One Fan's Review of SHIMMER Volumes 58-61

Earlier this month, I made my 6th trip to Berwyn, Illinois.  The 10 hour drive is filled with excitement and speculation, but nothing compares to experience of being at a SHIMMER taping weekend.  Throughout the weekend, there were many "hits" and a few "misses", but this was a weekend filled with great wrestling. There are so many people and things that happened that deserve to be "hits" and a few "misses", so I am going to group as many things together as I can.  This is a long one, so bear with me.  

Before I get into the "hits" and "misses", I would like to offer my thanks to Dave Prazak, Allison Danger, Kevin Harvey, and all of the SHIMMER crew.  This group of people have put together one of the best rosters in the wrestling industry and we, the fans, get the opportunity to experience this weekend of greatness twice a year.  

Hits

Kevin Harvey - When I heard the announcement that Joey Eastman was retiring, my heart sunk.  But, when I found out that Kevin was going to be the new announcer, I knew we'd be in solid hands.  I wasn't expecting just how good he was going to be.  Match 6 of Volume 57 was the turning point that made me a full out Kevin fan.  The decision to do the traditional Japanese introductions was extremely impressive.  Kudo, Mr. Harvey.

The Returns - Hiroyo Matsumoto and Nevaeh were the major returns this past weekend after both missing the spring weekend.  I never realize how much I miss Hiroyo until she returns.  She is such a joy to watch in the ring.  One of the most talented women on the roster and without a doubt, the happiest.  Nevaeh has always been a miss for me.  I had not really ever seen anything from her that wow'd me.  But, since the last taping, I've watched some of her CZW work, which start to impress me.  Then, this weekend, she really showed me that she has a spot.  I would really like to see her back.

The Rising Stars - This was a great weekend for the women that are up and coming.  Women like Su Yung, Veda Scott, Thunderkitty, Heidi Lovelace, and Mia Yim all had their best showings so far.  Gotta give props to Thunderkitty for keeping the "Trailer Made" chant alive in her match on Volume 61.  Mia Yim had probably the biggest rise of the roster.  Her time in Japan has been very beneficial for her.  If anyone had any doubt about her before Volume 58, those doubts should be gone now.

Storylines - SHIMMER has often been criticized about a lack of storylines.  I thought the stories this

weekend were fantastic.  We had the Klepto-Portia arc begin on 58 and run all the way to wrap on 61.  This was great to watch.  Portia is such a good story teller in the ring and I couldn't see anyone else pulling this off.  The Lufisto/Melissa arc is something that I assume came into be with Hamada's last minute travel issues.  It worked out really well and I can't wait to see how it finished up in the spring.  My favorite, however, is the Madison Eagles/Nicole Matthews feud.  SHIMMER has never been a promotion to have many heel/heel matches, but this is working so well.  The two put on a fantastic match on 58 and the constant shots throughout the weekend were fantastic.

The Debuts - This was a great weekend for Debuts.  Nikki Storm is one of the best, if not the best, debut of the year.  She embodies a cocky heel so well.  Her promos before each match was great.  Hikaru Shida was another incredibly talented women to come from the far east.  She was so so so good and her match against Nicole Matthews on Volume 60 showed that she was willing to have some tough shots with the Kendo stick. I think Angie Skye's move from Sparkle to SHIMMER was long overdue.  I was a fan from her very first Sparkle match and she showed against Mia Yim that she deserves to be on the main roster.  

Tag Team Division - The Tag Team Division has been very shaky for several years.  On any taping

weekend, there hasn't ever been more than a couple of teams that have been together more than a few matches.  Some of the teams have just been thrown together, which hasn't done anything to solidify the division.  This weekend, I thought the addition of the KimberBombs and Stephie/Nevaeh were great.  Both team work so well together and they both need to be brought back.  3G, LuKana, and Made in Sin also impressed.  I think Made in Sin is going to be the team to dethrone 3G.  

The SHIMMER Faithful - As always, we have to give props to the women like Nicole Matthews, Madison Eagles, Kana, Lufisto, Mercedes Martinez, and Cheerleader Melissa.  Any match these women are in, you know will be solidy.  Kudos to all of them for their matches all weekend and a big congratulations to Cheerleader Melissa.  Her announcement as the 2013 PWI #1 woman on the Top 50 was a very nice surprise.  

