A New Summer Tradition: Previewing & Fantasy Booking the 2nd Annual Mae Young Classic
It's summertime once again and most likely wherever you are it's hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement, this time of year everyone is excited to be out having fun in the sun and relaxing in the water but for me personally, I don't get excited as I hate hot weather and even the thought of feeling hot makes me cringe. Thankfully while everyone else is outside tanning their buns in the sun I have my own summer excitement inside in the form of both Big Brother and more importantly wrestling.
Summer is the second most exciting time of the year to be a wrestling fan as the WWE main roster are getting ready for the second biggest PPV of the year in SummerSlam, NXT is heating things up with their biggest show of the year as Takeover emanates from Brooklyn for the fourth year in a row, and over in Japan they are having their big month-long G1 Climax Tournament which always guarantees match of the year quality matches. As great as those three events are, the one wrestling related event I'm most looking forward to is the Second Annual Mae Youg Classic as it absolutely blew me away last year at just how many talented women there are out there that have been looked over by the WWE for way too long and are now finally getting a chance to shine for the biggest wrestling company in the world.
Last year's Mae Young Classic tournament was really great and it showcased so many women who I had never heard of before or had heard of but had never actually seen wrestle, women such as a Kairi Sane, Toni Storm, Mia Yim, Mercedes Martinez, Piper Niven and even current NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. It was a great way to give the women who had been toiling away on the indies a bigger stage to showcase their skills and it also introduced the wrestling audience to some of the WWE Performance Center standouts that are really good, but at that time weren't quite ready to be on weekly tv. As exceptional as last year's tournament was I feel this year could be even better as this year's tournament has one hell of a line up of talented and hungry stars looking to show the world just what they have to offer, especially the women who have come back from last year and want the world to see that what they did last year was just the tip of the iceberg and they have much more for the world to see.
To show just how excited I am about this tournament I decided to not only do the reviews of the shows like I did last year, but also preview the tournament and run down the roster of talented women that will be featured in the 2nd Annual Mae Young Classic. I will also be fantasy booking the entire tournament so that you can see how I would have the tournament play out if I were the one in charge. Please note that I'm not an expert on all these women and I just want to give a general background on what they have done in their wrestling career and then give my thoughts on how I think they will fare in the tournament.
" Big Swole" Aerial Monroe
Hometown: Clearwater, FL
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine, Queens of Combat, Shimmer, & RISE
Aerial is the first of a few women that I don't really have much to say about them as there isn't that much on her that I could find after looking at multiple different sites. I wish I could go into more detail on all of these women but unfortunately, I can't if I'm not familiar with them and there is nothing online to give me any information on them, I couldn't even get an age for her.
Hometown: Clearwater, FL
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine, Queens of Combat, Shimmer, & RISE
Aerial is the first of a few women that I don't really have much to say about them as there isn't that much on her that I could find after looking at multiple different sites. I wish I could go into more detail on all of these women but unfortunately, I can't if I'm not familiar with them and there is nothing online to give me any information on them, I couldn't even get an age for her.
"The Ak-47" Allysin Kay
Age:30
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Also Known As: Sienna
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: WSU, Shimmer, Shine, TNA/Impact, & AAW
Championships/Accolades:
1x AIW Women's Championship
1x GFW Women's Championship
2x TNA/Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship
1x WSU Tag Team Championship
Allysin started her wrestling career in 2008 for her local independent promotion, her first big indy that she worked for was Absolute Intense Wrestling. During a match with Mia Yim in AIW she got her nose broke courtesy of a kick from Mia. Allysin won the AIW Women's Championship in 2012 and kept it for close to two years before losing it to Athena (Ember Moon). In 2011 Allysin joined WSU where she formed a stable with Jessicka Havok and Sassy Stephie called The Midwest Millitia. The trio dominated over WSU until the broke up in 2014. Allysin has also worked for both the Shimmer and Shine promotions.
Allysin made her TNA Wrestling debut in 2016 under the name of Sienna where she joined up with Maria Kanellis and Allie as Maria's enforcer. Sienna won her first Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary only to lose it two months later. Sienna was the first woman to win both the TNA Knockouts and GFW Women's Championships. She would later defeat Rosemary to unify the two titles. Sienna left Impact Wrestling in July 2018.
WWE putting Allysin in the tournament was a bit unexpected but I'm not complaining as she is really good in the ring and anytime someone uses the pounce it's a plus as that has always been one of my favorite moves. I would like to see Allysin go up against Kaitlyn in a battle of the women who rely on their power. I could definitely see Allysin getting at least to the quarterfinals.
Age:30
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Also Known As: Sienna
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: WSU, Shimmer, Shine, TNA/Impact, & AAW
Championships/Accolades:
1x AIW Women's Championship
1x GFW Women's Championship
2x TNA/Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship
1x WSU Tag Team Championship
Allysin started her wrestling career in 2008 for her local independent promotion, her first big indy that she worked for was Absolute Intense Wrestling. During a match with Mia Yim in AIW she got her nose broke courtesy of a kick from Mia. Allysin won the AIW Women's Championship in 2012 and kept it for close to two years before losing it to Athena (Ember Moon). In 2011 Allysin joined WSU where she formed a stable with Jessicka Havok and Sassy Stephie called The Midwest Millitia. The trio dominated over WSU until the broke up in 2014. Allysin has also worked for both the Shimmer and Shine promotions.
Allysin made her TNA Wrestling debut in 2016 under the name of Sienna where she joined up with Maria Kanellis and Allie as Maria's enforcer. Sienna won her first Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary only to lose it two months later. Sienna was the first woman to win both the TNA Knockouts and GFW Women's Championships. She would later defeat Rosemary to unify the two titles. Sienna left Impact Wrestling in July 2018.
WWE putting Allysin in the tournament was a bit unexpected but I'm not complaining as she is really good in the ring and anytime someone uses the pounce it's a plus as that has always been one of my favorite moves. I would like to see Allysin go up against Kaitlyn in a battle of the women who rely on their power. I could definitely see Allysin getting at least to the quarterfinals.
"Queen Bee" Ashley Rayne
Age: 32
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Also Known As: Madison Rayne
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, Shimmer, & TNA/Impact Wrestling
Championships:
1x Shimmer Tag Team Champion
5x TNA Knockouts Champion
2x TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion
Ashley got her start in wrestling in 2005 where she wrestled for several indies in her home state of Ohio. In 2007, Ashley made her debut for Shimmer where she teamed up with Nevaeh and the two became the first ever Shimmer Tag Team Champions which they would hold for seven months. Ashley made her ROH debut in April 2008 as part of a working relationship between ROH and Shimmer. Ashley would leave Shimmer after signing with TNA in 2009 but would make two returns to the promotion both in 2011 and 2017.
Ashley joined TNA in 2009 and was there non-stop until 2013 when she had to take maternity leave and eventually her contract ended up running out and she took this as an oppurtunity to take some time off. She would return in December and would go non-stop once again for TNA until 2017. In 2016 she became a member of the TNA creative team and would also serve as a color commentator for the Knockouts matches. Ashley's most recent TNA run came in May of this year where she would feud with both Tessa Blanchard and Su Young. In her entire off and on 9 year TNA run, Ashley accomplished everything possible for a Knockout to do and faced every woman that was in that division. She ended up being a 5x Knockouts Champion and 2x Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
The "Queen Bee" has finally arrived in the WWE and I'm pretty happy about that as I've always been a fan of hers as she plays the role of the mean girl pretty well and is somewhere between passable to good in the ring. It's hard to predict how far she will go in the tournament as she is a well known name but the fact that she isn't the best in the ring may hurt her chances of getting too far as WWE has this tournament to showcase the best women's wrestlers from bell to bell and there are a lot of women who are better than Ashley Rayne in the ring.
