During WrestleMania week, WWE announced a 32-woman tournament heading to the WWE Network this Summer. Featuring women representing 17 different countries, the tournament is expected to be like the Cruiserweight Classic, where a few matches from each round are featured every week until the finals. No further details have been revealed for this tournament, but this gives the WWE Universe a ton of time to speculate on the competitors and what the end result of this tournament will be. We’re joining in on that speculation with a list of women who would be great for this tournament.
Io Shirai
Io Shirai is perhaps one of the top prospects coming into the Women’s Tournament. Spending most of her career in World Wonder Ring Stardom, Shirai has captured numerous championships, from singles titles to trios belts. She implements a mix of strong style, power moves, and agility into her move set, which would easily wow the WWE Universe.
For fans of Lucha Underground, Shirai appeared at Hitokiri, part of the Black Lotus Triad that took on Pentagon Jr./Dark in a gauntlet match. She also was recently seen competing in a WWE tryout, so seeing the Stardom star in a WWE ring is likely.
Kairi Hojo
When talking about Io Shirai, it is very common that Kairi Hojo is also brought up. Both women are incredibly talented Japanese wrestlers who have competed in World Wonder Ring Stardom. Hojo has held gold eight times in Stardom, where she is currently the Wonder of Stardom Champion. Hojo is known for her strong style move set, as well as her signature elbow drop, which is argued as being the best in the business.
Hojo also appeared on Lucha Underground along with Io Shirai as part of the Black Lotus Triad under the name Doku. It has been reported by Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Hojo signed a three-year contract to WWE in March, and her lack of television time makes it seem like they are saving her for the tournament.
Candice LeRae
While most of her career has been with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Candice LeRae has competed in countless independent promotions across the country, as well as a brief stint in Japan. She has held two different Women’s Championships for Alternative Wrestling Show and Family Wrestling Entertainment. She also has captured three Tag Team Championships alongside Joey Ryan in PWG, Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling, and Dreamwave Wrestling. In DDT Wrestling, she held the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship.
LeRae frequently competes in intergender matches, including a match with Johnny Gargano (now her husband) which showcases her incredible range as an in-ring performer. She has appeared once for NXT, competing in a #1 Contender’s Battle Royal which airs on the WWE Network next week. Hopefully, that impressed the higher-ups enough to put her in the tournament.
Crazy Mary Dobson/Sarah Dobson
Up until late 2016, Crazy Mary Dobson competed on the independent circuit for companies like Chikara, Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and several more. Dobson has only won a couple championships in her lengthy career, winning the American Pro Wrestling Alliance World Ladies Championship, the Resistance Pro Wrestling Women’s Championship, and the Juggalo Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship.
Dobson has appeared occasionally on WWE television over the past few years. She played minor roles on the main roster (not in-ring) and started being an enhancement talent for NXT a couple years ago. In October of last year, WWE announced that Dobson was signed to a developmental contract. Her only win for NXT was in her debut against Macey Estrella and since then, she has been used to help put over other women at house shows (under both “Sarah Dobson” and “Sarah Bridges”). She is clearly getting accustomed to the WWE style, which is perfect for this setting.
NXT Superstars
If the WWE Women’s Tournament is like the Cruiserweight Classic, then some women from NXT might be thrown into the mix. NXT has a pretty strong lineup of women: Asuka, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross, Ruby Riot, and several more. Asuka should probably stay away from the tournament because since she never loses, it wouldn’t add much suspense to her matches. The other five women mentioned, however, are perfect for this environment.
Other than bragging rights, the prize for winning the tournament has not been revealed yet, so there is a chance that the winner could get a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. Even if the winner isn’t a woman originally from NXT, she would prove that she is a worthy competitor for the Empress of Tomorrow.
These are just a few women who would be great additions to the Women’s Tournament, but there are tons of female competitors all around the world (17 countries, to be exact) that will make for a great tournament. No matter who is participating, this is an important stepping stone for women’s wrestling in WWE and in general.
