Earlier tonight, Kairi Sane won the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament by defeating Shayna Baszler in the finals.
Before the event, WWE held a red carpet event and several current and past Superstars were interviewed about the tournament.
Bayley
Bayley stated that her injury was coming along great, but she still hasn’t been able to lift any weights. Bayley said that she would love to see MYC tournament competitor Piper Niven make it to NXT and eventually WWE in the future. She also explained how the Mae Young Classic tournament lights a fire under current Superstars on the main roster because of the talent that could potentially join WWE in the future.
Alundra Blayze
Cathy Kelley interviewed WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze before the finale of the Mae Young Classic tournament tonight. Blayze said that the Mae Young Classic is a dream come true for her because when she was competing, there weren’t too many women for her to wrestle. Blayze stated that the women today have an amazing opportunity in WWE, but they have to capitalize on it.
Charlotte
Charlotte said that she knows she has to work harder now because the talent in the Mae Young Classic is younger and hungrier. Charlotte knows that she has accomplished a lot already in WWE, but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t all go away quickly because someone else wants to join the roster and take her spot.
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie stated that she couldn’t be more proud of where the women are today. Stephanie referenced the transition from the Divas division to the Women’s division and how the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships are now more akin to the men’s titles in WWE. Women are now called Superstars and are regularly main-eventing WWE television and PPVs. Stephanie said that it was unbelievable how far they have come and how far they are going to go.
Triple H
Triple H believes that in 10 years there will be a lot of girls walking through the ropes in WWE because they were inspired by the Mae Young Classic. Triple H stated that when fans started the “GiveDivasAChance” hashtag, everyone had to listen. Triple H wants the Mae Young Classic to happen every year, but it depends on it’s success.
Triple H said that he wanted the Cruiserweight Classic to happen every year as well, but Vince McMahon wound up turning it into a weekly show so you never know what is going to happen. Triple H added that the tournament was named after Mae Young because she transcended generations.
