There have been lots of speculations regarding the Mae Young Classic competitors since the culmination of the tournament. Here are the latest updates from F4WOnline.com regarding the status of some of the participants:
– Vanessa Borne, Zeda, Sarah Logan, Xia Li, Rhea Ripley, Abby Laith, Kavita Devi, Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Sage Beckett, Lacey Evans, Taynara Conti, Reina Gonzalez and winner of the tournament Kairi Sane have all been signed by the company.
– The runner up Shayna Baszler is not being advertised for any upcoming indie shows, though her signing is yet to be confirmed.
– Candice LeRae, Piper Niven and Mercedes Martinez have not signed yet, but they were brought in for the Finals of the tournament this past Tuesday night and the belief is that Officials are interested in them.
– Toni Storm also remains a free agent as of this writing, but it’s speculated that she’ll get an offer, especially because of her young age. It’s interesting to note here that she was reportedly penciled to be in the finals of the tournament but those plans were nixed due to the Horsewomen angle.
– Tessa Blanchard is the only mentionable name who wasn’t present at the finals of the tournament and she hasn’t been signed despite her name on the independent circuit.
It’s worth mentioning here that while other participants could still be signed in the near future, they have lesser chance of being offered a contract than the names mentioned above.
As we noted before, Japanese wrestling Star Kairi Sane defeated former UFC Star Shayna Baszler to win the Mae Young Classic Tournament, however apparently the original plans for the finals of the tournament were very different.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that while Sane was penciled to win the tournament in the previous plans too, originally Toni Storm was supposed to be her opponent in the finals instead of Baszler.
These plans changed when Officials decided to do an angle between the WWE and UFC’s Four Horsewomen and as a result Storm only made it to the semi finals where she was defeated by Kairi.
Though as seen this past Tuesday night, there was no confrontation between the two groups of Horsewomen and according to the Newsletter, the reason behind it is that WWE has decided to save this angle for a later date.
As reported previously Triple H announced that Kairi Sane will now challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship at the upcoming Takeover: Houston event.
While it’s not confirmed who will be her opponent on the show, speculation is that she will either face Ember Moon or end up competing in a multi-women match for the championship.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey sat in the front row Tuesday night to watch friend Shayna Baszler compete in the finals of WWE’s Mae Young Classic. Baszler, who has transitioned from part-time fighter/pro wrestler to full pro wrestler, lost to Kairi Sane in the finals but is still expected to receive a chance in the WWE.
Rousey, also rumored to be joining her in the pro wrestling promotion, spoke with ESPN after the bout. Rousey dodged questions about her possible future with WWE, instead focusing the attention on Baszler.
“I’m so proud of her,” Rousey said. “All the word that she’s done and put in over the years coming up through the indie scene and fighting in Japan. Everything that she’s done has been to prove to herself and everyone else that she deserves to be here. I think she really proved that to every person watching.”
Rousey recently married fellow UFC fighter Travis Browne. She has not fought since suffering a loss last December to Amanda Nunes for the title.
During an interview with Cathy Kelley at the Mae Young Classic red carpet event, Rousey took a similar approach of focusing on Shayna Baszler and refraining from talking about her own future.
“You know what, tonight’s all about Shayna. I’m just here to support Shayna and I don’t want to be the kind of person that shows up to support her friend and ends up talking about herself all night. So – it’s all about her, man. It’s all about her.”
WWE COO Triple H spoke with ESPN after The Mae Young Classic and announced that tournament winner Kairi Sane will compete for the vacant WWE NXT Women’s Title at the “Takeover: Houston” event on November 18th at the Toyota Center. He said:
“[I’m] very excited that she’s the first champion, and now the question is ‘What’s next for her?’ I can tell you what’s next for her. On Nov. 18 at the Toyota Center at the next NXT TakeOver, Kairi will be fighting to determine a new NXT women’s champion.”
No word yet on who Sane will compete against but we should know more after Thursday’s NXT TV tapings. As noted, the title was recently vacated by the undefeated Asuka as she’s set to debut with the RAW brand soon.
Triple H also commented on tournament finalists Sane and Shayna Baszler, and their match tonight:
“[Kairi Sane]’s that little dog in the fight that just won’t go down. She leaves it all out there. You can feel her passion when she’s in the ring.
