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SHIMMER Weekend in Review: News, Notes, Pictures and Videos

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When I arrived in Berwyn, IL for the latest tapings of SHIMMER Women Athletes, I had no idea what to expect. Yeah, I’ve been to wrestling shows before, but never something that I had such an investment in. SHIMMER had changed my perspective on women’s wrestling and I finally was getting my wish of seeing it live. Also, the four Joshi competitors were another unknown that had me buzzing with anticipation.

As soon as walked into the door, I was bombarded by tons of merchandise featuring some of my favorite wrestlers. Mentally, I spent almost all of my cash before I even got to my seat. However, my purchases would have to wait until intermission. The day started off with a mens tag team match, but I won’t bore you with the details. The REAL show started with SPARKLE. PJ Tyler from Femmes Fatales had a good match with another newcomer, Anna Minoushka. She Nay Nay also had a good showing with the spunky and vivacious Leva Bates. These were decent matches but they just teased me; I was ready for the main course.

The first taping (Vol. 29) had some great matches on the card including Kellie Skater vs Neveah, Cat Power vs Jessie McKay, and an awesome beatdown by The Canadian Ninjas, but business really picked up in the second half. One of my favorite matches of the night came from Australian grappler Tenille in a match against Sara Del Rey. I had never been too impressed with Tenille in the past; I always thought she had potential but was still quite green. Obviously, Tenille was out to send a message to all her naysayers, because she put on an awesome match. She didn’t come out on top put she definitely turned some heads. Later, she’d tell me that she’d been training very hard and she’s glad she’s improving.

The return of Madison Eagles was also a highlight of the night. The crowd was on fire for her and she got a huge “welcome back” chant after her match with Sassy Stephie. And then came the Joshi… Honestly, these women tore the house down all weekend, Ayumi Kurihara in particular. For all of us in attendance, the Japanese competitors were an absolute joy to watch and I wait for the DVDs to be released so I can relive these matches all over again.

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Fight Network Picks Up Wrestlicious

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Wrestlicious has signed a deal with The Fight Network in Canada, extending the company’s Canadian distribution for the TakeDown series. The hit action/comedy series Wrestlicious TakeDown will air on The Fight Network (thefightnetwork.com) in Canada beginning in early May 2010.TakeDown will be the only all female wrestling series featured on the network in 2010. With … Read more

SHIMMER Volume 32 Taping Results

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Diva Dirt‘s Steven is on hand at this weekend’s SHIMMER festivities in Berwyn, Illinois. Today, SHIMMER will be filming Volumes 31 and 32 to round out the weekend. Below are complete results from the Volume 32 taping.

1. Jamilia Craft def. Malia Hosaka via a wheelbarrow rollup. Jamilia once again is really green. Lexie-on-a-Stick attacks Craft several times. Lol. Not a great match but I didn’t hate it.

2. Rachel Summerlyn def. Kellie Skater with a Texas cloverleaf. Not a bad match. Skater’s chest still looks horrible.

3. Cat Power def. Nevaeh with the Side Effect. Neveah put in a great effort. Nice to see that she can go, even without Ashley Lane.

4. Allison Danger & Jennifer Blake def. Annie Social & Melanie Cruise. Blake pinned Social after a modified pumphandle slam. Jen and Danger start a Addams Family chant calling Social and Cruise, Wednesday and Pugsley. Lol. Things broke down at the end but great nonetheless.

5. Tomoka Nakagawa def. Jessie McKay with the fisherman suplex. Jessie hit three running knees strikes and two School Girl Crushes but Nakagawa spits in her face and hit the suplex for the win.

Backstage interview with Madison Eagles. Eagles says that she won’t defend the title tonight.

6. Portia Perez def. Tenille via superkick. Portia’s elbow is heavily taped. Tenille works on the arm at the start. Portia tries to escape but Tenille cuts her off with a kick. Portia gets the upper hand and takes it to Tenille busts out her awesome bridging Indian deathlock. Tenille would be my pick for breakout star of these tapings.

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Madison Eagles Becomes SHIMMER Champion

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Australian wrestler, Madison Eagles has ended MsChif’s two year reign as SHIMMER Champion. Eagles pinned MsChif just moments ago at the SHIMMER Volume 31 taping in Berwyn, Illinois. Eagles becomes just the third SHIMMER Champion. Sara Del Rey was the first ever champion but lost the belt to MsChif on Volume 18 in April 2008. … Read more

SHIMMER Volume 31 Taping Results

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Diva Dirt‘s Steven is on hand at this weekend’s SHIMMER festivities in Berwyn, Illinois. Today, SHIMMER will be filming Volumes 31 and 32 to round out the weekend. Below are complete results from the Volume 31 taping.

