A good friend of mine from high school recently visited and gave me an excuse to do touristy things. đ One of which was The Heart of the Village tour from Foods of NY Tours. It’s a 3 hour walking tour combining a cultural perspective on the area with tastings from some great restaurants along the way.
A few notes before I recount/review the tour in detail.
We had 6 tastings. The website lists 7 for this tour. It does say subject to change, and the one we “missed” was tea, so nothing substantial, but the small discrepancy is worth mentioning.
Our tour guide was Barri, who’s been doing this for years at it shows. Extremely knowledgable and friendly, she was a fantastic guide. A little obsessed with Bob Dylan though – he became a disproportionate amount of our cultural tidbits. đ
For anyone looking for the short version – this was awesome. Have no hesitations at all about doing a Foods of NY tour.
We started out gathering at Monte’s Trattoria. It provided a nice place for people to sit as they arrived, but we actually didn’t eat there yet. Since Monte’s would be a sit down stop and one of the more substantial of our tastings, it was scheduled for third. Nice bit of planning.
The group was 16 people and seemed like the right amount. Any more would have been a bit much but as was the group could gather around the guide to hear everything and it was a nice shared experience. The first tasting was a couple spots down from Monte’s at Meltkraft, an artisan grilled cheese shops. We tried their Valley Thunder, which contained aged cheddar and brisket. It was phenomenal, likely my favorite of the day. You could taste the quality of the cheese, as the aged cheddar was so strong it had the impact of a bleu cheese or the like.
We walked around a bit, with Barri pointing out some cool place where movies were filmed, etc as well as restaurants we wouldn’t be stopping at but were still worth checking out, then made our way to our second quick stop, Masala Times. The samples here were the Unda Bhurji roll and mango lassi. The rolls were made fresh while we waited (not long) and had egg and veggies with Indian spice. The spice was just enough to taste, giving it a mild flavor. I liked this and understand why we had something light and mild, but I’m much more interested in going back and having one of the meat dishes. The mango lassi was excellent, with a flavor that was subtle but still distinct. Mango flavor is usually to strong for me in drinks like this. Here it was perfect.
We proceeded along, seeing more interesting landmarks with great context shared by our guide. We ended up mading our way back to Monte’s for a sit down tasting, a nice break after walking about. We were there for about 20 minutes, and had some fettuccine bolognese. Wine and other beverages were available for purchase, at whole dollar prices with tax and gratuity already included. This allowed everything to go smoothly and quickly without us feeling rushed. Both wine and pasta were good. The bolognese was light and flavorful, such that despite generally not eating tomatoes or tomato sauce I tried and enjoyed it.
Next up was Artichoke Pizza, a well known pizzeria named after its signature slice. Said slice was determined to be too heavy for a sampling tour, so we were served a margherita pizza. Too much tomato here for me (and I had had my one exception per few years minutes earlier), so I skipped. Looked fantastic though and everyone else loved it.
After getting loaded up with food at the last couple of tastings we spent a decent amount of time walking around Washington Square Park. Barri had numerous intriguing stories and facts to share about the park (and on the way there). It was fun to here both about the significance of certain structures and buildings as well as the various places famous musicians, etc frequented.
Just as we were getting a bit tired out from walking around in the heat, it was time for our second sit down tasting. Cuba Ristorante served us two different types of empanadas, chicken and spinach, as well as sweet plantains. Everything was excellent and was my second favorite stop of the tour. Mojitos were available for purchase, and like at Monte’s it was an all inclusive price.
We walked around a bit more with Barri frequently stopping us to point out/share interesting tidbits about the area, then concluded the tour at Francois Payard Bakery, where we had a classic style salted caramel macaron. Macarons have become a favorite dessert of mine, and I can say that it was extremely good here.
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So there you have it. The tour was excellent, perfectly balancing the information, sightseeing, and tastings. Our guide really knew her stuff and made the tour relaxed and fun. The restaurant choices were great both for quality and diversity. I’m very pleased with how this went and would totally be up for trying one of their other tours sometime.
I’ve been extremely pleased with my Japan Crate subscription thus far. Let’s see what September has to offer.
Another month, another box stuffed with unique and varied snacks from Japan. It also includes a mini-manga that explains what each item is and has instructions for the DIY kit and various additional context, pictures and promotion. The bonus item for the Premium Crate this month isn’t food, but a gashapon keychain of Gudetama, a lazy egg. A cute little inclusion.
Now let’s look at the 11 edibles.
The Excellent
This monthâs Premium Crateâs drink is Lychee Ramune, the first item I’ve gotten in Japan Crate that I’ve actually had before. It’s a great soda with a light flavor. Kawarinbo, another Premium exclusive, is a fantastic lollypop which is half apple and half grape, gives way to a sugary lychee center, and shares its final surprise when the sucker is finished as the stick itself is a wrapped stick of cola flavored gum. It tied for my favorite this month with Wata de coco Grape Gummy, lightly flavored square grape gummies made from coconut water.
I’m discovering savory Japanese snacks have a fondness for corn flavor, and like the others I’ve had this month’s Sweet Corn Pretz were quite good and tasted exactly like they were supposed to.  Meiji Fran is the most decadent and rich version of chocolate pocky I’ve ever had. One stick is practically a dessert by itself, but good luck stopping there.
The Decent
Konpeito is described as a traditional Japanese candy from the 16th century. It’s pieces of what’s generally called rock candy over here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in such small, relatively uniform pieces. The description of Calbee Potato Chips Seaweed and Salt claim “salt and seaweed flakes give thiese chips an unusual crunch not found in most ‘American’ chips,” but hyperbole these were essentially a bag of plain Lay’s. Good quality, but also the first item whose contents I felt I could have gotten down the street at my local supermarket. Glug Glug Want Chocolate is a taiyaki cookie with a airy chocolate filling.
I’ve seen a LOT of weird food, toys, novelties, etc from Japan, but I have to admit this month’s DIY kit EASILY takes the cake. Moko Moko Toilet 3 (there were 2 others first?!) is kit where you make foaming candy from included mix in a plastic toy toilet that comes in four different variations based on different countries. Seriously. I got the American one, which is blue and has stickers to decorate the toilet that include the American flag, a hamburger, etc. The other countries used are China, Japan and France. It included three mixes to make – strawberry, cola and lychee flavors. The mix and some water goes into the tank, then the candy foams up in the bowl. The candy/foam/drink was fine, but the absurdity and amusement is the draw here.