Age: 32
Hometown: Columbus, OH
Also Known As: Madison Rayne
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, Shimmer, & TNA/Impact Wrestling
Championships:
1x Shimmer Tag Team Champion
5x TNA Knockouts Champion
2x TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion
Ashley got her start in wrestling in 2005 where she wrestled for several indies in her home state of Ohio. In 2007, Ashley made her debut for Shimmer where she teamed up with Nevaeh and the two became the first ever Shimmer Tag Team Champions which they would hold for seven months. Ashley made her ROH debut in April 2008 as part of a working relationship between ROH and Shimmer. Ashley would leave Shimmer after signing with TNA in 2009 but would make two returns to the promotion both in 2011 and 2017.
Ashley joined TNA in 2009 and was there non-stop until 2013 when she had to take maternity leave and eventually her contract ended up running out and she took this as an oppurtunity to take some time off. She would return in December and would go non-stop once again for TNA until 2017. In 2016 she became a member of the TNA creative team and would also serve as a color commentator for the Knockouts matches. Ashley's most recent TNA run came in May of this year where she would feud with both Tessa Blanchard and Su Young. In her entire off and on 9 year TNA run, Ashley accomplished everything possible for a Knockout to do and faced every woman that was in that division. She ended up being a 5x Knockouts Champion and 2x Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
The "Queen Bee" has finally arrived in the WWE and I'm pretty happy about that as I've always been a fan of hers as she plays the role of the mean girl pretty well and is somewhere between passable to good in the ring. It's hard to predict how far she will go in the tournament as she is a well known name but the fact that she isn't the best in the ring may hurt her chances of getting too far as WWE has this tournament to showcase the best women's wrestlers from bell to bell and there are a lot of women who are better than Ashley Rayne in the ring.
" The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo
Age: 24
Hometown: Jefferson, NJ
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, TNA, ECWA, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x ECWA Women's Championship
2x ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Winner (2015 & 2016)
Age: 24
Hometown: Jefferson, NJ
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, TNA, ECWA, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x ECWA Women's Championship
2x ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Winner (2015 & 2016)
WOH Wrestler of the Year (2017)
Even if you're like me and don't pay the closest attention to the women's indy scene you should still know who Deonna Purrazzo is as she has been in many of the major indy promotions. She is responsible for the recent popularity of the ROH Women's Division in the last several years and was one of the women who paved the way for ROH needing to create a Women's Championship. Deonna was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament to crown the first ROH Women of Honor Champion. Deonna has worked a few TNA shows where she lost every single match she was in. Deonna made her Stardom debut in 2017 where she frequently tagged with Shayna Baszler.
Deonna has appeared several times on WWE television as a jobber and was used as an alternate in last year's MYC. Deonna signed with WWE back in May of this year. Now that Deonna has signed with WWE she will be a great asset for years to come and is someone they could definitely build up to be a future star. I see Deonna having a really good showing in the tournament and while I don't see her winning it she should have some stand out matches.
Even if you're like me and don't pay the closest attention to the women's indy scene you should still know who Deonna Purrazzo is as she has been in many of the major indy promotions. She is responsible for the recent popularity of the ROH Women's Division in the last several years and was one of the women who paved the way for ROH needing to create a Women's Championship. Deonna was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament to crown the first ROH Women of Honor Champion. Deonna has worked a few TNA shows where she lost every single match she was in. Deonna made her Stardom debut in 2017 where she frequently tagged with Shayna Baszler.
Deonna has appeared several times on WWE television as a jobber and was used as an alternate in last year's MYC. Deonna signed with WWE back in May of this year. Now that Deonna has signed with WWE she will be a great asset for years to come and is someone they could definitely build up to be a future star. I see Deonna having a really good showing in the tournament and while I don't see her winning it she should have some stand out matches.
" Lady Godzilla" Hiroyo Matsumoto
Age:32
Hometown: Kanagawa, Japan
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Ice Ribbon, Oz Academy, Stardom, Sendai Girls, & Shimmer
Age:32
Hometown: Kanagawa, Japan
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Ice Ribbon, Oz Academy, Stardom, Sendai Girls, & Shimmer
Championships/Accolades:
1x International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
1x Oz Academy Openweight Championship
4x Oz Academy Tag Team Championship
1x Sendai Girls World Championship
1x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
3x Artist of Stardom Championship
1x Goddess of Stardom Championship
Hiroyo debuted in 2006 for the IBUKI promotion where she had a pre-debut 5-minute exhibition match, she would make her official debut a few months later. Hiroyo mainly worked for the indy Joshi promotions such as Ice Ribbon, NEO Ladies, Sendai Girls' & Oz Academy. Hiroyo made her US debut in April 2010 for Shimmer and then a year later she would win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. Hiroyo made her Stardom debut in 2012 where she would unsuccessfully challenge for the World of Stardom Championship. She would debut for Shimmer's sister promotion Shine in 2013.
The inclusion of Meiko into the tournament was announced before the names even started being announced by WWE and Io was an expected name as she was going to be in last year's tournament and had signed with WWE a few months ago, but Hiroyo was a talent from Japan that was announced completely out of the blue. I did watch a few matches of hers and while she is good, she doesn't seem to be quite on the level of an Io or Meiko. With three women representing Japan, it will be interesting to see how far the lesser of the three goes in the tournament.
1x International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
1x Oz Academy Openweight Championship
4x Oz Academy Tag Team Championship
1x Sendai Girls World Championship
1x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
3x Artist of Stardom Championship
1x Goddess of Stardom Championship
Hiroyo debuted in 2006 for the IBUKI promotion where she had a pre-debut 5-minute exhibition match, she would make her official debut a few months later. Hiroyo mainly worked for the indy Joshi promotions such as Ice Ribbon, NEO Ladies, Sendai Girls' & Oz Academy. Hiroyo made her US debut in April 2010 for Shimmer and then a year later she would win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. Hiroyo made her Stardom debut in 2012 where she would unsuccessfully challenge for the World of Stardom Championship. She would debut for Shimmer's sister promotion Shine in 2013.
The inclusion of Meiko into the tournament was announced before the names even started being announced by WWE and Io was an expected name as she was going to be in last year's tournament and had signed with WWE a few months ago, but Hiroyo was a talent from Japan that was announced completely out of the blue. I did watch a few matches of hers and while she is good, she doesn't seem to be quite on the level of an Io or Meiko. With three women representing Japan, it will be interesting to see how far the lesser of the three goes in the tournament.
"Genius of the Sky" Io Shirai
Age: 28
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Sendai Girls, Ice Ribbon, Pro Wrestling Wave, AAA, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
6x Artist of Stardom Championship
1x Goddess of Stardom Championship
1x High-Speed Championship
1x SWA World Championship
2x Wonder of Stardom Championship
Age: 28
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Sendai Girls, Ice Ribbon, Pro Wrestling Wave, AAA, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
6x Artist of Stardom Championship
1x Goddess of Stardom Championship
1x High-Speed Championship
1x SWA World Championship
2x Wonder of Stardom Championship
2x World of Stardom Championship
5 Star Grand Prix Winner (2014)
Io broke into the business alongside her older sister Mio Shirai in 2007 at the age of 16. The sisters would team up and work several different Joshi independent promotions including Pro Wrestling Wave, Sendai Girls', & JWP. In 2008 the sisters made their debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling and then debuted in 2009 for Zero1. In 2010 the Shirai's made formed a stable with Kana (Asuka) called Triple Tails and they dominated the competition in whatever promotion they were in at the time. The trio even self-produced three shows. The trio went their separate ways in 2011 when Io wanted to puruse a singles career. Io has also done several tours of Mexico working for AAA in 2010 and Wrestling All-Star Pros in 2011-2012. In May 2012 when Io went back to Japan she was arrested under susupicion of smuggling marijuana which in Japan is a very serious offense, the marijuanna was said to be hidden in two paintings. It was later revealed by Takuya Sugi that he had planted the drugs in the paintings because Masahiro Hayashi (the liason between AAA and Japan) had promised to extend his contract with AAA if he did it, the reason for Masahiro wanting to have this done was because he had a personal grudge against Io's boyfriend at the time Nosawa. Io ended up having all the charges on her dropped.