“Shayna’s a tough competitor. Some of the shots she hit her with… there was a kick to the side of her head where I thought, ‘I’m glad that isn’t me.’ That’s what people feel from her — that never-say-die attitude and that fighting spirit.”
Before the match, Beth Phoenix, Alundra Blayze and Mauro Ranallo were shown before Renee Young sent us to Jim Ross and Lita on commentary. Kairi Sane is shown walking backstage and then Baszler is shown with Ronda Rousey and Jessamyn Duke. The Rock’s mother and daughter were shown ringside, along with several of the competitors in the Mae Young Classic tournament in the crowd.
Mae Young Classic Finals: Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler
Sane and Baszler lock up to start off the match. Fans in attendance are behind both Superstars and dueling chants break out in the crowd. Baszler took control of the match early and wrestled Sane to the mat. Baszler connected with a kick to Sane’s face that knocked her out of the ring. Baszler attacked Sane as she tried to get back into the ring and went for a cover but Sane kicked out at two.
Baszler focused her attack on Sane’s arm. Baszler went for a Gutwrench Suplex but Sane blocked and it rolled her up for a two count. Baszler once again took control but Sane battled back. Sane the screamed in Shayna’s face but Baszler responded by connecting with a running knee to Kairi’s face.
Sane hit Baszler with a Spear for a two count. Sane followed it up with a Dropkick and a couple of stomps to Baszler’s ribs. Shayna battled back as Rousey was shown watching the bout in the crowd. Baszler charged at Sane in the corner but Kairi got out of the way and Shayna landed face-first on the turnbuckle. Sane dropped Shayna with a kick but Baszler once again took control.
Baszler went for a Superplex but Sane blocked it. The two Superstars traded punches on the top turnbuckle. Sane knocked Baszler down and connected with a Double Stomp for a two cont. Sane remained on the attack and connected with a running forearm to Baszler in the corner. Sane then climbed to the top rope and hit the Insane Elbow Drop for the victory.
Baszler raised Sane’s arm. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Sara Amato then joined Sane and Baszler in the ring. Sane was presented with the trophy and a rose. Triple H raised Sane’s arm as Baszler exited the ring. Sane then posed in the corner as the tournament went off the air.
The finals of the Mae Young Classic tournament are upon us. The field of 32 competitors has been narrowed down to two, with Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane battling tonight to crown the first-ever Mae Young Classic winner.
The Mae Young Classic finale will air live tonight on the WWE Network immediately after SmackDown Live goes off the air.
But first, prior to SmackDown Live, WWE will be holding a special Mae Young Classic red carpet event from Las Vegas, which will stream on Facebook Live at 6pm (Eastern).
Hosted by Cathy Kelley, the red carpet event will feature appearances by former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, cast members from the Netlix hit show GLOW, U.S. Olympian soccer star Hope Solo, Charlotte Flair, Stephanie McMahon, the Bella Twins, Bayley, Triple H and other Mae Young Classic competitors.
This coming Monday after RAW goes off the air, Charly Caruso will host a special 30-minute recap special of the Mae Young Classic on the WWE Network.
The show will feature a 6-woman tag team featuring Tessa Blanchard, Jazzy Gabert and Kay Lee Ray vs. Santana Garrett, Sarah Logan and Marti Belle.
The show’s official synopsis reads, “Charly Caruso recaps the historic Mae Young Classic, featuring an exclusive Six-Woman Tag Team Match involving the MYC’s top competitors!”
On Tuesday, ahead of the Mae Young Classic finals (airing on the WWE Network after SmackDown), WWE will be holding a special red carpet event that will stream on Facebook Live at 6pm (Eastern) from Las Vegas. Hosted by Cathy Kelley, the red carpet event will feature appearances by former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, cast members from the Netlix hit show GLOW, U.S. Olympian soccer star Hope Solo, Charlotte Flair, Stephanie McMahon, the Bella Twins, Bayley, Triple H and other Mae Young Classic competitors.
The finals will feature Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane to crown the first-ever Mae Young Classic winner.
WWE’s Mae Young Classic tournament has been a huge success on the WWE Network. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the eight episodes of the MYC were the Top 8 most-watched shows on the Network this past week.
Since the first four episodes were released the previous week, that means the first four episodes of the tournament had more views than this week’s 205 Live and NXT shows.