Misses

Individuals - There were a few women that I just didn't quite get.  Savannah Summers had been announced for Sparkle, but she instead made a run in to save Santana on 58 and teamed with her on 59, making her official debut.  However, why did she make the run in?  What was the link with Santana?  And why did she get SO buried on 59 with no match at all on 60 or 61.  I was expecting to be able to see what she could do, but I was just left with an empty feeling.  Speaking of Santana, I still just don't quite understand her.  She is a good babyface, but who is she?  I don't understand why we should like her other than the fact that she is a babyface.  The other woman that was kind of a miss for me was Crazy Mary Dobson.  I think she is interesting in the ring.  She definitely has talent,

but there were a few things that she did, that just didn't quite make sense.  In her Sparkle match with Angie Skye, she ran and scaled the turnbuckle like she was going to do a top rope arm drag.  But when she flipped down to the mat, she stalled and did something else.  In her tag match when Mary Lee Rose was taking the pin, CMD was in the ring, ran around the pin, and slid out on the opponent's side allowing the the pin to happen.  I don't know if it is inexperience or if it is part of her "crazy" gimmick, but it is odd. 

Cheerleader Melissa's Streak - Melissa's steak of wrestling on every volume has officially ended.  With the unfortunate gash she received from Lufisto on 60, she was forced to miss the match on 61.  She was able to make an appearance, which was good. Now, I think Nicole Matthews holds the record for longest streak for not missing a volume.  

Christina Von Eerie vs Saraya Knight - This was the biggest miss for me.

 I don't even remember what CVE did to disrespect Knight to cause the challenge to be issued.  The match set up was very confusing.  The fact that Knight apparently tapped in round 2 was a big surprise since I didn't see it.  I thought this match was blood, just for the sake of blood.  Overall, this was the biggest misses of the weekend.  

Overall, I thought this was a very successful weekend.  A big thanks to the SHIMMER crew, the roster, and all of the fans. I can't forget the pre-doors open roundtable group.  This group of SHIMMER enthusiasts make the wait extremely entertaining. 

SHIMMER Volumes 58-61 preview

March 26, 2011 is a day that I will never forget.  It was my first SHIMMER live experience and it was fantastic.  The debut of The Knight Dynasty, Courtney Rush's main roster debut, and the dethroning of the Canadian Ninja's as Tag Team Champions.  This weekend is another SHIMMER weekend, the taping of Volumes 58-61.  Here is my preview of the potential weekend.


SHIMMER Championship

I will finally get to see Melissa as a true heel live this taping and I’m excited.  One of the most talented women on the roster, she is a heel through and through.  Even as a face in SHIMMER, she was still very heel-ish…..which I think is why I started to find her a little stale. 

Thinking about potential challengers, there is on person that I think will get a title shot for sure: Ayako Hamada. Hamada has continuously been one of the top performing women in SHIMMER for several years and you can always count on her to be a match of the volume contender.  After the confrontation between Hamada and Melissa at the end of the Danger retirement match on Volume 57, I think it is pretty safe to say we will see these in the ring.  I think Hamada should be the next champion, but I think Melissa will take this one.  It is too early for her to drop the title. 

Another woman that I expect to get a title shot is Kana.  Since her debut at Volume 41, she has taken the SHIMMER world by storm.  Her no-nonsense style is very unique and she has proven time and again that she is one of the toughest on the roster.  With impressive wins over the likes of Sara Del Rey, Lufisto, Athena, and Kalamity, she has proven that she is worthy of her first title shot. 

My next thought for a title defense is former champion Madison Eagles.  Although this would be a heel/heel match, it would be interesting to see the two clash since Melissa has turned to the dark side.  Madison dropped the title to Melissa on Volume 44 and was injured shortly thereafter.  Since returning on volume 53, she racked up 4 wins in 5 matches.  Not yet given her rematch, I would love to see the two square off again.