SPARKLE (Pre-Show)
* PJ Tyler & Leva Bates def. Anna Minoushka & She Nay Nay. PJ pins She Nay Nay after a modified fisherman suplex. Bates is really over. Surprisingly good match.

Volume 31
1. Kellie Skater def. Jessica James with a running necksnap. James is really tiny, think AJ Lee but she uses it to her advantage. Lots of quick strikes and rollups. Good matchup. I see Jessica going places. Crowd was behind her the whole time.

2. Jessie McKay def. Sassy Stephie with the School Girl Crush followed by the Boyfriend Stealer. Great Back and forth match. Sassy pulled some awesome moves but Jessie managed to take the win.

4. Malia Hosaka def. Rayna Von Tosh with a chicken wing face buster. Crowd is hot for Rayna. Gorgeous in person. Sloppy match to be honest, but Rayna is hot enough to make me not care!

5. Mercedes Martinez def. Tomoka Nakagawa with a top rope fisherman buster. Great technical wrestling at the start. Sick brainbuster midway through. Nakagawa almost got the win with a fisherman buster.

6. Melanie Cruise def. Allison Danger. Cruise wins after Annie Social distracts the ref allowing her to roll up Danger. After the match the heels beat down Danger and Jennifer Blake makes the save. Danger and Blake challenge Social and Cruise for Vol. 32 to be taped later today.

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Picture: Kellie Skater’s Bruised Chest Following Gruelling SHIMMER Bout

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Yikes! Here’s a look at Kellie Skater‘s chest following a gruelling match at the SHIMMER Volume 30 tapings earlier tonight in Berwyn, Illinois. Skater looks as though she’s been carved up like a Christmas turkey after taking some hard chops from Mercedes Martinez in singles action. For the full picture click here. Click here for … Read more

SHIMMER Volume 30 Taping Results

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Diva Dirt‘s Steven is on hand at this weekend’s SHIMMER festivities in Berwyn, Illinois. Today, SHIMMER will be filming Volumes 29 and 30. Below are complete results from the Volume 30 taping.

1. Malia Hosaka def. Leva Bates with a chicken wing facebuster. Leva gave it her best in her SHIMMER debut, but the veteran took the win. OK match. Leva has really good style though.

2. Annie Social & Melanie Cruise def. Jessica James & Rachel Summerlyn (aka Rachel & Jessica’s Excellent Tag Team). Social pins James after a double team chokeslam/spinebuster. Great teamwork by Social and Cruise. Very impressed with Social in particular.

3. LuFisto def. Cat Power with the Burning Hammer. Refs take Cat out of the ring. Looks like she may be injured.

Daizee cuts a promo backstage on Jamilia. She tells her she better check herself. Daizee and Tomoka vs Jamilia and Misaki is announced.

4. Mercedes Martinez def. Kellie Skater with the fisherman buster. These ladies were just chopping the hell out each other. After a particular hard flurry from Mercedes, Skater’s chest may actually be bleeding… Sick!!!

5. Ayumi Kurihara def. Nikki Roxx after reversing the Barbie Crusher into a sunset flip. Big upset.

Melissa promo backstage with MsChif. Melissa calls ‘Chif out and says she wants a shot at the belt. Sarah Stock interrupts and says she should be asking her for a shot. Madison Eagles interrupts and says 2010 is the year of the Eagles. ‘Chif says Melissa and Madison will face each other and the winner will face the winner of the ‘Chif/Stock match.

6. Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa def. Jamilia Craft & Misaki Ohata. Haze pins Craft after a tiger suplex. Craft is green but Daizee has taught her well. Enjoyable match up.

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SHIMMER Volume 29 Taping Results

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Diva Dirt‘s Steven is on hand at this weekend’s SHIMMER festivities in Berwyn, Illinois. Today, SHIMMER will be filming Volumes 29 and 30. Below are complete results from the Volume 29 taping.

SPARKLE (Pre-Show)
* Ana Minoushka def. PJ Tyler with a double underhook facebuster.
* Leva Bates def. She Nay Nay with a tope rope Thesz press.

SHIMMER Volume 29
1. Kellie Skater def. Nevaeh with a flipping necksnap.

2. Nikki Roxx and Ariel def. Melanie Cruise and Annie Social. Roxx pinned Social after hitting the Barbie Crusher.

3. LuFisto def. Rachel Summerlyn with an armbar submission. Midway through Lufisto targets the arm. Total squash match but a good showing by Summerlyn.

4. Mercedes Martinez def. Jamilia Craft. Mercedes wins with the fisherman buster. Great showing by Craft but Martinez took her to school. Craft got back into it at the end and wiggled out of one buster, but got caught by the second. Great match.

5. Allison Danger def. Rayna Von Tosh with the Lovelace Choker. Surprisingly a back and forth match. Good stuff at the start by with Rayna flrting with the ref.

