I’ve decided to switch it up a little bit with this review by focusing on the Chicago based, all women’s organization, Shimmer. This release is just a DVD removed from the crowning of the first Shimmer champion Sara Del Rey. Will her first defense be her last when she takes on the woman she defeated to win the title, Lacey? And most importantly, will Shimmer Vol. 14 be Worth Your Money?

Shimmer Volume 14

Inverness, FL

Rebecca Bayless is with Lacey, the woman who will take on Shimmer champion Sara Del Rey in Del Rey’s first title defense. Lacey blames the referees for her losses in Shimmer, and tonight her luck will change in Shimmer’s Florida debut.

Amber O’Neal vs. Portuguese Princess Ariel

This show is held in the same auditorium where Graham’s Florida Championship Wrestling used to be taped. Amber does the “stuck up blonde that you’d see in those high school movies” gimmick. This leads to some heat getting stalling by O’Neal before going for the eyes and throat of a frustrated Ariel. Amber was able to lock in a front guillotine that nearly made Ariel tap out. Amber got a kick out of listening to the ref’s count as she pulled back on Ariel’s hair. Ariel was able to turn a cross body block into a slam, giving the Princess the momentum needed to hit the Ace Crusher to pin O’Neal. Amber has a temper tantrum after realizing her loss.

Two Out Of Three Falls match: Allison Danger vs. Cindy Rogers

Rogers and Danger have been at each other’s throats for a quite a while up to this point. The last two matches (a street fight and a chain match) were brutal.

Fall One : The first fall lasts all of ten seconds as Rogers grabs Danger with a cradle, and a handful of tights, to pick up the lead.

Fall Two : Both women went hold for hold, searching for a body part to work over. Rogers just went up and down Danger’s body, going from the legs, to the back, to the arms. This worked really well for Rogers, who had Danger on the verge of tapping in several unique submission holds. Danger made a quick comeback after breaking free of one of those submissions, getting the pin after hitting the Shimmering Warlock (her version of the shining wizard) to even the score.

Fall Three : Both women were drenched in sweat from the humid Florida air as the third fall began. Cindy slowed down the match, taking a breather while luring Danger into an attack. In one of the most amazing submissions I’ve ever seen, Rogers tied Danger’s legs before turning Danger over, forcing her into the air, putting Danger in a front guillotine/inverted Indian deathlock combo. It wasn’t enough to stop Danger, who came roaring back with that spinning neck breaker over the knee. Danger’s explosive nature cost her as she got caught in a grapevine dragon sleeper. Danger tried to fight her way to the ropes, but passed out before she could, giving Rogers the victory.

Becky Bayless was with Serena Deeb’s opponent for the evening, Malia Hosaka of The Experience. Malia feels this is was homecoming, as she had competed in this building many years ago against the likes of former WWE Women’s champion Wendi Richter. Hosaka felt tonight would be just an easy schooling for Deeb.

Lexie Fyfe vs. Daffney

Lexie is the second half of The Experience, while Daffney is still screaming like she’s still in WCW. Even being from Tampa, Lexie can’t get anything but boos. Daffney calls Lexie a dinosaur before stating she looks like a T-Rex. The match starts off all fun and games, but Lexie quickly ends the laughter, using her T-Rex body to squash and slam Daffney around the ring. Daffney tried to make a comeback, but took a bad drop on her left leg, giving Fyfe an easy target to make Daffney tap out. Lexie’s partner Malia Hosaka came out to help Fyfe beat up the fallen Daffney. Serena Deeb and MsChif ran out to make the save, leading to…

Serena Deeb vs. Malia Hosaka

Deeb, after getting the jump on Hosaka, dominated the experienced one. It wasn’t until Hosaka went for the eyes did she ground Serena. From there, Hosaka just did about everything she could think of, from hair pulls to senton splashes. But none of it kept Deeb down for the three count. Deeb, with her right shoulder hurting from the attack, used her legs and knees to make a comeback. Hosaka tried to counter an Irish whip into a cross body, but Serena avoided it, spearing Hosaka on the rebound to pin the experienced Malia.   

Nikki Roxx (TNA’s Roxxi) was with Rebecca Bayless to talk about her upcoming rematch with Amazing (Awesome) Kong. Nikki promised to be the first to defeat Kong in her Shimmer tenure.

Rain vs. Cheerleader Melissa

Rain is the former Payton Banks in TNA. Rain is also one half of the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew with Lacey. Melissa is Raesha Saed in TNA, but we’ve seen her recently wrestle under the moniker that made her famous. Rain tried to stall her way to an advantage for the first five minutes of the match. When the action finally picked up some speed, it became a game of hold/counter hold. Melissa seemingly won the game with a Haas of pain that had Melissa’s boot placed firmly on the back of her head. Rain was able to hit the lung blower (a front back cracker), followed by several knees while bellowing a long, “Yeaaaahhhh!” Rain’s focus turned to Melissa’s back, punishing her with several dropkicks to that area of the body. Melissa refused to be denied, exploding off the ropes with a clothesline, then a series dropkicks. When Melissa got her in a submission, Rain grabbed the ropes to break it. Rain didn’t want to let go, so Melissa made her by turning Rain’s position into the curb stomp. Thankfully for Rain she was still near the ropes to break up the pin. Melissa, as were the fans, was in shock when Rain hit the back cracker out of the corner for a near fall. Melissa powered off the mat, using the Air Raid Crash to pin Rain.

