SHIMMER has announced several matches for today’s Volume 43 and 44 tapings which will include Sara Del Rey & Madison Eagles challenging for the SHIMMER Tag Team Championships, plus Cheerleader Melissa will face Kana.
Details below:
[notice]
SHIMMER is back in action later today, Sunday, October 2nd, again at the Berwyn Eagles Club, located at 6309 26th Street in Berwyn, IL. Volumes 43 & 44 of the SHIMMER DVD series will be taped during today’s live event. Doors open at noon. SPARKLE pre-show bouts begin at 12:30pm. Main show bell time today is 1pm. General admission tickets will be available at the door, at a cost of $30 for the full day of taping (essentially $15 per DVD worth of live matches). The event is suitable for all ages.
Today’s taping will conclude by 8pm this evening, and will be immediately followed by an after party at Michael Anthony’s Restaurant & Bar, located at 6434 Ogden Ave. in Berwyn, just one mile from the Eagles Club!
Already signed for this afternoon at the Berwyn Eagles Club…
***SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match***
[Champions] AYAKO HAMADA & AYUMI KURIHARA vs. MADISON EAGLES & SARA DEL REY
* Davina Rose vs Portia Perez next. Portia calls Serena out to watch her protege in the ring. Serena comes to ringside to cheer on Davina. Portia Perez def. Davina Rose via crossface. Post-match, Perez doesn’t break the hold. Serena makes the save for Davina, then Nicole Matthews makes the save for Portia. Serena challenges Nicole to a match tonight.
* Athena def. Jessie McKay and Mia Yim via O-Face on Yim. Great match that saw Mia debut a corkscrew moonsault which she missed but was awesome nonetheless.
* Nicole Matthews def. Serena via Roll the Dice after Portia Perez distracts Serena. Davina Rose comes out to check on Serena and a fight breaks out. Afterwards, the refereess and some of the locker room break it up. Serena challenge Portia to a No Holds Barred match on Volume 43.
* Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara def. the Knight Dynasty to retain their SHIMMER Tag Team Championships when Ayako pinned Britani. After the match, Saraya berates Britani and tells her to get her act together or she won’t be wanted by “them”.
SHIMMER returns this weekend, October 1st and 2nd, with four new tapings for the SHIMMER DVD series.
Diva Dirt’s Steven is on hand in Berwyn, IL, bringing us live results.
SPARKLE (pre-show)
* Bonesaw Jessie Brook, Buggy Nova and She Nay Nay def. Kimberly Maddox, Veda Scott and Su Yung after Bonesaw hits Maddox with a double underhook DDT.
Picture of Su Yung (former WWE developmental talent, Sonia) at SHIMMER:
* Video package of Nevaeh‘s heel turn at AAW last night.
* Hailey Hatred def. Kalamity via running powerbomb. After the match, the two embrace, but are attacked by Mena Libra and Melanie Cruise.
* Video package of Kana in the Eagles Club. Cheerleader Melissa tries to introduce herself but is blown off.
* Sara Del Rey def. Yumi Ohka via Royal Butterfly in a fantastic match.
* Amber Gertner is in the ring and calls out one half of first SHIMMER Tag Team Champions: Ashley Lane (Madison Rayne). Ashley says she has a problem with Neveah’s actions at AAW. Neveah comes out and says Ashley turned her back on the company and that she is the better wrestler. A fight nearly breaks out and the refs have to pull Neveah and Ashley apart.
* Kana def. Mia Yim via rear naked chokehold variation. Great debut for Kana and a great showing for Yim.
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated editor Dan Murphy presents Madison Eagles with a plaque for being #1 on the PWI Female 50. Madison announces that she will be facing Serena tonight. Serena hits the ring and congratulates Eagles. Serena tells her that she should focus on their title match tonight. Serena says she been through a lot, but she never lost her passion to be SHIMMER Champion. She promises to win the SHIMMER title tonight.
* Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa come out to the ring and say that have nothing to prove and are taking the night off. Bryce Remsberg comes out and says that they have to defend their titles tonight. Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada come to the ring next and a SHIMMER Tag Team Title match is set, despite Daizee and Tomoka not being dressed for competition.
* Hamada and Kurihara def. Haze and Nakagawa to become NEW SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. Ayumi got the pin on Nakagawa after two exploder suplexes.
* Ashley Lane vs Nevaeh is up next.
* Nevaeh def. Ashley Lane via German suplex. After the match, Sassy Stephie joins Neveah in the ring to celebrate.
* Daizee comes out and goes on tirade about her loss, ending with her quitting the promotion.
* Portia def. Jessie after Portia distracts the ref by bringing in a chair and hits Jessie using a chain.
* Portia cuts a promo on Serena and says she hope Deeb wins the title so she can beat her for it.
* Saraya Knight w/ Britani Knight vs Allison Danger w/ Leva Bates is next. Britani says that Rebecca Knox is not here because Danger attacked her and broke her nail. Danger comes out and challenges Saraya to a “British rounds match”. Allison Danger wins the first round via roll up. Second round: No winner. Third round: Saraya Knight by using the ropes. Saraya wins the fourth round with her arm across Danger’s throat to win the contest.
Former TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne made a surprise return to SHIMMER just moments ago at the Berwyn Eagles Club.
Rayne first found fame in SHIMMER as Ashley Lane prior to being snapped up by Impact Wrestling. Along with Nevaeh, Ashley was one half of the first ever SHIMMER Tag Team Champions.
Since joining TNA in 2009, Madison hasn’t been seen in SHIMMER until now. Returning as Ashley Lane, Madison is now feuding with her former tag team partner.
Click here for full results from the SHIMMER taping.
The Divas of Doom have been having a tough time delivering said doom to anyone with the initials K.K., but this week Natalya‘s been given the chance to live up to the hype, facing Kelly Kelly while Beth Phoenix sits in on commentary:
Natalya gets a bit up close and personal with her pre-match taunts, provoking Kelly into slapping her. Meanwhile, on commentary, Beth claims that she knows she can get the job done this Sunday, and that Kelly’s wins so far were only flukes. In the ring, Kelly delivers a few more blows before trying to Irish whip Natalya into the corner, but she resists. Here Natalya’s strength advantage shows itself as she instead pulls Kelly into her arms and charges, driving her into the turnbuckle. Natalya backs up to ready herself for another charging attack, but only gets two boot prints on her chest. Kelly climbs the turnbuckle and hits Natalya with a flying Lou Thesz press, pummeling her with a series of right hands before she is shoved off.
