SHIMMER is my crack cocaine, and Ive been jonesing for a hit.

Yeah, its been a depressingly long time since a new SHIMMER DVD dropped through my door. Vol 5 was reviewed on this site as far back as October, and as per the regular six week gap between volumes, this show should have been out before Christmas. However, with production stepping up on the ROH releases, poor old SHIMMER had to take a back seat  necessitating this release to be knocked back basically for a month. In the time between the release of Vol 5 & Vol 6, the womens wrestling world was rocked by the freak injury to Rebecca Knox, which has put her on the sidelines indefinitely with cranial nerve damage  as a result, her match against Allison Danger is the final appearance of The K-Nox on this series, at least until her injury is fully healed. Vol 6 of the series was taped as far back as May 21, 2006 at the now traditional Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL. Incredible that this footage has been in the can for eight months yet bizarrely, with production continuing at the normal rate, well have Vols 7 & 8 in our hands before SHIMMERs next taping date of April 7, where theyll do Vols 9 & 10. Enough of the preamble  lets get this baby fired up!

We kick off with a backstage promo by Allison Danger where she runs down the hostilities between herself and Rebecca Knox (stemming from their match on Vol 3), and the Knox/Haze feud from Vols 4 & 5  and explains the ROH style Pure Wrestling Rules match shes got planned for Knox on this disc. She puts over Nigel McGuinness and says that she and Nigel have come up with a strategy for the match. This was pretty intense stuff  and probably the closest thing to a money promo SHIMMER has produced to date.

Amber ONeal vs Serena Deeb

This is very interesting for me. I had pegged Amber as a tag team specialist, having enjoyed her work alongside Krissy Vaine in Team Blondage on Vol 1 immensely, but having been utterly underwhelmed by her singles work on Vols 2, 3 & 4. Then, incredibly, she absolutely blew me away on Vol 5 with a really fantastic little match with Serena Deeb, ending in a messy, tights-assisted rollup win. Here we have the rematch  so lets see whether these two can pull it off again. Amber clearly loves her gimmick, as shes singing the words to her theme music and making faces at the audience. As noted previously, Serena is an OVW trainee, though not on WWE developmental just yet. The first impression of the disc is that theyve responded to comments that Prazak and Dangers commentary is quite low in the mix by ramping them right up this time. This one is a match of two halves. When Amber is on top, doing the deliberately paced heel beatdown stuff, its great  and Ambers character shines through. However, they seem to be working on entirely different pages when it comes to the execution of moves, as pretty much everything they tried looked pretty dodgy. Dont get me wrong, everything was hit, but some of the stuff looked to veer just on the right side of botched. The finish came out of the blue when Amber suplexed Serena, and tried to float over, only for Serena to hook Ambers leg and keep her rolled up for the pin. Amber is furious after the match. So yeah, this was OK. Not as enjoyable as their match on Vol 5, and I didnt really come out of this one seeing a lot in Serena.

The Experience & Amazing Kong vs Ariel, Josie & Cindy Rogers

The Experience are Lexie Fyfe and Malia Hosaka  two of the baddest bitches in SHIMMER  and theyre joined by the frankly terrifying Amazing Kong to take on the undercard trio of Ariel, Josie and Cindy Rogers. What a weird combination. For some reason, I have a mental picture of former WCW Six-Man champs Dustin Rhodes, Big Josh & Z-Man  just a totally random collection of babyfaces. Well, I say random, but Ariel & Josie were victims of The Experience on the last show, so theyve got a score to settle. I cant help but think that theyre going to get horribly murdered again though. Ariel looks like she knows it too, as she glances warily at the opponents and sure enough, when Amazing Kong starts for her team, Ariel (who had been planning to start for her team) tags out to Josie. Josie comes in, has a look  then tags out to Cindy Rogers. Nice touch. It actually takes all three women to get Kong off her feet  not that it matters, because Kong is a destruction machine. When Kong tags out (through choice), the babyfaces get a little bit of joy working on Hosaka, and to a lesser extent Fyfe  but before long, Josie gets isolated for an extended beatdown, which included getting stretched by Fyfe and kicked by Hosaka. Funnily enough, when Josie makes the hot tag and Ariel & Rogers come in, theyre snuffed out pretty quickly and taken to the outside  leaving Josie to be the recipient of The Experiences double Gourdbuster, and Kongs Amazing Press (splash from the second turnbuckle) for the academic three. This was fine stuff, but couldve been shorter  just to emphasise how much more dominant Kong & The Experience are. Kong wasnt finished either, as she assaulted Rogers & Ariel afterwards too, just for kicks. Kongs Japanese schedule means that she might not make every set of tapings (she missed Vols 7 & 8, for example), but Id very much like to see her moved into the main event level scene. Okay, so shes dominant against the B-Teamers  but whats she going to do against Sara Del Rey or Cheerleader Melissa, for example?

