Steven Mere minutes after making her U.S. television debut on TNA Impact, news has just broken that Ayako Hamada will be making her SHIMMER debut this November. This was confirmed on the new SHIMMER Twitter page. Hamada joins a long list of TNA Knockouts to pull double duty for both promotions. After seeing Hamada’s debut match … Read more
Fresh off the heels of Vol. 23, SHIMMER Vol.24 hits the market today! Notable matches include: ‘Pink Lady’ Jessie McKay making her singles debut, Nicole Matthews vs Daizee Haze in a rematch from Vol.23, with a no time limit stipulation and main eventing the card, Sara Del Rey and Amazing (Awesome) Kong vs SHIMMER Champion MsChif and Cheerleader Melissa. Head on over to rohwrestling.com to pick up your copy and see the full match listing after the cut:
In the Saturday Sunday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
TNA is setting out to live up to their tagline, ‘Cross the Line’, but not in the ways you would think. In an attempt to push even more boundaries and utilize their ever-growing roster of Knockouts, they’ve decided to implement a tag team division. In the coming weeks, a tournament will take place to determine the first ever Knockouts Tag Team Champions. The question is will the division work?
Serious women’s tag team wrestling has been a niche for quite some time now. During the mid-80s, it was rare to see a women’s match let alone a tag team match. However, that didn’t stop the World Wrestling Federation from making a tag team division for the ladies. In 1983, Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria’s NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship belts were converted into the WWF Women’s Tag Team Championship when the two defected from the National Wrestling Alliance and joined WWF. In it’s six years of existence, the belts passed through the hands of several teams before they were captured by the Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki), who would be be the last women to hold the titles before they became defunct in 1989.
Women’s tag team wrestling became all but extinct until the mid-2000s, when all-female promotions such as Women Superstars Uncensored and most notably SHIMMER brought it back into the limelight.
In what seems to be a weekly occurrence, Good ol’ JR, Jim Ross has taken to his blog again in support of our beloved Divas. This time he talks about the possibilities of a Diva main event. Check out his thoughts below: Could a women’s bout headline a wrestling PPV? Interesting question. In today’s marketplace … Read more
Well, it’s no secret that the TNA Knockouts aren’t the biggest fans of the WWE Divas, but I had no idea it was this bad. Watch below as TNA Knockouts Daffney and Velvet Sky tell us exactly what they think of the Divas: Meow! The Knockouts can get get pretty catty when they want to, … Read more
You know what time it is people! Really? You don’t? Well I’ll clue you in. It’s time for another dose of SHIMMER goodness. SHIMMER Spotlight is back, bringing you profiles on the hard hitting ladies of SHIMMER. Everyone from the major players like MsChif to the up and coming rookies like Ashley Lane and Portia Perez. This week’s Spotlight is on Australian wrestler and SHIMMER up and comer, Madison Eagles:
Name: Madison Eagles
Aliases: None
Age: 25
Entrance Theme: Unknown
Finisher(s): The Soaring Eagle (Springboard moonsault); Hell Bound (Death Valley Driver onto the knee) ; Sit-out Powerbomb
Years Pro: 8
Associates: Jessie McKay; Ryan Eagles; Robbie Eagles
Accomplishments: One half of ‘The Pink Ladies’. Made her SHIMMER debut on Vol. 21 in a six-team gauntlet match
If you ask anyone who has been keeping up with SHIMMER lately who’s the one to watch, you’ll most likely hear this name: Madison Eagles, and for good reason.
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, this beauty from down under stands at 6′ 1″ and boasts quite an impressive move set. Madison made a name for herself in her home promotion, PWA, against the likes of Penni Lane, Sway and fellow SHIMMER rookie Kellie Skater in singles competition. A former dancer, Madison’s is known for her flexibility as well as her hard-hitting style. While Madison has never held a singles title, she has seen success as a tag team with former PWWA Women’s Champion, Jessie McKay, collectively known as ‘The Pink Ladies’.
