On Thursday, WWE star Becky Lynch took a moment to acknowledge the anniversary of an all-women’s indie promotion that gave her a chance early in her career.
Shimmer Women Athletics staged its first show in Berwyn, Illinois on this day in 2005. The promotion had its last event in 2021 but is well-remembered for how it gave women’s wrestlers a platform during the pre-evolution time period when those opportunities were hard to come by elsewhere.
“Happy 20th anniversary Shimmer,” Lynch posted on Instagram. “A very special company and a special time in my life. They gave this punk teenage gal a chance and a platform and I’ll always be grateful.”
As Rebecca Knox, Lynch made multiple Shimmer appearances in 2006 and later returned as a manager. Her career included a several-year hiatus before she returned to full-time competition in 2013, eventually becoming one of the top names in the entire industry. She is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
Dave Prazak, the founder of Shimmer, also made a post today marking the promotion’s anniversary:
It’s wild to think that today marks twenty years since we first gathered in Berwyn, Illinois to present our vision of an ideal women’s professional wrestling product.
For the sixteen years that we promoted live events, the goals were always the same. To provide the talented women in this industry with a place to call their own, from experienced wrestlers to newcomers who had a desire to learn from those who came before them. For the young talent to have a place to develop as performers, so they could then use that knowledge and experience to build a career. And of course, to give pro wrestling fans a unique promotion to support and enjoy.
It wasn’t perfect. The shows should have been shorter for the live audience. The rosters should have been smaller to put more focus on the most promising individual talents. Had we not overspent, perhaps it would’ve lasted longer than it did. We should’ve tried to do more storylines, despite the unusual taping schedule. Immediate release of the video footage should have been the priority, rather than taking too much time trying to get things right in the editing room. In hindsight, there’s a million things I would have done differently, but you live and you learn.
We didn’t make any money as a wrestling promotion. In that respect, the promotion was a failure. But we did succeed in providing a stage for those who desperately needed one at the time, during an era before streaming, when the talent had fewer avenues to get themselves noticed. That such a large percentage of the wrestlers who competed in the SHIMMER ring were able to eventually move on in their careers and be featured on global television is truly rewarding.
I take pride in comparing SHIMMER to the old Memphis territory. It seems like everyone in wrestling passed through there at some point in their career. Young wrestlers went there to learn. Vets stayed there to keep going. Nobody made any real money there, but it served its purpose. It was a place for the wrestlers to perform, and live entertainment for the fans in the seats every night.
Only the locker room on October 31, 2021 knew that it was the last show. Though it would have been nice to give the fans a public farewell, please keep in mind that this is pro wrestling we’re talking about. History has proven that folks retire dozens of times and keep coming back. The same can sometimes be said for wrestling promotions, and I never wanted to be the guy trying to sell sympathy tickets for a ‘final show.’ So, our team just went out there that day, and did the same thing we always did, just one last time.
I’ve said it before, but this twenty year anniversary is a good time to reiterate it. Thank you to all of the wrestlers and staff who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to SHIMMER during the years we were around. Every piece of the puzzle was essential to the creation of such wonderful memories when we came together.
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE show in Hershey, PA and the ROH show in Baltimore tonight to [email protected].
ROH SUNDAY AT 6 P.M. EASTERN AT THE UMBC EVENT CENTER IN BALTIMORE
Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose vs. Kris Stadtlander & Tasha Steelz vs Gabby Ortiz & Karissa Rivera
Cheeseburger & Eli Isom & Ryan Nova vs. LSG & Shaheem Ali & Colin Delaney
Kenny King vs. P.J. Black
Mark Haskins vs. Silas Young
Rush vs. Tracy Williams
Marty Scurll vs. Shane Taylor
Juice Robinson & Bandido vs. TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia vs. Jay Lethal & Jeff Cobb
PCO & Brody King vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe for ROH tag titles
The final Raw before WrestleMania will be in Washington, DC with an all-hands on deck show including Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey all advertised. The show has Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair & Ronda Rousey vs. The Riott Squad and if Lynch, Flair or Rousey turn on the other they are out of WrestleMania, Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (why?), Beth Phoenix & Natalya & Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. The Iicnonics & Nia Jax & Tamina and The Revival vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black for the Raw tag team titles. There is also a Smackdown house show in Roanoke, VA.
