . . . plus I never once claim that Lacey is pregnant! What more could you want in an article? With the WWE Backlash show happening tonight, the report won't actually run until 12 AM EST as not to bump anything PPV-related from our news section during the period in which the majority of our readers are coming to the site for Backlash info. Sorry that I wasn't able to get this up immediately after the tapings as I have in the past. I decided to attend the after party instead, and, even if I didn't go to Michael Anthony's, I couldn't get the wifi in my hotel to work all weekend. It's up: www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/74135Why does 411 refer to all of their indy reports as "House Shows" now? Is it because they want people to think of things liek Shimmer DVD tapings as insignificant? The article was good and I know you probably had no control over the headline, but this is a disturbing new trend I am not liking from 411. There is a difference between a "house show" that no one will see except for the live crowd, and a "DVD taping" which will be seen by many people all over the world.
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Post by blazermaniac5 on Apr 28, 2008 9:13:27 GMT -6
You couldn't be more correct, AD! It takes plenty of matches for anyone to be polished, so give the ladies new to the business a chance. As an example, I've watched Lacey from her early days as a wrestler. As a terrific athlete, Lacey had the potential to being someone very special to the business and has not disappointed. Melissa was a wrestler in high school, so she had the basics down pat, and she has grown to be one of the world's best wrestlers. Unfortunately, some people want immediate results, whether someone has wrestled for many years like Malia Hosaka, or wrestling for just a year or so. It takes time and experience to become a very good wrestler. Unfortunately, some people have no patience.
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