I have had a difficult time trying to figure out who a good challenger for her fourth defense of the weekend.  I considered it possibly being more of a surprise person like Christina Von Eerie, Leva Bates, or Santana Garrett.  All are good workers, but aren’t main event level women.  The best I could come up with was former Champion MsChif.  We haven’t seen ‘Chif and Melissa in the ring against each other since Volume 6.  Volumes 1, 4 and 6 saw the pair hash out a pretty nice feud with ‘Chif going 2-1 over Melissa.  With the fact that MsChif has been on and off the injured list more frequently over the last couple of years, I am not sure how much longer she will be an active competitor.  So it would be nice to see these two go at it again.

SHIMMER Tag Team Championship

Going into 3G’s first taping as Tag Team Champions, Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa will inevitably have their hands full for at least one match of the weekend.  The tandem beat the Canadian Ninjas on Volume 57 to become the 8^th team to hold the belts.  However, Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews would love nothing more than to beat 3G to regain the belts for their 3^rd reign. 

Other than the Canadian Ninjas, I would expect to see a title defense against the teams of Made in Sin (Allysin Kay & Taylor Made), LuKana (Lufisto and Kana), and MSEERIE (MsChif and Christina Von Eerie).  Made in Sin and LuKana have both had unsuccessful title shots in the past, but this would be the first chance for the goth/punk rock team of MSEEIRE. In the end, I would expect 3G to retain through the weekend.  They are already booked to defend the belts at the next SHINE iPPV against Valykrie (Allysin Kay and Ivelisse Velez).  I think Allysin Kay has a very bright future in wrestling, so I would love to see her win the Tag belts at some point.  I wasn’t a fan of Taylor Made before teaming with Kay, but this team worked for her big time. I wouldn’t mind seeing the belts go to Made In Sin…..but only after they have been in SHIMMER for a while and establish themselves as a solid team.

Debuts

Two women have been announced to debut for this set of tapings: Nikki Storm and Hikaru Shida.  I am not very familiar with Hikaru Shida other than being able to recognize her name.  I have seen a few of her matches and she seems to do really well.  Given that there have been extremely few joshi’s that SHIMMER has brought over that I have not become a fan of, I am sure Shida will do well.

Nikki Storm, on the other hand, I am more familiar with.  One of the best heels in Europe, Nikki is in her inaugural US tour.  With SHINE, AIW: Girls Night Out under her belt, she has WSU this weekend then the big SHIMMER debut.  I cannot wait.  Nikki oozes charisma and is incredible on the mic.  In the ring, she is crazy good and can be relied on to have a very solid match.  I don’t think I have been this excited for a debut since The Knight Dynasty was announced for Volume 37.

Sparkle Debuts: Savannah Summers, Crazy Mary Dobson

Notable Absences 

Injuries: First, we learn about Athena’s shoulder injury at the WSU show.  Then we learn about Angelus Layne’s concussion.  Then it is Courtney Rush’s broken collarbone.  Now, we learn that Xandra Bale was booked to appear at SHIMMER, but she has broken her fibula.  Athena and Courtney have been riding a big wave of popularity over the past several tapings, so it is going to be a hit to their momentum.  But, I predict these two will be able to pick up where they left off in the spring.  Angelus Layne and Xandra Bale are two of the more recent additions to the roster.  Both have shown a lot of potential, so to see them out with an injury is disappointing.  But here’s to a speedy recovery to all 4 women.

MIA: Serena Deeb, Jessie McKay, Shazza McKenzie, Evie, and Rhia O’Reilly have all been confirmed as missing this taping.  I think I saw where Evie was booked for a show in New Zealand, but I haven’t seen anything concrete on the others.  I was disappointed when I saw that Evie would not be there as her debut this spring was great.  Shazza and Rhia have been here for a couple of tapings and Serena and Jessie have been SHIMMER staples for several years.  It won’t be the first time that we’ve gone through a weekend with holes like this, but it will be nice to see all of them back in the future.

Bad fans

This is not the blog I had written to be posted tonight.  I had written a preview of SHIMMER this weekend.  That will get posted later this week.  But, after the events of today on Twitter, I wrote a new one.  