The Smackdown and 205 Live tapings are Tuesday in Baltimore. Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade has been announced for the show as well as a contract signing for Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston.
While interest has inevitably decreased over the years, the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony feels like less of an essential part of WrestleMania weekend than ever.
There are a few major reasons why the Hall of Fame ceremony has lost some of its luster. As WrestleMania week has become a destination for promotions from the United States and abroad, fans have to make difficult decisions on how they’re going to spend their time and money.
The Conor McGregor situation is the lead story in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the investigation into him, his retirement, the timing, and why the retirement and Dana White’s reactions are both a public bluffing game.
Read the update on the WrestleMania card, both matches announced and those not yet announced, the Charlotte Flair title win and what it changes about the show, the multiple changes in the top part of the show, the women in the main event, the interest level in the different shows that week and more.
Also look at the New Japan Cup, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results, on the entire last week of the tournament and the final show.
Look at Vince McMahon’s stock sale, how much he sold, how much he got and why, as well as the XFL launch and problems with the AAF. Look at the AAF’s new goal.
Look at the retirement of the Bella Twins and their careers, the value of Total Divas and their future plans.
Examine the lawsuit settlement with the wrestlers who have sued Lucha Underground, and the interesting note of the person who backed out of the suit.
Also look at Cain Velasquez’s crossing over into pro wrestling and his deal with AAA, including what they attempted to do with him, the storyline building him up and the wrestlers it looks like he’ll appear with.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
We have two weekend shows up on the site, a Saturday morning show with Garrett Gonzalez and a Sunday morning show with Bryan Alvarez live covering all the WrestleMania and weekend news.
Best wishes to Jim Duggan who is resting peacefully after successful heart surgery.
So yet another WrestleMania update. It will not be (unless things change tomorrow) The Revival vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet at WrestleMania. Right now that match on Raw is designed to build to a different title defense and have a way to get a new program going. The Revival’s title defense was added to the show on Tuesday to replace the Smackdown women’s title match. The Usos are defending the Smackdown tag titles in a multiple person match at Mania. We don’t know who the teams will be, but do know that in an internal lineup before the changes that were made this past Tuesday, it was a four-team match with Usos, Black & Ricochet, Big E & Xavier Woods and Sheamus & Cesaro. However, on house shows this weekend, which one would think would be getting guys comfortable, you had Rusev & Nakamura in with the Usos and Bar. Rusev & Nakamura haven’t been announced for the Battle Royal, nor have Black & Ricochet. With Black & Ricochet having two non-title wins over The Revival, they would make the most sense for Sunday, except we’re told that is not happening now.
As of yesterday the plan was to announce on Raw the tag line “Winner Take All” for the main event and to announce the stipulations of the match. Earlier this week the working idea was that if Rousey loses the fall, whoever beats her gets the Raw title and if Flair loses the fall, whoever beats her gets the Smackdown title. If Lynch loses the fall, no titles change hands.
Kenny Omega, in his first match since WrestleKingdom, was pinned in a six-man tag match by Don Callis of all people. Omega had been doing media all over Canada this past week for his documentary and mentioned he would be wrestling on Saturday night in Winnipeg for his home promotion, Premier Championship Wrestling at Doubles Bar, where he had key early match in his career. Callis, who has not wrestled in 15 years, teamed with Bobby Schink & Travis Cole against Omega & Chris Stevens & Donny Dicaprio. Stevens & DiCaprio were both trained by Callis. Schink & Cole were trained by Lance Storm. Omega was giving a speech to induct DiCaprio into the PCW Hall of Fame, when Callis came out. He brought out the tag team champions, who are the biggest stars in PCW right now. It ended when Omega was distracted when they played Chris Jericho’s music. The place freaked out thinking Jericho was doing a run-in, but he wasn’t there. Omega turned around into a codebreaker by Callis for the pin. Callis then turned on his partners in a promo and they beat him up. The show ended with all five guys beating on Callis.
