Shimmer #12 - ‘Heart of Shimmer 2’

LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts
VENUE: TD Gardens

Announce Team - Renee Young & Corey Graves


---- ALL SHOWS AVAILABLE ONDEMAND ON THE SHIMMER YOUTUBE CHANNEL OR ON SHIMMERWOMEN.COM




* We get a special video package highlighting each participant in this year’s ‘Heart of Shimmer’ tournament, some of which we have seen before .... *


MILLIE MCKENZIE - from the West Midlands in England, Millie McKenzie is 17 years old .... 17 YEARS OLD!  Wrestling her first match when she was 13 years old, the self-proclaimed ‘First 21st Century Badass’ has developed a reputation for being a Suplex Machine, mostly for the German suplexes she is proficient in .... the youngest competitor in the tournament, Millie’s striking, submissions and suplexes will be on full display ....



JORDYYNE GRACE - A former power-lifter and personal trainer, Jordynne Grace began wrestling when she was 15 .... Nicknames ‘The PAWG’ and ‘Big Momma Pump’ accompany her everywhere she goes, and Grace will have a significant power advantage over anyone she faces in the tournament ....



KACY CATANZARO - The first woman to ever qualify for the finals of ‘American Ninja Warrior’, Catanzaro is a former NCAA Division I gymnast that has now applied her world-class athleticism and mind-blowing agility to the ring .... Many consider her to be the ‘breakout star’ of the tournament ....



ARIEL MONROE - “Big Swole” Aerial Monroe has a “big personality and a swole mentality,”  A former fire truck mechanic in the US Air Force, Monroe is equal parts sass and aggression and she is unapologetically outspoken outside the ring and viciously loud inside it ....



TEGAN NOX - widely regarding as the participant with the biggest upside in the whole tournament, Wales’ Tegan Nox has an exciting, daredevil ring style that is impossible to ignore .... Known as the ‘Girl With the Shiniest Wizard’, Nox is known for her vicious, match-ending Shining Wizard and is looking to put her young career on the fast track ....



JESSIE BELLE SMOTHERS - daughter of pro wrestling legend Tracy Smothers, Jessie Belle is a vicious southern girl with a mean streak .... she has had stints with Shimmer in the past, alongside her sister Izza Belle, but now she is looking to break out on her own and winning the Heart of Shimmer tournament is the first step ....



REINA GONZALEZ - One of the other 2nd generation wrestlers in the tournament, Reina Gonzalez is the daughter of Ricky “Desperado” González .... despite being brought up around Lucha libre, don’t expect many high-flying antics from this hard-hitting Texan .... The tough-as-leather González fights both ugly and dirty, and possesses a lethal lariat that recalls memories of other famous Texans, namely JBL and Stan Hansen ....



RHEA RIPLEY - The only member of the field that has actually been under contract to Progress, 21 year old Rhea Ripley was one of the fastest-rising athletes in women’s wrestling before being sidelined by injury And released .... Now fully healthy, the Aussie is a more seasoned and cutthroat grappler and is looking for her ultra-aggressive, take-no-prisoners attitude to take her to the Heart of Shimmer contract ....




1. Tegan Nox (WALES) def. Jessie Belle Smothers (UNITED STATES)

A solid back and forth opening match with Smothers showing her vicious side in targeting Nox’s knee .... The crown LOVES Tegan .... Nox plays a great babyface in peril here, battling back and hitting the ‘Shiniest Wizard’ to pick up the win and move on to the next round ....


2. Millie McKenzie (ENGLAND) def. Reina Gonzalez (UNITED STATES)

Millie is such an awesome story and this girl can absolutely GO in the ring at 17 years old .... González has her outweighed by a lot and has the height advantage, but that doesn’t stop Millie from dumping her on her head with some German duplexes .... González goes for the kill with the LARIATO but Millie avoids it and stuns Reina with a reverse rana .... the running RKO finishes González and Millie is moving on ....




3. Jordynne Grace (UNITED STATES) def. Kacy Catanzaro (UNITED STATES)

This is David vs Goliath here as Grace outweighs Kacy by 50 pounds .... Catanzaro is such a babyface that the crowd boos Grace, even though she’s really not a heel .... Kacy survives a lot of power moves early and starts flying around the ring, scoring with an around the world tornado DDT for a close near fall .... Grace bails out but Kacy wipes her out with a Slingshot tornillo splash, then a springboard dropkick on the way back in .... Kacy goes for one high-flying move too many though, as Grace catches her in mid-air and hits the ‘Fall from Grace’ (reverse-spin scoop powerslam) for the pin ....