Every time the Female Fight Season comes around, I am constantly reminded of how bad some “fans” are.  I’m dedicating this blog to them.  Maybe you will recognize yourself as one of these bad fans or someone that you know.  If you find yourself relating to one of these, it might be time to re-evaluate how you show your interest in the sport.  For the sake of anonymity, I am going to refer to the bad fans as men, but some of my experiences are based on women. 

The Perv

We all know this guy.  He is the one making lewd comments or inappropriate jokes.  I have sat next to many Pervs at the various live events, I am sure we all have.  Understanding that some female wrestlers play up the sexy side of their character with provocative ring attire and sultry ring entrances, is it so hard to keep your gross comments to yourself?  Why can’t you comment on the electric chair drop instead of asking the offensive wrestler to not drop her so hard so she doesn’t hurt her pretty face?  This is the guy that usually is the only one to laugh at his own jokes.  He is the one to snap pics as the women get in the ring so he has a camera full of butt shots.  You are gross and you make me want to switch seats. Where to be on the lookout for The Perv: Live Events, Forums, and Social Media

Mr. Moneybags

This is the guy that feels a sense of entitlement to a wrestling promotion because he USED to give them money.  Maybe he bought merch from them or maybe he was a financial backer in helping to cover cost of some of the talent.  But guess what….you aren’t anymore.  So, cut the crap and stop ragging on EVERYTHING a promotion does.  It is incredibly annoying.  I can tell that you are very knowledgeable about wrestling, but it is hard to take you seriously when half of what comes out of your mouth is a dig.  The world would be a much better place if you would start to ignore the promotion that ticked you off and focus on the ones that you like.  Just because a promotion isn’t going in the direction that you prefer, doesn’t mean that it isn’t a place for women to get their name out there and start creating a fan base.   Where to be on the lookout for Mr. Moneybags: Forums and Social Media

Mr. Know-it-All

I have to be careful to not fall into this one.  Women’s wrestling is such a niche market, that it isn’t hard to be the most knowledgeable in your circle.  But there is a big difference in being the most knowledgeable and being a know-it-all that doesn’t know what he is talking about.  There are TONS of websites that report the results of mainstream and independent wrestling shows.  There are also numerous sites that report behind the scene news.  Make sure your news source is reputable if you plan to pass the information along.  We all played the game of telephone growing up.  It would be a shame if the actual story was of a wrestler firing her manager, but story you read and retold was that a wrester was fired from a company because she was sleeping with half of the male roster.  Another problem with this fan, since he is very knowledgeable about wrestling, he feels like his is the only right now.  Forget all of the people who attend the shows and  buy the merch.  He is the only one with a correct opinion.  Where to be on the lookout for Mr. Know-it-All: Live Events, Forums, and Social Media

Mr. If-It-Isn’t-WWE-It-Isn’t-Good-Enough

He can talk about how each match on every Wrestlemania, Summerslam, and Unforgiven went.  He can discuss, in detail, how good the roster was in 1997 and 2006.  But mention someone like Mercedes Martinez or Madison Eagles and he doesn’t have a clue.  He says it costs too much money to follow independent wrestling.  When you ask him about looking it up on youtube….his response is that it was more important to watch Santina Marella win the 25-Diva Battle Royal on Wrestlemania XXV for the 18^th time.  Mainstream wrestling has had a lot of really good women’s matches and it is really easy to watch and follow the ‘E.  But there is so much more out there that you would enjoy if you would just try.  Where to be on the lookout for Mr. If-It-Isn’t-WWE-It-Isn’t-Good-Enough: Forums and Social Media