Mercedes Martinez appears to have been injured seriously in a tag team match today in Berwyn, IL at Shimmer tapings. She was injured taking a frog splash and laid on the mat for ten minutes. They had to stop the taping before she was taken out on a stretcher. (thanks to Lance LeVine)
WWE
In a smart promotional move, the USA Network has labeled both the preshow for WrestleMania on USA and the Hall of Fame a week from Monday as “Monday Night Raw” as part of the DVR package, so essentially that will inflate the +3 numbers for both specials.
The episode of NCIS: Los Angeles with Bill Goldberg and Shane McMahon airs tonight on CBS. Goldberg plays Lance Hamilton, a Department of Justice agent who is looking for a former border patrol officer who disappeared after a threat by the cartel. McMahon plays Agent Steve Evans who is looking to recover a stolen hard drive with sensitive military intelligence on it. Hopefully this makes more sense than this year’s WrestleMania booking.
This is the update from Kambi on gambling odds that you can bet over/under on star ratings for WrestleMania:
Styles vs. Orton ****
Rousey vs. Flair vs. Lynch ****1/4
Miz vs. Shane ***1/4
HHH vs. Batista ***3/4
Lesnar vs. Rollins ****1/4
Angle vs. Corbin **
Joe vs. Mysterio ***1/2
Murphy vs. Nese ***1/2
Reigns vs. McIntyre ****
Balor vs. Lashley **3/4
Bryan vs. Kingston ****
Bayley & Banks vs. Phoenix & Natalya vs. Jax & Tamina vs. Iiconcs **1/4
Men’s Battle Royal *1/2
Women’s Battle Royal *1/2
They are also putting up odds for Takeover, but not for MSG:
Gargano vs. Cole ****3/4
Dream vs. Riddle ****1/4
War Raiders vs. Ricochet & Black ****1/2
Baszler vs. Shirai vs. Sane vs. Belair ***1/4
Walter vs. Dunne ****1/2
Miz & Mrs. starts a new season on Tuesday night after Smackdown with a 30 minute show.
Sheamus did a deal on NBC Sports network today hyping the Liverpool vs. Tottenham Premier League game.
MISCELLANEOUS
At today’s ONE show at Tokyo Sumo Hall, sometimes DDT wrestler Shinya Aoki won the One lightweight title beating Eduard Foloyang in the main event of the company’s first event in Japan. Xiong Jing Nan beat Angela Lee in a battle for the strawweight title, facing Lee, whose Atomweight title wasn’t at stake. Aung La N Sang retained his middleweight title over Ken Hasegawa with ground and pound in the second round. Kevin Belingon lost the bantamweight title to Bibiano Fernandes when Belingon was disqualified for an elbow to the back of the head. Timofey Nastyukhin, scored what I consider the biggest upset in MMA history, beating Eddie Alvarez via first round knockout. Demetrious Johnson won his debut via second round guillotine over Yuya Wakamatsu. The show aired live on B/R which had a free first day for new subscribers for the event.
Konnan, Blue Demon Jr., Pentagon Jr., Fenix, Taya, Drago and Aerostar will be at the AAA press conference on Thursday morning at Madison Square Garden. There will be a show announced for MSG.
As far as true mainstream buzz, there was nothing in wrestling, boxing or MMA that was too strong over the weekend. The only thing that charted on Google searches was Justin Gaethje at No. 17 yesterday with 50,000 searches. I suspect there will be a ton over the next eight or nine days.
Ric Flair has gotten a television commercial gig for Cumberland Farms coffee, pizza and breakfasts.
The Friday night Bellator main event with Saad Awad vs. Brandon Girtz was probably the MMA match of the year so far this year.It was an incredible fight.
