What do people think about SHIMMER?, Only respond if you have actually seen a show Options

[Ryan Faulconer]

I'm looking for some feedback on the SHIMMER promotion. Does anyone here watch it at all? Are any of you former/current fans of Japanese women's wrestling? How does SHIMMER match up with present day joshi? Anyone have favourite shows or matches to recommend? I've only seen the ROH matches from their wrestlers.

The joshi that I saw back in 2003 from AtoZ didn't look that much different than what the better ROH/SHIMMER matches end up being. I'd probably put Lacey vs. Sara del Ray from Death By Dishonor V Night 2 and Amazing Kong & Daizee Haze vs. Sara del Ray & Lacey from Man Up better than anything on that AtoZ event with Hamada/Nakanishi. Those two SHIMMER/ROH matches are a lot easier to sit through than some of the 2001 AJW matches I saw on the Scott Leighton comps. The SHIMMER matches didn't have all the frivilous nearfalls that the joshi had at that point.

[Stuttsy]

Never watch joshi, but love the Shimmer concept. I think they might benefit from a little more gimmick and getting more of the girls over as personalities rather than serious straight pure wrestlers. But what they're doing is working for them. Seems a very niche audience as MOST of the people who want to watch women's wrestling really do want to watch the custom barefoot hair pulling type stuff. And some of the money that Shimmer makes is probably a portion of that crowd but its admirable that that's not what they are TRYING to sell. I think Prazak overall has done a tremendously admirable job with the whole deal, as evidenced by the fact that his 4/26 show is completely sold out over 2 months in advance.

[Dan]

I like SHIMMER. I think they book it very solidly, and the wrestling is very basic, in a good way. The roster has some really good talent, and a nice variety, with your young babyfaces (Serena Deeb), your veteran heels (Malia Hosaka, Lexie Fyfe), your ace (Sara Del Rey) and her supporting cast (Haze, MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa, Lacey), and your occasional guest stars and international wrestlers (Sarah Stock). There are very rarely stupid booking decisions, with Del Rey being made to be a monster and never losing, and attempts to elevate women like Cindy Rogers (such as her feud with Allison Danger). The in-ring obviously doesn't hold up to anything you'll see from the heyday of All Japan Women, but in 2008, where women's wrestling in America has probably been damaged by the WWE/WCW/ECW portrayal of them, Prazak and company have done a damn good job in building up a product that is consistent in quality and respected by many.

[Novacain]

I watched the first 8 Shimmer shows, maybe more, but I have the newer one's just need to give them a watch. Shimmer has had some great stuff in there existence, with the top stuff probably the Melissa/MsChif fued, which was just flat out great. I also wouldn't judge what you see of Shimmer in RoH for the company, because it's usually just not as good as the matches run for the promotion. If Shimmer does have a weakness though, it's that there talent is constantly changing. Some of my favorite Shimmer acts, Rebecca Knox (or as I called her, the prodigy. Finding anybody that can go like her on the mat at her age is nearly impossible, male or female), Tiana Ringer, LuFisto, Mercedes Martinez, Nattie Neidhart, Nikita, Shantelle Taylor. All went out from eitheir injury, retirement, or signing with the E, and all of them were over acts when they did. But, the foundation is still there, with Kong, Del Ray, Lacey, Daizee, Nikki, Melissa, MsChif, and Danger is still a very solid base, with Sarah Stock quickly proving as consistant main eventer it would seem. Add in Cindy Rogers, Rain, and Eden Black, who are all solid midcard talents, and Shimmer will probably continue to be consistantly good.

[RyanJ]

I had to get past the normal booking of women's matches mentality- that is, as a specialty attraction- but I really enjoy SHIMMER now. There's a great mix of characters and styles. It also caused me to become a simpering fanboy of Sara Del Rey and Rebecca Knox (who, apparently, wrestled this past month in Ireland, so she may be returning to the ring after all).

[AirRaidCrush]

I like SHIMMER. I think they book it very solidly, and the wrestling is very basic, in a good way. The roster has some really good talent, and a nice variety, with your young babyfaces (Serena Deeb), your veteran heels (Malia Hosaka, Lexie Fyfe), your ace (Sara Del Rey) and her supporting cast (Haze, MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa, Lacey), and your occasional guest stars and international wrestlers (Sarah Stock). There are very rarely stupid booking decisions, with Del Rey being made to be a monster and never losing, and attempts to elevate women like Cindy Rogers (such as her feud with Allison Danger). The in-ring obviously doesn't hold up to anything you'll see from the heyday of All Japan Women, but in 2008, where women's wrestling in America has probably been damaged by the WWE/WCW/ECW portrayal of them, Prazak and company have done a damn good job in building up a product that is consistent in quality and respected by many.

