One week from yesterday (August 28), WWE will upload the first four episodes of the Mae Young Classic to the WWE Network. With such a huge tournament looming, it is time to see how the first round is going to shape up. All of the matches in the opening round are revealed and each match will have a breakdown of the women going in, from the pro wrestling newcomers to the veterans.
Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert
This match features a veteran in the United States taking on a veteran in Germany. Abbey Laith, formerly known as Kimber Lee, has achieved huge success in the independent circuit. While she was always on top of the women’s divisions, her most notable achievement was being the first woman to have ever held Chikara’s Grand Championship, also making her the first woman to hold the top title in a predominantly male promotion.
Jazzy Gabert is the definition of a powerhouse. She is about six feet tall (and you can’t teach that) and has experience both in the ring and in MMA. She has competed in Germany for over a decade and now she gets to compete on the biggest stage of her career.
Rachel Evers vs. Marti Belle
Representing the Dominican Republic, Marti Belle has been hooked on wrestling since she was a little girl watching it on TV with her grandmother. She describes herself as “scrappy,” which she learned from living in New York City.
Her opponent, Rachel Evers, is known to the WWE Universe as the daughter of legendary tag team manager Paul Ellering. Evers had held Women’s Championships across a few different promotions, but now she looks to take that talent to WWE.
Princesa Sugehit vs. Kay Lee Ray
Kay Lee Ray has been wrestling for about eight years and describes her style as “hardcore” and “risk taking.” The highlight package of her in-ring prowess shows her doing the Canadian Destroyer, so hopefully, she can be the first to do that in a modern day WWE ring.
Princesa Sugehit is by far the most experienced competitor in the Mae Young Classic. The veteran luchadora has been competing in Mexico since 1996, something you mainly see from today’s male competitors like Chris Jericho or the Hardy Boyz.
Xia Li vs. Mercedes Martinez
Mercedes Martinez is a 16-year veteran who is known for her brutal offense while primarily working with Shimmer, a promotion that only features women’s wrestling. She has been battling for almost two decades to get the promotion and recognition that she deserves and the Mae Young Classic gives her a worldwide platform on the WWE Network to make that mission a reality.
Not a lot has been revealed about Xia Li (so her chances aren’t that great), but she is one of two competitors in the Mae Young Classic from China. Unlike her veteran opponent, Li has only been wrestling since January of this year when she was recruited by the WWE Performance Center.
Nicole Savoy vs. Reina Gonzalez
While Brock Lesnar may be the mayor of Suplex City, Nicole Savoy has dubbed herself the Queen of Suplexes. Like most of the women in the tournament, she has competed in Shimmer, where she has won a championship, and she also has a background in Muay Thai.
Reina Gonzalez could easily be the dark horse of the Mae Young Classic. She isn’t a powerhouse but boasts a six-foot frame like Jazzy Gabert. She is also a second-generation wrestler, with her father being Ricky “Desperado” Gonzalez.
Renee Michelle vs. Candice LeRae
Renee Michelle has an unusual wrestling background, with her training being done by Duane Gill, also known as Gillberg. In just four years, Michelle has won several women’s championships and competed across the globe in places like Japan and India.
Candice LeRae is probably one of the favorites to win the Mae Young Classic, and it would not surprise anybody if she made it to the finals. LeRae has worked for over a decade on the independent circuit and along with winning titles, she has competed against men like it was no challenge. She has faced Kevin Owens and even her husband, Johnny Gargano.
Sarah Logan vs. Mia Yim
This is probably the most even matchup in the first round. Both Sarah Logan and Mia Yim have been working for years outside of WWE, honing their crafts all around the world. Logan has been occasionally featured on NXT television, while Mia Yim saw her biggest spotlight on Impact Wrestling. While Logan is from Kentucky, Yim represents South Korea.
Zeda vs. Shayna Baszler
Known as the “Queen of Spades,” Shayna Baszler was a trailblazer for women in MMA, and specifically UFC. She brings everything she used in the Octagon to the squared circle and her experience leads to Corey Graves choosing her as his pick to win it all. Graves also chose Kay Lee Ray to win it all, so he just believes that anyone will win, apparently.
Like Xia Li, not much is known about Zeda other than the fact that she is representing China. Unfortunately, she goes up against someone very experienced in combat sports.
