Mae Young Classic *Spoilers*

Ali Bomaye

The first four episodes of this (all of the first round matches) were put up on the network yesterday. The main events of each episode were all very good. Jazzy Gabert got over with the crowd, and was one of the big highlights of the round. My favourite matches were Santana Garrett vs Piper Niven and Sarah Logan vs Mia Yim. Kairi Sane was super over with the crowd as well, and had a good match with Tessa Blanchard.

I really like the presentation of these tournaments the WWE do, with all competitors getting to introduce themselves in a short video package before their match. First round matches were all kept fairly short and nothing spectacular, much like with the CWC and UK tournaments. Commentary from JR and Lita was bland, didn't add anything to matches but didn't harm anything either. It was very poor compared to Mauro and Bryan calling the CWC last year.

I like the idea of releasing the first four episodes on demand at the same time, with the next four episodes being released next Monday. I find it takes until the second round for things to really get interesting, as the first round is just giving me an introduction to the wrestlers, so I'm happy it gets that out of the way all at once rather than taking four weeks.

Itssoeasy

I've just finished the first episode of the mae young classic. The commentary is as bad as I read. JR Has lost his sparkle which made him the best in the business, and lita has never been great.

That UFC girl might be good in UFC but she got a way to go in the old pro wrestling game.

HandsomeBob

Itssoeasy wrote: »

I've just finished the first episode of the mae young classic. The commentary is as bad as I read. JR Has lost his sparkle which made him the best in the business, and lita has never been great.

That UFC girl might be good in UFC but she got a way to go in the old pro wrestling game.

Not a fan of this MMA shoot gimmick crap in pro wrestling. Feels like cheating the art in some way. At least Brock did his bit for the business initially.

So I wasn't impressed and

hope she doesn't get past the 16.

I'm on ep 4 now and have been impressed by Liath, Candace, Martinez, Logan, the two Aussies and Belair so far. Xia Li has potential.

Somebody has let a liberty bell knock off into the tournament. :pac:

Blue_Dabadee

I really like the presentation of the tournament. Everyone has a strong personality or gimmick to them rather than cookie cutter model that you would of seen 10 years ago.

Itssoeasy

Blue_Dabadee wrote: »

I really like the presentation of the tournament. Everyone has a strong personality or gimmick to them rather than cookie cutter model that you would of seen 10 years ago.

The presentation and production values in WWE has alway been smooth since the 1980s. The camera men even looked the part with the boiler suits. You can complain about WWE for lots of things but the slickness of the production has never been one of them IMO.

oneilla

Are we doing spoilers in each post or can it be taken that the thread will have spoilers?

Ps. Yeah agree, the commentary is poop. Awkward silences, little enthusiasm. Not a patch on Mauro/Bryan from CWC

jaykhunter

oneilla wrote: »

Are we doing spoilers in each post or can it be taken that the thread will have spoilers?

I put spoilers in the thread title - post as if everyone's up to date

Itssoeasy

I'm just watching the second episode and Jesus rhea ripley is a future star. She's only 20 but and she's bloody good already.

J. Marston

What's Dakota Kai like? Didn't watch any of it but saw a gif of that big roundabout Helluva kick and it looked very cool.

Itssoeasy

J. Marston wrote: »

What's Dakota Kai like? Didn't watch any of it but saw a gif of that big roundabout Helluva kick and it looked very cool.

I'm on the episode she's on now so I'll tell ya in about an hour.

Itssoeasy

What I like is how they darken the crowd and make the ring the think to concentrate on which is how it should be.

Itssoeasy

Toni storm is magic.

Itssoeasy

The Indian women in the tournament says in the video package that she was trained by the great khali and he "taught us everything" That took all of 30 minutes then.

Itssoeasy

Dakota Kai was good in her match to answer the question but to be fair she hadn't much to work with in the ring.

jrkb

im liking it so far,more interested in this than most of whats going on in the main womens roster.

HandsomeBob

Itssoeasy wrote: »

The Indian women in the tournament says in the video package that she was trained by the great khali and he "taught us everything" That took all of 30 minutes then.

I would have liked to have seen promo class. Kai was good and

glad she won. I was surprised as I was sure KD was put in the tournament to get to the quarters at least.

Ripley definitely has bags of potential at only 20. None of the younger ones such as herself and Belair would be ready to go but I'd like to see both of them on NXT in order to develop.

