Sara del Ray vs. Mercedes Martinez Takes Its Time
Sara del Ray vs. Mercedes Martinez Takes Its Time
Two of SHIMMER's earliest stars put on a masterclass of pacing.
There’s a lot to love about SHIMMER.
For someone like me, there’s a lot of small production touches that make a difference. Dave Prazak, one of the company’s co-founders, handles play-by-play commentary as he does for some of the most beloved independents of the time. Prazak’s connection to ROH meant that SHIMMER shared a lot of the production quirks of peak era ROH, beyond just Prazak on commentary—the wipes between segments, the simple recap videos that provide context for major matches.
And that’s before we even get to the matches. At its best, SHIMMER’s in-ring product sits at the intersection between great talent and great booking. It’s a lot of really simple, effective storytelling that elevates already great and fundamentally sound professional wrestling.
This match from SHIMMER’s early days illustrates that perfectly.
Del Rey and Martinez wrestled on the first volume to a 20 minute time limit draw, so here they wrestle without a time limit. Classic little bit of booking to leave more opportunities to come back to this match down the road, one that SHIMMER would use again later in their history.
The inherent question the booking raises is whether or not Mercedes can put away Sara now that time is no longer an issue. When the bell rings though, it becomes clear that the dynamic is a little more complicated than that. It becomes clear very quickly that these two are about as close as you can get in ability and skill in the ring. The opening lock up has that crunchy, tense struggle that one wants out of an extended collar and elbow tie up.
What I appreciate most about this match would be how much they commit to this dynamic without going over the top with anything. There’s a real deliberate sense of pacing and action here that speaks to the consideration that both wrestlers bring to the ring. With that comes a certain level of confidence and assuredness from both women to just explore the scenarios that they’ve created. There’s no rush here, and that has less to do with not having a time limit (this only really goes a smidge longer than 20 minutes), and much more to do with Mercedes and Sara being remarkably skilled and well-rounded pro wrestlers.
Much of the early half of the match plays out down on the mat, and it’s an engaging watch. The hallmark of good mat work, for me, is when the action in it feels like an end in itself. While it’s good to use it to set things up later in the match, making those moments down on the mat dynamic and interesting on their own is what separates the good from the great.
Sara del Rey and Mercedes Martinez are great wrestlers. It’s so clear even this relatively early stage of both of their careers. Just watch the way Sara counters a waist lock by dropping her weight down to the mat, hooking Mercedes into a side headlock, and transitioning into a wrist lock. It’s not flashy stuff, but it’s sensible moment to moment chain wrestling that feels rewarding to watch.
Mercedes has her fair share of finesse, but what I enjoyed from her best in this is her brutality. When Sara grabs a leg lock, Mercedes clubs away at her to try to break the hold. Later on, she also feels much more at home dropping big bombs like a Saito suplex or a even a reverse brainbuster. Sara has her own bombs too here, but it’s Mercedes who feels especially vicious when cutting off Sara’s momentum.
Even in that great finishing stretch when the big moves start coming out, the restraint of this match still shines through. There’s a very clear story of Mercedes avoiding Sara’s Royal Butterfly submission. It’s something they tease regularly throughout the match, and it even informs why Mercedes might have lost this encounter. After all, she’s caught slipping in a moment where she should have been in control, and didn’t have a counter ready. All the study in the world doesn’t prepare a wrestler for a loss of concentration for just three seconds.
There’s clearly more left on the table between these two that’s left for them to explore in a third match. It becomes clear immediately that that’s the plan, as Sara del Rey takes to the mic after the match to willing offer another encounter.
It takes great skill to thread the needle the way these two do here. They build off the first match, but also give themselves space to develop further down the line. They allow the match to breathe and flow without stretching things out to an absurd runtime. They’re not going at a furious pace, but they’re never boring either. They take their time, and just let the action grow organically.
It’s a truly impressive display of pacing that perfectly captures difference between a slow match and a patient match. Slow matches bore, patient matches like this reward.
IS IT BETTER THAN 6/3/94? No.
Rating: ****