She gets Natalya in a belly-to-back hold, but Natalya runs to the ropes and shakes her off, and on the return slams her to the mat with a vicious clothesline. She props Kelly up, wrenching one arm behind her left leg and locking her hands beneath her chin. Kelly quickly starts to fight out of the submission (Almost too quickly, if you ask me.. Clearly, this match has a strict time limit), but Natalya keeps her hands locked, eventually slamming Kelly head-first to the mat to stop the onslaught.
Natalya brings Kelly to her feet, slapping her and sending her into the ropes. On the return, Kelly blocks Natalya’s attack with one kick and another before she scrambles onto her shoulders, rolling to the mat and holding her in a tight pin. Kelly gets the 3-count and the win.
With yet another blight to her reputation, Beth storms the ring and attacks Kelly, taking her out with the Glam Slam. Not to be outdone (though technically she already has), Natalya locks Kelly’s legs in her own and hangs her upside down, holding her arms back as Beth delivers a message. Mic in hand, the Glamazon holds it close to Kelly’s mouth to capture her sobbing and screaming, saying that that is the sound Kelly will make when she takes the Divas Championship from her this Sunday. Finally, Beth gets to her feet, Natalya releases Kelly, and the both of them stand triumphant over their foe.
Thoughts: Yet another instance of the Divas of Doom being full of talk, but unable to get the job done where it counts: in the win/loss column. Natalya and Kelly’s match was nothing special, just a chance for Kelly to one-up them again and draw the ire of Beth. Clearly, the DoD are stronger and more vicious than Kelly and can string her up for punishment quite easily, but it’s between the bell rings that they just can’t seem to get the job done. Beth has promised (again) to take the title from Kelly this Sunday, so I suppose we’ll see if she will finally make good on her promise, or if the DoD’s achille’s heel, the dreaded roll-up pin, will be their downfall once again.
Former WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, has opened up for the first time about her entire WWE career in an audio memoir on her official website.
Michelle, who retired in May of this year, discusses her entire run in the company from Diva Search to her retirement at Extreme Rules.
The former Diva, who has been subject to much controversy, doesn’t shy away from the big questions and addresses rumors of preferential treatment backstage during her time in WWE.
Michelle says:
People can say what they want to say, but I can honestly look at myself in the mirror and know that I fought for every single thing I got. I never once asked anybody for help or used anybody for help, that’s not in my character. I fought that my whole entire life growing up with both my parents being pretty big public figures where we were at. Everybody always thought I got special treatment because my last name was McCool. […] I learned from a very young age that as long as I know and that I can look myself in the mirror and know what’s going on, I don’t really care what people say.
People constantly said that it wasn’t deserved, that it was handed to me, it was this, it was that… People think they know me. They think I haven’t ‘earned’ anything. They have no idea. They love to hate me and I think they put a lot of my personal life into that which it is what it is. People don’t know me, they don’t know the other girls, they don’t know what goes on backstage, so bottom line, it always comes down to Vince. He always has the final say in everything and I think he respected the fact that Layla, Vickie and I would go knock on his door and pitch ideas right and left. He liked that, he respected that and that’s why we were on TV.
On hate getting leveled at her and LayCool teammate, Layla, for constantly being on TV, Michelle responds:
I remember several times [on] pay per views when Layla and I weren’t on it but were getting the call saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to use you on the pay per view’ and we were like, ‘But I thought this was Gail and Maryse’s match?’ or ‘I thought this was so-and-so’s match?’ […] Then we would get hated on for that, and it’s like, we didn’t even know what we were doing half the time. The perfect example is, we pitched when we were going back and forth from Raw to SmackDown, we were like ‘Why aren’t they using these other girls? Why aren’t they using the girls on Raw?’, so we pitched an idea to get kicked off of Raw and that’s when we did the pre-tape with Nattie that we didn’t get let into the building. We joke because two weeks later, we got called to go back to Raw and it was like, ‘We just got kicked off Raw, what are we gonna do?’ and they were like, ‘We need to use you for this or that’, which is a complete honor. That said a lot to our characters that they enjoyed writing stuff for us and Vince liked what we were doing so they used us. I find that very flattering.
Michelle concludes:
People have no idea. They can say what they want to say. Because of the situation, they’re going to continue to talk. They’ll never want to believe that I take pride in the fact that I was a completely hard worker from the day I signed on to be in this business. Never stopped working hard, never stopped trying to learn, never stopped asking questions, never stopped pitching ideas, so think what you want to think, but there’s definitely no preferential treatment backstage. It’s just a bunch of hard work that paid off.
On people, including fans and those backstage, wanting to see her fail as she rose through the WWE ranks, Michelle says:
I could care less. All that does is light a fire under me and want to prove people wrong even more. When you start climbing to the top and you start getting higher and higher on TV more, storylines being more and more intriguing — whether it’s backstage, in the audience, in an airport — it doesn’t matter, people are gonna start to talk and nine times out of 10, they’re gonna start to talk negatively about you.
Michelle also discusses becoming the first ever Divas Champion, saying:
I actually had been pitching to get [a championship] on SmackDown for probably close to two years to give the girls something to fight for. I pitched it to Steph and I pitched it to Michael Hayes and all the other writers for literally about two years. […] Sure enough they decided that they were going to do it, and we obviously didn’t know who was going to get it or compete for it, and then they decided that Natalya and I would. Then obviously I became the first ever Divas Champion which I know that was probably very controversial. […] It’s just such a huge honor to know that I’d been fighting to bring this to SmackDown forever and to actually be the first one to hold it was a really cool moment.
[It’s] sad that the Women’s Championship is gone today. That’s so much prestige, honor and integrity in it. To have this Divas Championship represents the girls more today. Did I like the butterfly look of it? Not particularly, but it is what it is. It’s an honor to have it around your waist and I wore it with pride every single time I had it, I cherished it.