In October 2008, The Pink Ladies caught the attention of SHIMMER, who booked them in a six team gauntlet match on Volume 21 to determine the first ever SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. While they were the first team eliminated, The Pink Ladies made an great impression in their U.S. debut. Volume 22 saw Madison and Jessie take on SHIMMER originals and all-around veterans, The Experience (Malia Hosaka and Lexie Fyfe). Once again, Eagles picked up a loss, but got a standing ovation from the SHIMMER audience who chanted, “Please come back” as the team exited the ring.
More after the cut:
In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
We’re in a era of women’s wrestling where it’s not only possible, but likely for former porn stars and models to get title shots, while professional wrestlers with years of experience get put on the backburner. With that said, I ask the question: What are the components for the ‘perfect Diva’? And even if you have the total package, will you still be marketable to the WWE Universe?
The first ingredient to the ‘Perfect Diva’ recipe is skill. An extremely valuable asset to any Diva (though you wouldn’t know it judging by some of the girls in recent years) should be in-ring skill. A pretty smile and a great rack can only get you but so far in the wrestling world. If you want to be taken seriously by a wrestling promotion and their audience, you should at least be able to take a decent bump.
The next component is sass. While in-ring skills are extremely important, personality is just as vital. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best wrestler to ever step foot in a wrestling ring; no one is going to care if you have the personality of a brick wall. The biggest offender of this rule is current Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool. While McCool has come leaps and bounds since her debut, in regards to her wrestling ability, her lack of charisma has been her downfall. The fans just can’t seem to get behind (or against) Michelle and some might attribute this to absence of spunk outside of the ring.
As shallow as it may sound, another important aspect of women’s wrestling is beauty. Professional wrestling for women, especially in this day and age, is based mostly on aesthetics. If you don’t have the so-called ‘look’, chances are you won’t make it very far in a mainstream promotion. That said, in the last few years, wrestlers such as Awesome Kong, ODB and Beth Phoenix, who may not be considered ‘beautiful’ in a conventional sense, are breaking the mould of the typical Diva. They are prime examples that a female wrestler doesn’t have to look a certain way to get noticed.
Last but probably the most important part of this formula is passion. While passion is probably one of the most important tools for a wrestler, male or female, a lot of women’s wrestlers in a certain mainstream promotion seem to be lacking. It’s not surprising given how girls are recruited these days. Talent scouts seem to be looking for models they can turn into wrestlers, as opposed to actual wrestlers.
Most Divas possess some of these qualities that I have listed but a select few have the ‘total package’. There is an elite group of girls, who are able to captivate audiences with their skills, attitude and beauty. Only a minuscule percentage of ladies who have dedicated their lives to learning every subtlety and nuance of pro-wrestling. Unfortunately, these Divas never get the push.
Diva Dirt‘s Steven had the opportunity to speak with SHIMMER veteran, Daizee Haze in an exclusive interview. Daizee discusses being SHIMMER’s head trainer, a future in WWE or TNA and even tries her hand at her own Wrestlicious rap!
First off, thank you Daizee for taking the time out to do this interview with us. Let’s get right into things: What inspired you to get into wrestling?
Daizee: Well as a kid I was never allowed to watch wrestling, so it wasn’t something I dreamed of doing or becoming. It wasn’t until 2001 that I was exposed to wrestling and it was the technical amateur style and athleticism that caught my eye, but I saw the way women were portrayed and I wanted to change that.
Who are your idols in the ring, past or present?
Daizee: When I started watching wresting in 2001 Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit were the two that caught my eye and impressed me the most. As far as women go, Molly Holly is probably the woman I admire the most. Jim Cornette is fabulous all around. Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels are awesome together. And the All Japan women are just on a whole other level.
Last year, we saw you take on Cheerleader Melissa in a match on TNA Impact. How was it performing on such a widely known program? Were you ever offered a contract or was that a one shot deal?