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The Meh
Lemon Squash is quite interesting, as it’s a soft plastic bottle of a mild lemonade packaged like a snack. I found it bland, but it certainly will have its appeal among others. Fullgurt Candy are hard candies in blueberry and mango yogurt flavors. While the idea has merit and I enjoy both hard candies and yogurt separately, I didn’t care for the flavors here at all.
Conclusion
A couple of things I didn’t enjoy, numerous that I did, and more weirdness than I thought possible. The Premium Crate exclusives continue to easily be worth the $5 upgrade, and three crates in and I’m still extremely happy with the contents of my monthly snack box. The variety nearly makes this worthwhile alone, and the quality is a wonderful bonus.
Nothing ever happens in Berke County, but with the exception of his best (and only) friend moving away D.J. Lim is ok with that. He’s totally average in a family of overachievers, but he’s good at being a friend. And the boy with no memory who just fell from the sky in a pair of silver underwear is going to need one…
Hilo, The Boy Who Crashed to Earth is a roller coaster of amusement from start to finish, with some important and touching theme woven in for good measure. Winick’s taken the same type of core concepts that made his Barry Ween series excellent, stripped away all the swearing and off-color humor, and ended up with a children’s book that I can recommend without reservation. It’s not super deep, but it does have layers, lessons, realistic feeling characters and a very odd little boy holding it all together.
With the announced theme for September’s upcoming Nerd Block being Star Wars I decided this was a good time to try it out. Currently any new customers or any current subscribers who add a different block receive a free “Welcome Block” (one per customer). The Welcome Block is a smaller version of their mystery boxes and contains a variety of items from past blocks as a sampling of the kind of things they offer. They quote its worth at $20. Let’s see what came in mine:
Five items in here, which seems pretty good for a welcome gift to me. The big thing I got was a vinyl Doctor Who figure of the Tenth Doctor. Never got into that fandom, but it looks nice and I have plenty of friends who are. Guardians of the Galaxy on the other hand is one of my current obsessions, so the Groot magnet was an awesome find. I don’t have a device that will get use out of the mini joystick for touchscreens, but it’s existence amuses me.
From what I understand Cliccors have been included a few times in past blocks, but this is my first time receiving them. It’s a cute little toy that’s fun to play around with. I have however gotten a mystery pack of nommies in a past Arcade Block. As before, cute for what they are. My nephew and niece will be pleased I have a few more for their collection.
Conclusion
Not bad at all, particularly for free. A nice bit of extra incentive for anyone on thinking about trying out one of the Nerd Block line of mystery boxes.
One of the best things about following independent wrestling (besides all the awesome talent and matches) is watching people develop and discovering tomorrow’s stars today. Here’s a look at three wrestlers who haven’t quite fully “broken out” yet, but are tearing it up, are definitely ready for the next step in their careers and will soon.
Timothy Thatcher:
It feels odd to list Evolve’s current champion and a ten year vet as an “up and comer,” but despite his status and experience I still don’t feel Timothy Thatcher’s as well known as he should be. He’s the most compelling in-ring performer I’ve seen in a long time. EVERYTHING is measured, executed carefully, and believable. He knows how to draw the crowd in to hold for hold wrestling, and the secret is that he’s always fighting. Each hold, strike, suplex, etc is clearly an attempt to get closer to winning the match. It’s a subtle but incredibly important thing that a lot of the Evolve roster understands and does well, but Thatcher’s perfected it. This ability has allow him and compatriots like Gulak and Biff Busick popularize a strong grappling based style that gives Evolve even more depth and variety to its cards.
It’s kind of hard for me to believe he’s only been in Evolve for a little over a year given what a year it was. Thatcher made an immediate impression against rival Drew Gulak and very quickly became I guy I ordered shows to see. He’s had a ridiculous number of matches that I thought were the best of their particular show, including phenomenal battles against Tommy End and Chris Hero earlier in 2015, and a title defense against Zach Sabre Jr. that was just unreal. Evolve has a great champion in Thatcher, and I can’t wait to see how much more he can accomplish.
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Dalton Castle:
“It’s about time someone came and made this world colorful!”
“The Party Peacock” own his character like no one else I’ve ever seen, making an absurdly over-the-top gimmick amusing and likable instead of annoying. It was an absolute treat seeing him live at an ROH tv taping this past June. He’s on from the moment he steps out of the curtain to the moment he goes back, including little things like giving the occasional male fan a back of the hand caress across the side of the face (like he does with his boys during interviews) instead of high fives. I unexpectedly earned that particular greeting myself by calling out “you’ll get them next time Dalton” as he walked back from an unsuccessful effort in a six-man match.
I also saw his expansive cape get momentarily caught in the stairs behind him on his way to the ring. Dalton noticed it tugging on him and spun around with an emphatic “what happened?!” Presented with no immediately apparent answer (as his boy had already released it) he gave a big sigh and looked puzzled with that half vacant stare of his. When greeted with a call of “don’t worry, it’s already fixed” from a fan he exclaimed “that’s right!” and went right back into strutting mode. It’s a ridiculously small thing, but to me the ten second exchange nicely highlights his complete commitment to staying in character every single moment.
I haven’t seen as much of his ringwork yet as I’d like, but what I’ve seen has been great. He knows how to incorporate his eccentric character and antics into matches without ruining them by going too overboard or missing the point of it being an athletic contest. Dalton Castle’s a strong wrestler with phenomenal charisma and I predict big things for his future.
Side note: Castle’s tweets are easily the highlight of my twitter feed. They’re generally in character and hilarious. My favorite so far was “Me in a hot dog eating contest at Coney Island… I don’t fully understand the rules” with a picture of him performing a German suplex.
Nicole Savoy:Â
I’ve seen Nicole Savoy at two Shimmer weekends now, and at both IÂ and other Shimmer regulars came away talking about have impressive Savoy was and how much we wanted to see her come back. She has a natural presence that makes you take notice right away, which gives her an air beyond the relatively few years she’s been in the sport. But more than that, Savoy has amazing instincts and mannerisms. She’s friendly and appreciative outside of the ring, but when she’s “on” and in the ring she’s a complete, consummate heel. A friend of mine told her “you make me want to punch you in the face, and I mean that in the best possible way” (and of course she was thrilled, because it means she’s doing her job properly). She innately knows just how to act, move, and carry herself for maximum effect.