Kairi Sane vs. Tessa Blanchard
As soon as her inclusion in the tournament was announced, Kairi Sane became the favorite to win the Mae Young Classic. Formerly competing in sailing, Sane’s persona is a pirate. She is proud of the four current Japanese Superstars in WWE (Shinsuke Nakamura, Hideo Itami, Akira Tozawa, and Asuka) and cannot wait to be a part of that group.
Sane’s opponent, Tessa Blanchard, has occasionally appeared on NXT and is a second-generation wrestler with her father being Tully Blanchard of the original Four Horseman. Blanchard has won several championships including the Shimmer Tag Team Championships and the PWX Women’s Championship, which she still holds to this day.
Sage Beckett vs. Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair has an athletic pedigree behind her as a track star with impressive stats and lifting abilities. Belair has already had success in a WWE ring, winning a Mae Young Classic qualifier match on NXT a couple weeks before the tournament began.
Sage Beckett competed in wrestling from 2007-2012 until she needed to focus on personal health. After losing 130 pounds and getting her health in check, she has come back to the ring better than ever. Beckett was trained by Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, and she has been working at the Performance Center to hone her skills as much as possible before the tournament.
Dakota Kai vs. Kavita Devi
A native of New Zealand, Dakota Kai is known for an evasive style that emphasizes hard and impactful kicks. She cites one of her biggest inspirations as Finn Balor and she even has the same finishing move (a double stomp from the top rope).
Just by stepping foot in the ring, Kavita Devi makes history. Devi will be the first Indian woman to ever compete in a WWE ring, which is an opportunity that could have been opened by Jinder Mahal being the face of SmackDown Live. Devi trained and competed in India under the tutelage of the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the Great Khali.
Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas
At just 20 years old, Rhea Ripley is the youngest woman in the Mae Young Classic. The Australia native has been competing since she was 16 years old, which featured some time in Japan. Like Dakota Kai, she is known for hard strikes and brutal kicks. Hopefully, Ripley and Kai can battle it out in the second round, then.
Miranda Salinas, like former Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, is just over five feet tall. Salinas is known for a fast-paced style that implements bits of lucha libre, which is unexpected considering that she is trained by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.
Vanessa Borne vs. Serena Deeb
This is not the first time Serena Deeb will step foot in a WWE ring. She started her training in Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s developmental promotion before FCW and NXT. She moved to the main roster to join the Straight Edge Society with CM Punk and Luke Gallows, but she left due to issues with alcoholism. The Mae Young Classic is Deeb’s chance to redeem herself seven years later as the Superstar she always wanted to be.
Vanessa Borne doesn’t have a ton of experience in the ring, but like Bianca Belair, she won a qualifying match on NXT to get to the Mae Young Classic. Regardless of her experience, she could see big things coming her way in the tournament.
Santana Garrett vs. Piper Niven
In the Bracketology special, Santana Garrett is described as being the Mae Young Classic’s version of Wonder Woman, and it’s hard to argue against that claim. Garrett was #4 on Pro Wrestling Sheet’s top Female wrestlers of 2016 list, and understandably so, considering that she has received some guidance by legends like Scott Hall and Larry Zbyszko.
Piper Niven stands out in the Mae Young Classic with her size and power. The second Scottish woman in the tournament has competed in Shimmer and Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling, the home promotion of WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament competitor Wolfgang. She is one of the more experienced women in the Classic, competing in the squared circle since 2008.
Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Evans
The “Lady of NXT,” Lacey Evans is a WWE Performance Center recruit that has experience in the United States military. Evans has a four-year old daughter who motivates her to win the whole tournament, especially because of all of the missed nights at home being a mom.
Taynara Conti is a Brazil native who has almost no experience in the wrestling ring. All that’s known about Conti is that she has been training at the WWE Performance Center all year and that she looks like if you combined Natalya with Renee Young. Hopefully, the lack of experience won’t keep her from succeeding amongst more experienced women.
Ayesha Raymond vs. Toni Storm
Representing Australia with “a hell of an attitude,” Toni Storm is one of the most previously successful women coming into the tournament. She has been wrestling since she was 13 years old and has adapted Strong Style, competing in 13 countries before the age of 20.
A trained fighter and former bodybuilder, Ayesha Raymond was meant for professional wrestling. The six-foot tall self-described Amazon is from London, England, and she has been trained by some of the greatest British competitors like Johnny Saint and Robby Brookside.