In 2011, Io debuted in Stardom and that would be her home for the next seven years and where she would gain the most noteriety. While in Stardom, Io did everything you could possibly do in the promotion and has faced every single woman that would step inside a Stardom ring. Io's first World of Stardom title regin that lasted for 468 days and consisted of 10 successful title defenses and her second reign lasted 18 months with 14 successful title defenses. Io won every title you could win in Stardom and eventually became one of the aces of the promotion. Io had her last match in Stardom on June 10, 2018.
Io was supposed to sign with WWE last year, but failed her WWE medical exam as they found that she had a neck injury as well as heart issues. Despite her doctors saying she was cleared, the WWE passed on signing her at that time as they didn't want to risk anything happening on their watch. Io was back in discussion with WWE this year and this time they decided it was ok and signed her to a contract. Io's first WWE appearance was during a live event in Japan back in June. After a year delay the WWE has finally signed the crown jewel of women's pro wrestling and between Io, Asuka, & Kairi the WWE has three of the all time great Joshi talents of the past 10-15 years. I definitely expect Io to go far in this tournament and she is a definite front runner to win, but I really don't see WWE crowning to Japanese winners in consecutive years and she may be one of those shocking semi-final eliminations that nobody sees coming.
5 Star Grand Prix Winner (2014)
Io broke into the business alongside her older sister Mio Shirai in 2007 at the age of 16. The sisters would team up and work several different Joshi independent promotions including Pro Wrestling Wave, Sendai Girls', & JWP. In 2008 the sisters made their debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling and then debuted in 2009 for Zero1. In 2010 the Shirai's made formed a stable with Kana (Asuka) called Triple Tails and they dominated the competition in whatever promotion they were in at the time. The trio even self-produced three shows. The trio went their separate ways in 2011 when Io wanted to puruse a singles career. Io has also done several tours of Mexico working for AAA in 2010 and Wrestling All-Star Pros in 2011-2012. In May 2012 when Io went back to Japan she was arrested under susupicion of smuggling marijuana which in Japan is a very serious offense, the marijuanna was said to be hidden in two paintings. It was later revealed by Takuya Sugi that he had planted the drugs in the paintings because Masahiro Hayashi (the liason between AAA and Japan) had promised to extend his contract with AAA if he did it, the reason for Masahiro wanting to have this done was because he had a personal grudge against Io's boyfriend at the time Nosawa. Io ended up having all the charges on her dropped.
In 2011, Io debuted in Stardom and that would be her home for the next seven years and where she would gain the most noteriety. While in Stardom, Io did everything you could possibly do in the promotion and has faced every single woman that would step inside a Stardom ring. Io's first World of Stardom title regin that lasted for 468 days and consisted of 10 successful title defenses and her second reign lasted 18 months with 14 successful title defenses. Io won every title you could win in Stardom and eventually became one of the aces of the promotion. Io had her last match in Stardom on June 10, 2018.
Io was supposed to sign with WWE last year, but failed her WWE medical exam as they found that she had a neck injury as well as heart issues. Despite her doctors saying she was cleared, the WWE passed on signing her at that time as they didn't want to risk anything happening on their watch. Io was back in discussion with WWE this year and this time they decided it was ok and signed her to a contract. Io's first WWE appearance was during a live event in Japan back in June. After a year delay the WWE has finally signed the crown jewel of women's pro wrestling and between Io, Asuka, & Kairi the WWE has three of the all time great Joshi talents of the past 10-15 years. I definitely expect Io to go far in this tournament and she is a definite front runner to win, but I really don't see WWE crowning to Japanese winners in consecutive years and she may be one of those shocking semi-final eliminations that nobody sees coming.
Isla Dawn
Age:24
Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Also Known As: Courtney
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Stardom, EVE, Shine, & Progress
Isla made her wrestling debut in 2013 for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance promotion. She also wrestled for the ICW: Fierce Females promotion and other promotions in Europe including wXw out of Germany. As far as US promotions go she has wrestled in Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, WSU, & Shine. Isla made her WWE back in June during the UK Championship Tournament where she was in a number one contender triple threat match where the winner would face NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler on night two of the tournament. Isla will be apart of the new NXT UK Brand. I feel the match during the UKCT wasn't the best way to really showcase her as between Toni Storm and Killer Kelly she didn't really stand out as those two stole the show. I can't really say what to expect from her in the tournament and she could be a potential first round elimination as she is not one who stands out compared to all the other women in this tournament.
Age:24
Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Also Known As: Courtney
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Stardom, EVE, Shine, & Progress
Isla made her wrestling debut in 2013 for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance promotion. She also wrestled for the ICW: Fierce Females promotion and other promotions in Europe including wXw out of Germany. As far as US promotions go she has wrestled in Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, WSU, & Shine. Isla made her WWE back in June during the UK Championship Tournament where she was in a number one contender triple threat match where the winner would face NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler on night two of the tournament. Isla will be apart of the new NXT UK Brand. I feel the match during the UKCT wasn't the best way to really showcase her as between Toni Storm and Killer Kelly she didn't really stand out as those two stole the show. I can't really say what to expect from her in the tournament and she could be a potential first round elimination as she is not one who stands out compared to all the other women in this tournament.
Jessie Elaban
Age:29
Hometown: Austin, TXAge:29
Jessie joined the Performance Center in May of last year without any prior experience so she is a complete PC molded talent which isn't as much of a bad thing as it was once assumed as quite a few of the talents that have only had PC training have been quite successful and are some of the most popular stars in the company. Judging from pictures I have seen of her it looks like she has some kind of nerd gimmick which could be fun, but hopefully, it's not over the top nerdiness on the level of a Jamison.
Jinny
Age: 29Hometown: London, England
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Progress, WXW, Rev Pro, & EVE
Championships/Accolades:
1x Progress Women's Championship (Current Champ)
1x RevPro British Women's Championship
Jinny is someone who I have heard a lot of people give high praise, but I haven't gotten around to actually seeing any of her stuff but I did read somewhere they WWE is pretty high on her. Jinny was the first female to graduate from the Progress Wrestling dojo and she had her first match in January 2015. Jinny is the current Progress Women's Champion which she won from Toni Storm back in May. Jinny was also the first ever RevPro Women's Champion when she won a tournament back in January by defeating Deonna Purrazzo in the finals.
Jinny made her debut for WWE back during WrestleMania Axxess this past year and then in June she signed a contract with WWE and will be apart of the new NXT UK brand. Jinny was originally supposed to be apart of the women's match during the UK Championship tournament back in June but during the taping, she got injured mid-match and the match was turned into a triple threat. I can't wait to see if Jinny lives up to all the high praise she has gotten and how far she goes in the tournament since WWE are high on her.
"Mighty" Kacy Catanzaro
Age: 28Hometown: Glenn Ridge, NJ
Accolades:
1st Woman to ever qualify for National Finals on American Ninja Warrior
From the warped wall of American Ninja Warrior to the squared circle of the WWE comes the smallest competitor in this year's tournament "The Mighty" Kacy Catanzaro. I am very excited by Kacy's inclusion in the tournament as I have been anticipating her tv debut from the moment we first learned she had signed with WWE back in August of last year during the first Mae Young Classic. Kacy actually reported to the Performance Center back in January and has done a few NXT live events, during a recent interview with Triple H he spoke highly of how quickly Kacy is learning and catching on to what it takes to be a WWE talent. Kacy was a great addition to the tournament because although she is new in the wrestling business she does have a decent sized fanbase already which could mean some extra non-wrestling fan eyes watching this tournament.
Kacy is someone I will definitely be cheering on for a couple of reasons, the first is just the fact that I have been watching her since she was on ANW and was in awe of how her little 4'11 butt was able to climb that giant warped wall in addition to completing all the other ANW obstacles. The other reason is that she is only 4'11 and being a short guy myself I do love short girls which is also why I'm a huge Alexa Bliss fan, the fact that she is shorter than Alexa is and is only an inch taller than I am made her an instant favorite of mine.
