Read the rest of this entry »

DVD REVIEW:
SHIMMER- WOMEN ATHLETES VOL.24

Taped: Saturday, May 2, 2009
http://www.rohwrestling.com/shoponline.asp…
$14.95

Featuring: Awesome Kong, Malia Hosaka, Lexie Fyfe, Amber O’Neal, Mercedes Martinez, Portia Perez, Rain, Sara Del Rey, Cheerleader Melissa, MsChif, Nikki Roxx, Ariel, Allison Danger, Madison Eagles, Daizee Haze, Jetta, LuFisto, Wesna Busic, Ashley Lane, Nevaeh, Jennifer Blake, Serena Deeb, Cat Power, Tenille, Rayna Von Tash, Kellie Skater and Jessie McKay.

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

The full list of the 2009 “PWI Female 50″ has been revealed…

“PWI Female 50″ Rankings
1. Mickie James
2. Angelina Love
3. Melina
4. MsChif
5. Tara
6. Awesome Kong
7. Beth Phoenix
8. Michelle McCool
9. Maryse
10. Taylor Wilde

Read the rest of this entry »

May 2, 2009–SHIMMER Women Athletes – Volume 23 Tapings

SPARKLE Match:
Rachel Summerlyn & Rayna “Fyre” von Tosh Defeated Sassy Stephie & Kimberly Kash

Nikki Roxx defeated Cat Power
Amber O’Neal Defeated Tenile
Daffney Defeated Melanie Cruise w/Annie Social
Sara Del Rey Defeated Madison Eagles
LuFisto Defeated Kellie Skater
Daizee Haze & Nicole Matthews went to a 20 minute draw
Amazing Kong Defeated Mercedes Martinez
Tag-Team Championship:
Ashley Lane (Madison Rayne) & Neveah beat Rain & Jetta
Wesna Defeated Cheerleader Melissa, Wesna w/by Annie Social
SHIMMER Championship: MsChif Retains over Serena Deeb

Click Here For More Photos Of The Show

---

Read the rest of this entry »

Lethalwow.com Q&A Exclusive Women of Wrestling Interviews

Lethalwow Q&A: Danyah Click Here for the InterviewShimmer wrestler Danyah picked up her first Shimmer victory in volume 22. She joined lethalwow.com for an exclusive Q&A session.

Lethalwow Q&A: Ashley Lane Click Here for the Interview One-half of the Shimmer Tag-Team champions Ashley Lane joined lethalwow.com for an exclusive Q&A session.

SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES returned to the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL on Sunday, October 19, 2008. Volumes 21 & 22 of the SHIMMER DVD series were filmed during the course of the event. Here’s what went down…

SPARKLE pre-show tryout matches:
1. MELANIE CRUISE defeated CHERRY BOMB.
2. RACHEL SUMMERLYN defeated “Sassy” STEPHIE SINCLAIR

SHIMMER Volume 21:
1. SARA DEL REY defeated SERENA DEEB with the Royal Butterfly
2. MISS NATURAL defeated LORELEI LEE.
3. DAFFNEY defeated CAT POWER
4. NIKKI ROXX defeated DANYAH with the Barbie Crusher.
5. WESNA BUSIC defeated AMBER O’NEAL with the CB4 Driver.
6. SHIMMER Tag Team Championship Gauntlet:

A. PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS defeated MADISON EAGLES & JESSIE McKAY

B. LUFISTO & JENNIFER BLAKE defeated PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS

C. RAIN & JETTA defeated LUFISTO & JENNIFER BLAKE

D. ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated RAIN & JETTA following their STO/Yakuza kick double team combo.

E. ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated “The Experience” LEXIE FYFE & MALIA HOSAKA with the STO/Yakuza kick combo to become the first SHIMMER Tag Team Champions!