WWE has announced a ‘red carpet’ special for the Mae Young Classic finale will stream on Facebook this coming Tuesday, September 12th at 6pm (Eastern) live from Las Vegas.
Hosted by Cathy Kelley, the red carpet event will feature appearances by former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, cast members from the Netlix hit show GLOW, U.S. Olympian soccer star Hope Solo, Charlotte Flair, Stephanie McMahon, the Bella Twins, Bayley, Triple H and other Mae Young Classic competitors.
The finals of the Mae Young Classic will air live on the WWE Network this coming Tuesday at 10pm (Eastern) right after SmackDown Live goes off the air. The finals will feature Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane to crown the first-ever Mae Young Classic winner.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Rousey is rumored to be competing at WWE Survivor Series in a Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen match. This would set up a big singles match at WrestleMania 34 with Rousey wrestling either Stephanie McMahon or Charlotte.
The finals of The Mae Young Classic are now confirmed as the first 8 episodes of the 32-competitor tournament are available for viewing on the WWE Network.
The semi-finals saw Shayna defeat Mercedes Martinez and Sane defeat Toni Storm to advance. The finals will feature Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler.
The finals of the Mae Young Classic tournament takes place on September 12th from Las Vegas and will air live on the WWE Network at 10pm EST after SmackDown Live goes off the air.
It seems as though Ronda Rousey is getting closer and closer to stepping in a WWE ring.
The former UFC Champion was in attendance for the Mae Young Classic and she confronted Bayley, Becky Lynch and Charlotte following Shayna Baszler‘s second round match.
Rousey and the ‘MMA Horsewomen’ spoke to WWE.com outside Full Sail University following the encounter but were interrupted by the aforementioned WWE superstars.
Rousey approached Charlotte and stated “You name the time, you name the place.” When there was no response from Charlotte, Rousey said, “Oh, not today? We’re waiting to hear from you.”
WrestleMania 34 next April sounds like a logical venue for this high-profile match. Ronda Rousey’s days in the Octagon most likely done and the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion reportedly training in the ring with WWE Cruiserweight Brian Kendrick.
Both Rousey and WWE have spoken publicly about the possibility of working together in recent months. During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take last week, Triple H said WWE is prepared to make Rousey an offer to step inside the squared circle.
“Ronda has been a huge fan of WWE her whole life, she’s been very adamant about that,” he said. “She’s done stuff with us before. She’s a huge fan. It’s something that I think she’s definitely interested in and I’ll throw it out right now, if she’s interested, I’ll give her the opportunity.”
The first four episodes of the inaugural Mae Young Classic women’s tournament are now live on the WWE Network. You can watch them now here. During the first batch of episodes, WWE announced two female competitors (not involved in the tournament) have been signed to developmental deals: Kacy Catanzaro and Shadia Bseiso.
Catanzaro, 27, is an American gymnast who competed on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior series. Hailing from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, she was the first (and so far, only) woman to complete a City Finals obstacle course on the show.
Shadia Bseiso is a Live Events Presenter and Voice-over artist United Arab Emirates. She’s fluent in both English and Arabic,which would make her a valuable player to WWE as they continue to expand in the Middle East. She took part in WWE’s Dubai tryouts and is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt.
Episode 1: Kay Lee Ray vs. Princesa Sugehit, Shayna Baszler vs. Zeda, Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert
Episode 2: Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li, Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas
Episode 3: Ayesha Raymond vs. Toni Storm, Dakota Kai vs. Kavita Devi
Episode 4: Kairi Sane vs. Tessa Blanchard, Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Evans
The next batch of episodes will be released the following week on September 4th.
The tournament finals will air live on the WWE Network on Tuesday September 12th at 10pm (Eastern) after SmackDown Live goes off the air.
As noted over the weekend, in light of Asuka surrendering the NXT Women’s Championship due to injury, it’s rumored that the winner of the Mae Young Classic will be crowned the new NXT Women’s Champion.
We noted before that the now former NXT Women’s Champion Asuka suffered a broken collarbone during her match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III which forced her to relinquish the belt she held for 500+days.
While William Regal announced that he has started negotiating to send the former champion to the Main Roster, nothing was announced about the faith of the vacated Championship which left fans speculating what’s next. Though now a new report has revealed what the company has planned.