Rise on Friday in Chicago: Phoebe b Thea Von Star, Ray Lyn b Janae Kai, Allysin Kay b AQA, Mercedes Martinez b Jenna Lynn, Priscilla Kelly b Session Moth Martina, Charile Evans & Jessica Troy b Delmo Exo & Ashley Vox, Delilah Doom b Shotzi Blackheart-DQ, Kris Wolf & Samantha Heights & Rok-C & Rocky Radly b Su Yung, Zoe Lucas on Rumble, Jessicka Havok & Neveah b Dust & Raven’s Ash to win the tag titles, Kyle Rae b Phoenix of Rise title over Mercedes Martinez in a no rope submission match (was told this was “easy ****1/2”). Miranda Alize came out to celebrate with Rae, then gave her an RKO. Mercedes made the save. Zoe Lucas & Charli Evans & Jessica Troy came out. Lucas said she was cashing in her title shot from winning the Rumble and pinned Kylie Rae to win the title. They all beat down Rae and Lucas said how they’ve beaten the Elite. Brandi Rhodes, Nyla Rose and Britt Baker of AEW then ran off Lucas & Evans & Troy. Then Rose teased turning on Baker and Rae but Rhodes stopped her. Penelope Ford and Allie ended up in the ring so you had a lot of the AEW’s women’s division out there at the end and Rae hugged Rose. This was Rae’s farewell to Rise. Between wrestlers and managers, they booked 59 women on this show with the Rumble participants. (thanks to Spencer Santos, Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
Mikey Nicholls of New Japan returns to EPW in Perth, Western Australia on 4/6. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
PCW Ultra from Friday night in Wilmington, CA: Trey Miguel b Adam Brooks, Caleb Konley won over Kikutaro, Randy Myers, Happy Man and Douglas James, Tessa Blanchard & Daga b Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie, Sami Callihan b Brian Cage in a no rules match, Jake Atlas b Dezmond Xavier to keep the UltraLight title in a great match, Josef & Fatu won no rules match to win the PCW and Defy tag titles over Danny Maff & Shawn Donavan and Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson, Artemis Spencer b Zachary Wentz to keep Defy title, Mil Muertes b Shane Strickland to win the PCW Ultra title. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
USA Championship Wrestlnig TV taping today in Jackson, TN at Studio A in the an Arena with Bill Dundee making a guest appearance.
Fale Dojo results from yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand: VikShiva b Arthus Papali’i, Anthony Richards b Daniel Puru, Michael Richards b Osckar Munchow, Jordan Allen-Wright & Vik Shiva b Victor Faletogo & Richard Mulu, Tome Filip b Stevie Filip, Aaron Solow b Liam Perry to retain the Dojo Pro Black Belt title. Solow is the fiance of WWE’s Bayley.
Adam Brooks and Craven from Australia will be on the 4/13 Crash show in Tijuana.
CWE tonight in Yorkton, Saskatchewan at the Yorkdale Central School with A.J. Sanchez & Kevin O’Doyle vs. CWE tag champions Psicosis & Mentallo.
An article on independent wrestlers Preston Steele. (thanks to Ross Blair)
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Event:
Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Submitted by reader Martin Bentley from Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, IL.
– Rhia O’Reilly b. Kimber Lee
– Leva Bates (formerly NXT’s Blue Pants) b. Angel Dust
– Melanie Cruise b. Shotzi Blackheart
– Hudson Envy b. Xandra Bale
– Cat Power b. Nixon Newell
– Tessa Blanchard (w/Vanessa Kraven) b. Jessicka Havok
– Tag Team Champions Team Slap Happy (Evie & Heidi Lovelace) BE. Flying High #WDSS (Kay Lee Ray & Mia Yim) to retain
– Vanessa Kraven (w/Tessa Blanchard) b. Candice LeRae
– Mickie James b. Nicole Matthews
– The Aussie Squad (Kellie Skater & Shazza McKenzie) b. Trifecta (Mercedes Martinez & Shayna Baszler) (w/Nicole Savoy)
– Kellie Skater pinned SHIMMER Champion Mercedes Martinez in a non-title match to earn a title shot at SHIMMER 87 Saturday.