After the match, Allison cuts a promo calling out Portia and the Canadian appear on the screen and while Danger is distracted Portia attacks from behind. Nicole Matthews comes out with handcuffs and holds back Bryce from helping. Leva Bates and Neveah try to make the save but are taken out by Melanie Cruise and Annie Social. Ariel as well. Portia finishes off by spitting in Danger’s face. Danger has to be helped to the back. Best segment so far.

6. Madison Eagles def. Sassy Stephie with her Hell Bound finisher. Madison was way over with the Berwyn crowd. She got a massive “Welcome back!!!” chant. Not her best match but was great to see Eagles back. Also very good showing by Stephie.

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No Kong at SHIMMER

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Former Knockouts Champion and SHIMMER mainstay, Awesome Kong will not be part of this weekend’s SHIMMER festivities for the first time in some years. There had been some speculation to that effect after SHIMMER began announcing talents with no sign of Kong, but there had been hope that she would be a last minute announcement … Read more

First Matches Announced for SHIMMER Today

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Steven is in Berwyn, Illinois for SHIMMER this weekend and will be bringing us updates throughout the weekend so stay tuned. Below are just a few of the matches that have been announced for today’s tapings: * Daizee Haze vs Misaki Ohata [Ohata is one of the four Joshi talents that will be making their … Read more

Wrestlicious Announces First Public TV Taping on May 28th

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Wrestlicious will be holding it’s first public television taping in Minnesota on May 28th with a roster including former TNA Knockout, Sojo Bolt debuting as CoCo Montego. The taping marks the first time Wrestlicious’ flagship series, TakeDown will be filmed in front of a live audience of wrestling fans. The episodes currently airing were taped … Read more

Exclusive: SHIMMER Co-Founder Allison Danger Previews This Weekend’s Tapings

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SHIMMER Women Athletes returns to Berwyn, Illinois this weekend to tape volumes 29 through 32. But before that, joining us to preview this weekend’s festivities is SHIMMER co-founder, Allison Danger. We find out what fans can expect this weekend in Berwyn, who Allison is looking forward to seeing and competing against. Plus, Allison gives us … Read more

Diva Dirt’s Own Kristin Astara (Krissy Vaine) Joins Wrestlicious

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Diva Dirt can exclusively reveal that our very own Kristin Astara — the former Krissy Vaine — has signed with Wrestlicious. Kristin will make her debut as an in-ring performer in season two which will be filmed this summer. Wrestlicious senior producer, Johnny Cafarella says: “We are excited to add the beautiful and talented Kristin … Read more

Get 40% Off SHIMMER DVDs This Weekend

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Now is a great chance to add to your SHIMMER collection or even begin one if you haven’t purchased any of their DVDs before! ROHwrestling.com is holding a 40% off sale this weekend in celebration of Easter and you can take 40% off your order meaning that you can buy SHIMMER DVDs for less than … Read more

Kong Joins Ring of Honor

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Former TNA Knockout, Awesome Kong will make her Ring of Honor debut in May, the company has announced. ROH has finalised a deal for Kong to appear at their May 8th show at the Manhattan Center in New York. She will face former SHIMMER Champion and on-off tag team partner, Sara Del Rey.

In Video: Epiphany vs Josie (OVW Women’s Title Match)

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OVW, once a developmental territory to WWE, has been a breeding ground to such Diva greats as Victoria, Mickie James and Melina but in the past couple of years since dropping its association with the company, has had to re-invent itself. The new OVW women’s division features the likes of The Blossom Twins and Epiphany, … Read more

WSU Launching TV Series

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More women’s wrestling is coming to your TV screens in 2010… kinda! Women Superstars Uncensored is to launch its own TV series, ‘UNCENSORED’ to air in Canada and online. The 15 minute weekly show will not feature any matches, rather give fans behind the scenes access to the WSU stars. The show is set to … Read more

In Video: Stars Celebrate Dawn Marie, Jazz & Molly Holly WSU Hall of Fame Inductions

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This past weekend, all-female promotion Womn Superstars Uncensored very deservingly inducted three former WWE Divas into its Hall of Fame — ECW original Dawn Marie as well as two-time Women’s Champions, Jazz and Molly Holly. The event took place before WSU’s third anniversary show in New Jersey and was said to have been a great … Read more

Exclusive: Lizzy Valentine (Wrestlicious’ Kandi Kisses) on TakeDown Premiere, Origins of Kandi Kisses, Working for TNA, Wrestlicious Negativity and More

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She made her debut as the lip-synching popstar, Kandi Kisses on the first ever episode of Wrestlicious TakeDown this past week and she’s here to tell us all about it, we catch up with the gorgeous Lizzy Valentine. We get Lizzy’s reaction to the first episode, find out about her character and get her thoughts on some of the negative reaction the show has gotten. We also learn discuss Lizzy’s time in TNA in 2003 as well as her one-night only return last December, plus what was it like working with WWE’s Evan Bourne in Wrestling Society X? Read on for the full interview.