Nikki Roxx vs Lorelei Lee

Everyone sees a lot of upside in Nikki Roxx. Prazak has her earmarked as a top name in SHIMMERs future, Sheldon Goldberg recently had her as the champion in his WWW promotion, and she even debuted in ROH in 2006. Given her gutsy performance against the immense Amazing Kong on Vol 5, I really started to see it  and its a little bit disappointing that shes not being tested on this Volume. Lorelei Lee is the likeable cowgirl, but shes pretty far down the SHIMMER food chain, so I expect this battle of the babyfaces to be over quickly. Something funny happens during the ring introductions which the editing stops us seeing  but the audience crease up laughing. This is all friendly competition, with each girl applauding the other and so on. The first little bit of personality comes when Lorelei tries a handspring elbow  not even from a running start, either. Suffice to say it looked bad, and Roxx had long since moved out of the way. As she gets back to her feet, Roxx shakes her head at the crowd, as if to say What the hell was she trying to do with that?! Theres not a lot to say about this one, a fact that is underlined by Prazak and Danger, who spend most of it talking about the big matches coming up later, the upcoming debuts of Nattie Neidhart and LuFisto, and pimping Lorelei Lees side project, a sports nutrition website. Apparently if you go to www.2good2be.com, enter your email address and use the password trainhard, you can get free information. The match was fairly competitive, but Roxx wraps it up with the Barbie Crusher for the three. This match had the distinct impression of being a match between the two people who had no opponents once everyone else was matched up, rather than being a matchup that was specifically booked for a reason, and it didnt really do a lot for either woman. Roxx gets her chance to move into the main event scene in Vol 7 though, as she takes on Lacey  so Im looking forward to that one immensely.

That essentially finishes the undercard section of the show, as we now move in to the feature matches.

Daizee Haze vs Nikita

Having seen her perform in person recently, I can confirm that Daizee Haze is the most adorable and likeable performer Ive ever seen  but thats hardly news. The SHIMMER sweetheart has been wowing audiences since day 1  more often than not main eventing the Volumes, in fact. Nikita is someone Im quite familiar with from the UK scene, and she got over really well on Vol 5 against Lacey in a match that was actually far better than I thought it might have been, so shes very popular here too. Haze is flower-less, sadly. At least some of the fans brought flowers instead. This is, as noted by Dave Prazak, a first time anywhere match, and like the previous match is another all-babyface match. Or at least it started that way  until Nikita blindsided Daizee after a handshake and went into aggressive mode. This shocked me, because Ive never seen Nikita work heel before. Shes surprisingly good at it though, as she adopts a steely demeanour and proceeds to dominate young Daizee. Its impossible to not rally behind The Haze  everything she does to try and come back just screams desperation, and if it doesnt touch you, youve got to be dead inside. She even takes time while selling to reach out to slap hands with a ringsider, as if their support will help her come back. Now *thats* good babyface work. Nikita reverses out of a heart punch attempt a couple of times, hitting a Northern Lights Suplex of her own. For her part, Daizee avoids Nikitas uranage backbreaker, before modifying a crucifix into a sunset flip (with roll through) for the three count. Great little match which not only showcased Daizees underdog fire, but also let Nikita play heel  a side of her Id not seen, and a side of her shes clearly in touch with.