Mr. Friend-of-a-Wrestler

This person is either going to be your best wrestilng fan friend or the one you despise the most.   It isn’t uncommon for this person to have the inside track on what is going on, but this person is also typically a bandwagon joiner and egotistical blogger.  Since he is friends with wrestlers, he must be better than all of us simple fans.   And goodness, you better believe he knows more about how a match should be booked than most….in some case, more than the actual booker.  One experience I had with this type of fan was at a live event.  One of his favorite wrestlers took the loss to a newcomer to the promotion.  His favorite doesn’t have the best W-L record, so he is already bitter.  But when this lose happened, he blew a gasket.  The trash talking on Twitter started and it was RIDICULOUS.  This type of fan also gets VERY bent out of shape if a wrestler picks a name that even remotely resembles an established wrestler.  Now, I’m not talking about the Jessie Kay/Jessie McKay type of resemblance.  This fan would throw a fit if a wrestler decided to use the name Cat Cruise. He would say there is already a Cat Power and already a Melanie Cruise.  Google the name you want to pick.  Yes, because googling Cat Cruise is going to return a page that tells the new wrestler that her name MIGHT get confused with 2 separate women.  Where to be on the lookout for Mr. Friend-of-a-Wrestler: EVERY live event, Forums, and Social Media.

The purpose of this blog isn’t completely to bash these fans.  It is more of a way to highlight that we have things we need to work out.  If you see yourself in one of these fan types, it might be good to try to reign yourself in a little.  Maybe back off on all of the cat calls to the women in spandex.  Maybe don’t flaunt that you are besties with 16 wrestlers quite so much.  Most of all, try to be positive about the fact that we are all fans of the same sport.  We are very small in numbers, so there is no need to be shady and ugly about it.  

Bellatrix 7 - Bellatrix vs SHIMMER

A week from tonight we will see one of the biggest European all female wrestling shows of 2013.  SHIMMER invades the Bellatrix ring to find out which brand has the superior talent.  Five SHIMMER women were invited across the pond for Bellatrix 7.  Cheerleader Melissa, Lufisto, Christina Von Eerie, Mercedes Martinez, and Courtney Rush were the fabulous five to show England what SHIMMER is all about with the latter two defending their titles, the NCW: Femmes Fatales International Championship and the the Bellatrix World Championship respectively.  Here were matches announced with the last being an all Bellatrix affair:

• Bellatrix World Championship Match - Courtney Rush (c) vs. Liberty
• NCW: Femmes Fatales International Championship Match - Mercedes Martinez (c) vs. Miss Mina
• Christina Von Eerie vs. Skarlett
• Lufisto vs. Destiny
• Cheerleader Melissa vs. Sweet Saraya Knight
• Bellatrix British Championship Match: Erin Angel (c) vs. Sammi Baynz

 At this point, I was predicting Bellatrix to go 3-2 over SHIMMER.  I was thinking Knight and Skarlett taking the win for sure and Liberty and Destiny being my toss ups, and Mina taking a loss.  If I were the booker, I would be inclined to put my own brand over the guests since it is in front of my crowd.  Then the news of Courtney's injury came out indicating that she would have to withdraw from the show.  Now, this is what the card looks like.

• NCW: Femmes Fatales International Championship Match - Mercedes Martinez (c) vs. Miss Mina
• Christina Von Eerie vs. Skarlett
• Lufisto vs. Destiny
• Cheerleader Melissa vs. Sweet Saraya Knight
• Bellatrix European Championship Match - Liberty (c) vs. Sammi Baynz
• Bellatrix British Championship Match: Erin Angel (c) vs. Penelope

 Now, that there are only 4 Bellatrix vs. SHIMMER matches, I'm not convinced that Bellatrix will go 3-1 over SHIMMER, so I'm thinking they'll split 2-2.  Here are my predictions for the Bellatrix vs. SHIMMER matches.

NCW: Femmes Fatales Championship Match - Mercedes Martinez (c) vs. Miss Mina
Miss Mina is one of my favorite women on the Bellatrix roster.  I find her incredibly fascinating and would love to see her wrestle in North America. I think the Nordic Valkyrie is really talented and I think she would fit in well over here.  However, I don't anticipate this match going her way.  Given that Mina hasn't ever wrestled for NCW: Femmes Fatales, I don't see her winning the strap unless Mercedes is needing to drop it (a la how Courtney won the Bellatrix title and how the Queens of Winning dropped the SHIMMER tag belts).  Prediction: Mercedes Martinez retains title