7. Four Corner Survival Match (Shimmer #1 contendership): ARIEL defeated CHEERLEADER MELISSA & AMAZING KONG & “The Latina Sensation” MERCEDES MARTINEZ.
8. SHIMMER Championship: MsCHIF defeated DAIZEE HAZE

---

SHIMMER Volume 22:
1. RAIN defeated DAFFNEY with the Acid Rain
2. DANYAH defeated CAT POWER
3. AMAZING KONG defeated RACHEL SUMMERLYN following the Amazing Press.
4. LEXIE FYFE & MALIA HOSAKA defeated MADISON EAGLES & JESSIE McKAY
5. MERCEDES MARTINEZ defeated AMBER O’NEAL.
6. CHEERLEADER MELISSA defeated “Girl Dynamite” JENNIFER BLAKE
7. DAIZEE HAZE defeated MISS NATURAL
8. JETTA of “The International Home Wrecking Crew” defeated NIKKI ROXX.
9. SHIMMER Tag Team Championship: ASHLEY LANE & NEVAEH defeated “The Canadian Ninjas” PORTIA PEREZ & NICOLE MATTHEWS.
10. LUFISTO defeated “The Croatian Panther” WESNA BUSIC
11. SHIMMER Championship: MsCHIF defeated “Portuguese Princess” ARIEL
12. SERENA DEEB defeated SARA DEL REY

Here’s some Notes from The PWI Female 50 Rankings, published on Rajah.com…

– According to the magazine, April Hunter recently un-retired after announcing her retirement from in-ring competition at the start of the year. PWI factors in body of work (see Malia Hosaka, Lexie Fyfe), hence Hunter’s relatively high ranking.

– Jacqueline is the only wrestler in history to be listed in both the PWI 500 as well as the PWI Female 50.

– Over a quarter of the rankings are composed of women’s wrestlers from Canada. Gail Kim is the highest ranked at No. 3, and Portia Perez rounds out the list at No. 50. Other Canadians in the Top 50 include Taylor Wilde, Natalya (Neidhart), Allison Danger, Traci Brooks, Sarah Stock, Kelly Couture, Jaime D (Sirelda), Milena Roucka (WWE developmental wrestler), LuFisto, Danyah, and Jennifer Blake.

– Of the the 50 women listed, 22 have wrestled for the SHIMMER promotion. Those names include Awesome Kong, Beth Phoenix, MsChif, Sara Del Ray, Roxxi Laveaux, Mercedes Martinez, Taylor Wilde, Daizee Haze, Natalya (Neidhart), Allison Danger, Sarah Stock, Cheerleader Melissa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed), Amber O’Neal, Lexie Fyfe, Cindy Rogers, Malia Hosaka, Christie Ricci, Lufisto, Jennifer Blake, Danyah, Daffney, and Portia Perez.

– Notable women left off the list: 6-time Ohio Valley Wrestling Women’s Champion Serena Deeb (and current champion), Josie (has held the OVW women’s belt three times in 2008 and recently wrestled on Impact), Maryse (who’s been wrestling in WWE since the spring and in developmental prior), Brie and Nicole Bella (who were called up to WWE within a year, whereas Milena Roucka is still in developmental after two – and counting), Rain (a.k.a. Ms. Payton Banks), Lacey, Shelly Martinez (who’s wrestled at least as much as Rhaka Khan), and Ashley Lane.

Here are “The PWI Female 50″ rankings in its entirety:

01. Awesome Kong

02. Beth Phoenix
03. Gail Kim
04. Mickie James
05. MsChif
06. Sarah Del Ray
07. Roxxi Laveaux
08. Melina Perez
09. Michelle McCool
10. Candice Michelle
11. Mercedes Martinez
12. Victoria
13. Taylor Wilde
14. ODB
15. Daizee Haze
16. Angelina Love
17. Jacqueline
18. April Hunter
19. Natalya
20. Sumie Sakai
21. Allison Danger
22. Traci Brooks
23. Velvet Sky
24. Sarah Stock
25. Moose Knuckles
26. Katie Lea Burchill
27. Cherry
28. Cheerleader Melisa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed)
29. Maria Kanellis
30. Amber O’Neal
31. Lexie Fyfe
32. Kelly Kelly
33. Cindy Rogers
34. Jillian Hall
35. Malia Hosaka
36. Christie Ricci
37. Becky Bayless
38. Alere Little Feather
39. Layla El
40. Kelly Couture
41. Jamie D (a.k.a. Sirelda)
42. Christy Hemme
43. Milena Roucka
44. Annie Social
45. Lufisto
46. Rhaka Khan
47. Danyah
48. Jennifer Blake
49. Daffney
50. Portia Perez