You were on the premiere of Wrestlicious TakeDown this past Monday, how was it like doing that performance scene?
“I was so happy that I was on the first episode. Actually, like a few years ago, I was also on the first episode of Wrestling Society X so I was like, ‘Oh look at that, I’m on the first episode again’. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from my friends about the show, they all thought it was funny and they liked my segment. I had a lot of fun doing that part, playing the role of Kandi Kisses. I’ve known Johnny C [Wrestlicious producer] for a long time. Like, about six years ago we shot a pilot for CRUSH, it never got picked up but I’ve known him for all this time and he’s always known that I was a big fan of Britney Spears so he kind of developed the character for me which was kind of cool.”

We talked a little bit about your friends’ reaction to your character, how did your fans react?
“For the most part, I’ve gotten pretty good feedback from people. I mean, people of course are gonna be negative about it and say, ‘Oh it’s not real wrestling, it’s making a joke out of women’s wrestling’ but Wrestlicious is not trying to be WWE, it’s not trying to be TNA, it’s its own show and its own product so it is what it is.”

There’s been some negativity towards the show. Have you run into any of this in particular?
“Well, my regular friends outside of the wrestling business, just like my friends from like the gym or just my normal friends that I hang out with and family members, they all see it as just a TV show. So they look at it and they think it’s funny and they like it for what it is. On the other hand, like my friends that are in the wrestling industry, they don’t like it. I think they’re being a little close-minded, they’re not thinking about it like the way it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a funny show, it’s supposed to be an action-comedy. It’s not supposed to be a serious wrestling show like TNA or WWE, so people in the industry are kind of like, ‘Oh, it’s making fun of women’s wrestling blah blah…’ but I don’t think it’s really making fun of women’s wrestling. A lot of the characters, their stories are goofy but you know what, they’re characters and we all liked playing our characters. The girls on the show, for the most part, were really, really good wrestlers and you’ll get to see that if you keep on watching it.”

Definitely, a lot of the girls work for SHIMMER and we talk a lot on the site about how great the wrestling is there so I’m sure the wrestling will be on-point as the season goes on…
“Yeah definitely! All of us girls were impressed with each other. We were all watching each other’s matches and we were like ‘wow’. Even the girls who weren’t wrestlers on the indies or anything like that, some of the newer girls that may have been just trained for the show, even they did a really good job too. They worked hard and they did the best they could and everything ended up being okay. For the most part, the matches were really, really good so you’ll definitely be seeing some awesome matches.”

How did you feel just before the show went on the air. Were you nervous? Excited?
“I was really excited because I’d been wanting to see it for a long time and I’d been reading stuff about it on the Internet and everything. But I was a little bit nervous too because my character’s a little bit silly and I didn’t actually wrestle on the show, I was just doing a performance and lip-synching so I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope I don’t look too silly’. But I was really excited for it. Everyone has fun at Wrestlicious and I just really, really wanted to see it.”

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ROH Recap (March 1, 2010): Beware of The Death Rey

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After a few months of absence, women’s wrestling as made it’s return to Ring of Honor! This week’s match pitted former SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey against current SHIMMER Tag Team Champion Portia Perez. Watch below as these two SHIMMER mainstays bring in March with a bang:

Out first is Portia, who is playing the babyface role in this match. At first, the image of Portia slapping fives with the fans kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, she is one of the most hated heels in SHIMMER after all. Even though Del Rey is the bigger heel in this instance, I would have liked Perez to still keep her heel persona, if only to keep some consistency between SHIMMER and ROH.

Sara Del Rey hits the ring next accompanied by… um… well, I don’t really who he is to be honest. I’m sure his name was mentioned a time or two, but let’s be honest: We’re not watching this match for him, are we? The ladies adhere to ROH’s Code of Honor and shake hands, but as soon as the bell sounds Del Rey goes on the attack, forcing her smaller opponent into the corner and taking her to the mat with forearm strikes and a few stomps for good measure. Referee Bryce Remsburg tries to pull Del Rey off of the pint-sized Portia, but Sara is having none of that.

While Del Rey is busy with the ref, Portia takes the opportunity to roll Sara up with a schoolboy for a two count. Portia tries to get of the offensive but is laid out by another vicious forearm. Del Rey tries for a wheelbarrow but Perez reverses it for another near fall and pays for it with a kick to the head. Sara keeps on her opponent, pulling her up by the hair and tying her up in the ropes. Del Rey proceeds to level Portia with some nasty (in a good way) kicks to the chest folowed by a snap suplex for a two count.

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