Kaitlyn
Age:31
Age:31
Hometown: Houston, TX
Championships/Accolades:
1x WWE Divas Championship
NXT Season 3 Winner
She's Back!!!! That's right ladies and gentlemen Kaitlyn is back in the WWE after a four-year absence and I couldn't be happier for her. I was so happy earlier this year when I found out that Kaitlyn was back training to be in the ring and I knew it was only a matter of time before she was back in the WWE as she left on really good terms back in 2014. I was always a fan of Kaitlyn when she was in the WWE and even though she wasn't the best in the ring she tried every time she went out there. Kaitlyn will admit herself that she didn't have enough training before they thrust her onto the third season of NXT and she pretty much had to learn as she went. I loved everything having to do with her and AJ Lee whether it was when they were a team as the ChickBusters or were against each other having one of the last great feuds of the Divas era in WWE as they had natural chemistry when working with each other because of their real-life friendship. I liked how Kaitlyn wasn't that tall or even that muscled up (compared to now) but her role in the diva's division was as the power girl who would lift her opponents over her head or would cut them in half with a spear.
Kaitlyn's life since leaving the WWE has been a roller coaster of highs and lows as she started her own business and got married but then she ended up getting divorced, dealing with addiction, and having personal pictures and videos of herself leaked all over the internet. She was in a very dark place for a while but after going to the Main Event Training Center (ran by Pablo Marquez) she found that being back in the ring was helping her deal with what she was going through as it was very therapeutic for her and kept up the training and even did an indy show back in February. I'm really excited to see her back and am really interested to see if she brings anything new to her matches as she has been training a lot recently and will be well prepared for this. I'm curious to see how far WWE lets her go in this tournament as she is the only one to ever hold a title before in the WWE so it would be expected they want her to do well but will they push her over a Toni Storm or Io Shirai I'm not sure but it will be fun to watch and see.
Championships/Accolades:
1x WWE Divas Championship
NXT Season 3 Winner
She's Back!!!! That's right ladies and gentlemen Kaitlyn is back in the WWE after a four-year absence and I couldn't be happier for her. I was so happy earlier this year when I found out that Kaitlyn was back training to be in the ring and I knew it was only a matter of time before she was back in the WWE as she left on really good terms back in 2014. I was always a fan of Kaitlyn when she was in the WWE and even though she wasn't the best in the ring she tried every time she went out there. Kaitlyn will admit herself that she didn't have enough training before they thrust her onto the third season of NXT and she pretty much had to learn as she went. I loved everything having to do with her and AJ Lee whether it was when they were a team as the ChickBusters or were against each other having one of the last great feuds of the Divas era in WWE as they had natural chemistry when working with each other because of their real-life friendship. I liked how Kaitlyn wasn't that tall or even that muscled up (compared to now) but her role in the diva's division was as the power girl who would lift her opponents over her head or would cut them in half with a spear.
Kaitlyn's life since leaving the WWE has been a roller coaster of highs and lows as she started her own business and got married but then she ended up getting divorced, dealing with addiction, and having personal pictures and videos of herself leaked all over the internet. She was in a very dark place for a while but after going to the Main Event Training Center (ran by Pablo Marquez) she found that being back in the ring was helping her deal with what she was going through as it was very therapeutic for her and kept up the training and even did an indy show back in February. I'm really excited to see her back and am really interested to see if she brings anything new to her matches as she has been training a lot recently and will be well prepared for this. I'm curious to see how far WWE lets her go in this tournament as she is the only one to ever hold a title before in the WWE so it would be expected they want her to do well but will they push her over a Toni Storm or Io Shirai I'm not sure but it will be fun to watch and see.
Karen Q
Hometown: Queens, NY
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, RISE, ECWA, & Shimmer
Championships/Accolades:
1x ECWA Women's Championship
Karen made her debut in 2014 for Victory Pro Wrestling where she feuded with Nikki Addams off an on for two years. She has also worked for Women's Wrestling Revolution and Beyond Wrestling. Karen debuted for ROH in 2017 where she had a feud with Deonna Purrazzo. Karen entered the tournament to crown the first Women of Honor Champion but was eliminated in the first round by Brandi Rhodes. Even though she has been in the business for four years Karen still comes off as a bit green and could use some more experience but she is well on her way of becoming one of the greats,
Hometown: Queens, NY
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, RISE, ECWA, & Shimmer
Championships/Accolades:
1x ECWA Women's Championship
Karen made her debut in 2014 for Victory Pro Wrestling where she feuded with Nikki Addams off an on for two years. She has also worked for Women's Wrestling Revolution and Beyond Wrestling. Karen debuted for ROH in 2017 where she had a feud with Deonna Purrazzo. Karen entered the tournament to crown the first Women of Honor Champion but was eliminated in the first round by Brandi Rhodes. Even though she has been in the business for four years Karen still comes off as a bit green and could use some more experience but she is well on her way of becoming one of the greats,
Kavita Devi
Age: 31
Age: 31
Hometown: Haryana, India
Kavita Devi, the first female to come from India is back for another go in the Mae Young Classic after being eliminated in the first round last year by Dakota Kai. Kavita actually made her WrestleMania debut back in April as part of a group of NXT women in the first ever Women's WrestleMania Battle Royal but was unsuccessful in that match. I wasn't impressed with her match in last year's tournament nor her appearance in the battle royal, hopefully, she has been training a lot since then and has improved but I don't think we can expect much from someone trained by The Great Khali.
Kavita Devi, the first female to come from India is back for another go in the Mae Young Classic after being eliminated in the first round last year by Dakota Kai. Kavita actually made her WrestleMania debut back in April as part of a group of NXT women in the first ever Women's WrestleMania Battle Royal but was unsuccessful in that match. I wasn't impressed with her match in last year's tournament nor her appearance in the battle royal, hopefully, she has been training a lot since then and has improved but I don't think we can expect much from someone trained by The Great Khali.
Killer Kelly
Age: 26
Hometown: Lisbon, Portugal
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: WXW, EVE, RevPro, & Progress
Championships/Accolades:
1x WXW Women's Championship
Kelly has only been in the business for two short years but from what I have seen of her in the match at the UK Championship Tournament she is really damn good for only two years of experience. Kelly works a very aggressive MMA esque style and with so many MMA people transitioning over to the world of pro wrestling she should fit right in with the current crop of WWE stars. Kelly has worked in all of the major European promotions including RevPro, wXw, & most recently Progress. I'm looking on Wikipedia to find some info on her and I get to the part where it talks about her influences and she may have the most badass list of influences one person could have, the list includes such names as Asuka, Low Ki, Gail Kim, & Katsuyori Shibata and from the one match I've seen her in she definitely takes aspects from every single one of these people. I would like to see her go against Mia Yim in this tournament as I think their styles would mesh very well together. I can't wait to see her kick some ladies' face off and perhaps be the closest we get to having another Shayna Baszler in the tournament.
Age: 26
Hometown: Lisbon, Portugal
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: WXW, EVE, RevPro, & Progress
Championships/Accolades:
1x WXW Women's Championship
Kelly has only been in the business for two short years but from what I have seen of her in the match at the UK Championship Tournament she is really damn good for only two years of experience. Kelly works a very aggressive MMA esque style and with so many MMA people transitioning over to the world of pro wrestling she should fit right in with the current crop of WWE stars. Kelly has worked in all of the major European promotions including RevPro, wXw, & most recently Progress. I'm looking on Wikipedia to find some info on her and I get to the part where it talks about her influences and she may have the most badass list of influences one person could have, the list includes such names as Asuka, Low Ki, Gail Kim, & Katsuyori Shibata and from the one match I've seen her in she definitely takes aspects from every single one of these people. I would like to see her go against Mia Yim in this tournament as I think their styles would mesh very well together. I can't wait to see her kick some ladies' face off and perhaps be the closest we get to having another Shayna Baszler in the tournament.
Lacey Lane
Age:30
Hometown: Winter Park, FL
Age:30
Hometown: Winter Park, FL
Lacey Lane is one of the newest signees to the performance center and it doesn't look like she's had too much experience outside of the WWE banner other than a few shows in Mexico for the Crash and Aro Lucha promotion and an appearance for MLW. Not much else is known about Lacey Lane, but that is one of the great things about the MYC, that we get to see new promising talent showcase their skills before they are ready to be put on weekly tv.