Beyond all of that, Savoy is also excellent in the ring. She’s more than held her own both against Shimmer mainstays like Evie, Heidi, Yim and Lufisto, and in opportunities to step into the ring with international superstars Misaki Ohata and Yumi Ohka. She gets better and better every time I see her. Nicole Savoy has all the tools so to speak, and right now it really looks like the sky’s the limit for her going forward.
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Hope everyone enjoyed my look at three of the best on the indies, and definitely check them all out if you get a chance. There are plenty of excellent wrestlers in the ranks right now, and I’ll be back to feature more soon.
August 2015’s Arcade Block has arrived, as always in its awesome retro NES style box. Let’s see what we got this month.
The “Product of the Month” this time around is a Mortal Kombat X plush, either of Scorpion or Sub-Zero. I got Sub-Zero and he looks great. The fact that his hood pulls back off his head amuses me greatly for some reason. As seems to be the norm there was a CD included, this one a soudtrack of the “Scott Pilgrim vs the World” game. It has a good “rock” feel while sounding like something out of a NES game (in a good way). The three CDs I’ve gotten in various Arcade Blocks have contrasted nicely in style.  The Fallout themed mini baseball pennant for the “Boston Vault Dwellers” is cute.
The terrycloth wristband is also a cute little addition, although I admit I don’t understand the significance of the double quotation marks one I got. The t-shirt for this month is a great design for “Counter Strike” which looks like it was pulled right off a NES game box. Rounding out this month’s block is another issue of RETRO Magazine. RETRO’s a solid read, and I don’t mind the apparent trend of including a new issue every 2-3 months.
Conclusion
While nothing blew me away this month, everything was decent and as much as I feel like a broken record here the thing that still impresses me the most is the variety of item types over the four boxes I’ve gotten. Still very happy with my subscription.
In April 2012 I backed a Kickstarter for The Last of McGuinness, a gripping look at the premature end of Nigel McGuinness’s life long dream. As part of the rewards he was offering a a picture of himself done by an artist named Rob Schamberger, and he linked to Rob’s own Kickstarter. Such was my first exposure to one of the best artists I’ve ever seen.
Rob’s print of Nigel that was offered as part of the Kickstarter for “The Last of McGuinness.”
Rob’s dream was to do a series of mixed media paintings featuring all past world heavyweight champions in pro-wrestling. He describes why in his own words from the project page:
“‘Why would you want to paint heavyweight wrestling champions?’
First and foremost, why wouldn’t I? But seriously, it’s because these men mean so much to so many people around the world. The world championship is the pinnacle of any sport, even a pre-determined one like professional wrestling. The man who holds that title has to be believable as a champion and also has to draw crowds to see him defend his title, both of which are very real responsibilities. In the old days, the champion would often have to legitimately defend the title against opponents who were looking to bring the title to their territory. I also want to do this for the fans who fill the auditoriums and arenas every week, who make all of the magic happen.”
I have a print of this unbelievably realistic painting of Bret and Owen, and I’ve had people mistake it for a photo.
I’ve been a pro-wrestling fan all of my life, and I was thrilled to see such a talented artist wanting to devote his skills to honoring its stars. He campaigned hard during this first KS, offering commissions and a variety of other rewards and bonuses and it made it’s goal in the last minutes. Both the paintings that were the point of this KS and the commissioned rewards were incredible and Rob’s reputation rapidly grew.
His second Kickstarter in early 2013 was to take his collection on tour across the US. The tour itself was an overall success, but had a major setback in the middle as Rob’s truck was hit by a semi outside of Secaucus NJ. Thankfully he was fine, but he lost all of the prints and paintings he was transporting to show at Wrestlecon that year’s Wrestlemania weekend. It was in the midst of this that I got to meet him at the con. Rob was in reasonably good spirits despite the harrowing experience. His printer overnighted new prints and he made the most of things, hanging out with fans and enjoying his time at the con.
Rob’s perfect rendition of Kana, which I was lucky enough to get signed at Shimmer 53.
It was fantastic to get to meet him in person after chatting a bit online and hopefully helped take his mind off of things a bit. He’s obviously as big (or even bigger) a fan than I am so it was a real treat to discuss wrestling and his art. As a bonus I had attended the Shimmer show just minutes before finding Rob’s table, where I got the incredible painting he did of my favorite wrestler as part of my rewards for the first KS signed by the subject herself.
Jaw dropping depiction of Undertaker vs CM Punk I got from Rob for my brother-in-law and nephew.
The brilliance of Rob’s work is the way he captures real people while embracing experimental art techniques. His use of color, shadow, and other artistic techniques is innovative and gives his work depth and a captivating feel. The range he’s shown in his paintings is incredible and he never stops pushing himself to make the next one even better.
Rob’s fame and awareness of his work grew and grew, and he was noticed by several employees of the WWE. He now works directly for them, continuing to create amazing renditions of their superstars which are offered on WWE’s auction site, signed by their subjects. They also have posters and prints of his work available at WWE’s online shop.
Perfect paintings of Curt Hennig and Randy Savage.
It’s been a privilege to follow his journey since near the beginning, and I’m excited to keep doing so going forward.
This was my first time seeing Shimmer live in Berwyn and it was amazing. The Shimmer weekend experience is something I wholeheartedly recommend. Venue is smaller than it looks on film, but stills holds a lot of fans and the atmosphere is great. I remember enjoying this a lot live, particularly Shida/Yim and the nuclear heat for Nakagawa/Knight. so it’ll be interesting to revisit on dvd.
Match 1 â Evie vs Rhia O’Reilly: ***1/2
Veda Scott on commentary with Dave Prazak and doing well in place of Portia Perez. Evie’s one of the fastest rising stars of Shimmer and Rhia’s a great foil for her. This was a good back and forth match with Rhia just beating Evie down to combat Evie’s lethal strikes. Evie’s parabola kick in unexplainably awesome. Evie wins after a doublestomp off the top with Rhia hanging in the tree of woe.
Battling on the turnbuckle directly above me.
Havok cuts a strong promo setting up her match with Kay Lee Ray claiming KLR got lucky against Vanessa Kraven and “I’m a whole different kind of monster than Vanessa is.”
Match 2 â Nevaeh vs Christina Von Eerie: **1/2
Von Eeire looks a bit different without her hair up in her trademark mohawk. Good intensity here, as Nevaeh radiated disdain for Von Eeire and the fans and both really conveyed the idea of wanting to one-up each other well. Interesting submission hold from Von Eerie towards the end. Essentially a Texas Cloverleaf with one of Nevaeh’s arms hammerlocked by one of Von Eerie’s legs. Nevaeh with an unusual singles victory in Shimmer with the DVD. Decent, if basic, match.