The first part of Michelle’s audio memoir, which is a fantastic listen, is available here at MichelleMcCool.net. A second part is due to be released next week.
* Madison Eagles, Mena Libra and Sassy Stephie def. Jessie McKay, MsChif and Neveah after Neveah turned on her team and DDT’d MsChif. Post-match, MsChif sprayed Libra with the green mist and MsChif and Jessie get a standing ovation from the crowd.
Check back tomorrow for live results from the SHIMMER Volume 41 and 42 tapings!
WWE Superstars may no longer be airing on WWE.com, but it is airing in international markets, so we’ll continue to review the show’s matches when and if they’re uploaded to YouTube.
This week on the show, we’ve got the team of AJ and Kaitlyn taking on Brie and Nikki Bella. Let’s watch:
Both teams are coordinated in their attire, AJ and Kaitlyn looking positively golden while the Bellas are wearing the attire that got quite a reaction on Twitter earlier this week, being that said attire are matching catsuits that show quite a bit of skin. Personally, the first thing I think when I look at them is how uncomfortable it must be to wrestle with the constant threat of butt crack exposure looming over your head.
Anywho, fashion statements aside, we begin the match. Kaitlyn and Nikki start things off, Nikki getting the first blow in with a kick to the stomach. Kaitlyn retailiates by driving Nikki into the corner, bodyslamming her before tagging in AJ. AJ gets a lift from Kaitlyn, slamming herself down on Nikki and going for the pin. Nikki kicks out rather quickly and goes right on the attack, but AJ ducks a blow and dropkicks her in return. AJ tags in Kaitlyn, who propels her into Nikki in the corner via an Irish whip.
Nikki walks right into a backbreaker from Kaitlyn, who goes for another pin. Nikki kicks out again, but it seems like Brie didn’t have much faith in her twin’s resilience, as she was halfway to breaking up the pin when she kicked out. Backbreakers must be Nikki’s secret weak spot. Kaitlyn chases her out of the ring, and Nikki takes advantage of the distraction, attacking her from behind. She tosses Kaitlyn out of the ring, where Brie uses the moment of referee distraction to drive her back-first into the apron. Nikki then takes over, tossing Kaitlyn back into the ring.
She props Kaitlyn up against the middle rope, choking her with her knee. The referee calls for a break and she relents, only to resume the attack a few moments later. This time the ref forces her away, and Brie takes the moment to land a kick at the back of Kaitlyn’s head. Nikki tags in Brie, and the both of them shove Kaitlyn roughly into the corner. They keep tagging each other in and out for an excuse to repeat the double-team. On the third switch Nikki Irish whips Kaitlyn right into Brie’s elevated knees. This time Brie stays in and proceeds to mock Kaitlyn’s anguish as she tries to crawl over to AJ and tag out. She then locks her legs around Kaitlyn’s midsection and catches her in a choke hold.
Kaitlyn manages to get to her feet, but not without the Bella clinging to her back. She backs into a corner a few times to knock her loose and then frees herself completely with a sidewalk slam. This gives Kaitlyn the chance to finally tag in AJ, who immediately springs to the top of the turnbuckle and hits Brie with a crossbody. On fire, AJ hits Brie with a clothesline, Nikki with a dropkick and Brie with a spinning heel kick. AJ tries for a pin, but Nikki breaks it with a kick. Kaitlyn enters the ring and removes Nikki bodily, heaving her over the top rope. Gotta love a girl who gets right to the point. She follows Nikki and starts pummeling her on the outside.
Meanwhile, inside the ring, AJ charges for an attack, but Brie dodges it, allowing her to land throat-first in the ropes instead. She hits AJ with a Bella Buster and pins her, getting the 3-count while Nikki stops any hero acts from Kaitlyn. The Bellas celebrate their victory with plenty of mockery and L symbols on their foreheads.
Thoughts: Pretty standard tag team match–nothing bad about it, but nothing really special either. This match was short compared to other WWE Superstars bouts, so maybe that’s why I feel a little underwhelmed. Nothing stood out much. I’m kind of glad they decided to forgoe a Bella switcheroo this time, allowing them to get a victory from Brie’s ability to act quick and beat AJ to the punch. There was no real trickery this time, and I think that’s needed from time to time to show that the Bellas aren’t so weak individually that they need to fool their opponents and switch places to get a win. The Bellas have the twin magic up their non-existant sleeves, but they don’t always need to put it to use. The threat of it is enough, as proven by Kaitlyn’s tendency to get distracted by the Bella behind her back. That’s what the Bellas should do: threaten the trickery, but don’t always enact it. That way, you can really fool them.
Previously on The Days of Our Wives: Traci Brooks slept with Eric Bischoff to try and lobby for the position of Knockouts VP. However, despite her “efforts”, the position was awarded to Karen Jarrett, the wife of TNA founder Jeff. Karen appointed Traci her slave… er, I mean assistant, berating her each week until Traci’s husband, Kazarian — who had been forgotten about while she cavorted with Bischoff — suddenly came back into the picture, defending his wife’s honor and insulting Karen in the process, calling her a “madam”. A furious Karen called hubby Jeff to inform him of her altercation. How will Jeff defend his wife’s honor?
Long version: A furious Jeff & Karen make their way down to the ring calling out Kazarian and Traci. Jeff berates Kazarian rounding off a laundry-list of things he’s supposedly done for Kazarian, and adds that he gave Traci an opportunity when no one else would. Jeff proceeds to call them “ungrateful bastards”, and that he’s going to make their lives hell. Now, it wouldn’t be a Knockouts segment without someone being called a “whore” — female empowerment and all! — and this week it’s Jeff calling Traci a “10-cent whore”. Is it necessary? No. But hey, let’s have our authority figures refer to our women as “whores” (or something similar) every week because that’s a great message to send. And this is the division which is supposed to empower its women compared to the “competition”. I think it’s one thing when the Knockouts call each other “whores” and “bitches” in heated feuds (not that it makes it any less derogatory, but I can almost understand it), but coming from an authority figure, it just feels like it buries the strides the Knockouts division makes.