Rankings by affiliation

World Wrestling Entertainment
1. Beth Phoenix (2)
2. Mickie James (4)
3. Melina (8)
4. Michelle McCool (9)
5. Candice Michelle (10)
6. Victoria (12)
7. Natalya (19)
8. Katie Lea Burchill (26)
9. Maria Kanellis (29)
10. Kelly Kelly (32)
11. Jillian Hall (34)
12. Layla El (39)
13. Milena Roucka (43)

TNA Wrestling
1. Awesome Kong (1)
2. Roxxi Laveaux (7)
3. Taylor Wilde (13)
4. ODB (14)
5. Angelina Love (16)
6. Jacqueline (17)
7. Traci Brooks (22)
8. Velvet Sky (23)
9. Moose Knuckles (25)
10. Cheerleader Melisa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed (28)
11. Christy Hemme (42)
12. Rhaka Khan (46)

Top Non-Affiliated Women’s Wrestlers
1. Gail Kim (3)
2. MsChif (5)
3. Sarah Del Ray (6)
4. Mercedes Martinez (11)
5. Daizee Haze (15)
6. April Hunter (18)
7. Sumie Sakai (20)
8. Allison Danger (21)
9. Sarah Stock (24)
10. Cherry (27)
11. Amber O’Neal (30)
12. Lexie Fyfe (31)
13. Cindy Rogers (32)
14. Malia Hosaka (35)
15. Christie Ricci (36)
16. Becky Bayless (37)
17. Alere Little Feather
18. Kelly Couture (40)
19. Jamie D (a.k.a. Sirelda) (41)
20. Annie Social (44)
21. Lufisto (45)
22. Danyah (47)
23. Jennifer Blake (48)
24. Daffney (49)
25. Portia Perez (50)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has released an issue similar to the “PWI 500,” but based on the women of professional wrestling instead. They’re calling it the first annual “PWI Female 50,” which ranks the top 50 women’s wrestlers. PWI feels there is enough credible women’s wrestlers out there now to warrant a top 50 ranking. Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Awesome Kong, with “The Beautiful People” – Angelina Love and Velvet Sky – in the front, grace the magazine cover.

It should be noted that PWI has opted to exclude Mexican and Japanese women’s wrestlers from the rankings – sans Sarah Stock. Regarding this. PWI wrote: “That isn’t intended to be a slight against international competitors. More so than with the male counterparts, women’s wrestling varies tremendously between the North American style, the Japanese joshi puroresu styles and the Mexican lucha libre style. With few notable exceptions (such as Sumie Sakai and Gail Kim), a wrestler who excels in one style may fare much more poorly in a different style. Besides, we wanted to shine the spotlight primarily on the U.S. and Canadians competitors first. If reader response to this special section is strong, perhaps we will consider ranking more women, including international competitors, in the future.”

On how they ranked the wrestlers, PWI wrote: “To determine this list and compile the rankings, we examined a variety of criteria. While placing special emphasis on a wrestler’s accomplishments over the past calender year, we also took note of each women’s career accomplishments as well. For example, a veteran like Malia Hosaka may not have wrestled as many matches or as many high-profile bouts as Cherry over the past 12 months, but based on her accomplishments throughout her 20-plus year career, we felt she deserved inclusion.”

PWI also went over possible controversy in regards to ranking the likes of Maria and Velvet Sky ahead of more “scientifically skilled technicians” such as Lexie Fyfe and Cindy Rogers. Prominence and marketability factored into the rankings as it’s not only based on technical ability and accomplishments. PWI wrote: “We evaluated each woman on championships held, quality of opposition faced, overall athletic ability, prominence, and marketability. To some critics, those last two criteria may be controversial. After all, some may argue that wrestlers like Maria Kanellis and Velvet Sky have no business being ranked ahead of more scientifically skilled technicians like Cindy Rogers and Lexie Fyfe. We would argue that marketability and prominence are an important aspect of pro wrestling, and that the success of these Divas and Knockouts have had on such a major stage has to be taken into consideration.”

Credit: pwpix.net