Meiko Satomura
Age: 38Hometown: Niigata, Japan
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Gaea Japan, Sendai Girls, Chikara, Stardom, & EVE
Championships/Accolades:
Co-Founder of Sendai Girls Promotion
1x Sendai Girls World Championship
1x World of Stardom Championship
2x AAAW Singles Championship
3x AAAW Tag Team Championship
Championships/Accolades:
Co-Founder of Sendai Girls Promotion
1x Sendai Girls World Championship
1x World of Stardom Championship
2x AAAW Singles Championship
3x AAAW Tag Team Championship
2016 Chikara King of Trios Winner
Meiko is the veteran of this year's tournament making her wrestling debut way back in 1995 for the GAEA promotion where she was one of their biggest stars until the promotion closed in 2005. While in GAEA, Meiko would win the promotion's top title on two occasions and their tag titles on three occasions. During her time in GAEA, she got the chance to wrestle for WCW as she was apart of a tournament to crown a WCW Women's Champion but was eliminated in the first round. Meiko would make a few more very sporadic appearances in WCW until the relationship between WCW and GAEA ended.
After the close of GAEA, Meiko wasted no time (along with Jinsei Shinzaki) before co-founding her own promotion named Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. Sendai Girls' has a very small roster and often their shows consist of their talent going against women from other promotions. Meiko has also done some work in Stardom and even won their World of Stardom Championship which led to her having a couple of really great matches against another lady who is in this tournament Io Shirai. Meiko has done several appearances in American promotions in recently most notably in Chikara where she teamed with Cassandra Miyagi & DASH Chisako to win the 2016 Chikara King of Trios Tournament.
Meiko is one of the big names that WWE was able to snag for this tournament and I have no doubt that it will pay off for them as they are sure to get some great matches out of her. WWE will be stupid if they don't structure the tournament where Meiko and Io have to face each other as that would just be money left on the table after the incredible matches they have had against each other in the past. I also would like to see her square off against Mercedes Martinez as they are the two in the tournament who have the most years of experience, there is also Toni Storm who Meiko has crossed paths with as well. Get ready to see some stiff Joshi strong style ass whoopings coming to you courtesy of Meiko Satomura.
Meiko is the veteran of this year's tournament making her wrestling debut way back in 1995 for the GAEA promotion where she was one of their biggest stars until the promotion closed in 2005. While in GAEA, Meiko would win the promotion's top title on two occasions and their tag titles on three occasions. During her time in GAEA, she got the chance to wrestle for WCW as she was apart of a tournament to crown a WCW Women's Champion but was eliminated in the first round. Meiko would make a few more very sporadic appearances in WCW until the relationship between WCW and GAEA ended.
After the close of GAEA, Meiko wasted no time (along with Jinsei Shinzaki) before co-founding her own promotion named Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling. Sendai Girls' has a very small roster and often their shows consist of their talent going against women from other promotions. Meiko has also done some work in Stardom and even won their World of Stardom Championship which led to her having a couple of really great matches against another lady who is in this tournament Io Shirai. Meiko has done several appearances in American promotions in recently most notably in Chikara where she teamed with Cassandra Miyagi & DASH Chisako to win the 2016 Chikara King of Trios Tournament.
Meiko is one of the big names that WWE was able to snag for this tournament and I have no doubt that it will pay off for them as they are sure to get some great matches out of her. WWE will be stupid if they don't structure the tournament where Meiko and Io have to face each other as that would just be money left on the table after the incredible matches they have had against each other in the past. I also would like to see her square off against Mercedes Martinez as they are the two in the tournament who have the most years of experience, there is also Toni Storm who Meiko has crossed paths with as well. Get ready to see some stiff Joshi strong style ass whoopings coming to you courtesy of Meiko Satomura.
Mercedes Martinez
Age:37
Hometown: Waterbury, CT
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shimmer, Shine, RISE, & WSU
Championships/Accolades:
Age:37
Hometown: Waterbury, CT
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shimmer, Shine, RISE, & WSU
Championships/Accolades:
2x Shimmer Championship
1x Shine Tag Team Championship
3x WSU Championship
1x WSU Tag Team Championship
Mercedes is an 18 year veteran who has wrestled for most of the major indie companies, but she first gained popularity in Shimmer as one of their top and longest lasting stars as she joined the promotion in 2005 and is still there to this day. Mercedes was one of the few women who wrestled in ROH during their early years against the likes of Lacey, Allison Danger, & Daizee Haze. One of Mercedes's top feuds on the indies came in WSU against Angel Orsini as the two faced each other in steel cage, bullrope, and ladder matches, their biggest match was an IronWoman match that ended up going 70 minutes (that's counting a 10 minute over time). She had another match that lasted 73 minutes against Lexxus.
The "Latina Sensation" Mercedes Martinez is now back in the MYC to try and see if she can win the entire tournament this year after getting all the way to the semi-finals last year where she lost to Shayna Baszler. I don't really see her getting as far this year as I see other people who could take up the four spots in the semi-finals. She should have some really good matches in the tournament no matter who she is against as a veteran like Mercedes is good enough to wrestle anyone and make them look like a star.
1x Shine Tag Team Championship
3x WSU Championship
1x WSU Tag Team Championship
Mercedes is an 18 year veteran who has wrestled for most of the major indie companies, but she first gained popularity in Shimmer as one of their top and longest lasting stars as she joined the promotion in 2005 and is still there to this day. Mercedes was one of the few women who wrestled in ROH during their early years against the likes of Lacey, Allison Danger, & Daizee Haze. One of Mercedes's top feuds on the indies came in WSU against Angel Orsini as the two faced each other in steel cage, bullrope, and ladder matches, their biggest match was an IronWoman match that ended up going 70 minutes (that's counting a 10 minute over time). She had another match that lasted 73 minutes against Lexxus.
The "Latina Sensation" Mercedes Martinez is now back in the MYC to try and see if she can win the entire tournament this year after getting all the way to the semi-finals last year where she lost to Shayna Baszler. I don't really see her getting as far this year as I see other people who could take up the four spots in the semi-finals. She should have some really good matches in the tournament no matter who she is against as a veteran like Mercedes is good enough to wrestle anyone and make them look like a star.
Mia Yim
Age: 29
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Also Known As: Jade
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, CZW, Shine, Shimmer, FIP, & TNA
Championships/Accolades:
1x Shine Championship
1x Shine Tag Team Championship
1x TNA Knockouts Championship
Out of all the women who are returning to the MYC this year, Mia is the one that I'm probably most baffled about as to why she wasn't signed after her performance last year as she would be a great addition to the women's division either in NXT or on the main roster. Mia's match with Shayna Baszler last year was my second favorite match of the entire tournament and I would love to see WWE sign her so she can have a re-match with Shayna. Mia is a veteran that has been around since 2009 and has learned various styles so she would be someone good for the younger girls to be in the ring with and learn from. Mia also has a really unique and cool look to her which I think would stand out in WWE and would be a reason for people to get behind her as she looks completely different than everyone else. I definitely hope she goes far in the tournament and puts on another really great performance perhaps against an Io Shirai or Meiko Satomura and that is enough to make WWE want to sign her.
Age: 29
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Also Known As: Jade
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ROH, CZW, Shine, Shimmer, FIP, & TNA
Championships/Accolades:
1x Shine Championship
1x Shine Tag Team Championship
1x TNA Knockouts Championship
Out of all the women who are returning to the MYC this year, Mia is the one that I'm probably most baffled about as to why she wasn't signed after her performance last year as she would be a great addition to the women's division either in NXT or on the main roster. Mia's match with Shayna Baszler last year was my second favorite match of the entire tournament and I would love to see WWE sign her so she can have a re-match with Shayna. Mia is a veteran that has been around since 2009 and has learned various styles so she would be someone good for the younger girls to be in the ring with and learn from. Mia also has a really unique and cool look to her which I think would stand out in WWE and would be a reason for people to get behind her as she looks completely different than everyone else. I definitely hope she goes far in the tournament and puts on another really great performance perhaps against an Io Shirai or Meiko Satomura and that is enough to make WWE want to sign her.