Dave Meltzer discussed this situation during the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio and revealed that WWE is planning for the winner of the Mae Young Classic Tournament to be rewarded with the title.
The live final of the Mae Young Classic will take place from Las Vegas on Tuesday, September 12th, following the SmackDown episode scheduled for that day.
As for Asuka, we reported before how WWE is possibly planning for her to join the Raw Brand and make her Main Roster debut at an upcoming PPV
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight contender and member of Ronda Rousey’s “Four Horsewomen” MMA faction, Shayna Baszler recently spoke with the folks at TV Insider about getting the call to join the innagural “Mae Young Classic” women’s tournament.
“WWE is something I’ve had my eye on,” Baszler said. “After the call, I said to myself, ‘All right, it’s time to get it in gear.’ It fired me up to get into even better shape and get ready to go.”
“The Queen of Spades” also spoke about the rest of the Four Horsewomen MMA faction being present at the Mae Young Classic to show their support for her as she embarked on that endeavor.
The MMA version of the Four Horsewomen stable includes former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir.
“We’re such good friends and training partners and teammates,” Baszler said. “I specifically called all three of them and said, ‘Guys, this is the most important thing I’ve ever done in my combat sports career. I’d love for you guys to be there because you were there at the beginning of all of this, and I would like you to be there for this.’ They were like, ‘Yeah, you got it. We’ll drop whatever we are doing. We’re there.’”
Check out the complete Shayna Baszler interview at TVInsider.com.
After last night’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, the WWE Network aired the Mae Young Classic Bracketology special and revealed the official brackets for the 32-woman tournament.
The first four episodes of the inaugural Mae Young Classic will be released on the WWE Network next Monday, August 28th.
The next batch of episodes will be released the following week on September 4th.
The tournament finals will air live on the WWE Network on Tuesday September 12th at 10pm (Eastern) after SmackDown Live goes off the air.
Insane Championship Wrestling star Viper was recently featured on WWE.com as part of their Mae Young Classic profile articles.
Listed by WWE as ‘Piper Niven,’ the young upstart performer has been a major part of the UK scene over the past few years, having performed for companies such as WCPW, Pro Wrestling EVE and the aforementioned ICW. She was also featured on the World of Sport reboot and has been building her profile internationally through SHIMMER, Shine and on TNA’s British Bootcamp series.
If you’ve never seen Viper perform then check this free match below from WCPW’s Exit Wounds Pay Per View:
“Might just be me but after watching the Renee Young interview, nicely done BTW, with Kurt Angle and his ‘son’ Jason Jordan on the @WWENetwork after RAW, I can easily see where Jordan and ‘Dad” could be terrific villains down the road.”
Mae Young Classic:
“Loved being a part of the Mae Young Classic that saw me in Orlando for six days last week interviewing all 32 women representing 13 countries plus Lita and I called 30 bouts over two nights. I’ve never been in a pro wresting environment where there was so much natural passion and motivation from the roster whose only agenda was to have great matches and take a giant step forward in building women’s wrestling.
I talk about ‘The Mae’ on this week’s podcast and will share that I never dreamed of how personally impactful this event would become to me until I became immersed in it throughout the interview process on Monday and Tuesday. I enjoyed working with @AmyDumas and @Madusa_rocks very much. I fed off their passion without question and you will hear it if you listen to our broadcast.
As I understand it, the reason the broadcasts will begin airing August 28 instead of sooner is because the shows need through, post production/editing to add all the elements that are needed with the tournament format and personality profiles, etc. The finals will be live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night September 12 from Las Vegas following SD Live.
I’m guessing that several women will likely earn a WWE contract based on their performances in the tournament.”
Braun Strowman:
“Based on what I saw Monday night on Raw regarding Braun Strowman, I can easily see WWE going all the way with the giant athlete from North Carolina. A Lesnar-Strowman high level contest down the road is going to make a compelling main event and could elevate Strowman to the rarified air community.
Seems to me, simply by watching as fan, that when Braun walked away from the ambulance crash of a few weeks ago, that he walked away as a ‘character ‘face’ or a least that’s how I took it. Bottom line, it will be challenging for many fans to truly dislike this huge man. WWE has done a really nice job building Strowman to his current level.”
