Like most people, I have always been a fan of the underdog. There is something innately inspiring about watching someone battle against all conceivable odds, especially if they can overcome them and ultimately succeed. Perhaps that is why I find such satisfaction in professional women's wrestling.

Since Vince McMahon Jr. began rewriting the wrestling scene in the 80s, women have seemingly taken a back seat to the men and become wrestling's proverbial "underdogs." They are generally not taken as seriously by fans, largely because big time federations tend to place more emphasis on the men. Or, if emphasis is placed on women, it is usually for reasons other than wrestling skill. TNA have recently bucked this trend, but no promotion has highlighted its female athletes in the same way that SHIMMER have.

SHIMMER is an all-female promotion based out of Berwyn, Illinois. They are still in their relative infancy, having only been established in late 2005, and so for now the best way to watch their product (if you are not in the immediate Illinois area) is to order their DVD online from the official SHIMMER website. This is how I became familiar with the product and the first DVD I ordered was their Volume 11 DVD, which featured the first night of a single elimination 16-women knockout tournament to determine the first ever SHIMMER Champion.

The highlight of this DVD for me was match #6, which featured a first round match-up between Cheerleader Melissa and Sarah Stock. Any American wrestling fan will be aware of Melissa. She has trained in the United States, Japan, and Europe, and is currently wrestling for TNA under the ring name Raisha Saeed. Likewise, any Canadian wrestling fan will be aware of Sarah Stock. Sarah was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but was soon drawn to Monterrey, Mexico, where she perfected her craft. Sarah has also worked in Japan, Europe, and all across North America. Indeed, if you are a female wrestling fan then you are probably aware of both. Cheerleader Melissa and Sarah Stock are arguably two of the top female wrestlers on the planet today.

Their first round encounter was worth the price of the DVD alone. It was Sarah Stock's first SHIMMER match and she and Melissa told a great story that featured the two top performers squaring off against each other in early competition, meaning that one of them would be guaranteed not to make the finals! This dream match was fast paced and featured amazing athleticism, highlighted by a cannonball off the ring apron by Stock down onto her opponent on an unprotected hardwood floor below! Even more impressive was the complete lack of noticeable rest spots throughout the entire match, meaning that these girls were working at an incredibly high level. I won't spoil the outcome but suffice to say this match delivered on all accounts and was easily the best match on the card.

However, the Cheerleader Melissa versus Sarah Stock match was surprisingly not the match that caught my attention the most. That honour befalls Malia Hosaka and Allison Danger for their bout in match #1 of the DVD. This match also told a great story. It was Malia Hosaka, the wily veteran, versus Allison Danger, the hot young upstart, and focused on Hosaka attempting to exploit a knee injury on her opponent, while Danger tried to overcome the odds as the proverbial underdog. It was a fantastic match with a well booked ending that left viewers satisfied and feeling as if they had just watched a perfect story played out before their very eyes. But what added to my enjoyment of this match was the character that Allison Danger portrayed. Imagine this; a soft melody starts playing as if someone has just opened a musical jewellery box with a ballerina on top. The music picks up after a while and just as it does so, a female competitor walks out from behind the curtain wearing a porcelain china doll mask. It was like no female entrance that I had ever seen before and it just screamed to the viewers at home and in attendance, "Don't worry, your heroine is here to save the day!" Danger came across like a mix between The Undertaker, with his mystique, and Sting, with his more energetic charisma. My only complaint would be that Allison should present herself as more of an imposing figure (making her opponents back away scared instead of showing hesitation herself) and come out through the smoke of a smoke machine to add to her mystique. Perhaps, as one of the co-operators of SHIMMER, Allison was attempting to hold herself back somewhat to make the other workers look better, but she shouldn't sell herself short because she is a natural star and the potential for her character is massive! And, as I say, her match against Hosaka was fantastic!

But Allison Danger, Sarah Stock, and Cheerleader Melissa were not the only competitors worth watching. SHIMMER has a host of female talent on their roster and this DVD featured many strong performers, with perhaps the most over being Sara Del Rey. Del Rey seemed to be the fan favourite from the outset and her theme music of "Final Countdown" by Europe certainly captures her all-conquering attitude, done with a permanent smile on her face and without ever breaking much of a sweat! (Yes, she's that damn good!).

Another fan favourite was Nikki Roxx, who TNA fans might know better as Roxxi Laveaux. Nikki had the crowd in the palm of her hands and is as talented a performer as she is an actress - the perfect combination for a sports entertainer.

But not all SHIMMER performers are babyfaces. Alicia caught my attention for being able to be disliked so naturally (which as I write it, seems like a backhanded compliment, but really it's not!). Many of the SHIMMER heels were overtly antagonizing towards the audience, but Alicia had them in the palm of her hand as well, yet was able to annoy them by just oozing cockiness and attitude (much like how Edge does on Smackdown). This made Alicia the best heel on the card because you just wanted to see her lose and it didn't matter how or by who!

Another heel featured on Volume 11 was Canada's own Portia Perez. However, at a young 20 years of age and with a smaller stature, she fit the underdog tag to a tee and so I found it hard to cheer against her. The fact that her entrance music was the uplifting "Edge Of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks didn't help her cause much either. Still, at so young of an age the sky is the limit for young Portia, who showed tremendous potential.

Finally, I can't end this synopsis without mentioning Dave Prazak, the SHIMMER play-by-play announcer and founder. Prazak brought all of the matches on Volume 11 together and gave them a big time feel with his commentary. It was so refreshing to hear moves actually being called instead of glossed over by ridiculous storytelling of events not even currently unfolding. Dave called the action and, perhaps even more impressively for a wrestling fan's ears, he called the moves 100% accurately! For added emphasis Prazak also made connections to ROH stars, perhaps to highlight the relationship between SHIMMER and ROH, but this did not harm the product in any way and his expertise knowledge was definitely appreciated for viewers of the DVD at home.

So, I just want to recommend to all wrestling fans, and especially fans of the women's game, to check out SHIMMER. Their DVDs can be purchased for less than $20 online and it is worth it to see women athletes who actually know how to wrestle and who have trained extensively around the globe to perfect their crafts. A refreshing concept indeed.