We've completed production on Volumes 19 and 20 of the SHIMMER DVD series, and they are being sent off to be manufactured this week. Ring of Honor should have them available in early October, and we'll have copies of both at the SHIMMER taping on October 19th in Berwyn, IL.
I'm very pleased with how these two releases turned out, particularly Volume 20, which I feel is one of the top three DVDs we've ever produced. Many thanks to our editor David Puente for his work on these releases. He's one of the unsung heroes of SHIMMER's success as a DVD product. Everyone just really delivered in their given roles on these two DVDs, from the top of the card all the way to the bottom.
The last five matches of the Volume 20 DVD are possibly the best 90 minutes or so of back to back matches we've ever had on one of our shows.
Ashley Lane & Nevaeh vs. The International Home Wrecking Crew is another solid tag team bout as the tag scene heats up in preparation for crowning the first SHIMMER Tag Team Champions on October 19th. Jetta and Rain work so well as a heel tandem, while Ashley and Nevaeh are really turning into the Rock & Roll Express of our tag team division. This match sets the stage quite well as we head into the gauntlet on the next show.
Nikki Roxx vs. Ariel in a battle of two friends, each looking to accomplish different goals in SHIMMER here in 2008. This is a standout performance for Ariel to go alongside her memorable contest against Amazing Kong back on Volume 17. Nikki having returned to SHIMMER, wanting to work herself back into the main event mix after her hiatus, against Ariel who has been here all along and just wants to elevate herself to main event level competition, in the same way Nikki did a year and a half prior.
What then follows are the three best back to back matches we've ever put on, each for different reasons.
Serena Deeb vs. Sara Del Rey is an incredible display of determination and courage. The seemingly unstoppable Del Rey, so much more intense and vicious since losing the SHIMMER Championship, trying to plow through everyone on the roster until she gets her rematch for the title, against one of the most underrated workers on the roster who refuses to back down. Del Rey destroys Serena's knee in relentless fashion, both in the ring and out on the floor, but even with only one good leg, Serena shows her heart and battles through the pain. We always compare Serena's armdrags to Ricky Steamboat's. So many things about this match will draw just as many Steamboat comparisons, but for Serena's other attibutes as a pro wrestler, not just the armdrags. This is one of my favorite matches we've ever promoted.
We go from monster heel vs. determined babyface to an intense strong style battle between two of the net's favorite hard hitters in Cheerleader Melissa vs. LuFisto. The fans who were there live have already hyped this match to an insane degree. The final two minutes of the match are simply electric, similar to MsChif vs. Kong back on Volume 9.
The main event of the evening is the perfect mix of brutality and technical wrestling skill, all wrapped into one match deserving of the main event spot on a show like this. Mercedes Martinez, on the heels of being the first wrestler to pin Sara Del Rey in SHIMMER, then immediately forced onto the disabled list for over a year, and now undefeated since her return, gets a shot at the belt she feels would have been hers if she had been healthy at the time of the title tournament. MsChif is out to prove that her title win against Del Rey was not a fluke and she will continue to reign as the top wrestler in the SHIMMER ranks. Both women are willing to put their bodies through unbelievable physical punishment to give the fans their money's worth, and they do just that in this match, which sees Martinez bruise and bloody the chest of the champion with some of the most sickening chops imagineable.
In addition to that string of matches on the second half of the DVD which just flow so well, the undercard of Volume 20 also does their job quite well, with each of the performers coming through in their own way. The Canadian Ninjas returning to tag team competition against Allison Danger and Jennifer Blake in a match set up on the previous DVD, which sees Perez continue to be one of the standout personalities on our shows, with some of the most amusing mic work and shenanigans ever seen. Daffney returning to action as a wrestler after a hiatus to try to gut through her recurring knee injuries against a larger, hungry new addition to the roster in Cat Power. Danyah trying to battle the odds against Amazing Kong. Top to bottom, Volume 20 is just one of the DVDs in the series of which I am happiest with the finished product, and I hope you all agree when you get a chance to see it in a few weeks.