Some WWE officials were unhappy with the first two nights of the Mae Young Classic
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there were some WWE officials that weren’t happy with the first two fights of the Mae Young Classic. The first two nights of the 32 competitor tournament concluded on Friday night. The latest edition of the newsletter noted that some people in WWE were unhappy with the tournament because of the way some of the women looked. There are those in WWE “who believe that WWE women all have to be hot” and felt that many of the women in the tournament weren’t good looking enough for WWE’s standards. It seems that there are some officials in WWE that are stuck in the past and are still incapable of accepting female Superstars as equal to their male counterparts.
Beth Phoenix comments on not being included in the promo for the tournament
WWE aired a video package for the tournament and showed several Superstars that held gold in WWE. The video showed Mae Young, Trish Stratus, Sensational Sherri, Lita, Jacqueline and more. A fan pointed out on Twitter that WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix was not included in the video. Beth Phoenix responded to the fan with the following tweet:
The first round of the Mae Young Classic was taped at Full Sail University yesterday. The order the matches will air on the Network is not currently known, but here is how the brackets lined-up.
Non-Spoiler Lineup for the Mae Young Classic 1st Round
The Mae Young Classic got underway yesterday from Full Sail University. The company unveiled all 32 competitors on their Facebook and YouTube channels before the event got underway.
One of those competitors, was former Straight Edge Society member, Serena Deeb.
Serena Deeb
In January 2010, Serena became a member of CM Punk’s “Straight Edge Society”. As a result her head was shaved and pledged to be straight edge.
Serena’s WWE career ended on an auspicious note. Photos of her drinking an alcoholic beverage surfaced, which were inconsistent with the straight-edge character she was portraying on television. WWE chose to release her for her infraction. Her entire run on the main roster lasted only 8 months.
She returned to the independents and SHIMMER, where she had wrestled from 2007-09 before she signed with WWE. Serena would announce her retirement in 2015, as she focussed more on her yoga instructing.
The Mae Young Classic begins taping tomorrow from Full Sail University. WWE plans on introducing all 32 participants tomorrow in a live Facebook stream.
It has also been announced that Madusa will be joining Jim Ross and Lita at the commentary booth for the tournament.
Recently Announced Mae Young Classic Participants:
Rachel Ellering
Trained by Lance Storm
24 year old daughter of Paul Ellering.
Wrestled in NXT and TNA, mainly as enhancement talent.
Shayna Baszler
4 Horsewomen of MMA member (she’s the Arn)
Been tearing it up on the independents for the last year.
Received a tryout in 2016, hard to believe WWE hasn’t signed her considering how badly they want Ronda Rousey
Mercedes Martinez
Current Shimmer champion.
Longtime veteran, highly touted.
36 years old.
Ayesha Ray
27 year old from London, England.
Trained by Ricky and Saraya Knight.
Wrestled with Stardom.
Over 6 feet tall.
Previously announced participants:
Lacey Evans
Lacey has been in NXT since the fall. She tours the house show circuit. She’s appeared on 4 episodes of NXT. Losing a battle royals, 2 singles matches and a tag match for an 0-4 record.
Sarah Logan
Well known on the indy scene as “Crazy” Mary Dobson.
Toni Storm
21 year old can’t miss prospect from New Zealand. Current Progress Women’s champion.
Princesa Sugehit
37 year old veteran from Mexico.
Been wrestling in CMLL since 2005.
Kavita Devi
Recently signed out of Great Khali’s school in India.
WWE’s first female Indian born superstar.
Powerlifter.
Taynara Conti
Brazilian superstar with a martial arts background.
Been on the NXT house show circuit since May.
Abbey Laith
Known on the indy scene as Kimber Lee.
Made her NXT TV debut in April, losing a squash to Ruby Riot.
Tessa Blanchard
Amazing WWE hasn’t locked her up. Daughter of Tully Blanchard, step-daughter of Magnum TA.
Only 21, but has seemingly been wrestling non-stop since debuting in 2014.
Jazzy Gabert
Known as Alpha Female on the indies.
35 year old, 6ft 1 and 185lbs.
From Germany.
Dakota Kai
29 year old, formerly known as Evie.
Wrestled for Shine and Shimmer.
Signed with WWE last winter.
From New Zealand.
Kairi Sane
Formerly known as Kairi Hojo.
6 year pro from the Stardom promotion.