And with Days of Our Wives over, it’s time for our regularly scheduled Knockouts match. This week it’s Madison Rayne and Tara renewing their feud in the final “Queen’s Qualifier” match. Who will earn the final spot in the four-way Knockouts Championship match at Bound for Glory?
Regardez et ecoutez:
Before the Knockouts even make their way to the ring, we get a pretty cool video package looking at the long history between Madison and Tara, stemming back to Tara forcibly retiring last year after losing to Madison, then her return to Impact Wrestling as Madison’s henchwoman and finally, Tara gaining her freedom earlier this year. Very nice stuff.
Madison is out first to the ring in camouflage colors, which if you’ve been following her on Twitter, you may have deduced is a tribute of sorts to her military-man husband, currently serving overseas. Madison is noticeably without her trademark tiara. I guess it’s now official: Karen is the new queen around these parts! Tara is next into the Impact Zone riding in on her bike. Tara’s outfit matches her red-leather Knockouts Tag Team Championship belt.
Meanwhile, in the ring, Madison seems to be flirting with referee Earl Hebner. What’s going on there, eh?
As the bell rings, the two Knockouts lock up as Tara overpowers her long-time rival, backing her into the corner. Referee Earl breaks things up as Madison lets out a banshee-like scream. Madison then cosies up to her night in shining referee shirt before sticking her finger in Tara’s face giving her a piece of her mind. No good can come from this! And it doesn’t… Tara takes Madison’s finger and wrenches it leading to a deafening scream from the former Knockouts Champion. Pretty funny spot. Things are eventually broken up by Hebner. Again, Madison tries to cosy up to the referee getting him to scold Tara. Madison goes for a shot which Tara ducks. Tara with a clothesline attempt but this time Madison ducks, runs the ropes but gets taken down with a shoulder tackle. Tara with a side headlock takedown. Tara holds in the move for a bit before rising to her feet and again taking Madison down to the mat. The Knockouts rise to their feet again and the hold is still in effect. With Earl’s back turned, Madison uses her free legs to kick the referee, but the blame falls on the Knockouts Tag Team Champion as her headlock hold is broken up by Earl as penance.
The devious Madison Rayne plays things up, telling Earl that Tara hurt her. As Tara goes to land a haymaker, Earl BLOCKS her and allows Madison to get in a shot of her own. WTF?! Taz explains that Earl must’ve thought Tara was going to punch him. Um, okay. Madison shows her gratitude to Earl for being her unwitting accomplice, stroking his face before returning to action. Madison chokes out Tara in the corner with her leg but as Earl breaks up the count, she flirts with him some more.
Madison then launches at Tara with a butt-bump followed by a facebuster across the ring. After some more flirting, Madison locks in her patented scissors move on Tara, smashing her face against the canvas repeatedly.
After even more flirting, Madison misses an opportunity to pin Tara and the veteran recovers, blocking a kick and then slams Madison against the canvas with a choke-hold. With Earl supposedly unawares, Madison slaps him on the head hoping to pin the blame on Tara, but this time is caught! Earl tells Tara to “Get her” and turns his back as Tara lets loose on the Killer Queen!
Tara clocks Rayne with big haymakers followed by a nice clothesline and snap suplex. Tara then hits Madison with a double-handed chokeslam before riling up the crowd for the Widow’s Peak! As Tara locks Madison into position, Madison manages to sweep her legs, taking her down to the mat and into a pin predicament using her feet on the ropes which Earl doesn’t see. Madison steals the victory!
Madison will advance to the Knockouts Championship match at Bound for Glory!
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this match mainly because of the involvement of Earl Hebner. I thought it added a fun dynamic. Madison was hilarious.
Despite the “10-cent whore” comment, I really enjoyed this week’s Knockouts action. With the stage now set for the Bound for Glory match, let’s see ho they build it up with two weeks worth of Impact in the lead-up.
What did you think of this week’s Knockouts action?
It looks as though Gail Kim‘s contract with WWE has officially expired and she’s now a free agent.
Despite quitting the company two months ago, WWE only just removed Gail’s profile page from their official website today.
In response, Gail wrote on her Twitter page: “Yeah I guess they’re slow. Cuffs shouldve [sic] been off last week.”
The “cuffs” remark suggests that her contract expired last week.
With Gail now seemingly free to do what she pleases, she will tell all in a live shoot interview to air on Internet pay per view on October 12th.
Of course, there’s bound to be speculation as to whether Gail will return to TNA. Their next event taping is Bound for Glory on October 18th. That pay per view is where Gail became the first ever Knockouts Champion four years ago. I can’t think of a more fitting place to return.
Diva of Doom Natalya spoke to AL.com to promote tomorrow’s WWE live event in Mobile, AL. ahead of the Hell in a Cell pay per view on Sunday.
Most of the interview is the usual stuff, but there is some discussion on her current storyline with the Divas of Doom vs Kelly Kelly and Eve.
Read an excerpt below:
“Beth and I are all about representing bold, bright and beautiful women,” she said. “We are kind of on a crusade to win the Divas championship.”
It’s about real athletes versus dancers and models, she said. Or broccoli versus candy, she added, saying that she and Phoenix bring the antioxidants.
“We want to bring some real credibility to the title,” she said.
Natalya also speaks on an important cause for WWE, the Be a STAR campaign. She says:
“WWE, we’re a world wide juggernaut for entertainment, and we’re using our platform to send a message. Because we have a huge stage to kind of spread the Gospel on pretty much whatever we want. And we’re all about spreading a positive message.”
“For us it’s a serious campaign, and I know the company is taking it very, very strongly.”
If you thought Stacy Keibler‘s legs were to die for, wait till you see her backside!
The former WWE Diva, now dating Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, was photographed for an artistic coffee table book called “Culo” (which translates to “buttocks” in Italian).
“Culo” is a “248-page coffee table book featuring backside-inspired photographs and art pieces by artist Raphael Mazzucco,” according to MMHighlights.
The book is co-edited by hip hop mogul Diddy (Sean Combs) and Interscope record label boss, Jimmy Iovine.
Following the final “Queen’s Qualifier” match last night on Impact Wrestling, the four-way Knockouts Championship match is now set in stone for October’s Bound for Glory pay per view.
