Madison Eagles vs. Cheerleader Melissa is SHIMMER at Its Finest
Madison Eagles vs. Cheerleader Melissa is SHIMMER at Its Finest
When people talk about peak SHIMMER, it's for matches like this.
Over the course of the month so far, we’ve talked up mid-rivalry matches and matches that set up payoffs we don’t get, but SHIMMER functions best when they complete a story. In the early 2010s, they became extremely skilled at telling simple show-to-show stories that concluded in satisfying ways thanks to the abilities of some of the best women’s wrestlers in the world. And few stories in SHIMMER concluded so well as Madison Eagles’ first SHIMMER Championship run.
The beauty of Eagles’ first SHIMMER Title reign is just how cohesive and focused it was from the word go. Regardless how the booking situation backstage might have been—things can always change, wrestling is volatile especially across a two year time period—everything that happens with Eagles’ title reign points exactly to a specific end. Even before Eagles herself won the title, it seemed predestined that Cheerleader Melissa would be the one to defeat her in the end.
Eagles herself only wins the belt because she cheats Melissa out of a title opportunity in a #1 contender’s match. The very next show after winning the title, Melissa declares her intention to campaign for a title match against Eagles, one that she would lose when Eagles would counter an attempt at the Kudo Driver into her Hellbound finisher. Melissa worked her way back up the card, racking up wins to get this title match here.
All this is neatly summarized in a pre-match hype video that walks us through all the steps of the rivalry, priming us for the big moment. And herein lies another of SHIMMER’s strengths. Even if Volume 44 was the first ever SHIMMER DVD one picked up, the entire context needed to enjoy this match is provided for maximum effect.
The match itself pays off a simple promise: the undoing of Madison Eagles. It’s actually quite impressive how well they pull this off, and the careful timing of it. By this point, Eagles had so impressed in the ring with her SHIMMER Title defenses, that she’d been crowned the #1 Women’s Wrestler in the World by PWI for 2011. Along with that accolade came a rush of respect and support from the crowd, such that she would routinely get “Best in the world!” chants despite remaining the top heel in the company.
Luckily, the crowd is ready for her time to end. Melissa’s seen as an uncrowned ace at this point, a woman who’s been on all 44 shows the company has held. Eagles has turned her back twice now—first in the #1 contender’s match, then in a title match—and the crowd are happy to see the champion get her comeuppance.
And what a comeuppance it is. Madison dies in this in so many fun ways. Even better than that though is that at every point of the match, she seems aware of this impending doom. She clings to the title belt before the match, she bails on the first sign of trouble, and when Melissa rushes out to meet her, it’s practically game over. Much of the first half of this match plays out as a crowd brawl. I can understand how some might find this a little tedious, and it might have been if they weren’t hitting each other so hard. Between bumping off the lobby stairs and crashing into the barricades repeatedly, Madison eats a delightful amount of shit in this section.
That’s about what one would expect given Melissa’s a much heavier handed wrestler, so when things wander back into the ring, the champion’s able to find her footing again. True to those “Best in the world” chants, Madison borrows from Danielson here with both the Cattle Mutilation and the knee stomps. Even in her control though, Eagles finds a way to allow Melissa to shine—she gets kicked right in the mush while whining to Bryce from the mat.
The finishing stretch has a lot of the big bombs one would want from an indie title match of this era too, but its bolstered by how well the crowd responds to them. Not just going nuts for big kick outs, but also the anticipation for what should follow. Melissa gets a key rope break and they chant “You can’t beat her” at Madison. When Madison kicks out of two of Melissa’s Air Raid Crashes, they chant for the Kudo Driver to finish off the champ. Melissa obliges, but for a second, Madison begins to counter it much as she did in the first title match.
But this time, Melissa’s ready.
Melissa cinches up Madison into a tight pinfall to get the three count and the victory. It’s a big moment and Melissa gets it done by learning from her past mistake. Not only did she beat the champ half to death for most of this, she also outsmarts her in the last moment.
It’s a delight and a perfect encapsulation of what SHIMMER achieves when its mechanisms work as meant. Madison’s reign ends exactly as it was telegraphed—at Melissa’s hands. And it’s all the more satisfying because it’s the road we were travelling the whole time and the journey made it all worthwhile. It’s the kind of match that captures how SHIMMER’s solid booking combines with the high level of quality in the ring to produce something truly special.
When people talk about their memories of the promotion, it’s for matches like this.
IS IT BETTER THAN 6/3/94? Booking wise, yes definitely. But still, no.
Rating: ****