Daizee: Well I worked for TNA quite a few times when they ran the weekly pay per view out of the Nashville Fairground. Delirious, Matt Sydal [WWE’s Evan Bourne] and I spent two years going down to there every Wednesday doing dark matches for their Xplosion programme. So I made a lot of connections over those years, so once they moved to Universal, people were pushing for me to get down there. It was a last minute thing, I think Jazz was supposed to do those tapings but had something come up and couldn’t make it, so Chris [Park, TNA’s Abyss] called me up to see if I could stand in for Jazz and I agreed. It was a great experience and I am close with alot of the guys and girls down there so it was fun to see everyone and I thought Melissa and I had a pretty good match. I received a lot of positive feedback but never had any kind of follow up with them. When Gail Kim left the company, I know I had a handful of girls including Gail Kim and Traci Brooks that were pushing for me to come in to take her ‘athletic babyface’ position, but I never heard anything from them.
We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas … Read more
Fresh off the heels of the Volume 23 release, SHIMMER has released the box and disc art for Volume 24. SHIMMER stepped into new territory, giving their roster a technicolor makeover. I gotta say, I’m loving the anime-style of the cover. Very creative and unique. I’m especially feeling Awesome Kong‘s fangs and red eyes. I’m … Read more
UPDATE: Due to conflicting schedules with contracted TNA Knockouts, the taping had to be postponed. As a result, SHIMMER will be having a double taping for Volumes 27 & 28 on Sunday, November 8th. More details as they become available. Cold sweats? Uncontrollable shaking? Whispering things like “Sara Del Rey” and “MsChif” in your sleep? Sounds … Read more
We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas music … Read more
After weeks and weeks of waiting, SHIMMER fans are finally treated to some SHIMMER-lite goodness on HDNet. This week the team of Neveah and Daizee Haze take on former SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey and current SHIMMER Champion MsChif. Check out the match below: DAIZEE/NEVEAH VS MSCHIF/DEL REY The heels enter first to a cheap … Read more
We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas music to something a little… well, better. Hence, Diva B-Sides was born; a Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. This week I’m getting a little help from the one and only, Melanie. I also have a bonus B-Side for everyone’s favorite *cough* Diva. So let’s kick things off with today’s B-Side for TNA Knockout, Vict… er, I mean Tara.
Â
 STEVEN’S PICK: “MOVING TO SEATTLE”  BY THE MATERIAL
Let me start of by saying, even though TNA’s stock music is the bane of my existence (see Jenna Morasca’s music), they’ve done a pretty good job with Tara’s music. It fits way better than her WWE music ever did.
That said, if I had to pick a new song for Tara, this would be the perfect choice. Like her current theme, ‘Broken’, “Moving To Seattle” starts of slow and dives head first into a guitar intro. It has that rock and roll feel that I always thought suited her more than her hip-hop-esque WWE entrance theme. It even has female vocals, which seem to be present in all of her entrance theme since her debut.Â
[audio:02 Moving to Seattle.mp3]MELANIE’S PICK: “UNTOUCHED” BY THE VERONICAS
 The chords in the intro of this song are reminiscent of “All The Things She Said”, Tara’s first ever theme. Because of the softer verses, this song would probably need a good edit before it’s entrance theme worthy. Maybe have the intro go right into the chorus?
[audio:Untouched.mp3]Bonus B-Side after the cut
In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
After this week’s edition of TNA Impact, the name Alissa Flash is surely on everyone’s lips. Alissa opened eyes and got the fans on their feet in her TNA debut. An event years in the making, it made me cast my mind back to the first time I laid eyes on this surly competitor.
I’ll be the first to admit that four years ago Cheerleader Melissa, real name Melissa Anderson, was an absolute mystery to me. Raised off the glitz and glamour that is the WWE, I was completely oblivious to the independent circuit. I had no idea what kind of treasures were hidden in the small, virtually unknown promotions littering the country. However, all this changed when I laid eyes on what was soon to become the most watched DVD in my collection: SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 1.