Volume 19, though it will likely be overlooked in comparison to how strong 20 is, has more than its share of standout matches and memorable moments as well.
The first SHIMMER battle royal in company history, featuring 21 of the athletes on the roster entering the bout every 30 seconds, Rumble style. Nicole Matthews having her breakout singles match in SHIMMER against Nikki Roxx (Nikki... ROXX. Nicole... SUCKS. Wrestling... YAAAYY). LuFisto vs. Rain in a match that is as amusing for various reasons as it sounds on paper, so much that we do several replays (on a mid-card match, which is rare) just so you can hear the little things perfectly on replays without commentary over them. Another gutsy outing by Ariel against the intimidating "new" Sara Del Rey.
Cheerleader Melissa vs. Mercedes Martinez in a clinic that will easily be ranked in everyone's top 5 SHIMMER matches once it gets viewed by the masses on DVD. Both women really show in this match why they are two of the major players in women's pro wrestling in 2008.
Jetta being given a huge opportunity/test to show how versatile she can be if put in an unfamiliar role, and not only delivering the comedy through her over the top personality, but also some great wrestling in the process.
Upon completing all of the production work on these two releases, several things became clear to me.
The first is just what a true MVP Mercedes Martinez is. Two incredible matches, each upwards of twenty minutes in length, and she was still ready for more at the end of the final match of the taping. I don't think you'll find a harder working woman in pro wrestling today than Mercedes.
The second is just how much many of the SHIMMER mainstays who have been here from the start have matured into top flight wrestlers here in 2008. Wrestlers like Kong, Melissa, Nikki, Mercedes, MsChif, and Del Rey truly carry themselves like stars and display that confidence that oftentimes is sorely lacking in female performers in North America.
Third, the newer additions to the SHIMMER family are really coming into their own as performers, developing a following, and carving their own niche on our shows. I'll give some specific examples.
Anyone who wrote off Ashley Lane for being too small and looking too much like a diva when she first arrived can eat their words now that she and Nevaeh have shown what they are capable of as a tag team force. It is possible to have a small frame, look good, and also deliver athletically as a wrestler.
Though one of the least experienced wrestlers of the bunch, Jennifer Blake has begun to win over the fans with her explosive "Girl Dynamite" repertoire of suicide dives, dropkicks on the floor, and crazy bumps. If this is what we see out of a talent like Jen in only her second year as a wrestler, the future looks very bright for Girl Dynamite.
Portia Perez has inexplicably used a combination of kosher pickles, chocolate chip cookies, being Canadian, appearing to look underage, and somehow also being a ninja who happens to wear pink stars and says "frickin" a lot, to become one of the most over characters on the show. How in the hell...?
Nicole Matthews could have easily become an afterthought and "just Portia's partner" alongside all of that, but she has instead contantly delivered with her own entertaining crowd interaction and wrestling skills, both in singles matches apart from Perez, and as part of the Canadian Ninjas tag team as well.
All the while, we're seeing several wrestlers through their strong outings and constant progression as wrestlers working their way into top of the card positions.
LuFisto capturing everyone's attention and having one of the most talked about matches in recent memory.
Ariel, who has been a staple of the undercard for the vast majority of SHIMMER's existence, elevating herself through matches against the likes of Kong, Del Rey, and Roxx.
Jetta doing much more than just filling Lacey's void by not only becoming a solid tag team partner of Rain in the IHWC, but also proving that she can come through in a key singles role as well... as someone who holds the attention of the audience based on more than just KOOL MOVEZ~!
Serena Deeb displaying that having such an understanding of the fundamentals of wrestling (as taught to her so effectively at OVW) is one of the most important parts of being a great pro wrestler. She has the necessary foundation to be one of the top performers of this generation, and WWE has seriously missed the boat in not yet signing her to a developmental contract.
In all, this is a very exciting time to witness the growth of each of the women athletes of SHIMMER, and these next two DVDs in the series really set the stage for an exciting taping coming up on October 19th in suburban Chicago.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our athletes, and our product. Without you, these shows would not be possible!
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