MsChif vs. Daizee Haze

MsChif immediately scared the referee off of his feet by screaming at him. It was a loud scream, too. I would’ve hit the mat for sure. For over ten minutes, these two grappled for an advantage. Submission against submission, pin against pin, these two Midwest stars were in a physical stalemate. It wasn’t until Daizee used MsChif own double stomps to the back in the corner against her did “The Haze” gain the momentum in this contest. Daizee dipped into her, and MsChif’s, repertoire to put some pain in that lower back and neck. MsChif decided to pay Haze back by using her peace, love, and purple haze combo, topping it off with the running knee strike in the corner. Daizee wouldn’t be stopped though, turning the tides with a super hurricarana, followed by a face buster/senton splash combo. MsChif, desperate, began using Haze’s stuff, such as the Daizee Cutter and the Heart Punch. Daizee paid MsChif back by nearly taking the pin with Code Green after missing the Yakuza Kick. Even after all of the big moves, it was a simple head scissors into a cradle that pinned MsChif to the mat. Much respect was shown between the two after the match.

We get highlights of Nikki Roxx getting destroyed by Amazing Kong from Volume 5.

Amazing Kong vs. Nikki Roxx

Kong immediately grabs a chair upon entering the ring, like she really needs one. Kong weighs in at, “none of your damn business.” Learning from her last match, Nikki realizes that the only way to stumble Kong is to get the jump on her. But even with the hit and run tactics, Nikki couldn’t contend with the power, or head scissors, of Kong. Kong, seeing that she had everything under control, just toyed with Roxx. This would come back to haunt Kong, getting caught in a sleeper hold. Kong broke free of the hold, crushing the referee in the process. With no official, Kong began to beat Roxx with chairs. By the time the ref got up, Kong had done a lot of damage. Somehow, even after the implant buster, Roxx was able to block the Awesome Bomb, small packing Kong. Roxx blocked the amazing press, sending Kong to the floor before using the steel ring post to her advantage. Kong’s right arm was caught between the post and Roxx, giving Nikki something to work on. Instead of staying with the arm, Nikki began hitting any big move she could think of, including the polish hammer and the stunner. This weakened Kong enough for Roxx to actually body slam Kong. It’s the female version of Hogan/Andre. But that slam took just as much out of Roxx as it did Kong, allowing Kong to come back with the spinning back fist. Kong came off the middle rope, crushing Roxx with the amazing press to remain undefeated in Shimmer.

Shimmer title: Sara Del Rey (c) vs. Lacey

Like their match in the finals of the Shimmer Title Tournament, Del Rey and Lacey jockeyed for an advantage. Lacey complained several times that the champ was cheating by turning her holds into chokes. Del Rey didn’t complain when Lacey cheated, just deciding to make her pay by punishing her on the mat. Lacey tried to stall Del Rey into frustration, but got stretched instead. Lacey’s game plan was not working as everything she did ended with her being put in a submission. The frustration turned into anger as Lacey just slapped the taste of the champ’s mouth. Not realizing this, Lacey just angered Del Rey more, causing Lacey to get Yakuza kicked before being put in the Gory special. Lacey was able to save herself, knocking Sara to the floor. Before Sara could reenter, Lacey came through the ropes with a baseball slide that sent Del Rey into the guardrails, breaking the locks that held the rails together. When Lacey was able to get Del Rey back in, she focused on the lower back of the champ before moving to the legs, putting Del Rey in the Boston crab. In between legal moves, Lacey used the ropes to choke Sara. Sara tried to fight back, but was taken down, put in the cobra clutch. It wasn’t enough to make Del Rey tap out, but did force the wind out of the champion. The combination of the none air conditioned building and the hot ring lights beaming down on them, both women were drenched in sweat as Del Rey hit her patented Yakuza kick combo. Somehow, Del Rey was able to get Lacey up in the Royal Butterfly, but couldn’t get her over for the slam due to her hurt back. This allowed Lacey to hit the back cracker, but only got a two count. Sara blocked the Implant DDT, going for a moonsault, only to miss. Lacey was in shock when Sara kicked out of the top rope assisted neck breaker. Lacey was so focused on the Implant DDT that she left herself open for the counter into the Royal Butterfly slam. When the slam couldn’t get the pin, Del Rey locked in the Royal Butterfly again, holding her in the submission. Lacey tried to hold on, but couldn’t fight the pain, tapping out.  

Sara Del Rey, battle worn, sits backstage with the Shimmer title belt in her lap. Del Rey proclaims that the Shimmer title is now the most important prize in all of women’s wrestling.

Is It Worth Your Money: Shimmer Vol. 14 continues a solid slew of DVD releases that comes with the company’s name. But, as with most Shimmer shows, this show started off a little slow. The first half of the show was definitely not the strongest part. Even the Two Out of Three Falls match wasn’t as solid as their previous encounters. Thankfully the show shot from mediocrity to a solid Florida debut. MsChif vs. Haze ties with the main event for match of the night. Both matches were technical affairs that had a heated crowd behind them, which always makes for a great show. Kong vs. Roxx and Melissa vs. Rain were solid encounters, but nothing that you’ll be watching over and over again like the two previous matches pointed out. Since this show is really down the middle, and can’t recommend it at full price.   Shimmer Volume 14 Is A Bargain Bin Purchase.