4. Rhea Ripley (AUSTRALIA) vs. Ariel Monroe (UNITED STATES)

Ripley is showing a new look and has a nasty, aggressive edge this time around .... she doesn’t feel like she should have to compete in this tournament and she is out to prove it .... she carries herself like a Star .... Monroe is a trash talker, and she constantly talks trash to Ripley during the match especially if she hits a big move .... we go back and forth, with Ripley countering the Blue Thunder Bomb into the Riptide (pumphandle powerbomb) for the pin to move on ....






(c) Toni Storm vs. Taya Valkyrie - LAST WOMAN STANDING FOR THE SHIMMER INTERNET TITLE

Toni spears Taya at the bell and lays in strikes .... Taya takes a powder to the floor but Toni is on her and hits a running hip attack off the apron!  Toni starts pulling plunder out from under the ring, but this gives Taya a chance to recover and she tosses Toni into the steps .... Taya starts making a pile of chairs and teases Suplexing Toni onto the pile but Toni reverses it and suplexes Taya on the floor instead .... Toni has a trash can now and attacks with it, putting it over Taya’s head and kicking the shit out of it .... The ref counts Taya but she’s up at 7 .... Toni goes for Storm Zero, but Taya takes out her legs and hits a double stomp .... Taya follows with kicks, but Toni fires back only to have Taya cut her off .... Taya brings in a chair, and smashes Toni over the back multiple times!  She curb stomps Toni into the chair!!!!  The ref counts again, but Toni is up at 8 to survive .... Taya heads up top and misses the moonsault and Toni drills her with a snap German ..... Toni puts the chair over Taya’s face and hits the running hip attack!!!!  Toni to the top, but somehow Taya is up and throws the chair into Toni’s face and she falls all the way to the floor!!!!  The ref starts the count and gets to 9 before Toni barely pulls herself up using the ring apron to hold herself up!  Taya tries to pull her up on the apron, but Toni turns the tables and suplexes Taya all the way from the ring to the floor!!!!  Both ladies are down and the ref starts counting, but they are up at 7 .... back in the ring Taya tosses in a few more chairs, then grabs the Internet title .... she tries to hit Toni with it, but Toni kicks the title back into Taya’s face!!!!  Toni grabs her and hits the Strong Zero piledriver onto the chairs!!!!  Holy shit!!!!  The ref starts the count, but Taya stirs at 7!  Toni pushes past the ref and drags Taya up by the hair .... ANOTHER STRONG ZERO!!!!  Toni uses the corner to hold herself up as the ref counts .... 8 ... 9 ... 10!  Storm retains ....








5. Tegan Nox (WALES) vs. Jordynne Grace (UNITED STATES)

Tegan takes a lot of punishment from the stronger Grace early on, and Grace works her ribs .... Nox battles back with strikes, selling the ribs, but runs into the ‘Fall from Grace’ for a 2.9999 count .... The crowd is solidly behind Nox, who battles back .... Grace blocks the Shiniest Wizard and powers Nox up into a buckle bomb, but Nox explodes out of the move and hits the Shiniest Wizard anyway!  Nox up top and hits the Molly Go Round but Grace kicks out at 1!!!!  Grace to her knees and Nox drills her with another Shiniest Wizard for the 3 count .... Nox advances to the finals ....


6. Rhea Ripley (AUSTRALIA) vs. Millie McKenzie (ENGLAND)

Ripley overpowers Millie to begin, but Millie fires up and unleashed a flurry of strikes .... Ripley cuts off her offense with a standing dropkick, then hits a basement dropkick in the corner .... Ripley with a delayed suplex but Millie floats out and hits a spear .... Millie hits a German and a running cutter but Ripley kicks out .... Ripley with a big boot, but Millie slips out of the Riptide and hits a half Nelson Suplex this time .... She goes for the Canadian Destroyer but Ripley reverses out and hits the Riptide!  1 ... 2 ... Millie reaches out and grabs the ropes at the last second!!!!  Ripley can’t believe it, and she gets in the refs face, but this allows Millie to recover .... Ripley picks her up, but Millie counters with a quick rollup for the 1 ... 2 ... 3!

POST MATCH - Ripley is pissed and she attacks Mckenzie after the match .... Ripley lays her out with the Riptide and then walks out, only to come back and hit a 2nd Riptide, THEN A 3rd!!!!  Tegan Nox, Mckenzies opponent in the finals, runs out of the back and makes the save, sending Ripley to the back ....