Notes:
– Christina Von Eerie returned to SHIMMER after several events away, and assisted Hudson Envy in attacking BaleSpin (KC Spinelli and Xandra Bale).
– Cat Power returned to SHIMMER after a prolonged absence, including an extended stay in Japan.
– Saraya Knight got involved in the James/Matthews match to prevent Matthews from using James’ belt as a weapon, leading to James getting the win.
– In addition to the title match, Saturday’s show will feature LuFisto vs. Dulce Garcia, formerly known as Sexy Star from AAA and Lucha Underground. Taeler Hendrix is also scheduled to debut.
This past weekend, I made my way to Chicago to attend the SHIMMER DVD tapings. Twice a year, Dave Prazak and his crew bring in the best women’s wrestlers from around the world (U.S., England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, etc).
Many women wrestlers in WWE and NXT have made stops there over the years. If you think NXT has great women’s wrestling, you can see 60 to 70 matches as good or better at these shows.
The tapings are usually held at the Berwyn Eagles Club on Saturdays and Sundays, but this year, a Friday night show was added. The Saturday show was held at Logan Square, and if I have one complaint from the weekend, it was damn hot waiting in line to get in to the show. It didn’t help that the show was running a little late. I’m from Texas and I’m complaining about it, so that tells you it had to be hot!
Thankfully, once we got in, it felt fine. As soon as I entered, I ran into Dr. Keith Lipinski of this website and also Dave Prazak. I spoke with them and then made my way to my front row center seat.
Veda Scott defeats Nixon Newell
Veda is the perfect person to start the show. The fans here hate her with a passion and she plays it up big time. This was Nixon’s first time with SHIMMER and she did not disappoint. She did a great job and is a very attractive girl.
Shayna Baszler defeats Rhia O’Reilly
Shayna made a great debut here and won with a TKO that caused me to text Lance Storm and tell him Shayna just killed his girl. Rhia is awesome, and has one of the best intros with kick ass ring music and circles the ring carrying the Irish flag.
Kellie Skater defeats Vanessa Kraven, Shazza McKenzie, and LuFisto in a 4-way match
Over the past couple years, Skater has become one of the best women’s workers in the world. Kraven is a monster, Shazza is really good and has one of the cutest faces you will ever see. LuFisto is a legend and is still great.
Viper defeats Jessica Havok
This was one hell of a “mean guy” match, or should I say “mean women’s” match. Viper from the UK and also made her debut here. She is a female version of Earthquake, only better. Havok was also good in the match.
Mia Yim & Kay Lee Ray Defeat Yumi Ohka and Melanie Cruise
This was the debut of Team WDSS (We Do Stupid Sh*t) of Mia and Ray, and they make one hell of an awesome team. Cruise was taking the place of Cheerleader Melissa and kind of looks like she is Melissa’s bigger older sister. Ohka is always good.
Arisa Nakajima defeats Nicole Matthews
Arisa brought her JPW title with her, and had a great match with the former SHIMMER champ Nicole. Matthews is one of the best heels in wrestling.
Ruo Mizunami defeats KC Spinelli
Ruo is a veteran of the ring and is still going strong. KC danced to Ruo’s music and was having a great time. No one has more fun at a show then her.
Heart of SHIMMER Champion Nicole Savoy defeats Crazy Mary Dobson
Nicole has become one of the top workers in a very short time, and like Shayna, she uses a lot of BJJ in her match. She almost has a counter into a submission for everything. I love Crazy Mary and she is awesome, but how do you get a title shot when you are 1-4 in your last SHIMMER matches? I guess it’s about heart and not win-loss records for this title.