In recent weeks, six Knockouts have competed for the chance to challenge Winter in matches set up by Knockouts VP, Karen Jarrett. Velvet defeated Angelina Love, Mickie beat Brooke Tessmacher and just last night, Rayne went over Tara to advance into the pay per view match.
Interestingly, in a similar four-way match at last year’s Bound for Glory, the championship changed hands. Will history strike again?
Who do you think will win the Knockouts Championship at Bound for Glory?
Independent wrestler Hailey Hatred, who migrated to Japan and has built up a great career there, is back in the US briefly and will be appearing for SHIMMER and Absolute Intense Wrestling this weekend.
[notice]Absolute Intense Wrestling presents
“They Live”
10/2/2011 (This Sunday)
6:30 Pm Bell Time
At our brand new location
Puritas Lutheran Church
13812 Bellaire Rd
Cleveland, OH
All Tickets are just $15 and seats are first come first serve
Tickets on sale now at : http://shop.aiwrestling.com/
Main Event For The Absolute Championship
Shiima Xion (TNA’S Zema Ion) vs Rickey Shane Page
Special Attraction match
Ring of Honor World Champion Davey Richards VS. BJ Whitmer
AIW Tag Team Championship Match
Irish Airborne vs The Olsen Twins
Hailey Hatred makes rare United States appearance as she takes on . Cherry Bomb
Intense Title Match
Marion Fontaine VS. Bobby Beverly
#1 Contendership for Intense Title FIRST TIME EVER!
Kyle O’Reilly (ROH) vs Sonjay Dutt
6 Way Scramble
Facade vs Tony Kozina vs Mr. RBI Izeah Bonds vs Archebald Peck (ROH & CHIKARA Pro) vs John Kermon vs Aero
Johnny Gargano & Tim Donst vs. A Mystery Team
Eric Ryan vs Josh Prohibition
Follow AIW online
http://www.Aiwrestling.com
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About Absolute Intense Wrestling:
AIW is determined to create, promote, and produce an unprecedented wrestling product under the banner of “Absolute Intense Wrestling.” Our live events are gritty, primal, and violent. Bottom line – AIW is the most intense professional wrestling in the United States.[/notice]
Former Knockouts Champion Mickie James, who has been on a promotional spree in the UK this week, took part in a free autograph session in London earlier today.
James signed autographs at The Entertainer store in the Westfield shopping center in White City.
Diva Dirt reader Adam went along and sent us the following:
Tonight I went to Mickie James signing in London and it was amazing!!! Although she was an hour late she did sign as much as anyone wanted and even signed my WWE Divas & Women’s replica belts! I got 6 autographs in total!!!
“Your Two Cents” is the new interactive feature where we gauge the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers on different discussions in women’s wrestling.
This week, we kick off with a big one: Which division is currently stronger? WWE’s Divas division, or TNA’s Knockouts division? We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!
Our Two Cents
Batting for Team DD this week it’s Melanie giving us her personal opinion on this week’s topic:
Melanie | This is not a knock on the Knockouts division at all, but right now, my personal inclination is to go with the Divas. Firstly, I think Kelly Kelly has had a solid run as Divas Champion (a run which recently just passed 100 days) and she’s been built up rather credibly as champ, in my humble opinion. I’m also really intrigued by the Divas of Doom and the message that they are conveying. It’s rare that WWE is ever so self aware when it comes to the Divas, acknowledging fans’ constant debates about whether the ‘models’ belong in WWE. Though WWE has dropped the ball on really pushing the Divas of Doom as a dominant group, I think there is a lot of potential in the “wrestlers vs models” storyline brewing in the the Divas division right now, and it’s very intriguing to me.
Your Two Cents
@TwilightRose372 | As much as I love both female wrestling divisions, I believe that the Knockouts are the much diverse & stronger faction. I feel that TNA/@ImpactWrestling showcases their wrestling abilities in a much better view & I continue to be impressed each & every week. The Knockouts are used in all different angles/storylines instead of just using one or two all the time. They are thrown into a variety of different segments every week, which shows us what all of them can do. They continue to impress/provide us with such great wrestling entertainment because they sure keep me watching & would love to be one.
@LaurenChristy | Divas are coming in a lot stronger now. The whole Diva of Doom vs “Models” storyline is putting a lot of emphasis on the divas. Plus there are more “Diva” wrestlers that are impressing right now than the KOs (Beth, Natalya, K2, AJ, Kaitlin, Eve, etc.)
@Miss_Diesel | Both the KO and Divas division seem to be on even ground. Even though TNA seem to have more faith in the KOs by giving them storylines, you feel dissatisfied with it in the end. The Divas division seem to only put the weight on the Divas champion and whomever is going against the champion at the moment, while the other divas seem to flounder wondering WHEN exactly their opportunity will come. As we talk skill wise undoubtedly the KOs have better wrestlers with seasoned vets of the wrestling industry such as Tara, Jackie and Mickie being on their roster but those seasoned vets ( other than Mickie ) are utilized as much as you’d want. While the WWE has their model like women in the ring there is no doubt that they have worked hard in the ring, you can actually see the improvement over the years they have worked. All in all both divisions are surprisingly similar even if TNA KOs still claim that they are better than the Divas. #mytwocents.
Jhonmarco Valazquez | Divas, the Knockouts get time but their matches these past few months are SO boring. The knockouts division is surrounded by horrible booking & storylines (angelina/winter? How long is this storyline going to take?!) The Divas while given shorter time, at least come to play. The matches lately have been better, not sure if that has to do with Goldust. The knockouts have way too much going on there. And Mickie/Winter these last few months has been horrid. Divas ftw.
@JakeVerterano | Knockouts division is way stronger. The Queen’s Qualifyer matches are making the title match at BFG seem much more important.
And we even got this tweet from a certain TNA Knockout…
@hemmepowered | KNOCKOUTS ;)
And now we turn it over to you…
What are your two cents on the division debate? Which division is doing it for you? Tell us in the comments…
October is shaping up to be a big month for TNA’s Velvet Sky, as not only will she challenge for the Knockouts Championship at Bound for Glory, but she’s also booked for AAA’s Heroes Immortales pay per view in Mexico.