Match 3 â Havok vs Kay Lee Ray:Â ****
Tough Berwyn debut for Kay Lee Ray. Havok’s already showing decent crowd support as they slowly turn her face whether anyone likes it or not. Havok pulls the pin on a grenade and tosses it to KLR before the bell. Prazak and Scott enjoying themselves on commentary. “She pulled the pin!” “The whole front row should have evacuated! What are they doing?!” “The whole building should be evacuated!” “Well, it’s a small grenade.” They then praise the fearlessness of the photographer that picked it up off the floor as Havok and KLR exchange arm wringers to start. KLR gets the better of it, puts Havok in a arm bar then fires up the crowd clapping against Havok’s outstretched hand as Havok screams to stop it. Cute spot.
Back to their feet and the story of the match sets in with KLR’s quickness against Havok’s brutal strikes and smashes. Â A particularly nasty one sees Havok just knock KLR out of the air during a dive attempt to the floor. Extended beatdown by Havok. KLR uses her quickness again to avoid a chop in the corner and fire back with her own for a glimmer of hope, then Havok wipes her out with a clothesline. Elevated full nelson into a backbreaker into a horizontal clothesline to the mat by Havok in a great combo. Crowd is firmly behind KLR at this point, which speaks to the excellent heel work Havok is doing since she started the match with some cheers. Havok with several backbreakers in succession, and KLR counters the last with a headscissors. Kick to Havok’s face in the corner and she goes for a bulldog, but Havok counters with a back suplex.
The timekeeper announces that five minutes have gone by, which blows my mind given how much has been packed into the match already. Dueling chants start as both wrestlers are too good at their job for the crowd to want to boo either. Prazak acknowledges the Havok fans, which is nice because I hate it when announcers try to ignore/spin crowd reactions. Some more back and forth and then KLR starts to string together offense and she hits the dive this time around. The structure of this match has been excellent. KLR up top but Havok grabs her for a chokeslam down into the ring and picks up the win.
Fantastic match and a perfect example of why both Havok and KLR have become favorites of mine. Would love to see an even longer rematch.
 Canadian Ninjas promo where Portia acts like Nicole had an extramarital affair by teaming with Madison Eagles at the previous ippv. Nicole patches things up by removing her Eagles t-shirt to reveal a Portia one. Amusing antics from the Ninjas.
Match 4 â Courtney Rush vs Marti Belle: **
This is Belle’s main roster debut. Here’s an example of two decent wrestlers with comedic overtones that I don’t personally enjoy often. Belle has tweaked her character and mannerisms nicely over time and her recent appearances on Shine are much better. One admittedly amusing spot early on as Rush counters a headlock simply by standing up to full height. Belle’s ample use of hairspray drifts into the crowd and a “too much hairspray” chant ensues.
After a series of holds and reversals Rush traps Belle’s arms under Rush’s legs in a camel clutch variation and messes her hair. Leading to more noxious fumes in the corner once the Rush releases the hold. Rush is just back from a collarbone injury and Belle targeted the right shoulder throughout the match. She finally pisses Rush off and the sharpshooter finishes off the newcomer.
Effort shown from both and nothing technically wrong with the match, but honestly it felt very flat to me as was too long for the characters / the story they were telling.
Match 5 âKimber Lee & Cherry Bomb vs Leva Bates & Veda Scott: ***1/2
Scott bailed from commentary during the last match to prepare for this one. Prazak still solo on commentary. The Kimber Bombs are a great tag team and are very effective as heels in Shimmer. Early appearance as a team so they don’t have their “incorrect order when turning around to show their team name on their trunks” comedy spot going yet. Their opponents are the new team of Veda and Leva, with Leva out in cosplay as usual. Rogue from the X-Men this time (and a spot on costume).  Oops, I stand corrected – the Bombs got it right during the entrance, but do the “Bombs Kimber” spot during their introduction. Veda seems a little confused by her partner, but is smiling all the same. Kimber with a “four eyes” insult just so everyone remembers who the heels are.
Veda gets the advantage on Cherry to starts and some solid doubleteams from Veda/Leva in the early going. Prazak helpfully reminds me that Veda and Leva formed this team as a result of earning each other’s respect in a match against one another at the last show. Leva removes a glove and applies the claw to “absorb” Kimber’s strength in a nod to the character she’s dressed as. Mocks the Kimber Bombs pose and hits a suplex. Cheapshot from Cherry on the outside and the Bombs take over. Proper Kimber Bombs double suplex on Leva. Superkick on Cherry finally gives Leva an opening and both teams switch up.
Veda in control of both Bombs for a bit, but Kimber pulls her in front of Leva’s missile dropkick and the Bombs hit the lungblower German suplex combo for the win. Leva apologizes and hugs her partner after the match. Good tag team battle as the Kimber Bombs continue their roll.
Match 6: Madison Eagles vs Heidi Lovelace ****
Time for another heel the crowd loves to love as Madison Eagles comes out to an ovation. Decent response for Heidi as her opponent too. “Worst Best Friends” chant for Madison. The variation on Madison’s pre-match hidden fork ritual this time is putting it in her hand before shaking with Heidi, leading to Heidi getting caught by the ref brandishing a fork. Madison suitably overreacts to her own deed and tries to get the ref to give the fork (back) to her to use because “she brought it.” Reasonably amusing. With that out of the way the match starts with some solid counter-wrestling. Prazak again setting the stage wonderfully recounting Madison’s unbeaten streak since returning after losing the Shimmer title and how she’s rising in the contender ranks with every subsequent victory vs Heidi trying to climb herself and accepting challenges of all sorts.
Veda returns to commentary and sounds a bit cagey about her new tag team’s future. Eagles and Lovelace progress from holds to strikes and the pace quickens considerably. Madison with an extended advantage and grabs the ropes right in front of the ref during a pin attempt. When questioned she responds “I was so close.” I like the matter of fact nature of her humor and she uses it well, never quite overshadowing the match, but she really doesn’t need it and I wouldn’t mind seeing it toned down a bit in general from her.
Dueling chants after some back and forth and Eagles lands a beautiful deadlift German. Strike exchange on their knees leads to Heidi kicking Madison in the head leads to Madison tripping Heidi hard and attempting a brainbuster. Heidi reverses it into a small package for a believable nearfall. Great stuff. Heidi evades a charge in the corner, hits a kick to the head and goes up for a diving double knees from the top. Madison kicks out just before 3. Madison blocks a backdrop driver attempt and plants Heidi with a brainbuster. She drags Heidi over for one of the best and most devastating moves in her arsenal, the spider German. Heidi reverses though with another kick to the head, but the frog splash attempt meets Madison’s knees. Madison locks in an incredibly painful looking STF variation for the submission win.
