SHINE kicked off their 2013 with a huge bang, as five top heels joined forces to form a megastable like no-one has ever seen.
In the midst of a heated main event between Mercedes Martinez and Amazing Kong in singles competition, Rain ran in to distract the referee. As this happened, April Hunter emerged and drove a baseball bat into Kong’s leg, incapacitating her and allowing Martinez to get the pinfall. Hunter’s cohorts Made In Sin (Allysin Kay and Taylor Made) made their way out, accompanied by Ivelisse, and continued the beatdown, taking out numerous faces of the SHINE roster trying to make the save (and a referee!) in the process.
As they gathered in the ring, Rain addressed the crowd, announcing the name of this devastating new force: Valkyrie. A few days previously, the SHINE office had received a short, cryptic video containing that very word, and the internet had been rife with speculation as to what this might have meant. Who would have guessed that what we saw may be the birth of SHINE’s very own NWO?
The main event itself was solid but unspectacular, but the finish and post-match events were the real talking point of the match, leaving plenty of questions to be answered at the next show. What are Valkyrie’s plans? Is Mercedes Martinez involved in this whole thing? How will Kong (and inevitably, Kong’s friend Jazz) respond?
While the antics at the end of the show were the icing on the cake, they were backed up by a thrilling, fast-paced undercard that gave everyone who featured a chance to show what they can really do. Prior to their involvement in the main event, Allysin Kay and Taylor Made suffered their first defeat in SHINE at the hands of Christina Von Eerie and MsChif, while Ivelisse picked up a victory against a spirited Su Yung.
Two wrestlers made their SHINE debuts, both with losing efforts, but turning plenty of heads in the process. Kimber Lee had an extremely impressive first outing, taking Nikki Roxx to the limit before ultimately succumbing to a lethal Barbie Killer, and Leah Von Dutch went all the way against Santana, only to miss her finisher and feel the wrath of the Shining Star Press. With so much new blood being injected into the roster every show, the future of this company is looking very bright indeed.
The match of the night for me was the rematch between Jessicka Havok and Reby Sky. Havok had completely decimated Sky at SHINE 2, but Sky, not one to take things lying down, was hungry to prove that she was deserving of her place on the roster, and demanded a rematch. The end result was only marginally less one-sided than their previous outing, but Sky showed real heart in not submitting to the Rings of Saturn. In the end, Sky’s boyfriend Matt Hardy felt there was no other option but to throw in the towel and concede defeat on her behalf, much to Sky’s dismay. How this pans out will certainly be interesting, especially given the quick staredown between Havok and Hardy post-match.
In one of the more interesting angles that have taken place over the past few months, Kimberly (not to be confused with Kimber Lee) finally got her first victory in SHINE. Kimberly, who wrestled a losing effort in the first match of the first ever SHINE event and has been on an unprecedented losing streak ever since, gradually losing her marbles as the embarrassment piled on, got the win against Leva Bates, whom she turned on angrily at the previous show following another demoralising defeat in tag team competition. Kimberly’s reaction to her win (a mixture of shock, confusion and ecstasy) and her post-match celebration was priceless, and Leva chased her backstage, suggesting there’s still life in this feud yet.
This was certainly the most entertaining SHINE show yet, with fantastic action from start to finish. SHINE have really come into their own these past few shows, carving a niche that is definitely starting to set them apart from other promotions. The debutantes complement the mainstay wrestlers nicely, and at two hours long and consisting of eight matches, the shows are concise without feeling too rushed (not every match needs to be a half-hour clinic, something many indy promotions could do with understanding). Credit must also go to the verbal virtuoso that is Daffney, whose tipsy colour commentary is perfect for a show like this. She could commentate an episode of Songs of Praise and I’d still hang on to every single word!
SHINE continues to go from strength to strength, with great wrestling, intelligent booking and a marketable image that will no doubt be catching the eyes of some big names in wrestling and beyond, and with this, their sixth show, they’ve really taken their game to the next level. Mark my words, these girls are making something very special indeed!