I agree with pretty much everything here. It doesn't compare to the best Joshi you'll find, even the best modern Joshi. Some of the undercard matches (Lorelei Lee being a great example) fall well into the "awful" category, and the booking is often wonky (A Pure Rules match ending in a way that had nothing to do with the rules change, and Sara Del Rey is absolutely awful at long-term selling, which hurts her in Shimmer because their main events go for 15-20 minutes at a minimum), but overall it's a good show. It reminds me more of the old-school wrestling that used to be on TV when I was 10 then it does Joshi puroresu, but that's neither here nor there.

Good product, needs more suplexes and highspots.

[Minoru Special]

Yeah i'd say SHIMMER is much more of a throwback to simplistic/80's style booking/style than Joshi so much.
Although it's clear some of the girls have been watching their Joshi tapes from some of the moves/spots they bust out sometimes.

[Nathan Davis]

I have been impressed with the DVDs I've gotten, but I think some of the undercard needs to be freshened up. I like the main event females (Del Ray, Lacey, Daizee, Cheerleader Melissa, MsChif and Rain if you consider her a main eventer in SHIMMER) more than most of the females lower down the totem pole.

I do think SHIMMER suffers from the fact that when it's brought up in ROH, it seems to revolve solely around the triangle of Del Ray, Daizee and Lacey. They might mix it up every once in a while, adding a Mercedes Martinez or an Amazing Kong or a Nikki Roxx. But by and large, the people that they're trying to get to move over, the ROH audience, is treated to the same three time and again.

I do like the format of running every few months.

[D_D]

I stopped following it around Volume 7 or 8. To me it's not worth the money sitting through the god awful undercard to get to the 1 or 2 good matches they run a show.

[djhaigh]

Malia Hosaka is probably the best heel in the country.

[JobGuyMatt]

I've seen a few Shimmer shows and there's nothing to complain about really. The main cast of characters (Lacey,Daizee, SDR, Rain) are really entertaining.

[J.H.]

I love Shimmer but man do I miss Rebecca Knox. She was the heel who really stood out to me. If not for injury she could';ve been Shimmer's Ric Flair!
(BTW has there been a more recent update on Knox health?)

Knox aside, Shimmer continues to find a place with me. Sara is a great fun champ but they need to spend the next few Volumes building up someone as a threat to her before we get Sara/Melissa for the title.

James

[AirRaidCrush]

Malia Hosaka is probably the best heel in the country.

TRUTH.


WWE was nuts for cutting her loose. I can't believe she doesn't get more indie bookings. I never liked her much before, but age has made her a much better performer.

[Dan]

Wait, when was Malia Hosaka with the WWE?

As for Knox, I heard she's training for a comeback, and may have wrestled in Ireland very recently.

[AirRaidCrush]

Malia Hosaka was under contract in the late 90's, apparently. Details are on wikipedia and her own website. She was a fan plant for a planned angle with Ivory, but they pulled the plug on it. Damn shame, really.

Rebecca Knox is indeed wrestling again, in her native land. According to some guy who messaged her on Myspace (so this is like eight kinds of hearsay) she says she won't be touring in the near future.

[Kyle Casey]

I've seen the first few DVD's of SHIMMER, and I think it's a lot of fun. There are some really good heels there, like Team Blondage and Lacey. Given the right audience, I really think those three could cause a riot. It's also really weird to see Beth Phoenix's character in SHIMMER, compared to what she is in WWE. I can't wait to see Malia Hosaka, as I've always been a bit of a mark for her. Thumbs up.

[sievetronix]

I wish they would run more shows, maybe tour a little every 3 mos to long to build up HATRED.
Aside from MsChif/Melissa I cannot thing of any angles or stories that were memorable.

[AirRaidCrush]

I wish they would run more shows, maybe tour a little every 3 mos to long to build up HATRED.
Aside from MsChif/Melissa I cannot thing of any angles or stories that were memorable.

You must have missed the Allison Danger/Cindy Rogers thing, then.

[sievetronix]

I wish they would run more shows, maybe tour a little every 3 mos to long to build up HATRED.
Aside from MsChif/Melissa I cannot thing of any angles or stories that were memorable.

You must have missed the Allison Danger/Cindy Rogers thing, then.

yea i did.

HATRED is always good.

[MarkGotch]

I havent seen any joshi, but I've actually just downloaded my first joshi show, AJW Dreamslam 2 I think it is called.

I've seen Shimmer Volumes 1, 6 and 8. I'm glad it exists and I really like the concept and I'll also agree that the in ring work could be better. I won't annoy you with words I dont fully understand like 'psychology' and 'pacing' but many of the matches I've seen from Shimmer do not look like contests, but move exhibitions. I think Cheerleader Melissa and MsChif are the most talented athletes in shimmer by a landslide.