Heidi was more than game to hang with the former Shimmer champion and this match was excellent. Love the addition of a new finisher for Madison, as her Hellbound is one of the most protected finishers in Shimmer history and I want to see it stay that way.
Here we go. This next part was electric live and I can’t wait to see how it translates. Saraya out… no wait she’s annoyed at the fans and goes back. Out again, and has the mic. Rips into the crowd for cheering her for her daughter’s accomplishments. She has everyone dancing to her tune from word one, and honestly may be the greatest heel I’ve ever seen. She starts talking about an unidentified person who “seems to thinks she’s better than me.” Continues in this vein and adds “there’s only one person I give accolades, and that’s the one wearing the number one belt. Not a piece of crap like you. Play her music, bring her out.” When the music hit and the crowd realized she was talking about Nakagawa, they were in shock/awe. And then the cheering built and built.
Match 7 â Tomoka Nakagawa (Shimmer Tag Team Champion) vs Saraya Knight ****1/4
Nakagawa out with her Shimmer Tag Team title belt, a nice and important touch after Saraya’s trash talk, which continues during the introductions. After Tomoka’s a thunderous Nakagwa chant starts. It’s the loudest chant I’ve heard, and it comes across pretty well on dvd. The consummate professional that Saraya is, she’s sees her opportunity and grabs it, taking the mic again and telling the crowd she’s never been so disrespected in her life. She tells us to shut up, and that she knows we won’t be able to keep the noise up all match, and even if we do Tomoka won’t here it because she’s going to knock both her eardrum out. Amazingly the chant manages to get LOUDER. Just brilliant work by the veteran. “SHE. CAN’T. BEAT. ME.”
Bell rings and Saraya fumes as Tomoka encourages the fans. Great touch from Veda as her concern with Saraya’s threat that she’ll punch everyone in the building in the mouth isn’t whether she thinks Saraya actually will, but whether it just means the fans or if her and Dave are also in trouble. So much more effective in getting the character over than saying something like “I’m sure she wouldn’t actually do that.”
Just as they are about to lock up some fans nearly give Saraya an aneurism by chanting “we want Paige.” Prazak and Veda set the stage for the match noting both women have been notorious rulebreakers in the past. I think a one-match return of Tomoka’s cheating ways to counter Saraya is in order. Lock-up for real, and by that I mean Saraya throws her around by the hair. Saraya taunts her and Tomoka shows she’s just as good at dragging someone by the hair. Eye poke by Knight and the boos are echoing. Reciprocated to counter to cheers. This is a masterful display of craft from both and the only moves we’ve seen so far is hair pulling and eye pokes.
An exchange of closed fist shots during headlocks is the next stage in the cheating one-upmanship, then Saraya just tees of with a slap. Hard clothesline and some stomps look to put her in control, but Tomoka comes back with some chops and a beautiful dropkick. Saraya back to the hair and pulls Nakagawa into a leg-applied full nelson. She transitions through a few holds then clubs on Tomoka’s back when she starts to break free.
The crowd noise dies down just a little, so Saraya with a taunting “I can’t hear you” and the booing is back in full force. Tomoka with the advantage, so Saraya punches her low, rakes the eyes, kicks her low when she drops into the corner, then hits her running seated low dropkick. Tomoka placed on the top turnbuckle. Another low punch, slap to the face, then a suplex from the bottom rope.
Saraya mocking Tomoka and they start trading punches on a delay, but after one go ’round Sraya goes back to the slap instead. She proceed to call Tomoka a little girl and talk about how she bit off more than she can chew and Tomoka finally repays the slaps in kind. Of course That infuriated Knight, who connects with another slap then ties Tomoka up in the ropes and scores several kidney punches. Vicious low kick back in the center of the ring and Tomoka crumples to the mat. As Saraya gloats Tomoka trips her and finialy repays the low blows in kind as well. She goes to the corner for her water bottle, but Rhia comes out to distract her and takes the water spit herself. Saraya with a reverse DDT for the win. Ever the sportswoman, Saraya stands on Tomoka’s hair to keep her in place and pours the water bottle out on her face. Saraya and Rhia scheme about turning this win into a tag title shot.
As much of a technical wrestling fanboy as I am, there are numerous ways to work a match, and these two worked this to perfection, Milage may vary, but I thought this was fantastic and while the full energy of it live was impossible to capture, watching it on dvd certainly did it justice.
Cheerleader Melissa and Mercedes Martinez talk about how not worried they are about Lufisto and Kana.
Match 8 – Athena vs Yumi Ohka ****1/4
Highly anticipated match here. Yumi Ohka is one of the most impressive wrestler that has been brought in from Japan and Athena is one of Shimmer’s best “homegrown” talents, having steadily climbed her way up the card over time. Athena is currently rumored to be headed to the WWE, a well deserved position if true.
Prazak mentions how busy and in demand Ohka is in Japan, which lead to a year and a half absence from Shimmer between her last appearance and this one. Athena is also returning to Shimmer here after an absence, hers due to a shoulder injury. A bit of aggressive counter wrestling to start, with Athena getting to show she’s on Ohka’s level. Ohka soon takes over though with her trademark running Yakuza kicks. Three variations connect and Athena’s down in perfect place for an elbow drop from the second rope. In a nice touch, after a cover Ohka checks with the ref that the count was two and not three, but when he says yes she just says ok. It’s a reflection of the heels arguing every two count and I like it as reenforcement of her as a face. It also aids suspension of disbelief, because in an actual competition of course you’d look to the official to verify whether or not you’d won.
Athena with a flurry of knee strikes and a vicious running boot of her own to a bent over Ohka. Neckbreaker followed by a butterfly suplex and Ohka appears to be in trouble, but reverses an Irish whip into another running Yakuza kick. Side kick then mule kick from Athena, but Yumi takes the advantage again with a forearm and hits a stranglehold lungblower into a submission. Lets go and back to the running kicks, but Athena reverses the second into 619 position, slides to the floor and nails Ohka with a kick to the face. Belly-to-belly by Ohka and both are down. Ax kick to the back of Athena’s head by Ohka. She’s calling for the finish but Athena reverses a suplex attempt with a small package. Another near fall on Ohka follows off of a springboard crossbody. Ohka lands knees to Athena’s head and then another big kick to the face for a two count. Ohka hits the ropes, but Athena traps the leg on the kick attempt and converts into an overhead suplex.