Velvet will be competing in a “Lights Out” match, teaming with Jennifer Blake and Sexy Star to take on Fabi and Mari Apache and Cinthia Moreno.
The match will see the ladies compete in fluorescent clothing which glows in the dark as the lights in the arena will be off. Sounds interesting, right?
The show takes place on October 9th.
Check out an example of a “Lights Out” match below:
With SHIMMER Women Athletes right around the corner, lots of news is flowing in fast and heavy. SHIMMER has sent out several press releases, with some details for the weekend, including talent announcements, the debuts of Veda Scott and Davina Rose, DVD pre-orders and an awesome hype video! Check out the info below:
[notice]SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES is proud to announce the addition of MENA LIBRA and VEDA SCOTT to its next events, just 10 days away at the Berwyn Eagles Club!
Still a relative newcomer to SHIMMER action, Mena Libra has only just begun to display her toughness and power inside the squared circle. Libra has been in a rivalry with MsChif on AAW events at the Eagles Club during recent months. They will be on opposite sides of the AAW six woman tag team match on 9/30, and Mena will also be a part of the SHIMMER tapings on 10/1 & 10/2.
Veda Scott is the latest graduate of the SHIMMER Wrestling Academy, still in the midst of her rookie year. During her early outings on the independent scene, Veda has had the opportunity to step in the ring against experienced athletes such as Portia Perez and Daizee Haze. In less than two weeks, Veda will make her Eagles Club debut.
SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES is proud to announce the addition of DAVINA ROSE to its next DVD tapings, just six days away at the Berwyn Eagles Club!
Newark, California’s Davina Rose is a young wrestler who has begun to make waves on the west coast independent scene. Davina comes to us from the Big Time Wrestling and NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood promotions, having already had the opportunity to step in the ring either alongside or against several SHIMMER athletes, including Sara Del Rey, Allison Danger, Sassy Stephie, Christina Von Eerie, and Amazing Kong.
Perhaps Davina’s biggest supporter in her career thus far has been Serena Deeb. Over the past year, Serena has really taken Davina under her wing and served as a mentor, seeing a similar desire and commitment to the sport in Davina to that which helped Serena achieve many of her own goals. SHIMMER original Allison Danger has echoed Serena’s appreciation for Davina’s work ethic and potential as a wrestler, and as a result, Davina has been granted the opportunity to display what she is capable of inside the SHIMMER ring this coming weekene.
In less than a week, Davina Rose ventures away from the west coast independent scene for the first time, as she heads to Berwyn to join the ranks of SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES!
SHIMMER returns to live action on Saturday & Sunday, October 1st & 2nd, 2011, at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL, just outside Chicago. Bell time on Saturday, October 1st is 2pm (doors at 1pm, SPARKLE pre-show matches at 1:30pm). Bell time on Sunday, October 2nd is 1pm (doors at noon, SPARKLE pre-show matches at 12:30pm). Volumes 41-44 of the SHIMMER DVD series will be filmed during the course of the weekend, with two full length DVD releases taped each day. The events are suitable for all ages.
PRE-ORDER VOLUMES 39 & 40 ON DVD!
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Volumes 39 & 40 of the SHIMMER DVD series are now available for PRE-ORDER exclusively from SHIMMER itself. These DVD titles are scheduled to begin shipping on approximately Tuesday, October 4th. You can place individual DVD orders using the PayPal buttons in the DVD section of the SHIMMER web site at http://tinyurl.com/SHIMdvdsec or make use of one of the the multi-DVD combo packages to save on shipping costs by getting them together. Please note that all orders which include Vols. 39 & 40 will not ship until approximately Tuesday, October 4th. If you would like to have any of the already in-stock DVDs shipped prior to that, place a separate order for the in-stock items. If you would like to purchase DVDs from SHIMMER using a money order, please E-mail [email protected] for mail order instructions.
SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES Vol. 40 (DVD PRE-ORDER/SHIPS OCT. 4th)
SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES Vol. 39 (DVD PRE-ORDER/SHIPS OCT. 4th)
Description:
1. Courtney Rush vs. Kellie Skater
2. LuFisto vs. Sassy Stephie w/ Mademoiselle Rachelle
3. Rachel Summerlyn vs. Mena Libra
4. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata vs. Nikki Roxx & Ariel
5. Mercedes Martinez vs. Britani Knight w/ Rebecca Knox
6. Mia Yim & Jamilia Craft vs. Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa
7. Jessica James vs. Athena
8. MsChif vs. Saraya Knight w/ Rebecca Knox
9. Rematch From Vol. 35: Serena Deeb vs. Portia Perez
10. Two out of Three Falls: Jessie McKay vs. Nicole Matthews
11. Cheerleader Melissa & Ayako Hamada vs. Madison Eagles & Sara Del Rey
Volumes 37 & 38 are available right now for immediate worldwide shipping.
SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES Vol. 38 (DVD)
Description:
1. Courtney Rush vs. Daizee Haze
2. Jessica James vs. Tomoka Nakagawa
3. Allison Danger & Leva Bates vs. Nikki Roxx & Ariel
4. Rematch From Vol. 37: Christina Von Eerie vs. Sara Del Rey
5. Cheerleader Melissa vs. Melanie Cruise
6. Serena Deeb & Jessie McKay vs. Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews
7. Mercedes Martinez vs. Rachel Summerlyn
8. SHIMMER Title Match: Madison Eagles vs. MsChif
9. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata vs. Saraya Knight & Britani Knight w/ Rebecca Knox
10. Ayako Hamada vs. Ayumi Kurihara
Description:
1. MsChif vs. Kellie Skater
2. Courtney Rush vs. Mena Libra
3. LuFisto vs. Tomoka Nakagawa
4. Allison Danger & Leva Bates vs. Mia Yim & Jamilia Craft
5. Christina Von Eerie vs. Sara Del Rey
6. Cheerleader Melissa vs. Athena
7. Nikki Roxx & Ariel vs. Saraya Knight & Britani Knight w/ Rebecca Knox
8. Serena Deeb vs. Daizee Haze
9. Ayako Hamada vs. Jessie McKay
10. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata
11. SHIMMER Title Match: Madison Eagles vs. Mercedes Martinez
Earlier releases in the SHIMMER series are still available from ROH at http://tinyurl.com/SHIMMERdvdsROH1 (the Ring of Honor web store). If you need any older SHIMMER DVD titles (between Vols. 21 and 36) which ROH no longer has in stock, they are available directly from SHIMMER in the DVD section of the web site.