MJ Jenkins
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: TNA/Impact, AIW, & CZW
I honestly couldn't find much about MJ but what I was able to find out was that in addition to her run in Impact Wrestling last year which I would imagine is where most people know her from, she also has worked in both AIW and CZW. That's really all I could find about her which is odd because the blurb WWE wrote about her on their official page said she has been in the business for seven years, but I can't find evidence of it anywhere. If anyone would like to give me some additional details about her I would be more than happy to have them.
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: TNA/Impact, AIW, & CZW
I honestly couldn't find much about MJ but what I was able to find out was that in addition to her run in Impact Wrestling last year which I would imagine is where most people know her from, she also has worked in both AIW and CZW. That's really all I could find about her which is odd because the blurb WWE wrote about her on their official page said she has been in the business for seven years, but I can't find evidence of it anywhere. If anyone would like to give me some additional details about her I would be more than happy to have them.
Nicole Matthews
Age:31
Hometown: British Columbia, Canada
Age:31
Hometown: British Columbia, Canada
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shimmer
Championships/Accolades:
1x Shimmer Championship
2x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
Championships/Accolades:
1x Shimmer Championship
2x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
Nicole started her career in 2006 in her home country of Canada for the ECCW all female side promotion named SuperGirls Wrestling. Nicole is most well known for her years in Shimmer where she was one half of Shimmer's hottest tag team The Canadian NINJAS along with Portia Perez (who was also someone who should've got some love from the WWE before she had to retire in 2005). The Canadian NINJAS are two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions with their first reign lasting close to two years long. Nicole also had a singles run in Shimmer that culminated in her winning the Shimmer Championship in October 2014 and keeping it for almost a year before losing it to Madison Eagles.
Nicole Matthews has been a name on the women's indy scene for what seems like forever and I'm glad she is finally getting a chance to show her skills in the WWE as she has definitely worked long enough to deserve this chance. There are many women in this tournament that Nicole has crossed paths with while in Shimmer and it will be great to see her go up against them once again.
"The Gypsy Princess" Priscilla Kelly
Age: 21
Hometown: Douglasville, GA
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine
Championships/Accolades:
1x SHINE Nova Championship
Priscilla made her wrestling debut in 2015 and has worked for Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, FIP, & Shine. I have heard a lot of good things about Priscilla and from the few matches I've seen she looks good in the ring but I think what really puts her over the top is her character. In one match I saw she was using her sexuality to throw her opponent off guard sort of like what Goldust used to do back in the 90s, I doubt we will really see any of that in the tournament with WWE being PG but it was interesting to see a female in that role. Priscilla is the one girl that WWE should go to if they ever decide to actually make Sister Abigail an on-screen character as she has the perfect dark and creepy look. Not really sure how far I see Priscilla going in the tournament but going further than the quarterfinals seems unlikely.
Age: 21
Hometown: Douglasville, GA
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine
Championships/Accolades:
1x SHINE Nova Championship
Priscilla made her wrestling debut in 2015 and has worked for Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, FIP, & Shine. I have heard a lot of good things about Priscilla and from the few matches I've seen she looks good in the ring but I think what really puts her over the top is her character. In one match I saw she was using her sexuality to throw her opponent off guard sort of like what Goldust used to do back in the 90s, I doubt we will really see any of that in the tournament with WWE being PG but it was interesting to see a female in that role. Priscilla is the one girl that WWE should go to if they ever decide to actually make Sister Abigail an on-screen character as she has the perfect dark and creepy look. Not really sure how far I see Priscilla going in the tournament but going further than the quarterfinals seems unlikely.
Rachel Evers
Age:25
Hometown: Sauk Centre, MN
Also Known As: Rachael Ellering
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine, WrestleCircus, Resistance Pro, Shimmer, TNA/Impact, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x Resistance Pro Women's Championship
1x WrestleCircus Lady of the Ring Championship
This is only Rachel's fourth year in the business but in these four years, she has worked pretty much everywhere in the US and even had a run in Japan for Stardom so everyone should know who she is and if you don't your probably living under a rock. Rachael was eliminated in the second round last year by Abbey Laith (Kimber Lee) in a really good match. As great as Rachel is, this year's field is more stacked than last year so I think there is a good chance she may not even make it past the first round.
Age:25
Hometown: Sauk Centre, MN
Also Known As: Rachael Ellering
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Shine, WrestleCircus, Resistance Pro, Shimmer, TNA/Impact, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x Resistance Pro Women's Championship
1x WrestleCircus Lady of the Ring Championship
This is only Rachel's fourth year in the business but in these four years, she has worked pretty much everywhere in the US and even had a run in Japan for Stardom so everyone should know who she is and if you don't your probably living under a rock. Rachael was eliminated in the second round last year by Abbey Laith (Kimber Lee) in a really good match. As great as Rachel is, this year's field is more stacked than last year so I think there is a good chance she may not even make it past the first round.
Reina Gonzalez
Age:27
Hometown: La Feria, TX
The daughter of "Desperado" Ricky Gonzalez is back for her second Mae Young Classic after coming up short during the first round of last year's tournament to Nicole Savoy. Reina is one of the bigger girls in the tournament and will use that to her advantage much like she did against Savoy last year. I hope to see improvement from her as she has had another year to train and work on her craft as she was pretty green last year and needed to improve but she definitely has potential.
Age:27
Hometown: La Feria, TX
The daughter of "Desperado" Ricky Gonzalez is back for her second Mae Young Classic after coming up short during the first round of last year's tournament to Nicole Savoy. Reina is one of the bigger girls in the tournament and will use that to her advantage much like she did against Savoy last year. I hope to see improvement from her as she has had another year to train and work on her craft as she was pretty green last year and needed to improve but she definitely has potential.
Rhea Ripley
Age: 21
Hometown: Adelaide, Australia
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Riot City Wrestling
Championships/Accolades:
2x RCW Women's Championship
Prior to signing with the WWE in 2017, Rhea worked for multiple promotions in Australia but most of her time was spent in Riot City Wrestling which is out of her hometown of Adelaide. Rhea has also spent time in Japan where she worked for Zero1 and the REINA promotions. I am very happy to see Rhea back this year as I was so impressed with her last year and wanted her to go further in the tournament than she did. Rhea was the only one last year that I had never heard of before that I wouldn't have been mad at going over some of the more established women as she was that good, in fact, her match with Dakota Kai made my top ten when I ranked all the matches of the tournament. I hope they let her go even further in the tournament this year as she could actually be believable to be one of the final four and I could see her scoring an upset win over one of the favorites to get her there.
Age: 21
Hometown: Adelaide, Australia
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Riot City Wrestling
Championships/Accolades:
2x RCW Women's Championship
Prior to signing with the WWE in 2017, Rhea worked for multiple promotions in Australia but most of her time was spent in Riot City Wrestling which is out of her hometown of Adelaide. Rhea has also spent time in Japan where she worked for Zero1 and the REINA promotions. I am very happy to see Rhea back this year as I was so impressed with her last year and wanted her to go further in the tournament than she did. Rhea was the only one last year that I had never heard of before that I wouldn't have been mad at going over some of the more established women as she was that good, in fact, her match with Dakota Kai made my top ten when I ranked all the matches of the tournament. I hope they let her go even further in the tournament this year as she could actually be believable to be one of the final four and I could see her scoring an upset win over one of the favorites to get her there.
Taynara Conti
Age: 23
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Brazilian sensation Taynara Conti is back in the Mae Young Classic for the second time after coming up short last year when she lost to Lacey Evans in the first round. Taynara earned her spot in this year's MYC after defeating Vanessa Bourne on an episode of NXT. Since last year Taynara has made a few appearances on NXT, in fact back in October it even looked like she was going to be a member of the Undisputed Era when she cost Nikki Cross a match (at that time Undisputed Era was feuding with SAnity), but after one match between the two, that story was completely dropped. Taynara was also apart of the NXT contingent that participated in the first ever WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal. I have a feeling we will see a more impressive Taynara this year and there is a chance that we may even see her get past the first round.