Christina Von Eerie vs. Skarlett
These two both have the punk rock/goth type gimmick going on and both are no non-sense once the bell rings.  Von Eerie is one of the crowd favorites in SHIMMER, but not one of the top athletes.  Skarlett, on the other hand, seems to be one of the women that is highlighted in Bellatrix.  Regardless of who gets the pin for this match, it should be an entertaining bout.  Prediction: Skarlett

Lufisto vs. Destiny
As soon as Lufisto was announced for Bellatrix 7, Destiny is who I wanted her to face.  Destiny is one of the heavy hitters in Bellatrix and out of all of the women SHIMMER is sending over, Lufisto and Mercedes are the only two that I think could believably put up a good fight.  Given the size disadvantage, I think Lufisto will have her hands full, but I still think she will get the pin. Prediction: Lufisto

Cheerleader Melissa vs. Sweet Saraya Knight
Even with three title matches on the 6 match card, I would expect this to be the main event.   The history between these two is undeniable.  The rivalry was re-kindled in SHIMMER when Knight set her sights on the SHIMMER Championship and won the title from Melissa.  Melissa got her revenge in a steel cage reclaiming the gold with the crowd firmly in her corner.  Now that they are meeting in Knight's home terf, I anticipate that Melissa will not have the favor of the crowd and I expect the Bellatrix matriarch to take the win.  Prediction: Sweet Saraya Knight

2013 Female Fight Season

Starting in October, Female Fight Season begins. This is the time of the year when there is TONS of women's wrestling going on and 2013 is no different. SHIMMER, SHINE, NCW: Femmes Fatales, WSU, AIW: Girls Night Out, and Bellatrix are all running shows during this time. Below is a listing of how it is shaping up so far. 

Absolute Intense Wrestling kicks off FFS with GNO 9 and 10. This is their first double header show on Sunday October 6. So far, scheduled to appear is AIW Women's Champion Allysin Kay, former TNA Knockout Taeler Hendrix, Veda Scott, and making her US debut, Scotland's Nikki Storm. One match has been announced, Veda Scott will challenge Allysin Kay for the championship, presumably on GNO 9. 

On the same night, Bellatrix Female Warriors will have Bellatrix 7: Bellatrix versus SHIMMER. Five SHIMMER athletes will make the journey across the pond to compete in the Bellatrix ring. Courtney Rush, Christina Von Eerie, Lufisto, and the SHIMMER Champion have been confirmed, with the last name still up in the air. While it has been announced that the SHIMMER Champion will compete, it can be assumed that Cheerleader Melissa will make the journey as it doesn't appear that she will have a title defense before October 6. Courtney Rush makes her Bellatrix debut as the Bellatrix World Champion, a title she won from Allison Danger at the last NCW: Femmes Fatales event. 

SHIMMER returns to the Berwyn Eagles Club on October 19 and 20 for the tapings of Volumes 58 - 61. While nothing has been announced as far as talent, Cheerleader Melissa is going into the weekend as the SHIMMER Champion and the 3G, the team of Japan' Tomoka Nakagawa and Australia's 'Rate Tank' Kellie Skater go into the weekend as the Tag Team Champions. Back in May, Dave Prazak posted in the SHIMMER forum a glimpse into the booker's nightmare for the SHIMMER weekend. He called out the three previously named as well as Ayako Hamada to book the weekend around. 

No names have been announced for the WSU event that will run in October, but there have been many announced for their August show, including Taeler Hendrix, Santana Garrett, Barbi Hayden, Xandra Bale, Jody D'Milo, Claudia Del Solis, Jewells Malone, 'Native Beast' Nyla Rose, and 'Portugal's Perfect Athlete' Shanna, who is making her US debut. Each of these women will make their WSU debut at one of the August shows, so it is likely that some will return in October.

SHINE will have the October event sometime during the month. Details will start rolling in after the September show, but expect to see some international talent. Both of the last SHIMMER weekend's, some of the international talent has went down to the Sunshine state for the country's fastest growing promotion. I expect October to be no different. 

Finally, NCW: Femmes Fatales will wrap up the month with their show on October 26. Currently, Mercedes Martinez is the champion, and I assume she will remain the champ as the July show features her teaming with Sweet Saraya Knight to take on the team of Sweet Cherrie and Lufisto. Femmes Fatales will undoubtly book some of the women taking part in the SHIMMER weekend as this has been done for the last several show seasons as well. 

