Shine 2 Review

shine-2 With Sara Del Rey not being on this show and the main event more of an angle than a match, Shine 2 wasn’t as good as Shine 1. There were some better undercard matches, and a pretty amazing beatdown.

Kimberly has been a pretty solid performer the first two shows, so it’s disconcerting that she’s 0-2. No one can ever convince me that losing streak angles are ever successful, so my hope is that Kimberly can begin to get rewarded for the work she’s doing in the ring. Su Yung won with a roll-up counter after some good back and forth. Kimberly incorporates submissions and holds from her MMA background well.

Even though it’s just the second show, there were a few pretty cool debuts as Sojo Bolt, Heidi Lovelace, and Taeler Hendrix had a fun three way contest. Sometimes, these things can be messy, but there was just enough good action to make this a solid undercard bout. Bolt and Hendrix started out by mocking Lovelace in a pretty common sense decision. The alliance didn’t last long as Lovelace did a fair job holding her own. Some nice trash talk as Hendrix got called out for being a TNA knock-out. Guess that not’s really true anymore. Bolt eventually pinned Lovelace with a Hot Cup of Joe, her version of the musclebuster.

Up next was a similarly good match as Mia Yim made her debut and beat Sassy Stephie with her high-flying Sky Yim. Stephie seems to be stuck in wrestling purgatory at times because she’s obviously talented enough to be booked on every major women’s wrestling fed, but she doesn’t seem to have the ability to really hit that main event level status. There’s a huge difference. Both girls worked hard and got ten minutes to create something. I can definitely see why Yim is getting so many chances in Japan. She’s not only a great athlete but can translate that into having quality matches and not just hitting movez.

Up next was pretty much a perfect match-up. The spunky model took on a beast of a woman who can kill someone with her bare hands. I’m not going to subjectively talk about their looks, but this was a fantasticly executed match. Havok pretty much dominated. Sky did get some hope spots, but she wasn’t going to ever have a chance. After nine minutes of torture, Havok won with the Air Raid Crash and then continued the beatdown thanks to a trusty chair. Havok worked over Sky’s arm with the object and then applied a cross armbreaker. Officials had a tough time breaking them up. Havok looked like a killer here, and I’m hoping we can see more of this on future shows. To me, Havok is a wrestler who not only should be pushed among the top women’s companies, but could easily stand on her own in AAW or PWG. Her character and execution are right at the top of the heap.

After a very good piece of business with Nikki Roxx, Rain’s match with Santana came off as a disappointment mostly because they didn’t get the time to develop something more than an average match. Under seven minutes doesn’t allow anyone to build anything. Rain cheated again, this time putting her feet on the ropes. This is much preferable to frequent interference because the heat at least stays on the person winning the match. With more time, this could have been a fun match with Santana wrestling from behind. As is, this was a huge disappointment.

In my Shine 1 review, I mentioned the continuity with Shimmer. The next match was a chance to see that in action as Leva Bates beat one half of the Shimmer tag team champions, Portia Perez, to possibly earn a title match for her and her partner, Allison Danger (Regeneration-X as they are called would not win the titles.) Bates was in Jack Sparrow mode and blasting her water gun throughout. This had a much lighter tone than previous matches as Perez is outstanding at getting fans to hate her. One thing I give Perez credit for is doing everything in her power to be hated by the audience. Bates won with a superkick in a decent little match to build up something for Shimmer down the road.

I had to look at the calendar during the next match because April Hunter figured into the Made in Sin/Misery match. Allysin Kay and Taylor Made used their double team finish, now called Seven Deadly but in reality the same wheelbarrow/acecrusher they used the previous month, on Von Eerie. MsChif has her braced knee taken out by Hunter. Pretty good formula tag match as MsChif started things out by screaming early and often toward both members of the heel duo. Von Eerie was worked over, and just as she was about to make the tag, Hunter took MsChif out. Von Eerie made her comeback but succumbed to the finish. I liked the establishment of Made and Kay as a top team here, especially beating two credible wrestlers in their own right.

Funny side moment as Hunter was referred to as an insurance policy after the match. I leave it to you, the reader, to come up with your best Rick Rude joke.

The main event…well, it didn’t even get into the ring as the referee finally had to declare the Jazz/Mercedes Martinez match a no-contest. I’m sure these two will have some good matches down the road, so I can understand the desire to not have these be a balls to the walls event. On the other hand, when you ask the audience to pay 15 dollars month after month, I can also see the argument for giving people what they paid for. It’s a tough balance to strike, and while I liked the execution, I can certainly see others wouldn’t. I did appreciate the chaotic nature of the brawl leading to the whole locker room having to come out and break them up. Pretty good visual to end the show. This feud must continue!

Grade: C+

-Taped from Ybor City, Florida

-Commentator: Lenny Leonard

– Su Yung defeats Kimberly with a roll-up counter/5:11/*1/2

-Sojo Bolt defeats Heidi Lovelace and Taeler Hendrix by pinfall. Bolt pinned Lovelace after A Hot Cup of Jo/7:17/**3/4

-Mia Yim defeats Sassy Stephie by pinfall after Sky Yim/10:23/**3/4

-Jessica Havok defeats Reby Sky by pinfall after the Air Raid Crash/9:35/***

-Rain defeats Santana by pinfall after a roll-up with her feet on the ropes/6:40/*1/2

-Leva Bates defeats Portia Perez by pinfall after a superkick/8:56/**1/2

-Made in Sin (Taylor Made and Allysin Kay) defeat Christina Von Eerie and MsChif. Von Eerie was pinned after being hit with Seven Deadly/12:20/***

-Mercedes Martinez and Jazz go to a no-contest/9:00/N/R

For more information on Shine wrestling, check out their website. You can also buy on-demand streams of all their shows on WWN Live.