Age: 23
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Brazilian sensation Taynara Conti is back in the Mae Young Classic for the second time after coming up short last year when she lost to Lacey Evans in the first round. Taynara earned her spot in this year's MYC after defeating Vanessa Bourne on an episode of NXT. Since last year Taynara has made a few appearances on NXT, in fact back in October it even looked like she was going to be a member of the Undisputed Era when she cost Nikki Cross a match (at that time Undisputed Era was feuding with SAnity), but after one match between the two, that story was completely dropped. Taynara was also apart of the NXT contingent that participated in the first ever WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal. I have a feeling we will see a more impressive Taynara this year and there is a chance that we may even see her get past the first round.
"The Girl With The Shiniest Wizard" Tegan Nox
Age: 23
Hometown: Bargoed, Wales, UK
Also Known As: Nixon Newell
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Progress, Shimmer, What Culture Pro Wrestling, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
Age: 23
Hometown: Bargoed, Wales, UK
Also Known As: Nixon Newell
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Progress, Shimmer, What Culture Pro Wrestling, & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x WCPW Women's Championship
Tegan began wrestling at the young age of 18 after being a fan all of her life. Tegan first debuted for the Attack! Pro Wrestling promotion out of the UK which is a promotion founded by none other than Pete Dunne. In Attack! she formed a team with Mark Andrews called Bayside High that the fans absolutely loved, the two of them would become the Attack! Tag Team Champions. Tegan then turned heel and aligned herself with Pete Dunne.
Tegan was the first female to compete for the Fight Club: Pro promotion. Tegan is not one who is afraid to mix it up with the guys as a lot of her career has been centered around intergender matches and in one match she even got hit with a Canadian Destroyer onto thumbtacks. Tegan has done a few shows for both Progress and Shimmer. Tegan made history in August 2016 becoming the first What Culture Pro Wrestling Women's Champion and feuded with Bea Priestly throughout her run as champion. In 2017, Tegan made her first tour of Japan as she competed in Stardom and even challenged Kairi Hojo for the World of Stardom Championship which she was unsuccessful in capturing.
Tegan signed with the WWE in 2017. Tegan was originally supposed to be in last year's tournament but due to suffering a torn ACL she had to be replaced and was out of action until April of this year. Not too sure what to expect out of Tegan but she should be pretty good as there seems to be a lot of buzz around her and for a company to crown her their first women's champion is a positive sign. Not that it matters but Tegan is also really cute.
Tegan began wrestling at the young age of 18 after being a fan all of her life. Tegan first debuted for the Attack! Pro Wrestling promotion out of the UK which is a promotion founded by none other than Pete Dunne. In Attack! she formed a team with Mark Andrews called Bayside High that the fans absolutely loved, the two of them would become the Attack! Tag Team Champions. Tegan then turned heel and aligned herself with Pete Dunne.
Tegan was the first female to compete for the Fight Club: Pro promotion. Tegan is not one who is afraid to mix it up with the guys as a lot of her career has been centered around intergender matches and in one match she even got hit with a Canadian Destroyer onto thumbtacks. Tegan has done a few shows for both Progress and Shimmer. Tegan made history in August 2016 becoming the first What Culture Pro Wrestling Women's Champion and feuded with Bea Priestly throughout her run as champion. In 2017, Tegan made her first tour of Japan as she competed in Stardom and even challenged Kairi Hojo for the World of Stardom Championship which she was unsuccessful in capturing.
Tegan signed with the WWE in 2017. Tegan was originally supposed to be in last year's tournament but due to suffering a torn ACL she had to be replaced and was out of action until April of this year. Not too sure what to expect out of Tegan but she should be pretty good as there seems to be a lot of buzz around her and for a company to crown her their first women's champion is a positive sign. Not that it matters but Tegan is also really cute.
Toni Storm
Age: 22
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: wXw, Progress & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
Age: 22
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: wXw, Progress & Stardom
Championships/Accolades:
1x Progress Women's Championship (Inaugural Champion)
1x wXw Women's Championship (Current Champion)
1x SWA World Championship
1x World of Stardom Championship
5 Star Grand Prix Winner (2017)
Cinderella Tournament Winner (2017)
Turn the lights on bright, cue up the band, and turn the volume up to eleven because "The Rockstar" Toni Storm is gonna kick the door down and tear through her MYC competition like a tornado. I love me some Toni Storm and it isn't just because she is absolutely gorgeous, it's because as soon as she walks through the curtain she is the coolest person in the entire room and she is one of those talents that just oozes charisma without even having to lift a finger. On top of the charisma, she also has it all put together in the ring as she is one of the absolute best wrestlers in the world and can have great matches with just about anybody. I see Toni doing very well in this tournament and is definitely a front-runner to win the entire thing as they are gonna want her to look strong as she is most likely gonna be one of the faces of the new UK brand and I couldn't be more excited about that.
1x SWA World Championship
1x World of Stardom Championship
5 Star Grand Prix Winner (2017)
Cinderella Tournament Winner (2017)
Turn the lights on bright, cue up the band, and turn the volume up to eleven because "The Rockstar" Toni Storm is gonna kick the door down and tear through her MYC competition like a tornado. I love me some Toni Storm and it isn't just because she is absolutely gorgeous, it's because as soon as she walks through the curtain she is the coolest person in the entire room and she is one of those talents that just oozes charisma without even having to lift a finger. On top of the charisma, she also has it all put together in the ring as she is one of the absolute best wrestlers in the world and can have great matches with just about anybody. I see Toni doing very well in this tournament and is definitely a front-runner to win the entire thing as they are gonna want her to look strong as she is most likely gonna be one of the faces of the new UK brand and I couldn't be more excited about that.
"The Mountain" Vanessa Kraven
Age:36
Hometown: Quebec, Canada
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Smash, Shimmer, & Shine
Championships/Accolades:1x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
Vanessa made her wrestling debut in 2004 where she traveled around Canada working for different promotions including Canada's biggest promotion Smash. Vanessa worked five tours in Japan working for the NEO & Ice Ribbon promotions. Vanessa has also worked in the US for both Shimmer and Shine. She also competed in IWA Mid-South where she competed in the first ever Queen of the Deathmatch losing in the first round.
Vanessa is one of the biggest girls in the tournament and I'm sure we will see her in a David vs Goliath match somewhere down the line in the tournament, perhaps even against "The Mighty" Kacy Catanzaro who is the smallest person in the tournament and we can watch Vanessa throw her around from pillar to post and I could actually see someone like a Kacy getting an upset win over her similar to how Abbey Laith beat Jazzy Gabert last year.
Age:36
Hometown: Quebec, Canada
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Smash, Shimmer, & Shine
Championships/Accolades:1x Shimmer Tag Team Championship
Vanessa made her wrestling debut in 2004 where she traveled around Canada working for different promotions including Canada's biggest promotion Smash. Vanessa worked five tours in Japan working for the NEO & Ice Ribbon promotions. Vanessa has also worked in the US for both Shimmer and Shine. She also competed in IWA Mid-South where she competed in the first ever Queen of the Deathmatch losing in the first round.
Vanessa is one of the biggest girls in the tournament and I'm sure we will see her in a David vs Goliath match somewhere down the line in the tournament, perhaps even against "The Mighty" Kacy Catanzaro who is the smallest person in the tournament and we can watch Vanessa throw her around from pillar to post and I could actually see someone like a Kacy getting an upset win over her similar to how Abbey Laith beat Jazzy Gabert last year.
Xia Brookside
Age:19
Hometown: Leicester, England, UK
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ICW, RevPro, & Stardom
Xia is the youngest competitor in the tournament this year, but she is no stranger to the world of wrestling as she has grown up in the business as her father is current NXT trainer and British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside (I honestly didn't put two and two together when I first saw her name). Xia made her wrestling debut in 2015, but it wasn't until 2016 before she really took off and started working multiple indies in the UK (most notably IPW: UK) and while traveling the UK indies she scored big wins over both Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray. In July 2017, Xia made her debut for Stardom and even competed in their 5 Star Grand Prix tournament where she was able to pick up a win over Kris Wolf to pick up two points. I'm sure whether she goes far in the tournament or not she will be sticking around in the WWE after the tournament since she is so young and has many years ahead of her and of course because her father is already working for them. I'm not saying she will get a job with WWE just because of who her father is, because if a promotion like Stardom wants her working for them then she must be good and can stand on her own merits, but having someone looking out for you always helps.