With Nikki Storm's booking for AIW on 10/6, it would be logical for her to stay though the month and work all of the major shows. This would be a massive month for her as she could hit AIW, SHIMMER, SHINE, WSU, and Femmes Fatales. This is definitely an overwhelming time of year for the casual women's wrestling fan, but for the die hard fan, October will be a thrill ride. I am going to try to attend the SHIMMER taping if I can get off work and will probably purchase the Bellatrix show which will be streaming on iPPV.

SHINE 11 - Title Tournament Picks

Tonight is a big night for SHINE Wrestling, the 1 year anniversary show and the show that will crown the inaugural champion.  With 14 women in the tournament, fans are all over the board with potential winners.   This tournament has a wide range of women; nationally recognized women like Awesome Kong, Angelina Love, and Ivelisse Valez; staples of the independent wrestling scene list Rain, Mercedes Martinez, Jessicka Havok, and Nikki Roxx; up and coming stars like Kimberly, Su Yung, and Santana Garrett; and some international flavor in Canada’s Lufisto and England’s ‘Sweet’ Saraya Knight.  Of the 14, there are only 4 or 5 women that people aren’t really behind for winning it all.  With 9 women splitting the crowd for championship predictions, tonight is destined to be an exciting show.  Below are my top 3 predictions for the women who could take it all.

Rain has had a long career working for some of the biggest women’s divisions in the country.  Working for promotions such as IWA: Mid South, SHIMMER, WSU, TNA, and Mexico’s AAA, Rain has been a staple of women’s wrestling in the mid-west for more than a decade.  With a reputation as one of the best singles competitors of the 2000’s and as part of one of the US’s most well-known female tag teams, the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew with fellow Minnesota native Lacey, Rain has almost done it all.  Almost, because a major title has continued to escape her.  Since SHINE 1, Rain has been one of “it” girls for the promotion, partially because she isn’t afraid to bend or completely ignore the rules to get the victory.  Consistently one of the best matches of every show and now the leader of the seemingly unstoppable Valkyrie stable, Rain has been a front runner for the title even before the title tournament was announced.  Rain qualified for the Title Tournament after defeating Angelina Love at SHINE 9.  Her first round match tonight is up in the air as she faces the winner of another qualifying match featuring Mercedes Martinez, Nikki Roxx, Lufisto, and Su Yung. No matter who comes out the victor of the qualifier, they will have a tough match against Rain as she hopes to hold a major women’s title before her pending retirement at the end of 2013.  Rain is without a doubt the internet community’s top pick if a heel were to win the strap.

Local favorite, Santana has wowed the SHINE crowd since SHINE 1.  As a relative unknown to the independent scene, Santana has seen her popularity grow exponentially as a result of her work in SHINE.  She has made her SHIMMER debut, won the Tag Team Championship with Amber O’Neal for the revived Women Of Wrestling promotion in Las Vegas, as well working for numerous other promotions.  Although she has significantly less experience that the majority of the other women in the promotion, she has shown that she is a reliable wrestler that always has crowd support.  Santana qualified for the tournament with a victory over Kimberly on SHINE 9.  In her first match of the night, she will face the winner of the other qualifier featuring Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, Ivelisse Valez, and Kimberly.  Out of the women in the tournament, Santana would be one that winning the belt would do the most to help elevate her as a contender on the independent scene.  There was talk on forums when SHINE was being established for it to be a promotion to help bring local Florida workers to national recognition, and Santana is prime example of how effective that strategy has been.

