Author: Spenser Santos

I have just made it to the Berwyn Eagles Club, where I will do my best to provide my impressions of tonight’s event, La Escalara. I will not be able to get the dark match on this review, as I literally drove straight from work and just missed being able to see it. While I cannot cover the dark match, I am ready to give my thoughts on the show from the second row. Are you ready? I’m ready. Prior to the start of the show, Kevin Harvey announced RISE’s house rules: no homophobic sh*t. No racist sh*t, no transphobic…

Welcome back to another retro review of SHIMMER with Volume 4. Volume 4 is a significant volume in the early catalog of SHIMMER shows. It’s known particularly for the falls count anywhere match between Cheerleader Melissa and MsChif. It’s one of two clear matches of the night, the other being Daizee Haze vs. Rebecca Knox in an absolute banger of a match. Without further ado, on to the review: Match 1: Nikki Roxx vs. Amber O’Neal Prazak notes this match is about moving up the rankings. Lockups and standing switches to start with, with Roxx and O’Neal trading control to…

In August, Heart of SHIMMER champion Samantha Heights went down with an injury. Due to SHIMMER’s policy of never vacating a championship, this was assumed not to be a big deal. For prior injuries, SHIMMER has allowed the injured champion to rest and not featured the title for a taping. The Heights injury seemed like it would be handled the same way until SHIMMER got an update on her surgery. News has been revealed about the SHIMMER Heart of SHIMMER champion. https://twitter.com/SHIMMERwomen/status/1183781834645266433 With her surgery now pushed back, it appears Heights may miss more than one set of tapings. In…

Back in February, LuFisto announced her impending retirement from wrestling. She made the announcement in an emotional Facebook post, citing severe damage to her knee. Lufisto talked about how she fought through injury just like the guys and how that was unhealthy. She talked about her career and about what it all meant to her. In the end, she concluded that because her body can’t continue and her heart is so heavy, 2019 would be the end of the line for LuFisto. More than the state of her body, LuFisto put the state of her soul as the cause of…

SHIMMER Volume 3 is a landmark volume in SHIMMER’s history, most notable for the debut of one Rebecca Knox. At just 19 years old, the future Becky Lynch made her North American debut against SHIMMER founder Allison Danger. Volume 3 was filmed on February 12, 2006, and is must-watch for any fan of Becky Lynch who wants to see why she was one of the most hyped women coming out of Europe at the time. You can watch Volume 3 here. Match 1:  Rain vs. Nikki Roxx Dave Prazak notes that Allison Danger is putting her undefeated streak in SHIMMER…

This past Friday at Pro-Wrestling: EVE’s Friday Night Riot, viewers were stunned to learn that the EVE Tag Team Titles have been made vacant. EVE have not announced the reason for the vacancy, though an announcement is forthcoming. On Friday, Jetta took to the ring to make the announcement. Thus ended the reign of the Wrestle Friends at 89 days and 0 defenses. Wrestle Friends (Jetta and Erin Angel) won the titles at Wrestle Queendom II, becoming inaugural champions. They won the match in a three-way contest that included the Diamond Vogue Collective (Jinny and Mercedez Blaze) and Medusa Complex…

On Saturday, September 14th, Pro-Wrestling: EVE presents its first big event of the fall. Wrestling with an Agenda will be the first show of September (they’ve got two more at the end of the month) and it will also continue the road to the SHE-1 tournament. Last month, at Fights and False Lashes, Charli Evans and Laura Di Matteo qualified for the SHE-1. Solo Darling is in the qualifier on this show. Pro-Wrestling EVE Presents Match 1: Holidead vs. Charli Evans This should be a good, hard-hitting match with a bit of lucha flair. Holidead is a fantastic character worker.…

Last weekend, a landmark event in women’s wrestling took place. The Summit was a collaborative effort to produce an independent supershow. SMASH hosted SHIMMER, RISE, and Femmes Fatales in Toronto for the biggest collaboration in independent women’s wrestling ever in North America. Held at the Midtown Event Theatre, The Summit had a total attendance of 353 (all seating was sold out and remaining attendance was standing room only). KC Spinelli vs. Rosemary with Xandra Bale as the Special Referee to crown the Inaugural SMASH Women’s Champion I had thought this would be a perfect closer, but it makes sense as…

On Saturday, August 10th North America will see a blockbuster event in women’s wrestling: The Summit. Hosted by Smash Wrestling, SHIMMER, RISE, and NCW will converge in Toronto and put on an independent women’s wrestling Supercard. It’s the first show of its kind, and it will have four major championship matches. Due to technical limitations for the venue, it will not be possible to broadcast The Summit live for streaming. That said, RISE has announced that The Summit will be available after the show for VOD and Digital Download at riseascent.com. It should be well worth it. I can’t think…

On July 27, Pro-Wrestling: EVE formally announced an agreement with Equity UK to support the unionization of their performers. Equity is the premier trade union for performing artists in the UK. As a result of this agreement, EVE has become the first professional wrestling promotion to partner with a union. Unions in wrestling past The matter of unions and professional wrestling has been a debate for decades. In a US/Canadian context, unions have never been part of the landscape. Jesse Ventura unsuccessfully tried to organize WWF’s wrestlers in the 80s, for instance. As WWF became the sole superpower in the…