SHIMMER Tag Team Champions The Kimber Bombs (Kimber Lee and Cherry Bomb) defeat Team Slap Happy (Evie and Heidi Lovelace)
This is the match I really came to see and it is also the match where I wanted to kick Prazak after. This match was built up from the past tapings and looked like it was time for new champs, but sadly, it wasn’t as the Kimber Bombs cheated to win using the title belts. The bombs are incredible heels, and Heidi is one of the top women in the US. Evie is one of my favorites, and is just amazing in everyway. Her offense is incredible, her kicks are the best, and she is such a great babyface in peril. I love this woman.
SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles defeats Courtney “The Demon” Rush
Last taping, Rush started to change into a vampire or something. She has since become a possessed demon from hell. This match featured an attempted exorcism as Eagles used forks as a cross and started yelling, “The power of Christ compels you!” Sadly, this did not work so Eagles then poured salt all along the ring to keep the Demon from getting back in, and it worked until Rush grabbed the ref and pulled him out, moving the salt in that area away and was able to get back in the ring.
After Eagles won, Arisa came out to challenge Madison and we have a main event for the next tapings.
**********
After the show, the girls came out to sell their gimmicks and take pictures with the fans. I always make it a point to buy stuff as this is a big part of their pay, so I bought Mia Yim’s newest T-shirt and 8×10’s of other girls. Some of the performers I talked to that night were Mia (who’s been a friend of mine for awhile now), Solo Darling (who didn’t wrestle on this show but was going to on the next ones), Shazza (who was very accessible), and Kellyanne (who was not able to wrestle because of an injury which is sad because she stole the show last year and became one of my favorites).
Submitted by Craig Russell from Chicago, IL (Friday)
– Veda Scott vs Nixon Newell
Good opener. Nixon is pretty good and Veda is solid at this point. Veda earns extra heel points by sucking up to referee Andy Long, who the fans still boo because of the last Shimmer weekend. Scott wins with a Northern Lights/German Suplex.
– Shayna Baszler vs Rhia O’Reilly
Baszler wins with a TKO on O’Reilly for the pin. Baszler is already decent in the ring and holds her own. O’Reilly worked the crowd over by taunting Baszler whenever she would get Baszler in a wrestling hold.
– Vanessa Kraven vs Shazza McKenzie vs LuFisto vs Kellie Skater
Kraven and LuFisto fight to the back, and Skater pins McKenzie after a neck breaker/kick to the head combo (Skate and Destroy finisher). Kraven and LuFisto at one point in the match play a game of “one up” on Skater and McKenzie with chops and running cannonballs.
– Viper vs Jessica Havok
Viper pins Havoc with a slam. It might have been a running powerslam, but she did not get far with the running part. This was a good match with the girls taking each other’s moves and coming back with their own response. Viper is indeed already over in the states with the same crowd support as she got at Shine 35.
– Yumi Ohka and Melanie Cruise vs Mia Yim and Kay Lee Ray
Yim and Ray’s tag team is called FlyingHighWDSS (a nod to Pokemon). Ohka and Cruise work really well together. This was a very good match in which everyone hit everything. At the end, Ohka tried to use her Cat O’ Nine Tails Whip to interfere, but then Cruise missed a top rope splash. Ray then hits her senton on Cruise, followed by Yim hitting Cruise with a 450 Splash for the pin. Again, outstanding match.
– Arisa Nakajima vs Nicole Matthews
Nakajima has her JWP title belt with her. Another good match. Nicole is a pro and can work with anyone at this point. Nakajima has a good selection of kicks which she put to good use. Finish came as Nakajima pinned Matthews with a bridging German suplex.
– KC Spinelli vs Ruo Mizunami
Good hard hitting match. KC is very good at getting the crowd into the match and she did it here. Mizunami has a new outfit that is more Lucha inspired (complete with a mask). Mizunami over Spinelli with a top rope leg drop.
– Heart of Shimmer Champion Nicole Savoy vs Crazy Mary Dobson
Solid match. Dobson played the aggressor to Savoy’s moves, which then Savoy would counter would a different one. End came with Savoy pinning Dobson with a Tiger Suplex.