Very highly touted.
Piper Niven
Formerly known as Viper.
26 years old from Scotland.
Wrestled with ICW, WCPW
Bianca BelAir
Crossfit enthusiast signed by WWE last year.
Appeared in NXT sparingly.
Wrestles on the NXT house show circuit.
Rhea Ripley
Australian wrestler formerly known as Demi Bennett,
Recently signed a WWE contract.
MYC will be her debut with the company.
Sage Beckett
Wrestled as Rosie Lottalove in TNA
10 year veteran
Trained by the Dudleys
Vanessa Borne
Only been wrestling for 1.5 years
Trained by Rikishi and Gangrel
Signed a contract just months into training.
Former NFL and NBA cheerleader and presenter for Fox Sports.
– Tuesday’s July 4th edition of Smackdown Live built around the return of John Cena drew 2.329 million viewers. This is down from last week’s 2.603 million, but still considered a good showing considering it was a US holiday.
– WWE has announced two more participants for next week’s Mae Young Classic Women’s Tournament: 20-year-old Australian phenom Rhea Ripley (Demi Bennett) and ‘fierce veteran’ Sage Beckett (Team 3D graduate, former TNA Knockout Rosie Lottalove).
For more on the two latest participants, visit WWE.com.
Ripley and Beckett join an impressive group of entrants that already includes Kairi Sane, Tessa Blanchard, Abbey Laith, Taynara Conti, Jazzy Gabert, Kavita Devi, Toni Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Bianca Blair, Piper Niven and Dakota Kai.
The Mae Young Classic tapes next week (7/13-14) from Full Sail University. Episodes premiere on the WWE Network on Monday, August 28th.
On Wednesday, WWE’s official Twitter account for the Mae Young Classic quietly rolled out a new logo for the event.
The Women’s Tournament kicks off on Thursday, July 13th from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Tapings will be held the following day, with the show premiering on the WWE Network on Monday, August 28th.
The 10-episode series will conclude with a live special on the WWE Network scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th. Jim Ross and Lita will call the action.
As of this writing, 13 women have been confirmed for the tournament. Click here for details on the confirmed competitors.
The Colons rumored to have requested their release from WWE
Super Luchas has posted a rumor that The Colons have requested their release from WWE. The Colons currently are on SmackDown’s roster. WWC is a wrestling promotion based out of Puerto Rico and is owned by the Colon family. WWC’s official Twitter page retweeted the story from Super Luchas.
Pro Wrestling Tees recently tweeted out a new shirt for “Orlando Colon”, which is the real name for SmackDown Superstar Epico Colon. Current WWE Superstars are typically only allowed to sell merchandise through WWE.com
WWE releases first Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match
Below is the first released qualifying match for the Mae Young Classic. Bianca Blair faced off against “The Cat’s Meow” Aliyah and the winner earned a spot in the upcoming Mae Young classic on August 28th on the WWE Network. You can check out the full match in the video below.
We are just over 2 weeks away from the Mae Young Classic. The tournament will tape from Full Sail University on July 13th and 14th. 10 episodes featuring matches from the tournament will premiere on the WWE Network on August 28th. The finals of the tournament will be held September 12th.
13 wrestlers have been officially announced for the 32 person tournament so far:
Lacey Evans
Lacey has been in NXT since the fall. She tours the house show circuit. She’s appeared on 4 episodes of NXT. Losing a battle royals, 2 singles matches and a tag match for an 0-4 record.
Sarah Logan
Well known on the indy scene as “Crazy” Mary Dobson.
Toni Storm
21 year old can’t miss prospect from New Zealand. Current Progress Women’s champion.
Princesa Sugehit
37 year old veteran from Mexico.
Been wrestling in CMLL since 2005.
Kavita Devi
Recently signed out of Great Khali’s school in India.
WWE’s first female Indian born superstar.
Powerlifter.
Taynara Conti
Brazilian superstar with a martial arts background.
Been on the NXT house show circuit since May.
Abbey Laith
Known on the indy scene as Kimber Lee.
Made her NXT TV debut in April, losing a squash to Ruby Riot.
Tessa Blanchard
Amazing WWE hasn’t locked her up. Daughter of Tully Blanchard, step-daughter of Magnum TA.
Only 21, but has seemingly been wrestling non-stop since debuting in 2014.
