Shine 7 was probably the best show in their brief history, so the question is how do you follow up Valkyrie essentially dominating the competition and winning three matches? Put them altogether in one match and contain their storyline a bit so it doesn’t end up dominating everything. I think the biggest strength of this show is that four storylines/feuds were handled on one show. Many of the talents have something to do, even if they’re not involved with Valkyrie. Not only did this show follow up the previous show well, but in many ways, it topped that show.
We started off with a showcase match as Nikki St. John defeated Luscious Latasha with a bulldog. This was St. John’s first Shine show since 5 when she lost to Santana. This was perfectly acceptable as a four minute squash. I’ve never been sold on St. John as an in-ring talent, but I’m curious to see if she becomes a regular now based on this win.
With Su Yung and Brittney Savage as the second match on the card, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It could have gone in a number of different directions, and even though it wasn’t in the best position on the card, I was impressed by the effort. The idea is that Yung acts more aggressive thanks to being with Traci Taylor and having an upcoming trip to Japan. Savage spent a great deal of time pulling Yung’s hair to the point it became the biggest story of the match. The women began pulling each other’s hair to the point they pulled each other down and the referee had to separate them. Great heel work by Savage in bringing Yung down to her level. Savage’s hubris eventually cost her the match as Yung hit Yellow Fever (I swear this is the name used by Daffney) to get another win.
Brandi Wine is a veteran of the wrestling wars, and she was accompanied by Mailia Hosoka, her long time tag team partner, to wrestle Jayme Jameson. Jameson has been in Shine a couple times, but one of her victories came against Mercedes Martinez. The inconsistency has made it tough to really get into her matches, but I’m hoping a victory here leads to Jameson wrestling more. This was a very average match as Hosoka interfered early and often. My one complaint, and this is more about professional wrestling in general so I’m not dining Shine as the only group that does it, is interference taking place right in front of the referee. I find it to be so much more effective when the referee was distracted because at least the heat could stay on the manager or wrestler. I feel like if the referee sees interference, he should automatically toss people from ringside or he looks like an incompetent idiot. I also think the heat transfers from the interferer to the official at a certain point. This is a big gripe of mine in independent wrestling. Jameson overcame interference and won with a small package.
Shine seems interested in building up Santana up as she was given another one on this show, this time against Sojo Bolt. Santana won with the Shining Star Press. Match started off quickly as Bolt attacked before the bell rang. Bolt is a hard hitter, and she made for a good contrast in wrestling someone who is more of a high flyer and uses speed. It’s an easy contrast to make, and they executed a good match. Santana, along with Yung, is definitely someone who gets better with every match in Shine.
Mercedes Martinez and Nikki Roxx had a rematch of their Shine 7 match. Martinez came away with a win in a contest that felt similar to their previous effort. This was overall enjoyable and an easy watch. Roxx tried going for the Barbie Crush but got poked in the eyes. Martinez used the fishermen’s buster. Not much else to say but this was strong.
Almost immediately after Roxx and Martinez ended, Leva Bates and Kimberly came brawling out of the locker room. This was an I Quit Fans Bring the Weapons match. Usually, double stipulations can be seen as more of a TNA thing, but these two have had a good enough feud to not make it seem like too much. Bates was dressed as Bane with the idea of this being chaos and anarchy. This was a very physical match as they went all around the building. They used the ring bell early on. When they went in the ring, there was a lightsaber versus hockey stick battle. I LOL’d. Lots of choking through the match, most by Kimberly. Makes sense since the object was to get the opponent to say I Quit. Eventually Kimberly used a garbage can and handcuffs to pick up her second Shine win. Bates did not say I Quit as the official stopped the match. A bit annoying but Kimberly looked dominant, and after this match, a true blow-off is no doubt forthcoming. A very strong match and one of Shine’s better matches this year. Also a nice touch as Kimberly still has the Thing 2 doll.
Another bug grudge ended on this night as Reby Sky finally defeated Jessica Havok. I thought this match would be a bit more physical and use some violence, but instead there was a logical story told. Havok controlled much of the match, and Sky remained an underdog. I’m sure these matches have been so good because Havok has controlled the majority of the offense and really controlled the pace, but credit to Sky for working hard to remove the stigma of simply being “Matt Hardy’s girlfriend.” She’s not the best worker in the world, but she’s certainly a lot better than I would have expected before starting to review these shows. Sky gave Havok a dose of her own medicine as she hit a Twist of Fate on a chair Havok tried to bring in the ring.
The main event was a crazy no disqualification eight man tag featuring Valkyrie wrestling Christina Von Eerie, Mia Yim, Amazing Kong, and Angelina Love. This was a great way to involve Kong, who doesn’t seem to be able to do long singles matches, and Love, who was making her debut for the company, without asking too much of them. This started out as a regular tag match, then broke out into a crazy, and then settled back into a tag match. The structure was a bit wonky, but the action was solid. Lots of stories were told, and given everyone seemingly has problems with Valkyrie, it’s an easy story to tell. Von Eerie was the first person to kick out of 7 Deadly and ultimately defeated Made in Sin. Fittingly, 8 Deadly put Von Eerie away to continue that aspect of the feud. I can only assume Love and Kong will get into their own battles with Valkyrie down the road. Ivelisse and Yim was also teased on commentary.
I still wish the main events were the strongest parts of the show, but I appreciate that Shine is trying to weave multiple storylines into each show. The company is definitely getting stronger and building logically. When I was told Shine had the best booking of any WWN promotion, I questioned it. After watching eight of these shows, it’s becoming tough to argue this point.
-Taped from Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Lenny Leonard and Daffney
-Nikki St. John defeats Luscious Latasha by pinfall after a bulldog/3:40/*
-Su Yung defeats Brittney Savage by submission with the Yellow Fever/8:40/***
-Jayme Jameson defeats Brandi Wine (w/Mailia Hosoka) by pinfall with a small package/9:51/**1/2
-Santana defeats Sojo Bolt by pinfall after the Shining Star Press/9:46/***
-Mercedes Martinez defeats Nikki Roxx by pinfall after the Fishermen’s Buster/12:31/***1/4
-I Quit-Fans Bring the Weapons- Kimberly defeats Leva Bates by referee stoppage/N/R/***1/2
-Respect vs. Career: Reby Sky defeats Jessica Havok by pinfall after a Twist of Fate into a chair/12:14/***1/4
Valkyrie (Allysin Kay, Taylor Made, Ivelisse, and Rain) defeat Mia Yim, Amazing Kong, Angelina Love, and Christina Von Eerie. Kay pins Von Eerie after Eight Deadly/19:39/***
For more information on Shine wrestling, check out their website. You can also buy on-demand streams of all their shows on WWN Live.
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