Athena with a new submission hold, tying up Ohka’s legs with her own and grabbing a crossface. Ohka makes the ropes and Athena goes right into a series of handstand kneedrops. Up to the second rope and nails a senton on a prone Ohka for another close two count. Athena and crowd calling for the O-face , but Ohka absolutely nails her in the head with another running kick with Athena on the tope turnbuckle. Superplex from Ohka but Athena kicks out. She hits her tiger suplex and then destroys the remains of Athena with a final running Yakuza kick for the victory.
How stacked is this card that Ohka vs Athena goes on fifth from the top? Phenomenal return for both.
Match 9 – The Canadian Ninjas vs Ray and Leon ****
“Edge of Seventeen” brings out Shimmer’s most despise tag team, Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews. For their opponents, Ray and Leon make their return to Shimmer! These two can fly and were instantly beloved in their first appearances. Ray’s cartwheel bomb is one of my favorite maneuvers ever. Big welcome back chant as Dave recounts how Ray and Leon are two of the most requested athletes to return.
Portia riling up the crowd quick by trying to push her opponents back and forth trying to decide which corner she prefers to be in. Bell rings and the Ninjas ambush their opponents, sending Ray out of the ring and focusing on Leon. The advantage doesn’t last long as Leon rolls through a double clothesline attempt and Ray comes in for a double dropkick. They continue to double team Portia in flashy fashion, firing up the crowd.
The Ninjas take over with a blind tag and demonstrate their commitment to being good heels by using both the ropes and outside leverage on a chinlock. Extended working over of Ray until she cartwheels through Portia’s clothesline attempt and hits a dropkick. Tag to Leon and she rolls over the Ninjas, including a double spear when Nicole tries to get involved. Picture perfect tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon on Portia and then stereo submissions on the Ninjas. Couple of surprise pin attempts by Portia on Leon after she’s released, but Leon drives her into the corner and tags Ray. Machine gun chops on Portia in the corner by Ray, and the faster she gets the more painful it is just to watch. Whip to an empty corner and Ray nails a handspring elbow.
Portia eventually hits a DDT and tags in Nicole. Great Rude style neck breaker into a superkick combo. Big lariat by Nicole for two as the crowd chants for Ray. Leon’s had enough, and strikes Nicole when she goes up top, leaving her in position for a spin kick from Ray. Leon blocks Portia as Ray hits an Iconoclasm for two. Things break down from here as both teams double team and cheap shot each other at every opportunity. All four in, then Ray knocked outside. Portia with a lightning spiral (!) into a Nicole brainbuster. They go for the Funky Cold Medina, but Leon catches the superkick and Ray comes back to kick Portia in the head.
German suplex by Leon on Matthews, 619 by Ray, spear by Leon and Nicole just barely kicks out. Frog splash by Leon but Portia shoves Ray back into the pin attempt to break it up. Ray lays Portia out with a German suplex and both masked wrestlers go up top. Ray with a moonsault on Perez simultaneously to Leon’s senton on Mathews and we have a double pin.
Great match to set up Ray and Leon as contenders for the tag titles.
Evie an endearing, slightly goofy promo about wanting to be Shimmer champion.
Match 10 – Kellie Skater (Shimmer Tag Team Champion) vs Nikki Storm ***1/2
It’s time for the best in the galaxy! Niiki’s natural charisma is already making fans, as a “SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!” chat goes up as soon as she enters the ring. Nikki works herself up finding absurd ways to describe her own beauty, and the crowd eats it up. The other half of the tag champs is out as her opponent. As usual the ring announcer can’t say “Glasglow” to Nikki’s satisfaction and gets corrected. Loudly. The crowd sides with the bully heel, chanting “say it right.” Kevin they slays them by covering his mouth and saying it in a muffled way that sounds pretty close. That got a big laugh. On to Kellie’s sing-a-long intro, which leads to Nikki getting streamer envy and a loud “Skater’s got this!” chant.
It might be starting to sound like the matches all start the same as I describe “counter wrestling to start,” but each set of competitors has focused on different holds, reversals, etc and it hasn’t felt repetitive at all. Here Skater and Storm fight over headlocks and head scissors and then proceed to a test of strength. Prazak and Veda have an interesting conversation on commentary pointing out the unique nature of Shimmer and all of the international talents it features.
Stalemate on the test of strength until Nikki trips Kellie and transitions into an arm wringer. Kellie reverses into a body scissors and does body dips to exercise while applying the hold. Nikki counters into a heel hook, which Kellie counters back into a headlock to the crowds appreciation. Pace quickens with a shoulder tackle by Nikki followed by armdrags by Kellie, culminating with a ropewalk one. Nikki begs off in the corner in hilarious fashion, offer the hand of sportsmanship only to drag Kellie face first into the turnbuckle. Back and forth but Nikki chokes Kellie to get take control. Nikki just pounding Kellie’s head into the mat. She keeps the advantage until a “let’s go Skater” chant fires Kellie up and they trade forearm shots. Nikki ends that with a kneelift, but Kellie gets a close two with a small package.
Nikki clubs Kellie back down, then chokes her and “innocently” asks the ref if choking is illegal in America when he counts her. “Really???” The ref then realizes Storm’s been standing on Kellie’s hair for the whole conversation. Veda with a great side bar about Niiki having difficultly with “language barriers” to which Dave fires back “It’s English! She just has an accent!” “Well it’s a very heavy accent.”
Kellie comes back with a succession of clotheslines and dropkicks, then a kick combination into a DDT. Nikki counters a snake eyes and looks for the Perfect Storm, but instead eats a running kick to the chest. Eye rake by Storm and then rolling neckbreakers (using the hair of course). Crossface by Nikki, Skater makes the ropes. Some offense from Skater, but an International Incedent attempt is countered into a Perfect Storm attempt which becomes a spinning cradle neckbreaker by Niiki after Kellie slips out of the Perfect Storm. Kickout just before three. Storm just shoving Skater now. Mauling Kellie in the corner out of frustration until the ref pulls her back.  Kellie avoids a charge, International Incident for three,
Nice toe-to-toe match and a strong showing for Storm, who is going to be a big star someday.
Clips of Hikaru Shida vs Mia Yim 1 from Volume 58 to introduce the rematch.
Match 11 – Mia Yim vs Hikaru Shida ****1/2
Mia has evolved over her career to become one of the most well rounded competitors on the roster. Shida is a young star from Japan with seemingly limitless potential. They tore the house down the first time and there was a lot of anticipation for this rematch. It was scheduled for the preceding ippv, but Mia was injured. Shida vs Evie filled in admirably, and we get the rematch here.
Great exchange of flipping, rolling, and countering out of each others holds early on. Wonderful display of submission style holds from both. Mia makes the ropes while in a leg hold and we reset. Exchange of armdrags, leg sweeps and simultaneous dropkick attempts and it’s another stalemate, Both athletes come up smiling in a sign of appreciation of the competition. Mia pulls ahead with a flying headscissors and lays into Shida with kicks to the back and chest. She clubs Shida down, hits an ax kick to the back, and applies a leg lock. She can’t quite get what looks like an Indian deathlock attempt, so she switches into a Boston crab. Shida makes the ropes and tries to fight back, but gets caught in a body scissors. Close pinfall attempts for both, all while Mia keeps the body scissors applied. Rope break and Shida tries to capitalize on a missed kick in the corner by Yim, but runs into a boot and Mia applies the tarantula.
Shida absorbs a couple hard kicks, catches the third and drives Mia’s injured knee straight into the canvas. Two more vicious impacts of the knee to the canvas and Shida locks in the figure four. Rope break then Shida runs at Mia and doesn’t quite go over the low bridge. Instead of forcing it she just trades a couple shots with Mia and then Mia dumps her. Mia goes or the apron kick, but Shida sweeps her legs and she lands face first on the apron. Knee lift with Mia draped over the side. Stomping at the injured knee.and then a running knee strike to it with Mia tied up in the corner. Exchange of forearms becomes a running kick by Mia becomes a running knee strike by Shida.
They fight over a suplex and Mia hits it. Shida with one of her own. Mia’s turn again. She pulls Shida toward the corner and goes up top, but Shida catches her. Superplex attempt blocked, but Shida knocks her off the top to the apron, then hits an incredible deadlift superplex from the second turnbuckle.
Phenomenal strength shown by Hikaru Shida.
Another exchange of forearm shots. Backfist from Yim. Enziguri from Shida. She lifts Mia for a falcon arrow, but it’s countered into a rollup, which Shida counters into her own, which Mia counters into a cover, which Shida counters into a crucifix and turns into a horse collar when Mia kicks out. Great sequence. Mia SCREAMING to sell the pain on the injured knee. Rope break but Shida immediately nails Mia in the face with a knee strike as Mia was still clutching her knee against the ropes. Mia grabs the bottom rope to break the pin. Three Count ducked, reverse attempt ducked, German suplex by Yim. Mia limping. Goes for the package piledriver, but can’t lift Shida. Exchange of kicks then Mia turns a headscissors attempt into a sitout powerbomb. First “this is awesome” chants of the show and Mia finishes Shida off with the package piledriver.
Fantastic back and forth contest between two wrestlers at the top of their game. Big win for Mia to put her into title contention and yet another impressive showing for Shida.
Recap of Mercedes costing Lufisto her two of three falls title match against Melissa at Volume 62.
Main event â Kana & Lufisto vs Cheerleader Melissa (Shimmer Champion) & Mercedes Martinez ***3/4
This is likely the main event we were supposed to get on Shimmer 61 to set up Lufisto’s title shot on Shimmer 62, but Melissa was injured so it became Lufisto vs Martinez and Kana was added to another match.
Mercedes and the champ are out first, giddily soaking up the boos. Lufisto and Kana out to a big reaction. Lufisto rushes Melissa during intros and there’s the bell. They all spill to the outside and pair up with Kana vs Melissa and Mercedes vs Lufisto. Kana and Melissa back into the ring to start the match proper and they are just kicking the hell out of each other. Melissa with control, beating on Kana in the corner then pulls her out … to mockingly slap the back of her head. That can’t possibly be a good idea. Kana reverses a suplex attempt into a high angle arm bar. Melissa makes the ropes in part due to Mercedes pushing it closer, a wonderful heel touch. And indeed Melissa has angered Kana and eats some brutal kicks to the head.
Melissa catches a kick and takes back over, tagging in Mercedes. Doubleteam elbow and Mercedes begins the chopping portion of the program. They draw Lufisto in and take turns choking Kana in their corner. Kana catches Mercedes coming off the rope with the flying armbar and makes it over to tag Lufisto. Doubleteam from Lufisto and Kana and Lufisto beats on Mercedes until she retreats outside. Back in an Lufisto continues to work the arm, but a cheapshot from Melissa on the outside turns the tide. More choking and Melissa goes to work on Lufisto. Extended beat down, with lots and lots of choking.
Lufisto counters a clothesline into a rollup, then avoids Mercedes with a roll towards her corner and tags Kana. Kana delivers six kicks to Mercedes in ten seconds, but Melissa nails her from the outside to give her partner control. Doesn’t last long as Kana fires back up and hits a wicked combination of strikes. Kick to the side of the head and Mercedes just barely kicks out. Melissa mauls Kana and the ref is distracted by Lufisto trying to come in to even the odds.
My most despised sequence then happens, as the ref turns around and sees Melissa still in the ring helping Mercedes and half heartedly counts, stopping for no reason at four when Melissa and Mercedes are both still in the ring beating on Kana because he’d have to DQ them if he kept counting. The part that kills me is Lufisto then comes in, and instead of letting it go like with the heels and counting the ref PHYSICALLY PUSHES HER BACK TO HER CORNER. So annoying. He’s not supposed to be treating the faces and heels differently in the exact same situation. He’s supposed to miss the heels doing it because his back is turned, not starring at them as they cheat and then acting biased against the faces. Meh.
Moving on. Kana in trouble, and Melissa applies a leg lock, kicking at Kana with her other foot to prevent the rope break while Mercedes pulls the rope away. And the ref again is in position to look directly at Mercedes and kind of reprimands her and pulls at her arms for half a second before going right back to checking Kana with Mercedes still pulling on the rope. Keep in mind the physical restraining of Lufisto every time she moves half a foot from her corner. Huh, guess we weren’t moving on afterall. My mistake.