This was Nikitas second (and last) SHIMMER appearance, as she signed with WWE developmental soon afterwards. Shes currently in OVW as the womens champion, under the name Katie Lea.

Allison Danger vs Rebecca Knox (Pure Wrestling Rules)

The backstory for this match is that Knox defeated Danger on Vol 3, thanks in no small part to the Fit Finlay injury spot, which established Knox as a heel. Knox then went on to beat Daizee Haze 2/3 falls on Vol 5 using the ropes in both her winning falls  so Danger challenged Knox to a Pure Wrestling Rules match, where  after three rope breaks  ropes are legal. See?

This is kinda strange seeing new Knox footage, considering her injury  but regardless, I watch her entrance with the widest grin I can possibly muster. Shes such a performer. She is, as ever, APPALLED that the fans arent cheering for her. The first point of note is that Prazak has a guest co-commentator for this match  Daffney, of all people. She is non-committal as to whether shes going to join the SHIMMER roster, but puts over the product as the best womens wrestling in the land. Danger takes an Irish flag from the crowd and blows her nose into it. OH~! Now, I loved their match on Vol 3, thanks in no small part to the slick matwork that often peppers Knox matches. It was a wrestling clinic, and this match starts just the same. One might argue that going out and exchanging wristlocks isnt exactly playing up the heated rivalry between the two, nor does it make it seem like Danger is really pissed at Knox  but in this case I didnt mind one bit, because of the psychology of the rules. Danger wants to outwrestle Knox, force her to use three rope breaks, and then do to her what she did to Haze and use the ropes against her. Besides, with closed fists in Pure rules matches leading to warnings and then to the loss of rope breaks, Danger cant just start punching Knox in the head, as much as shed like to. So, we get intense matwork and submissions. Speaking of punches, Knox punches Danger, and Danger retaliates  but referee Bryce Remsburg only saw Dangers punch so she gets a warning. As he turns his back to explain that to the announcer, Knox punches Danger again, and Danger retaliates again, just as Bryce turns back round  so Danger gets penalised a rope break! Nice spot. The match builds really well, as Knox throws in a few suplexes, and once Danger has no more rope breaks, she uses the ropes like a pro, both to add leverage to submission attempts, and to assist on pinfalls. With both girls having lost all their rope breaks, Danger tries a high cross body, but momentum takes her over and Knox gets the three count. Wow! Clean as a whistle! Thats a pretty unexpected finish. After all Knoxs shenanigans and her cheat to win philosophy from the last three volumes, she pulls out a clean win when her back was to the wall! Great match, with strong psychology, strong work and strong characters. Knox makes Bryce raise her hand several times after the match. Its clear that Knox was going to become SHIMMERs #1 poster child, given the strength of her booking, and the planned Iron Woman match for Vol 7 (which was scuppered when Knox went down with injury) could and should have been a defining moment for both the competitors and the promotion in general. Still, we can but hope that Rebecca will make a full recovery from her cranial nerve injury, and that we can get the Knox vs Haze marathon match some time soon. Until then, thanks for everything, Rebecca, and best wishes.

Sara Del Rey & Mercedes Martinez vs The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew

Finally  after five volumes  weve got the opportunity to see Lacey & Rain team up as The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew. Their opponents are Mercedes Martinez & Sara Del Rey  rivals themselves, having delivered a couple of cracking matches against each other in Vols 1 & 5. Their rivalry is far from over, as a matter of fact, as they were trying to agree to a third match when they were challenged by Lacey at the end of Vol 5. The Crew are in matching outfits, and take delight in bitching out everyone in sight. This match is totally old school in its formula, and thats what makes it so great. Ive been watching a fair bit of early 90s WCW recently, and one of the things that really stuck out was just how great the matches with the Dangerous Alliance, the Steiners, Williams & Gordy and Windham & Rhodes were, and how the art of good heavyweight tag team wrestling has been almost completely lost in the 21st century. Oh, sure you get the lighter weight guys like Aries & Strong, Kendrick & London, The Briscoes and The Hardyz, who do high-paced, high risk stuff  but very rarely do you see a well worked, old school tag match any more. Well, thats exactly what this was, Im happy to say. Del Rey & Martinez overwhelmed The MHWC in the early going, before the Crew cut off and isolated Del Rey for 90% of the rest of the match, using their tag team experience. Big credit goes to Lacey & Rain for really stepping up their game against Del Rey, who is kind of established by this point as the ace of SHIMMER, following an undefeated run of outstanding performances on all volumes to date. Del Rey eventually comes back, almost snapping Rain in half with a powerbomb, before making the hot tag. Martinez shows her Latina heat  oh, for about a minute, until she gets cut off by Lacey & Rain. Rain delivers a chest first Lung Blower, then Lacey delivers a regular one for a near fall. A few seconds later, a misplaced kick by Del Rey hits Martinez, leaving Martinez to be hit by Laceys implant DDT for the three! Formulaic as you like, but a fantastic tag team match, displaying the Minnesota duos mastery of the tag team scene. Both have fallen in singles competition several times, but together they are stronger  knocking off two of SHIMMERs MVPs to date. Martinez is hot at Del Rey afterwards, agreeing to a third match in their series.

Cheerleader Melissa vs MsChif (Last Woman Standing)

We get all the backstory in this one by way of clips from Vol 1 (their first meeting), Vol 3 (Melissa costs MsChif against Lexie Fyfe), Vol 4 (Falls count anywhere rematch), ROH Supercard Of Honor (MsChif mists Melissa in a SHIMMER Six Way) and Vol 5 (MsChif costs Melissa against Allison Danger and the subsequent pullapart brawl). Shame they couldnt have stuck some footage in there of their feud continuing at Chick Fight 4 in San Francisco too, because this has been without doubt my favourite feud of 2006, spanning as it did, several promotions and produced cracking matches each time. Im also really pleased that this time theyve got main event billing.

For those who have seen their match on Vol 4, this picks up exactly where that left off, with crowd brawling, ridiculously painful looking submissions and the creative use of chairs. Both girls were wrapping their opponents around chairs in ways Ive never even conceived. On commentary, Danger even gets in a break her back, make her humble Sheik reference to a nasty looking chair-assisted Camel Clutch. One thing I criticised from a production standpoint on Vol 5 was that the hall was too dark, and that is the same problem here (well, it would be  this was taped the same day), so when the girls are brawling through the crowd, its just too dark. At least during one extended crowd brawl, someone found the light switch and flicked it on, which improved the view immensely. The rules for the match are simply that you must incapacitate your opponent to the point where they cant answer a ten count. None of this pin them first nonsense here, thank you very much. Melissa tried the Kudo Driver several times, but couldnt apply the move. She did come within half a second of winning with a neckbreaker drop, after placing MsChif on the top turnbuckle, though. The folding chair was the difference maker in Vol 4, as Melissa used it to add to the agony of the kick yourself in your own head cloverleaf, and the chair came into play to finish this one too, as MsChif flipped out of a Kudo Driver attempt and hit the Desecrator DDT on the chair, Melissa couldnt get back up, and MsChif won this stunning match. Im not sure it was any better than the Vol 4 match (Vol 4 had them brawling outside into the street, MsChif spitting mist, Melissa trapping MsChif in the stage and the crazy spot with the big skateboard), but it was a great follow up, befitting the intense feud between the two. Post match, a glassy eyed and staggering Melissa makes her way to the back to a huge Melissa chant, as Danger puts over how much respect and admiration Melissa has earned from this feud. No kidding.

