If you can tell where that quote is from, I'll be highly impressed! (It's from a television show.) As I write this, this is the last week before SHIMMER weekend. A precious time that comes twice a year where female wrestling fans congregate in the town known as Berwyn, Illinois; a small town of around 54,000, quiet, not too far away from the larger Chicago. A town that has (hopefully) come to accept the band of people that come from locations all over the world to see the very best in wrestling over a weekend. Perhaps, one might equate it to the pilgrimage all Muslims are required to make once in their life, a journey to the holy city of Mecca called the Hajj. Berwyn is our Mecca, and at least once in your life (if you are a SHIMMER fan), you must make at least one journey. Be warned, however - once you go, you will find yourself coming back as much as time and finances allow.
Through SHIMMER, I discovered other places that support and nuture female wrestling such as Women Superstars Uncensored, nCw Femme Fatales, Pro-Wrestling, EVE, Anarchy Championship Wrestling and others. However, maybe it is because it was the first promotion I found, or perhaps it is because it is the only one (so far) I have attended live, but SHIMMER remains my favourite promotion. There are several reasons for this, other than the ones I listed.
Although only running two shows (four DVD volume tapings) a year, the shows are so tightly packed with talent that every match is superb. Sure, there's the occasional match that isn't five stars, but I can honestly say I have never seen a bad match. Neither have I seen a 3 minute match, nor have I seen a match filled with botches to the point where it is painful to watch. The cards are stacked with women who either have years of experience, or women who may not have a lot of experience under their belts but they seize the opportunity to showcase what they have learned so far, and to learn from the veterans that are at the shows. In short - every woman is at SHIMMER or SPARKLE because they truly want to be there. They have trained, worked hard, compiled their work and sent it in hoping to get a shot. On the shows I have seen in person, no one phones it in.
In SHIMMER, you have dream matches that Dave Prazak puts together. The cards are always tightly held secrets, minus one or two announced beforehand, so the crowd is kept guessing until the music hits. I like that. I want to be surprised, to let the anticipation build until the big reveal. It's one of the best parts about the shows. Dave knows the matches we want to see. He's one of the bookers who listens to the fans and does what he can to deliver. Which, I daresay, he's done a fantastic job in the years that SHIMMER has been operating. He's brought together names that have never competed before anywhere else in the world. Each time he has made enough money off ticket and DVD sales to continue to bring in international talent. Yet he doesn't overlook talent that trains and works hard in the United States either. In SHIMMER we have the best of both worlds. So far, it's been a "Who's Who" of names. This time, not only do we get (in addition to the established names) the return of the Knight Dynasty (Saraya & Britani Knight) and four out of the five previous Joshis (Ayumi Kurihara, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ayako Hamada & Tomoka Nakagawa), but we also get recent SHIMMER academy graduate Veda Scott, west coast competitor Davina Rose, as well as Japanese sensations Kana, Hailey Hatred and Yumi Okha. Dave has said there are still more names to come...
Where else are you going to find a show like this? It literally makes a fan salivate at the endless possibilities of who might face who.
One criticism I have heard about SHIMMER is the lack of storylines. However, I think if you make this comment you either haven't followed SHIMMER closely or you are taking a superficial look at it. For instance, a few of the previous storylines were:
-The Portia Perez/Allison Danger feud that elevated Portia into a first class heel after she re-injured Danger's clavicle, then threatened her when Allison was pregnant.
-The Serena Deeb/Sara Del Rey feud that elevated Serena into main event status. Del Rey never thought Serena deserved to be at the top, but Serena proved her wrong.
-Daffney turning on her protege, Rachel Summerlyn and making her life hell until the "I Quit" match on Volume 36.
The most recent, still on-going storyline, is of course the SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles slow descent into madness. If you have followed events since May 2nd, 2009, then you saw the genesis of this storyline. Now her obsessive, Gollum-like need to keep hold of the SHIMMER title is one of the most fascinating storylines the promotion has. Tied into this is Cheerleader Melissa's quest to work her way back into title contention. Madison is a great actress and I think we've only begun to see how far this particular rabbit hole goes.
So there are plenty of storylines if you have followed along. Make no mistake, however, there is more of a focus on bringing together people for matches that you would not see anywhere else. Given the fact that the roster keeps growing, more people come from around the world to attend the shows (with no prior knowledge of matches that will happen), and DVD sales are healthy I daresay it's a formula that has proven its success. SHIMMER has grown by leaps and bounds since it's first show on November 6th, 2005. It is the first all-female promotion and its success has paved the way for other all-female promotions to start up. It has proven there is a market for female wrestling.
This will be my third trip to Berwyn and I can honestly say I cannot wait. If you are attending, come say hello! See you there!
No comments:
Post a Comment