– Shimmer Tag Team Champions The Kimber Bombs (Kimber Lee and Cherry Bomb) vs Team Slap Happy (Evie and Heidi Lovelace)
Possibly match of the night along with Ohka/Cruise vs Yim/KLR. Lots of action and double team moves. The Kimber Bombs were the obvious heels in this match. Cherry Bomb’s voice is as high pitched and squeaky as ever. Finish came as Team Slap Happy were setting up for their finisher (Lovelace does a frog splash off of Evie’ shoulders), but Cherry Bomb interferes, sending Evie to the floor. Cherry Bomb then throws Kimber Lee a title belt which she used to hit Lovelace with. Kimber Lee then pins Lovelace.
– Shimmer Champion Madison Eagles vs Courtney “Rosemary” Rush
During the match, Eagles and Rush fight on the floor and Eagles gets the upper hand. She then runs back into the ring where she produces two cans of salt which she used to make a “barrier” around the ring apron. Courtney is a “demon” and therefore cannot break a salt barrier. She almost gets counted out but she drags the referee over the salt line to break it so she can get back into the ring. Eagles also tried to tape two forks together and use it as a cross to ward off Rush (screaming “the power of Christ compels you” line from “The Exorcist” while doing so).
All antics aside, this was a very good match for the belt. At one point, Rush had Eagles on the floor again (all happening in front of the Empire’s own Ed in San Antonio I might add!) in which Courtney throws Eagles into the barricade at least 5 times. Eagles eventually pins Rush with the Hellbound (shoulder bomb onto the knee) and retains the title.
After this match, Arisa Nakajima comes out to challenge Eagles for Saturday. They hold up each other’s title belts to each other and the show concludes.
– Attendance was roughly 500 fans from Eddie Deen’s Ranch, Dallas Texas
12 Woman Tournament to crown the first “Heart Of Shimmer” Champion
1st round
– Cheerleader Melissa b Leva Bates with a Kudo Driver. Bates was cosplaying from the Kingdom Hearts video game series
– Candice LaRae b Cherry Bomb when LeRae crucifixed Cherry Bomb’s pin attempt and reversed it into a pin of her own.
– Nicole Savoy b LuFisto with the Savoy Lock with a Sambo lock submission.
– Kimber Lee b Jessicka Havok with a roll up after Cherry Bomb interfered with a Roll Up (with a handful of tights) after Cherry Bomb comes out to distract Havok.
– Heidi Lovelace b Veda Scott with a Senton Bomb off the top rope.
– Nicole Matthews b Crazy Mary Dobson with The Vancouver Maneuver.
2nd round
– Candice LaRae b Cheerleader Melissa with three “Family Show Plexes” in a row. The “Family Show Plex” is what Amber Gertner called the move on the show. The move itself is the “Ball Plex” used by Joey Ryan, but that name could not be used for obvious reasons.
– Nicole Savoy b Kimber Lee with the Cross Arm Breaker.
– Heidi Lovelace b Nicole Matthews with a Senton Bomb off the top rope.
– Lenny Leonard interviewed Shayna Baszler. She said she would start at SHIMMER 81 on June 24.
Finals
– Nicole Savoy b Heidi Lovelace & Candice LaRae to win the Heart title. She first eliminated LaRae with the Savoy Lock. Heidi hit her Senton Bomb with which she won her two matches but Savoy kicked out at 2. Savoy won with her Savoy Lock. Good match.
– Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke were in attendance for the show. Bayley was also there. They announced that SHIMMER 81-85 were going to be taped from June 24 to June 26 in the Chicago area.
– Candice LaRae was probably the star of the show with very good matches against both Cherry Bomb and Cheerleader Melissa, plus the main event. Heidi Lovelace has improved so much from the last time I saw her. She’s very very solid in the ring. LuFisto vs Savoy was also one of the best matches on the card.
