In just one more day, the women of Shine Wrestling will be back in Ybor City for SHINE 25! Here's what in store for fans at tomorrow's event!
The poster on the left features Mia Yim, Nevaeh, and Ivelisse, and that's because the original main event would have seen all three women combat against each other for the SHINE Championship. It would have been the first time ever that the title would be defended in a three-way match, but unfortunately, that will not happen. Shine VP Lexie Fyfe announced that Ivelisse injured her ankle and will not be at tomorrow's event, so instead, we will see a different first: a 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match between Mia and Nevaeh. Nevaeh is just close to two weeks removed from capturing the WSU Spirit Championship at WSU's 8th Anniversary Show, and I see her winning the SHINE Championship tomorrow.
Another woman who has a chance to clean up tomorrow is Kimber Lee. Kimber also won gold at WSU8 nearly two weeks ago, as she and Annie Social regained the WSU Tag Team Championship. Regarding tomorrow, Kimber and Cherry Bomb (who also won at WSU8) will get another chance at the SHINE Tag Team Championship against Legendary. Their last opportunity came at SHINE 23 in December, but involvement from Thunderkitty kept the duo from winning the belts. The Kimber Bombs received another shot after they and Leah Von Dutch defeated the treacherous trio at the last event in January. Because Thunderkitty and Leilani Kai love to insert themselves in these matches, Lexie (who has history with Malia Hosaka) instilled this stipulation: the titles can change hands via DQ!
Shockingly, that's not all of the gold that will be on the line. Another first for Shine Wrestling: tomorrow's event will feature not one, not two, but three championship matches, as Santana Garrett will defend the NWA World Women's Championship, the most prestigious championship in women's wrestling, against Shanna. Last month, Santana defeated Barbi Hayden to win the title, and weeks later, she requested to defend her title at SHINE 25, and Lexie acquiesced. I figured that Santana's title opponent would be her former partner Amber Gallows, but Lexie stated that she will not get an opportunity due to her recent actions. How uber-babyface of Lexie. Shanna narrowly became WSU Champion at WSU8, so this will be her second title opportunity in less than two weeks.
Jessicka Havok is back in Shine, and she will face off against Su Yung in her first Shine match since last summer. After she defeated Allysin Kay at SHINE 21, Havok was attacked by Valkyrie, with Su Yung being the main attacker. So this is a grudge match six months in the making. Speaking of Allysin Kay, she'll face off against Leah Von Dutch, who has been on the rise at Shine, but has yet to receive a title opportunity. Though, the same could be said about Kay, especially since she's been taking the lead in Valkyrie since Serena Deeb has been injured. Tomorrow's event will also feature the latest chapter in the rivalry between Taylor Made and La Rosa Negra; a grudge match that has been denied due to the latter being injured.
That still leaves the rest of the card to be figured out, though. With Crazy Mary Dobson set to return to Shine, I would think that we would finally get the rematch between her and the evil Amber Gallows. It was at SHINE 20 that Amber turned into a villainess and brutally attacked Mary, and she's been on warpath ever since. Valifornia, of course, will be there, as will Solo Darling, so I would think that Solo will fly solo against Jayme Jameson. This would leave Leva Bates to face Thunderkitty in what should be a terrific match.
I sense a changing of the guard at SHINE 25 tomorrow, which is why I'm so anxious for this event! Can't wait to watch it!