As I read the match listing, one name in particular caught my eye: Cheerleader Melissa. I immediately thought the worst of the situation. No doubt it was just another lame, cliche and mildly offensive gimmick that would serve no greater purpose than to give the crowd a rise. After years of being force-fed that kind of crap, the mere thought made my eyes roll. Oh, how wrong I was.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past week, you know that the TNA Knockouts Championship changed hands on Thursday’s Impact. The wrestler formerly known as Victoria, Tara, now has the strap firmly in her grasp. Now while all that is just peaches and cream, I’ve found myself asking a question I’m sure is on everybody’s mind: Who’s next in line for a shot at the title? Here are my picks:
Angelina Love: This one is a given. No way is Angelina Love going to let her title go without a fight. I expect to see her in a rematch in the very near future.
Awesome Kong: Awesome Kong may have had Tara’s back during their tag match with The Beautiful People, but chances are she has her mind set on getting that belt back. Kong has been out of the title picture since losing it to Angelina Love and now would be the perfect time to get back in the game.
See the rest of my picks after the cut.
Welcome to another edition of ‘Before They Were Divas’, the Diva Dirt exclusive where we look back at our favorite Divas and Knockouts before the glitz and glamour of the “big leagues”.
Today we’re taking a look back at TNA Knockout and sidekick extraordinaire, Velvet Sky. This week on Impact, we saw Velvet take on TNA newcomer, Tara (ugh), in singles action. Believe it or not, this was history repeating itself. Back in 2005, Velvet made a one shot appearance on WWE Heat as ‘Talia’ to take on the Diva better known as Victoria with the same result.
Click in for the match and my thoughts:
Listen up all you SHIMMER Fans! The latest installment from the all girl promotion will be available this month. Notable appearances include SHIMMER mainstays: Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze and MsChif, as well as  TNA Knockouts: Awesome Kong, Madison Rayne and Daffney. Former Knockout Roxxi, better known as Nikki Roxx in SHIMMER, will also be making her return to the company for Volume 23. Last, but not least, WWE’s newest developmental Diva, Serena Deeb will be challenging MsChif for the SHIMMER Championship Title. This should be a good one!
In the meantime, hop on over to Shimmerwrestling.com and get your collection up to date, if you haven’t done so already. For those of you who love a good spoiler, Volume 23 match results can be found after the cut.
Welcome to a new feature here at Diva Dirt, the concept of which you may recognise from The Late Show with David Letterman. In every episode of The Late Show, Letterman has a satirical ‘top ten’, that combined with the recently published “20 Rules for the Diva Afterlife” gave us an idea! Check back every week for Diva Dirt’s Letterman-esque Weekly Top 10!
10 Rules for the Diva Mark
1. Pick a Diva
The first step to being a Diva mark is picking a Diva to mark for. Duh! Prime candidates are Divas with limited ring skills, zero charisma and/or a questionable past ( modeling, contest winners and porn). These flaws will make perfect targets for others to pick at, making for the perfect opportunity to unleash your marky fury.
2. Declare Your Love
Once you’ve picked your Diva, the next step is to show everyone how much you love them. Scour the message boards for any and every thread about your Diva. Leave borderline obssessive messages such as: “ZOMG! She’s the bestest diva everz!'” Make sure every other message on the thread is yours.
3. Twitter Me
If your Diva of choice has a Twitter (or any other social networking profile), use it !This is your direct line to your chosen Diva and your best chance to grab her attention. Send messages like: “You’re the like best ever!” or “What are you doing RIGHT NOW? I wish I was there =(”
If she doesn’t respond, keep trying! She can only ignore you for so long…
4. Take Her Name
Change your Twitter username to ‘BobbyKanellis4Maria’ or something similar.
5. The World Revolves Around Her
One of the mark’s most unique qualities is their uncanny ability to insert their Diva into any conversation. She is the Alpha and the Omega — no other Diva matters. Here’s a perfect example:
John: Hey did you see Mickie James’ match against Beth Phoenix?
Mark: Yeah… it was OK. You know what would have made it even better? If Candice was in it! I know she’s been out of action for a year, but she totally deserves the title. I mean, she is the best, right?
But don’t stop at wrestling conversations. Bring your favorite Diva up at the dinner table, at work or even during your biology presentation. A true mark’s work is never done.