Age:19
Hometown: Leicester, England, UK
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: ICW, RevPro, & Stardom
Xia is the youngest competitor in the tournament this year, but she is no stranger to the world of wrestling as she has grown up in the business as her father is current NXT trainer and British wrestling legend Robbie Brookside (I honestly didn't put two and two together when I first saw her name). Xia made her wrestling debut in 2015, but it wasn't until 2016 before she really took off and started working multiple indies in the UK (most notably IPW: UK) and while traveling the UK indies she scored big wins over both Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray. In July 2017, Xia made her debut for Stardom and even competed in their 5 Star Grand Prix tournament where she was able to pick up a win over Kris Wolf to pick up two points. I'm sure whether she goes far in the tournament or not she will be sticking around in the WWE after the tournament since she is so young and has many years ahead of her and of course because her father is already working for them. I'm not saying she will get a job with WWE just because of who her father is, because if a promotion like Stardom wants her working for them then she must be good and can stand on her own merits, but having someone looking out for you always helps.
Xia Li
Hometown: China
Hometown: China
Xia is the final person we have to talk about that is returning for her second Mae Young Classic after being eliminated in the first round last year by Mercedes Martinez. After last year's tournament Xia was sidelined with a shoulder injury that required surgery which put her on the shelf until March. I'm not sure what to expect from Xia as she hasn't made one appearance on NXT tv since her return but she has been on live events so hopefully she has improved since last year as it was very clear that she was having her first real match as she was very green.
Zatara
Age:26
Hometown: Santiago, Chile
Also Known As: Tifanny
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Revolucion Lucha Libre & MAX Lucha Libre
Championships/Accolades:2x RLL Women's Championship
1x RLL Tag Team Championship
1x RLL Regional Championship
1x RLL Multi Championship
1x MAX Hardcore Championship
1x MAX Tag Team Championship (Current Champion)
1x Reina de Xtreme Championship (Current Champion)
Zatara is a Chilean wrestler who has only worked in promotions based in Chile and unfortunately, that's absolutely all I found about her. I was able to find a match of hers on youtube and she was ok but nothing out of this world and she is more likely to get eliminated before Zeuxis.
Age:26
Hometown: Santiago, Chile
Also Known As: Tifanny
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: Revolucion Lucha Libre & MAX Lucha Libre
Championships/Accolades:2x RLL Women's Championship
1x RLL Tag Team Championship
1x RLL Regional Championship
1x RLL Multi Championship
1x MAX Hardcore Championship
1x MAX Tag Team Championship (Current Champion)
1x Reina de Xtreme Championship (Current Champion)
Zatara is a Chilean wrestler who has only worked in promotions based in Chile and unfortunately, that's absolutely all I found about her. I was able to find a match of hers on youtube and she was ok but nothing out of this world and she is more likely to get eliminated before Zeuxis.
"The Warrior Goddess" Zeuxis
Age: 29
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: CMLL & AAA
Championships/Accolades:
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Major Non-WWE Promotions Worked: CMLL & AAA
Championships/Accolades:
1x Mexican National Women's Championship
1x CMLL-Reina International Championship (Current Champion)1x CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship
Zeuxis was born in Puerto Rico but has made her living in Mexico wrestling for CMLL where she is a ruda (female heel). Zeuxis is undefeated in Luchas de Aspuestes matches and has forced three different women to remove their maks. In 2011 Zeuxis got an opportunity to work in Japan for the Reina promotion where she became one-half of the first Reina world tag team champions. Zeuxis left CMLL in May 2018 and then went to join AAA Worldwide in June where she was on the losing end of a six luchadora tag match.
It was only fitting that Zeuxis was chosen to be in this tournament as she is the one who forced last year's sole luchadora Princesa Sugehit to unmask when she beat Sugehit in a Luchas de Apuestas match at the 84th CMLL Anniversary show which took place only four days after last year's MYC finale. I wonder if WWE will keep her as a heel in this tournament as they usually like their masked luchadors to be babyfaces, but with there being two in this year's tournament perhaps she can stay heel as that is what she excels at. I have to wonder if they will put the two luchadoras against each other in the first round to weed one of them out early.
Fantasy Tournament Bracket
https://challonge.com/7yhwppe9
Episode Breakdown
Episode #1
1. Priscilla Kelly vs Jessie Elaban
2. Rhea Ripley def Vanessa Kraven
3. Mercedes Martinez def Karen Q
4. Mia Yim def Zatara
Episode #2
1. Deonna Purrazzo def Lacey Lane
2. Zeuxis def MJ Jenkins
3. Kaitlyn def Allysin Kay
4. Io Shirai def Nicole Matthews
Episode #3
1. Killer Kelly def Xia Li
2. Hiroyo Matsumoto def Reina Gonzalez
3. Kacey Catanzaro def Ashley Rayne
4. Tegan Nox def Xia Brookside
Episode #4
1. Jinny def Isla Dawn
2. Aerial Monroe def Kavita Devi
3. Meiko Satomura def Taynara Conti
4. Toni Storm def Rachel Evers
Episode #5
1. Mia Yim def Killer Kelly
2. Rhea Ripley def Priscilla Kelly
3. Kaitlyn def Aerial Monroe
4. Toni Storm def Hiroyo Matsumoto
Episode #6
1. Tegan Nox def Deonna Purrazzo
2. Jinny def Kacy Catanzaro
3. Io Shiria def Zeuxis
4. Meiko Satomura def Mercedes Martinez
Episode #7
1. Toni Storm def Rhea Ripley
2. Mia Yim def Kaitlyn
3.Jinny def Tegan Nox
4. Io Shirai def Meiko Satomura
Episode #8
1.Toni Storm def Jinny
2. Io Shirai def Mia Yim
WWE Evolution
1. Toni Storm def Io Shirai
It was only fitting that Zeuxis was chosen to be in this tournament as she is the one who forced last year's sole luchadora Princesa Sugehit to unmask when she beat Sugehit in a Luchas de Apuestas match at the 84th CMLL Anniversary show which took place only four days after last year's MYC finale. I wonder if WWE will keep her as a heel in this tournament as they usually like their masked luchadors to be babyfaces, but with there being two in this year's tournament perhaps she can stay heel as that is what she excels at. I have to wonder if they will put the two luchadoras against each other in the first round to weed one of them out early.
Fantasy Tournament Bracket
https://challonge.com/7yhwppe9
Episode Breakdown
Episode #1
1. Priscilla Kelly vs Jessie Elaban
2. Rhea Ripley def Vanessa Kraven
3. Mercedes Martinez def Karen Q
4. Mia Yim def Zatara
Episode #2
1. Deonna Purrazzo def Lacey Lane
2. Zeuxis def MJ Jenkins
3. Kaitlyn def Allysin Kay
4. Io Shirai def Nicole Matthews
Episode #3
1. Killer Kelly def Xia Li
2. Hiroyo Matsumoto def Reina Gonzalez
3. Kacey Catanzaro def Ashley Rayne
4. Tegan Nox def Xia Brookside
Episode #4
1. Jinny def Isla Dawn
2. Aerial Monroe def Kavita Devi
3. Meiko Satomura def Taynara Conti
4. Toni Storm def Rachel Evers
Episode #5
1. Mia Yim def Killer Kelly
2. Rhea Ripley def Priscilla Kelly
3. Kaitlyn def Aerial Monroe
4. Toni Storm def Hiroyo Matsumoto
Episode #6
1. Tegan Nox def Deonna Purrazzo
2. Jinny def Kacy Catanzaro
3. Io Shiria def Zeuxis
4. Meiko Satomura def Mercedes Martinez
Episode #7
1. Toni Storm def Rhea Ripley
2. Mia Yim def Kaitlyn
3.Jinny def Tegan Nox
4. Io Shirai def Meiko Satomura
Episode #8
1.Toni Storm def Jinny
2. Io Shirai def Mia Yim
WWE Evolution
1. Toni Storm def Io Shirai
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