Ivelisse Valez is one of the most technically sound women in the tournament and one of the most recognizable from her work on WWE’s Tough Enough, Florida Championship Wrestling, and WWE’s NXT.  She has had some of the best matches in the promotion, however, against Athena, Lufisto, and Jazz.  She also increased her value in the company when she aligned herself with Rain and Made In Sin as part of the Valkyrie stable.  She is a ferocious competitor and is very hungry to get the win.  However, Ivelisse is somewhat of a dark horse bet for the tournament.  At SHINE 9, she lost her qualifying match to Jazz.  However, after Jazz had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury, Ivelisse was entered into another qualifying match tonight.  Facing Angelina Love, Awesome Kong, and Kimberly, she definitely has her work cut out for her.  While she is favored to win her qualifier, depending on how far she advances will make for an interesting prospect of seeing a Valkyrie vs Valkyrie final.  Would Ivelisse step back and her stable leader take the belt or does she risk shattering the group that has helped her in her rise to the top? Ivelisse has been one of the most talked about participants in the tournament, and personally, she is my pick for the gold. 

A Look at OVW Wrestling

One thing I want to do on my blog is to not only take a look at individual wrestlers, but also promotions that regularly feature women's matches.  There are a lot of promotions that feature solid women's wrestling.  Ohio Valley Wrestling, in my opinion, has always been one of the middle of the road promotions.

Over the years, Ohio Valley Wrestling has been home to a number of women that would go on to be very successful in the industry.  From women like Beth Phoenix and ODB to Serena Deeb and Katie Lea, the women division has been start studded before they were stars.  OVW is also able to claim experience as a training facility for both of the major US wrestling promotions, WWE and TNA.  

Established in 2006, the OVW Women's Championship has been held by 20 women.  The current champion is Trina Thompson.  I haven't been able to find many of her matches online, only three from OVW.  From what I have seen, it appears that she is still fairly early in her training.  She doesn't seem to have to ring awareness that some of the other women have.  But, I have to give her props.  The first match I saw of her, versus Epiphany airing April 20, 2013, she nearly had a wardrobe malfunction.  Since then, I haven't noticed attire issues.  

Supporting the champion, there are a few fairly notable names, Taeler Hendrix, Josette Bynum, and The Blossom Twins, which have all been seen on Impact Wrestling.  These are probably the four best women currently on the roster.  Taeler has been a staple of the division's focus for quite a while.  Josette has taken more of an administrative role, so we aren't seeing much of her in the ring.  Hannah and Holly have just returned from the TNA British Bootcamp competition, making their return in a tag match against Nikki St. John and Lovely Lylah.  Heidi Lovelace has also been working OVW for the last several months with a 2 month stint as the strap holder.  

The best thing going on in OVW right now is definitely the storyline between Taeler Hendrix and Heidi Lovelace.  Ringbelles did a great write up of the story, so I don't want to go into a lot of detail.  It will be very interesting to see how the story plays out.  While I have known about Heidi Lovelace for quite a while, I was never a fan.  For some reason, I just couldn't get into her.  But watching her on OVW has changed my mind.  Although she isn't in my top women to watch, I think there is something interesting about her and I am curious to see where she goes.  

The bad.....well, maybe not bad.....The not so good part of OVW is the talent in their division.  It is spotty at best.  There are some women who can put on a solid match and then there are some women that I think need a lot more work. Taeler, Josette, Blossoms, Heidi, and Jessi Belle are all pretty reliable in the ring.  I have seen many matches with all of these girls that was solid.  But when you put them in the ring with women like Epiphany, Trina, Lovely Lylah, Nikki St. John, December, Scarlet Bordeaux, etc the matches suffer.  Epiphany has been with OVW for a long time, since 2008.  She definitely has a presence about about her, but her work in the ring is lacking.  I can't tell if its that she needs bigger women to work with or if she is just in need of training.  After watching her matches, I'm always left with a feeling of confusion.  Nikki & December are not regulars with OVW and I have heard positive things about them from other promotions.  Only time will tell with them in OVW.  

I'm assuming that Trina and Lylah are both still learning their craft....at least I hope so.  I have only seen 3 or 4 match from each, but I have been less than impressed with what I'm seeing.  Their match together on April 27th.....well.....yeah.

I'm going to leave you with my favorite OVW Women's match to date.  This match took place on December 23, 2006 between two women who would go on to become champions in other promotions.  Beth Phoenix took on the the Champion Katie Lea for the OVW Women's Championship in a Ladder Match.  

Overall rating for the division (out of 5 belts):