Wrapping up the release, Prazak announces that any third match in the Del Rey/Martinez series will have to wait, since on Vol 7, Sara Del Rey will face Nattie Neidhart, whilst Mercedes Martinez will face The First Lady Of Hardcore LuFisto. Meanwhile Nikki Roxx cuts a promo explaining that shes headed for the main events, and Rebecca Knox cuts an awesome promo, quite simply putting over herself. She denies cheating to beat anyone shes clean as a whistle, sharp as a thistle, and warns that future opponents will be going home in a bojangle. Now thats a threat~!

But wait, theres more. Weve got two bonus SHIMMER matches from October 21 at the Eagles Club in Berwyn from an AAW show. These were taped the night before the tapings for Vol 7 & 8, and feature both of the new names being brought in for those tapings.

LuFisto vs Josie

LuFisto is the aforementioned First Lady of Hardcore, but theres no need for any hardcore stuff here  she simply beats Josie in about five minutes with some good strong style wrestling, capped off with an Emerald Frosien. Theres not a lot else to say, other than to point out that LuFisto has recently had similarly bad news as Rebecca Knox, and shes announced an extended sabbatical (possibly retirement) due to back injuries so sadly Vols 7 & 8 will be probably be all we get to see of her.

Dangerous Angels vs Cheerleader Melissa & Nattie Neidhart

The Dangerous Angels are Allison Danger, and the American Angel Sara Del Rey in what appears on its surface to be a hell of a team. This is Natties debut in SHIMMER competition, teaming alongside someone I had hoped shed get to face in the promotion, Cheerleader Melissa. Nattie and Melissa had a blinder of a match in Canadas SuperGirls promotion, but never had that rematch that I craved. Much like LuFisto, Nattie wont be around for anything further than Vols 7 & 8, though her circumstances are much happier in that shes recently signed her WWE developmental deal. Nattie is barely on screen for a minute before she looks at the camera, shouts Yeah baby! and does the Anvil Laugh. Whooo! Screw developmental, I want this woman on Raw now! The match is really rather good, which is hardly surprising considering the various storylines in the match  its the first time in SHIMMER that the two West Coast-ers Del Rey and Melissa have crossed paths, its a chance for Melissa to get revenge on Danger for beating her on Vol 5, and its a preview of the Del Rey/Neidhart match for Vol 7. Nattie has a really weird charisma going for her, which makes me think that shell be a real hit in WWE on her own merit, and not just on her surname. The storyline of the match had Melissa & Neidhart work on Dangers knee, and that played into the finish, as Melissa locked in the cloverleaf for the submission, while Nattie kept Sara occupied outside the ring. A pretty darn good little tag match.

And so there we have it  the curtain falls on another SHIMMER volume, and its another thumbs up for match quality. There opening three matches were hovering around the average mark, but once they hit the stars in the final four matches of the taping, there was no looking back.

Were now entering a crucial phase in the development of SHIMMER, as all of a sudden theres a mini crisis. Nikita has been picked up by WWE (this was her last match for the promotion), as has Nattie Neidhart (shell be gone in two volumes time), making them the fourth and fifth SHIMMER alumni who have been signed by WWE. Rebecca Knox is out (this was her finale), as is LuFisto (who will finish up at Vol 8), both through injury, and in both cases it is conceivable that theyll never return. Mercedes Martinez needs shoulder surgery, so although shes around for Vols 7 & 8, shell miss the tapings for Vols 9 & 10 at least. Each one of those girls could be considered as viable main event level talent for the promotion, and as the group get ready for their next scheduled taping in April, there is no doubt that talent like that will be missed when trying to put together a DVD that will sell to the masses. There is still the core group of drawing cards (Daizee, Lacey, Danger, Del Rey, Melissa, MsChif, and to a lesser extend Rain & Roxx), but then there is quite a gulf between those girls and the rest of the roster, in my opinion. The interesting thing is not only who Prazak will bring in (and there are a good number of talented women waiting for their opportunity), but how he can make both them and the existing undercard roster members into people we can care about and are willing to put down our money to see. For now at least, SHIMMER remains the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Grab one at the ROH shop.

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