Click in for more:
We can all agree that, with a few exceptions, Divas get the short end of the stick when comes to entrance themes. While the male superstars get music from actual bands and artists or custom made songs with lyrics, Divas get stuck with crappy production music. If I had the chance I would change all the Divas music to something a little… well, better. Hence, Diva B-Sides was born; a Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWE Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. Today B-Side is for Smackdown’s resident (and I use this term loosely) fashionista, Maria:
PICK #1: “DROP THE GIRL” BY HIT THE LIGHTS
Maria actually happen to be one of the only Divas on the roster to have an actual song for her entrance theme. Unfortunately, that doesnt make it any less annoying.
I was never a fan of Zebrahead (the band that made her theme), so I was cringing long before I heard the entire song. I decided to pick a band that is equally nasally, but half as annoying.
“Drop The Girl” sounds strangely similar to “With Legs Like That”. They both have a punk rock feel that compliments Maria image, or at least the image she’s trying to convey. The best part however, is the subliminal messages not-s0-hidden in there. “Drop the Girl/She’s not worth the time”. Hmm… I’ll leave it at that.
Hear Maria’s B-side and my second pick after the cut:
This just in from the SHIMMER office: Serena Deeb has officially inked a deal with WWE. Here’s the press release: Everyone at SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES would like to congratulate Serena Deeb on officially signing a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. From the first day she stepped into a wrestling ring, it has always been … Read more
The WWE Divas were on display in Florida Championship Wrestling last night. After a couple of Diva-less weeks, FCW gets back into it’s stride pitting RAW Diva Rosa Mendes and SmackDown Diva Layla (pre-frizz)Â against Smackdown Diva Alicia Fox and Angela Fong. Sounds good, right? Yeah…, not so much. Watch the match below to see what … Read more
Looks like we could be seeing the last of Kong’s Syrian cohort in TNA. According to our partners at the Wrestling Globe Newsletter, TNA is dropping the ‘burkha babe’ character soon. Raisha Saeed, real name Melissa Anderson, will be taking on the persona of ‘Future Legend’ Melissa Flash. Just hazarding a guess, Flash will be somewhere along the lines … Read more
Welcome to Diva B-Sides, the Diva Dirt exclusive where we match WWEÂ Divas and TNA Knockouts with new entrance themes. In honor of this Sunday’s PPV, The Bash, I’ve decided to take exception to my new one-Diva-per-post rule to bring you guys a B-Side for both the champion and the challenger. Let’s get right into things with the #1 contender Michelle McCool:
MICHELLE’S PICK: “BREAKING DISHES” BY RIHANNA
I think we can all agree that Michelle’s current theme has long wore out it’s welcome. It just doesn’t fit her new persona. She could also stand to change that tron, because running along the beach in a skimpy bikini just doesnt scream ‘heel’ to me. Alas that’s another post for another time.
At first listen, this song might not seem to fit Michelle, but I think it’s message of being a powerful woman, girl power etc. fits her perfectly. I think that a song with so much character such as this one could help McCool make up in the charisma department (where she is somewhat lacking).
[audio:04 Breakin’ Dishes.mp3]
 Melina’s Pick after the break:
Hey guys! Today’s my audio bulletin debut! I take a look back at this week’s action on Raw and SmackDown, and make my prediction for The Bash this Sunday. I hope you enjoy. Â [audio:Audiobulletin1Steven.mp3] Runtime: 5:52 P.S: I was really, REALLY nervous while doing this (see: me saying ‘definitely’ about 18 times in one minute), … Read more
As I’m sure you all know, we recently started covering Ring of Honor here at Diva Dirt. ROH, the big brother of all-female promotion SHIMMER, has been featuring SHIMMER matches on their cable show as of late. We were a little late to jump on the bandwagon, so needless to say we missed a few matches. Oops. But fear not, SHIMMER fans! I’ve rounded up all the ROH/SHIMMER action that we haven’t covered here yet. Watch below as Daizee Haze takes on Sara Del Rey:
