SHINE 28 (July 24) Review

Against the backdrop of Ring of Honor’s return to internet pay-per-view, SHINE Wrestling presented their twenty-eighth show live from Ybor City, Florida. In the main event, SHINE Champion Santana Garrett was set to defend her title against Ivelisse. The Kimber Bombs and Valifornia were booked to do battle for the SHINE Tag Team Championships. Allysn Kay vs. Mia Yim headlined a solid undercard.

SHINE 28
July 24, 2015
The Orpheum – Ybor City, Florida
Watch: WWNLive.com

Malia Hosaka vs. La Rosa Negra

Negra has a lot of pep and athleticism. She was a fun foil for the much more serious Hosaka. Frustrated by the quicker Negra, Hosaka and her manager, the legendary Leilani Kai, resorted to good old fashioned cheating for the upper hand. The 2 on 1 assault was too much for Negra to overcome and she fell to Hosaka’s Double Chickenwig Facebuster in what was a fun and energetic opener. **3/4

Amanda Rodriquez vs. Renee Michelle

Match two was a letdown after the excellent opener. I understand needing a slow match to cool the crowd down a bit but these two took that advice to heart a little too seriously. Majority of the first section of the match was spent in rest holds. Even when the pace picked up and the two started trading big moves, there was no way for the fight could recover from the brutal start. To make matters worse, Rodriquez won the match by cheating, making this a second match in a row where outside activity influenced the outcome. *3/4

Su Yung vs. Tracy Taylor

I’ve seen Pika Su and Secretary Su, roles that Yung has played to perfection. Unhinged, scared Su Yung tops them both and demonstrates that not only is Yung an outstanding wrestler, but she is a versatile performer as well.

I was afraid this match was going to be more of an angle when Yung started the match by stalling, well a better word to use is cowering. She refused to engage Taylor and looked genuinely scared. After crawling under the ring for an extended amount of time, Yung found her aggressiveness and the match kicked into a higher gear. Both women started to knock the holy hell out of one another.

The finish is one that I would normally applaud but couldn’t this time around. Yung went to use her signature mist on Taylor and it backfired. She sold the agony of her predicament and squirmed all over the ring side area. The official counted her out and awarded the match to Taylor making this third match on the card that ended with a wonky finish. It is a shame that happened because the finish to this match made sense and was original. ***1/2

Amber Gallows vs. Leva

Gallows has a fantastic sour attitude and is great at talking smack to the fans or her opponent. Her biggest issue is that she is using a style that obviously does not fit her. An aggressive strike based offense is better utilized by a face. I think if Gallows adopted a more methodical approach, like say Randy Orton, then the quality of her matches would improve.

The match itself was solid. Both woman worked hard, but for some reason it lacked the sizzle it needed to go to another level. Leva won with a sloppy looking Pepsi Plunge. **1/2

Vanessa Kraven vs. Jessicka Havok

One of the great joys of professional wrestling that transcends gender is watching two stout athletes go to war. Kraven and Havok’s fight spilled to the outside in the very early going, and the two tattooed each other with vicious punches. After some more back and forth the more experienced Havok took control. The middle and closing parts of the match were pure Havok, as she dominated Kraven but could not put her away. Kraven’s resilience paid off, and she scored the narrow victory with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb

This match felt like the opening shot in a rivalry that could establish Kraven in SHINE. She may have beaten the resident monster, but just barely, so a rematch seems imminent. ***1/4

Allysin Kay vs. Mia Yim

These two clearly do not like each other, as evidenced by the fact they spat in each other’s faces to begin the match

What followed is exactly the blueprint for a non-stipulation grudge match. Neither woman could get the advantage on the other. They hit each other hard and often and both went deep into their respective move sets, only to earn a close two count instead of victory. Yim seemed to have the match won after a Package Piledriver, but April Hunter jumped on the ring apron. Leva came out to point that out to the official but ended up being a distraction herself. Kay kicked out and used the distraction to flatten Yim with a Discus Lariat for the win.

I loved every minute of this match, minus the finish. It reeked of Monday night and was the fourth instance where outside interference influenced the outcome during the show. ***3/4

SHINE Tag Team Championship Match – Valifornia vs. The Kimber Bombs ©

I dug the early interaction between The Kimber Bombs and Andrea of Valifornia. Cherry Bomb and Kimber Lee used their quickness and double team moves to keep the muscle of Valifornia at bay.

The match settled into a standard tag bout that was by no means bad. Outside interference, the fifth instance of the show, from a debuting team named The Iron Maidens, managed by former WCW star Daffney, resulted in the contest being thrown out. Listen, I’m fine with using a match as a vehicle to introduce new talent, but this time it caused a marquee match to have an awful finish and that is unacceptable to me as a fan. **

SHINE Championship Match – Ivelisse vs. Santana Garrett ©

Twitter was buzzing with mixed feelings on the ROH World Championship match. I suggest you check this match out as an alternative.

Garrett and Ivelisse wrestled to an early draw in a frantic duel of pinning combinations and holds. When neither competitor could get the upper hand, the match spilled out onto the floor and both ladies put on a slug fest that belonged in a Kevin Steen match.

I really think the match went into a higher gear when Ivelisse took control. Her mat domination of Garrett made it seem like a title change was imminent. The champion dug down and showed a lot of spirit in her comeback. I’m completely serious when I say that Santana Garrett is one of the better babyface champions I’ve seen all year. Her work ethic and attitude is outstanding. Getting back to the match, Garrett started to target the injured leg of Ivelisse, and after a few minutes of working it over, the official called for the bell because Ivelisse could barely stand.

The finish made sense but was the sixth one of the night that resulted in a match having either an unclean finish or no definitive winner. Finish aside, this was a fantastic match. ****

Final Thoughts: The booking of this show was atrocious from top to bottom. Not even TNA has as much interference and non-committal finishes as SHINE 28 did. I really think that is going to be a huge turn off to anyone interested in the product, which is a damn shame because the talent on the roster is outstanding. If you can get past the booking, the work rate on the show is top notch.  Mia Yim and Allysn Kay put on a terrific break neck brawl. Su Yung and Tracy Taylor’s match was superb as well, with the performance of Su Yung being especially praise worthy. The main event is worth going out of your way to see, it told an excellent story and is the second best women’s match I’ve seen all year.