* We get a report that the Heart of Shimmer finals, which were supposed to be on next, have been moved further up the card to allow McKenzie to recover from the attack she suffered at the hands of Rhea Ripley .... *


(c) Ember Moon vs. Lacey Evans —— UNIVERSAL WOMENS TITLE

This match has a big fight feel to it as Lacey has one-upped the champion lately .... Evans uses her size advantage early on, but Moon counters and sends her to the floor and follows with a suicide dive ....  Moon controls, but Evans drops her with a back elbow, then hits the springboard elbow drop from the apron for a 2 count .... Evans is in control and really dominates a large part of the match against the champion .... Moon battles back with some chops to the chest, but Evans with a shoulder breaker and then a bronco buster in the corner .... Evans is out-wrestling Moon to this point .... Moon scores out of nowhere with a Superkick, then drills her with an Ax kick for a 2 count .... Moon fires up, hitting ‘Wrath of the Goddess’ (back Suplex into lung blower) and a handspring back elbow .... Moon goes up top for the Eclipse, but as she comes off EVANS WITH THE ‘WOMANS RIGHT’ KNOCKS EMBER OUT OF THE AIR!!!!  1 ... 2 ... foot on the ropes!!!!  Lacey protests with the ref, saying she has won .... this allows Moon to recover and she gets a school boy into a Superkick on Evans!  Moon goes up top again .... ECLIPSE CONNECTS!!!!  1 ... 2 ... Foot on the ropes ... 3!!!!

The ref doesn’t see Evans’ foot on the ropes this time, and he awards the match to Moon .... Evans is beside herself, and she is throwing a fit in the ring that is very ‘un-ladylike’ as Moon celebrates with the title ....








7. Tegan Nox (WALES) vs. Millie McKenzie (ENGLAND)

Mckenzie comes out with her shoulder taped up and Nox doesn’t want to start the match because she’s hurt .... Millie insists on the match starting and she’s fired up .... Rhea Ripley comes out of the back and this time she attacks Tegan Nox!  Mckenzie comes to the rescue of Nox this time, and Ripley is escorted out .... Millie checks on Nox now, but Tegan insists that the match continue .... The match restarts, and despite the fact that these two are not 100% they tear it up .... tons of near-falls down the stretch, and Millie’s arsenal of Suplexes are on full display .... Nox no sells and hits some Germans of her own, but Millie survives and hits a running cutter for a double down .... Millie goes for the Canadian Destroyer but Nox hits a double leg spinebuster and then a Canadian Destroyer of her own!  The Shiniest Wizard finishes it and Tegan Nox has won the Heart of Shimmer tournament ....





MAIN EVENT: Non-title tag team match
(Shimmer tag team champions) The EST (Bianca BelAir & Naomi)
- vs -
Canadian Ninjas (Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez)

The announcers put the Ninjas over as being one of the best women’s tag teams in history, and they are poised to challenge 2CST coming up at Glory .... This feud ignited over Social Media with the EST tweeting out the challenge for this match for the Ninjas to ‘prove they still belong’ ....

The match is back and forth and showcases the talents of BOTH teams .... the EST are the upstart team with all the talent and ability, while the Ninjas are the perennial top team in the UWF that has never won the world tag titles .... The EST look dominant early on, and the announcers speculate that the Ninjas time may be passed .... They get the heat on Perez, with BelAir doing most of the work .... she shows her strength by dead-lifting Perez from the mat into a gorilla press slam
.... the crowd has been pretty split so far, but they rally behind the Ninjas and Perez fires up and we get the double clothesline spot for the double down .... Matthews and Naomi are tagged in, and Matthews runs wild on the EST .... The EST rally and double team Matthews while Perez is down, and BelAir hits the alley oop powerbomb .... 1 ... 2 ... Perez breaks up the pin!  School Girl Crush on BelAir!  Naomi takes our Perez with the Rear View, but Matthews hits the Vancouver Maneuver!  1 ... 2 ... Nooooo!  Naomi kicks out!!!!  Matthews pulls Perez back in, and they set up Naomi for the Northern Lights Out, but BelAir pulls Matthews to the outside .... Naomi gets a schoolgirl into a rolling roundhouse on Perez, then she goes up top .... split-legged moonsault meets the knees of Perez!  Outside, Matthews tosses BelAir into the ring steps!  She slides back in .... FUNKY COLD MEDINA TO NAOMI!!!!  1 ... 2 ... 3!!!!

POST MATCH - The Ninjas celebrate, while BelAir and Naomi recover outside .... the champions climb back in the ring and interrupt the celebration, but it is only to offer their hands in congratulations .... The EST raise the Ninjas hands, and all four women hug it out and put each other over after this classic match .... the EST give the Ninjas the ring, and the Ninjas continue to celebrate and they make the belt sign across their waist indicating the tag team titles are theirs ....