8 Current WWE Women Superstars Who Wrestled For Shimmer Wrestling

Founded in Chicago in 2005, Shimmer Women Athletes, better known simply as Shimmer, is a groundbreaking all-female independent wrestling organization. Founded by Dave Prazak and Allison Danger, Shimmer's focus has always been more on the actual talent of their female roster, rather than their looks.

This fact alone has been one of it's biggest draws and the company has certainly attracted more than it's fair share of talented women wrestlers. Many of the women who got an early career start in Shimmer have since gone on to have wrestled for the WWE.

Though many big names have passed through the company over the years, including Beth Phoenix and even men like Cesaro and Austin Aries, for this list I wanted to focus on the current main roster women who worked for Shimmer early on in their careers. It is also worth noting that several of NXT's current female roster has also wrestled for Shimmer, including Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and current NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.

With that said, here are 8 of the most notable WWE Superstars who are also Shimmer alumni.

#1 Becky Lynch

Before she was the "Irish Lass Kicker" or "The Man", as she is currently known, Becky Lynch was Rebecca Knox, who made her Shimmer Wrestling debut in 2006, after having wrestled around the world for several different promotions. After working an acclaimed series of matches with Daizee Haze, Lynch suffered a serious head injury that threatened to end her wrestling career.

Though she was scheduled to return to Shimmer in 2008, she didn't show up at that event and wouldn't make her return until 2011, where she worked in a managerial position, most notably for Britani & Saraya Knight aka The Knight Dynasty until signing her WWE contract in April 2013. She made her NXT debut as Becky Lynch at a November 2013 live event.

#2 Asuka

Before she was the Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka was known simply as Kana. Known all over the world for her incredible in-ring talent as well as her over-the-top character antics, the Osaka, Japan native Kana made her Shimmer debut upon moving to the United States in 2011. She was involved in a few major feuds during her time with the company, including bouts with Sara del Rey, now the Women's Coach at WWE's Orlando-based Performance Center and Mia Yim, who recently signed a WWE contract of her own.

Asuka's appearances were not quite as regular as some other Shimmer stars as she was also wrestling for other independent promotions such as Chikara and Wrestling New Classic (WNC) at the same time. As a result, her Shimmer run was a bit of a start-stop one from the beginning. After a string of unsuccessful tag team runs in the company throughout much of 2013, Kana returned to Shimmer one last time in October 2014 to face Cheerleader Melissa.

She would sign her WWE contract and begin her rapid ascension to the top of NXT's Women's Division in August 2015. Her record-shattering 510-day reign as NXT Women's Champion was ended only after she broke her collarbone and was forced to relinquish the title. Her main roster debut happened just a month later at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs Pay-Per-View.

#3 Bayley

Long before she was WWE's resident "Huggable One", before the side ponytails and inflatable friends, Bayley was known as Davina Rose on the independent wrestling circuit. Rose made her debut for Shimmer Women Athletes in October of 2011, where she got the chance to work with her mentor Serena Deeb.

Throughout the remainder of 2011 and into 2012 she worked matches with Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim, Cherry Bomb and Melanie Cruise in addition to her work with Serena. Though she went on an extensive losing streak, including her debut match, Rose eventually found her footing, and some wins, in 2012. However, by December of that year rumors were swirling that Rose had signed a contract with the WWE.

The rumors were quickly answered when she left Shimmer in early 2013 and made her debut appearance at an NXT live event in January of 2013. Shortly thereafter she made her televised debut against Paige, where she officially became Bayley. She would eventually capture the NXT Women's Championship as well as the RAW Women's Championship after her move to the main roster.

#4 Paige

With wrestling practically coursing through her veins, Paige has cemented a lasting legacy in the world of wrestling. Everyone knows that she has been wrestling since the tender age of 13, thanks to her family being essentially the UK's First Family of Wrestling. However, what some might not know is that much like Asuka and Becky Lynch, one of Paige's first United States wrestling appearances was in Shimmer, working alongside her mother Saraya, under the ring name Britani Knight.

When she made her March 2011 debut she and her tag team partner/mother Saraya Knight were managed by none other than Rebecca Knox aka Becky Lynch. After a string of losses, Saraya turned on her daughter, setting up what would be Britani's final match for Shimmer; an October 2011 No Disqualification Match where she beat Mom Saraya. That same month Knight reported to WWE's then developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where she officially became Paige.

#5 Ember Moon

The "War Goddess" Ember Moon left a lasting mark on NXT thanks in large part to her fantastic feud with Asuka. However, Ember made her wrestling debut for Shimmer in September 2010, working under the ring name Athena. During her time with the company, Athena wrestled the likes of Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, Saraya Knight (Paige's mother), Mercedes Martinez and her future NXT rival Asuka, then going by the ring name Kana.

She wrestled for Shimmer and other independent organizations, including Women Superstars Uncensored, Anarchy Championship Wrestling, Inspire Pro Wrestling and Booker T's Reality Of Wrestling (then known as Pro Wrestling Alliance) up through 2014 and 2015. After a failed WWE Performance Center try out, a chance encounter with fellow Shimmer alum Paige convinced her to give her WWE dreams just one more shot.

She made her official WWE debut at an NXT live event in October of 2015.

#6 Ruby Riott

The diminutive unofficial leader of The Riott Squad, Ruby Riott first worked with Shimmer in 2012, wrestling under the ring name Heidi Lovelace. Her time with Shimmer was more limited than some others as she was clocking many travel hours by also wrestling for other independent promotions such as Shine, Chikara, All American Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, Ohio Valley Wrestling and Japanese company World Wonder Ring Stardom.

While with Shimmer she was able to show off her impressive in-ring skills in bouts against wrestlers such as Nicole Savoy, Nicole Mathews, Kellyanne and Saraya Knight. Lovelace did hold the Shimmer Tag Team Championships one time with tag partner Evie. She signed her WWE contract in December 2016 and made her official NXT debut as Ruby Riott in January 2017 before joining the main roster as 1/3 of The Riott Squad (alongside Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) in November 2017.

#7 Peyton Royce

Peyton Royce was already an established independent wrestler when she began working with Shimmer Women Athletes for a short period of time in 2014 under her independent ring name KC Cassidy. Before her work with Shimmer, Royce worked for companies such as Pro Wrestling Women's Alliance, Pro Wrestling Alliance and Shine.

During her time with the company, she worked primarily in the tag team division but left after her August 2014 WWE tryout in her home country of Australia paid off in the form of a contract with the company. She made her NXT debut in May 2015 still using her KC Cassidy name.

By August of that year, she was officially Peyton Royce, and one half of The IIconic Duo, now known simply as The IIconics alongside fellow Shimmer alum Billie Kay. The duo officially made their main roster debut in April 2018 under the Smackdown brand.

#8 Billie Kay

Like her IIconics tag partner Peyton Royce, Billie Kay was also an established independent wrestler, before she worked for Shimmer Women Athletes, though her time with the company was a bit more extensive than Peyton's After wrestling for USA promotions Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Ring Of Honor and Chikara, Billie, wrestling as Jessie McKay made her Shimmer debut in October 2008.

During her time with the company, Kay would wrestle several big names including Mia Yim, Tenille Tayla (aka former WWE Superstar Emma), and her future NXT opponents Asuka (Kana) and Ember Moon (Athena). McKay wrestled her last match for Shimmer in 2013 and received a WWE tryout in 2014 (the same time as Peyton Royce).

She debuted in NXT in June 2015 wrestling simply as Jessie but was re-branded as Billie Kay in August of that year. In April 2018 she and Peyton made their main roster debut on Smackdown Live.

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