Kana makes the ropes anyway. Slam by Melissa and she continues to keep Kana grounded. Tag to Mercedes but Kana counters a kick with an ankle lock into a release German. Mercedes up and they trade strikes until Mercedes hits a brainbuster and they’re both down. Kana tags Lufisto and Mercedes makes it to Melissa as well. Back and forth then Lufisto hits the cannonball. Mercedes in and hits the fishermen’s buster, but Kana wipes her out with a sliding kick and locks in an arm submission, but now the ref cares who’s legal. Melissa breaks it up and hits an air raid crash on Kana. thankfully the ref is consistent here and won’t count Melissa’s pin on Kana either. Lufisto sneaks in with a burning hammer attempt, but Melissa fights it off and hits an air raid crash.  Lufisto kicks out! Kana destroys Melissa with a kick to the side of the head as she tried to lift Lufisto, then Mercedes drops Kana with a back suplex and they’re all down.
Melissa and Mercedes up first, and they hit a double team top rope curb stomp on Kana. Lufisto tosses Mercedes. Melissa from behind with a Kudo Driver attempt, but Lufisto counters into the burning hammer for the win. Lufisto poses with the belt after the match. This all would have made more sense before Shimmer 62, but it’s still a nice moment.
Despite my issues with the officiating, this was a solid main event with good action from four excellent wrestlers.
Overall: One of the best top to bottom shows Shimmer’s put on, with a card loaded with top-notch action featuring phenomenal talent. Nearly as good on dvd as it was live, and well worth seeking out.
Available at http://shimmerwrestling.blogspot.com/ .
A highlight of the conventions I’ve attended over the years has been exploring artists alley. Row after row of tables filled with imaginative tributes to known characters and original works, by artists eager to meet fans and share the results of their efforts.
An incredible digitally painted scene (top).
Otakon in 2009 (I think) was the first time I saw the art of Juri the Dreamer (Juri H. Chinchilla) and it immediately wowed me. She had a variety of both digital and traditional art on display, all dripping in atmosphere and conveying a ton of emotion. I picked up a couple of prints and she’s been my favorite artist ever since.
Dizzy, Millia Rage, and  Jam Kuradoberi from Guilty Gear
I saw her at various conventions the following couple of years and got some great pieces, including an incredible set of colored pencil commissions at Anime Boston 2010 featuring Guilty Gear characters.
I adore her use of color, particularly in her hand drawn work. Masterful use of colored pencil gives the finished art a soft feel while keeping colors bright and vivid with a lot of depth.
“The Mistress of the Night”
Juri has a wonderful imagination and her original creations are always unique and striking.
Now living on the West Coast and working on a variety of projects, Juri isn’t currently attending cons or doing commissions. But there are still opportunities to get her wonderful art. She has print store at http://jurithedreamer.deviantart.com/prints/ and participates in card sets for companies like Perna Studios. Â Perna puts out high quality themed card sets in limited quantity. Juri’s contributions have been fantastic.
Some of Juri’s cards from Perna Studios’ sets.
Looking forward to seeing what the future brings for Juri and her art. đ
It’s been a little bittersweet over the last few years as more and more wrestlers I’ve watched on the indies go to the WWE. It means less opportunities to see them wrestle live, but I’m always thrilled for their success and what being signed means for their careers. Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Kevin Steen, Sara Del Rey, Uhaa Nation, and several others were all favorites of mine that got noticed for their excellent work and received an opportunity to work for the biggest pro-wrestling company there is.
But none of these announcements has excited and surprised me quite like the unexpected appearance of Kana during NXT Takeover Brooklyn.
The World Famous Kana at Shimmer 68.
I was unfamiliar with Kana before her Shimmer debut on volumes 41-44, but she made a lasting impression fast. With a unique look and aura and incredible ringwork, she went toe-to-toe with some of Shimmer’s best that weekend (Sara Del Rey, Cheerleader Melissa, Mia Yim, and Lufisto) and beat most of them. It was a fantastic first impression and instantly made her one of my favorites, a status that only grew stronger over time. Her match against Ayako Hamada at Volume 50 is still my favorite Shimmer match ever.
Kana and Lufisto get ready for a four team tag title match at Shimmer 53.
My first opportunity to see her (and a lot of other phenomenal athletes) live was Shimmer 53 as part of all the wrestling hoopla surrounding Wrestlemania in NJ in 2013. As part of a four-team tag title match she didn’t get a big spotlight but still managed to shine during her exchanges. It’s always an amazing feeling to get to meet one of your favorites and I was also able to get a beautiful piece of commissioned art of done by Rob Schamberger signed by her.
A goofy looking fan meets a world traveled wrestler at the top of her game.Incredible rendition of Kana by Rob Schamberger, signed by both. đ
My first trip out to Berwyn, IL for a Shimmer taping weekend was in April 2014 and I can’t recommend the experience enough. Two full days of incredible wrestling featuring some of the best on the planet. It was again a thrill to get to see Kana live and her singles matches against a variety of up-and-comers (particularly the Galaxy Famous Nikki Storm) were a joy.
Kana exhausted and likely a bit dazed moments after her hard hitting Shimmer Title match, but still friendly and cheerful with the fans.
My second Shimmer weekend in October 2014 now looks like it may have been Kana’s last, as she missed this past April and is likely headed to the WWE. If it was she had a great showing to finish up on. She had her first shot at the Shimmer title in an excellent rematch I’d been waiting a long time for against Cheerleader Melissa in the main event of Volume 67. On Volume 68 she and regular tag partner Lufisto wrestled Saraya Knight and Mayumi Ozaki in a no-DQ match that spilled around the arena a bit.
The next day another great wrestler with a bright future, Kay Lee Ray, faced Kana in a fantastic contest. Kana finished the weekend with another solid match against Courtney Rush.
Kana in some trouble vs another favorite of mine, Kay Lee Ray.
A couple months ago Kana announced a “hiatus” from wrestling. There was a lot of speculation without much info, and while WWE’s recent visit to Japan certainly presented the possibility of her being involved in negotiations, nothing was confirmed so it was just one more theory in the pile. Her appearance at NXT was a complete shock and I did a double take when I saw her up on the screen next to Flair and Slaughter. It was another awesome moment for me as a wrestling fan at a show absolutely filled with them.
While nothing’s been announced, WWE having Kana travel for NXT Takeover and showing her as part of the broadcast points heavily towards her being signed. The fact that she was named (with their standard slight spelling tweak for copyright) indicates if so her background and experience would likely be (rightfully) acknowledged instead of treating her like a rookie.
Kana was gracious enough to agree to a pic at the Shimmer afterparty during Shimmer 63-66 weekend.
It will be a very different chapter of her career, but I’m extremely happy for her and excited about all the possibilities. Best of luck to a true superstar.
Derailments of Thought 