[/notice]
And here’s the video package promoting the weekend’s festivities, including many members of the SHIMMER roster:
If you’re in the Chicagoland area this weekend, head on over to the Berwyn Eagles Club for SHIMMER Women Athletes! General Admission tickets are still available at shimmerwrestling.com. But hurry, as the venue is filling up quickly!
WWE.com has a funny new video interview with the Bella Twins filmed backstage at Raw this past week, where Brie and Nikki Bella give their opinions on the Beth Phoenix/Kelly Kelly feud.
Nikki, the sassier of the duo, blasts both Divas and says that they should be wrestling for the Divas Championship, not Beth, leading to a little quarrel between the two sisters. However, when the Divas of Doom show up, Nikki changes her tune, suggesting Brie said that Kelly is serving Beth’s behind to her!
Thoughts: I’m loving the Bellas’ new attitude, especially Nikki. I’m glad that they’re getting a chance to show personality even if it is on WWE.com. I’d love to see this translated over to Raw. The Bellas are in a good position because they’re not loyal to the heels (Divas of Doom) or the babyfaces (Kelly/Eve), so that could create an interesting dynamic should Beth win the Divas Title at Hell in a Cell, because you could have her feud with the twins over the belt.
We will be featuring EVE’s Dann & Emily Read in our Promoters Season interview this week where two more matches will be exclusively announced so stay tuned.
Additionally, EVE filmed an angle last weekend that set up the Rhia/Janey match when Rhia turned heel. More information and video below:
[notice]This past Saturday Pro-Wrestling:EVE presented a special guest match at the Southside Wrestling Entertainment event in Huntingdon, Cambs between fan favourites Rhia O’Reilly and Super Janey B.
EVE’s resident super hero was in control through the early portion of the match using her lucha libre style to throw “The Fightin’ Irish” off her game although it was one hurricanrana too many as Rhia countered the move with a vicious drop-down powerbomb that brought a shocked gasp from the sell out crowd. However, despite the viciousness and impact of the move it was not enough to put Super Janey B away much to the surprise of not just the fans in attendance but also to Rhia herself. O’Reilly would continue to use more power based moves in an attempt to keep Super Janey B down for the 3 count however no matter what moves she executed she simply could not find the kryptonite to achieve her goal and as the match went on Rhia’s frustration brought her temper to boiling point. With a record of 2 wins and 7 losses going into this match Rhia was desperate for a win and celebrated as such when she believed to have won the match following what she believed to be a 3 count from the referee, however what O’Reilly had not seen was Janey place her foot on the bottom rope moments before the 3 count and thus the match had not ended at all. When Rhia finally realised what had happened she had given her opponent too much time to recover and Super Janey B was able to counter a back breaker attempt into La Mistica for the submission victory taking Rhia’s Win/Loss Record to 2 Wins & 8 Losses. Following the match Rhia argued with the referee, attempted to get in the face of Super Janey and began hurling abuse at anyone within earshot much to the surprise of everyone who had known her, but it was what happened following the match that truly shocked people.
As EVE commentator Fred Emerson attempted to catch up with the elusive super hero of Pro-Wrestling:EVE these were the scenes that were captured on camera…..[/notice]
Pick up tickets for EVE on October 8th and 9th here.
Former Knockouts Champion Mickie James is currently on a media blitz in the UK and appeared on breakfast television this morning on ITV1’s Daybreak.
Watch her below:
Thoughts: Great publicity for Mickie and TNA in the UK. I don’t think I’ve really seen wrestlers on shows like this in the UK for quite some time, so it’s a big deal, especially for TNA as usually it’d be WWE stars on major national shows.
Beth Phoenix. Natalya. Kelly Kelly. Eve Torres. Vickie Guerrero. Dolph Ziggler. These six people are Redux regulars every week. Personally, I think we should just give Ziggler his own honorary tag, but that’s something that the other team members keep ignoring me on. I can’t imagine why, but nonetheless, our fantastic six were once again in action this week. We had another tag match, and more epicness from Vickie and Dolph. The latter pair were joined by their new partner Jack Swagger, and Zack Ryder was in on the action as well. What I didn’t expect coming into this was that Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Mason ‘freaking’ Ryan, DAVID OTUNGA, and my boyfriend Christian would be involved as well. Oh my. Lets get on with it, shall we?
Before I even get into this recap, I want to start off by saying that before the match even began, I was already appreciating it. That rarely happens when it comes to the Divas and let me tell you why I was amped up. First, they showed Beth and Natalya walking backstage like they were on their way to the ring. That let us know immediately that they were on their way out and that they were clearly furious from last week’s debacle. Then, it cut to a video package highlighting Kelly, which was so well done. The ‘E has the best video packages anyway, but this one was especially great because it featured the Divas Champion, and that’s something we need. Divas who are given a chance to be champ, need to be built and showcased as one. They have done everything right so far for Kelly and it’s such a breath of fresh air. Point three that made this so right is the fact that after the video, we didn’t go to commercial. Kelly made her way to the ring, with Eve, and when it did finally go to break, they were still waiting in the ring. That gave us a chance to watch the Sisters of Destruction make their way out and what shocks me more than anything, is the fact that commentary put over the fact Beth and Natalya demanded this rematch after what happened last week. Right there we know this match isn’t random, or for lack of effort on the ‘E’s part. There is a reason we’re seeing a repeat and it’s because Beth and Natalya wanted it.
Storylines and reasoning make the WWE Universe a better place.
The match officially kicks off with Beth and Eve, and the Glamazon gains the early advantage on Eve and begins to work over the arm. This goes on for a bit before Eve pulls off a nice reversal. Beth backs the former 2-time champion against the ropes and once the referee makes her break the hold, Beth nails Eve with a vicious little elbow to the face. She whips Eve against the ropes, but instead of putting herself in harm’s way, Eve is smart enough to hold on but Beth capitalizes anyway with Nattie’s help. Eve gets taken down to the canvas and Beth grabs her, and makes the tag to Natalya.
The third-generation Diva gets in on the action and with Beth’s help, they hoist Eve high in the air. After letting her scream for a moment, they viciously drop her down to the ground leaving her in a whole world of hurt. Things get worse for Eve when Natalya decides to use her new submission hold, which she called Pin-Up Strong, on Twitter. Eve is practically crying and in a predicament where she can get pinned. Natalya gets two near falls before she breaks it up herself. Eve gets a kicked to the ribs, a slap across the face, and handed over to Beth as Natalya tags out.
Beth comes back into the match and looks to continue using Eve as a whipping girl. Things don’t go according to plan as Beth attempts to lunge at Eve while she’s resting against the ropes. Eve moves out of the way which causes Beth to do some damage to her own self, and the hot tag to the champ is made!
THE CHAMP IS HERE!
Kelly scrambles to the top rope and flies off, connecting with a nice Thesz Press. She beats on Beth before both women make it to their feet. Kelly slaps Beth on the booty to get her attention and that absolutely infuriates the Buffalo, New York native. She wildly swings at 2K but the younger blond ducks the clothesline and goes on offense. She ends up throwing Beth in the corner and after another trademark Kelly move, Beth eats a face full of mat thanks to a bulldog. Kelly goes for a cover, but Nattie runs into the ring to break it up. Eve comes out of nowhere and launches herself in the air at Nattie, but she misses so bad. Eve rolls out of the ring and leaves Kelly at the mercy of the Divas of Doom.
With the heart of a champion, Kelly fights out of a double team move, and ends up disposing Natalya to the outside so she can wither around with Eve. With her back turned, Beth sneaks up behind her and absolutely clubs the crap out of Kelly, sending her down hard. I think we all know what comes next. Beth finally gets the chance to set Kelly up for the Glam Slam, and unable to fight anymore, Kelly eats it and she its hard. Her shoulders are pinned for the one… two… three, and the Sisters of Destruction get a very convincing and much needed victory.
Amaaaazing!
This match was great and just what Beth and Nattie needed. I have absolutely nothing to pick apart because the match was pretty flawless. Eve and Beth were great together, and the hot tag moment to Kelly was perfect tag team wrestling. I’m happy the WWE has female tag teams that keep working together, it’s kind of what they need. This makes matches seem more important and not just thrown together, and I want more. My only regret is Beth versus Kelly III was announced for Hell In A Cell, and not Vengeance. I think a backstage segment would have been enough for HIAC and would have made the match at Vengeance seem that much more important. But regardless, we have Diva action on Sunday and I’m excited.
As far as the rest of the show goes, well Vickie was everywhere for the second week in a row. It seems like the WWE wanted to capitalize on what happened last week between the sexy Dolph and Wolverine, and despite the sheer randomocity of it all, I’m not even going to complain. Vickie worked it once again in a fierce little outfit, got to interrupt the COO of the company, Triple H, ended up screwed over by Mason Ryan (whom Ziggler referred to last week as a robot, mind you), and at the end of the night, ended up involved in a lawsuit spear-headed by Christian and advised by David Otunga against the WWE.
I’m sorry, what?
Just take a look at the videos and the whole hot mess will be explained.
How good is Ziggler getting on the mic?! I’ll be perfectly honest, I wasn’t at all interested in this segment. Triple H talking about Miz and R-Truth, fines, suspensions, firings didn’t do anything for me. I was kind of tuned out until Vickie began shrieking her catchphrase. It still amazes me how much heat she gets and if there is going to be a woman involved in this whole conspiracy angle then I’m glad it’s her. She’s perfect for this, no matter how random it seems. I had to laugh when the Phantom of the Opera came out and started to talk, I can’t help it. Cody is so hit and miss for me. Sometimes I enjoy his gimmick, other times I just shake my head. Other than that, I got to see Christian. I’m happy!
Anyway, as the night continued on, it was revealed exactly why Vickie decided to get involved. Triple H tried to screw over her man, Teddy Long screwed over her stable, and hell, why not join forces with bb Christian and Cody Rhodes and fight the good fight? Here’s why Vickie ended up so infuriated.
skip ahead to :30
I think it’s safe to say that Vickie has good reason for being so pissed off.
skip ahead to :50
But should Vickie really be so pissed off that she takes legal advice from David Otunga? I guess having the wool pulled over your eyes by Baby Batista means desperate times call for desperate measures. Christian wanted a law suit, and now he has Vickie, Dolph, and Cody Rhodes backing him up. What is this going to lead too? Perhaps it’s going to be a double rainbow for all involved and they’ll end up getting the WWE to give them what they want. I say it’s going to backfire horribly for each of them and they’ll suffer the same fate as Miz/Truth. Either way, it’s completely interesting to me and Vickie is the greatest character on WWE TV.
That’s it! Tune in Sunday for Hell in a Cell. Until next Monday, Cryssi out!
As previously reported, the Canadian Ninjas, Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez, recently made their Japanese debut for the REINA promotion in a Tag Team Championship tournament.
Though they didn’t win the tournament, they did make it to the finals, facing CMLL’s La Comandante and Zeuxis who eventually won the tournament. The Ninjas advanced after defeating Mia Yim and Sara Del Rey in the opening round.
SHIMMER has announced several matches for today’s Volume 43 and 44 tapings which will include Sara Del Rey & Madison Eagles challenging for the SHIMMER Tag Team Championships, plus Cheerleader Melissa will face Kana.
SHIMMER returns this weekend, October 1st and 2nd, with four new tapings for the SHIMMER DVD series.
SHIMMER returns this weekend, October 1st and 2nd, with four new tapings for the SHIMMER DVD series.
Former WWE Women’s Champion, 
Ahead of the SHIMMER festivities tomorrow in Berwyn, IL. AAW is giving fans a little taste tonight at a pre-SHIMMER show at the Berwyn Eagles Club.
It looks as though 
Diva of Doom 
Independent wrestler 
Get your weekly dose of Knockouts action on tonight’s Impact. To watch, tune into Spike TV from 9pm ET.
October is shaping up to be a big month for TNA’s 
WWE has officially announced a Divas Championship rematch between 