It feels like a combination of a lack of chemistry and enthusiasm that's the problem on the commentating. Lita isn't any great shakes on commentating in of itself but she was the right kind of pick to do it. I think she would be way better with someone like Rene with her. I'm actually shocked at how poor they've been given they had the chance to do it over.

Sane is a little bag of charisma and force,

too bad Blanchard had to go but I guess they wanted a star match to sign off round 1. Hopefully Tessa is given further opportunities.

Blue_Dabadee

The participants that stand out for me based on round one are Mia Yim, Dakota Kai, Tessa Blanchard, Xia Li, Candice LeRae and Kairi Sane.

Itssoeasy

Finished the last episode of the first round and kairi sane and Tessa Blanchard are stars. Tessa especially has just kept getting better.

CastorTroy

I didn't realise both members of the Dollhouse were in this.

I expect the second round to be an improvement. There were a few times where they were waiting on setups. But plenty of talent on show.

Sage Beckett is the former Rosie Lottalove? Big change in her since she injured Daffney.

I think the basic summary of the first 4 episodes was "Watch Shimmer!"

I'm not a fan of Baszler. Dunno why exactly, but I'd say she'll be kept in it as a way of getting that Rousey association. I know I can just look up if she's still in it, but I can wait until it airs

So at this point, does Izzy get free entry to these shows?

J. Marston

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/904772056188805120

Ouch!

HandsomeBob

Baszler reminding me again why I hate this shoot MMA gimmick ****e.

"I have experience at a higher level than her."

"All I have to do is exist to beat her."

**** off back to MMA then if you can't do the basics of pro wrestling and sell your opponent.

HandsomeBob

Quarter final spoiler:

Ah here, I'm ****ing disgusted. I'm getting worked mercilessly here. :pac: Green as **** just even doing a poxy side slam and she mows through Candace.

DM_7

HandsomeBob wrote: »

Baszler reminding me again why I hate this shoot MMA gimmick ****e.

"I have experience at a higher level than her."

"All I have to do is exist to beat her."

**** off back to MMA then if you can't do the basics of pro wrestling and sell your opponent.

She can sell. This is what they want her to do. Look at who is ringside and what happens backstage as a clue as to why they would book member of MMA 4 horsewomen that way.

HandsomeBob

DM_7 wrote: »

She can sell. This is what they want her to do. Look at who is ringside and what happens backstage as a clue as to why they would book member of MMA 4 horsewomen that way.

I know why they are booking her that way. Based on what I've seen I don't think she's good enough, with her best match being against

Martinez, someone who has supposedly mentored her.

She even botched a basic side slam against

La Rae. For someone still so green I'm surprised at how they've allowed her to steamroll through the tournament but as you say, the bigger picture seems to be the thing being eyed.

Have to say I was generally disappointed with the quality on display after a strong first round. The air seemed to come out of it in the quarters and semis.

CastorTroy

I don't think Baszler should've shook Martinez's hand and celebrated with her after. I realised during the LaRae match that she was actually playing a decent heel, confirmed by not letting go of the choke. Then she showed sportmanship in the semi.
I was thinking during the first round that they needed a heel character. That was one thing that set the UK championship apart from the Cruiserweight Classic. Pete Dunne was obviously the heel throughout, attacking his opponent after the first night.

But it's a good job Kairi is so tiny with how she lands on her opponent from the top rope.

Has it been said yet that the winner will be NXT women's champ?

magnumbud

i feel they are pushing Baszler for a potential 4 Horsewomen of MMA vs 4 Horsewomen of NxT match maybe at survivor series. rumours are the other 3 mma ones are training with brian kendrick to get ready for a match.

for me after watching everything now up to the final the 2 im most drawn to are Mrs Gargano and dokota kai i think both of them are already ready for the main roster toni storm is great too. obviously kairi sane too goes without saying. theres so many more that all have potential to be great too but maybe need time in nxt to clean up some stuff. if they give a lot of them contracts i think its going to make for some excellent viewing in NxT

especially with as asuka is moving to the main roster very soon

HandsomeBob

Wasn't mad about Dakota at first because the gimmick seemed a bit cliche but I was won over in the end.

There's rumblings going around that on top of the women that were already signed, more have signed since. The ones signed already are:

- Abbie Laith
- Sarah Logan
- Dakota Kai
- Kairi Sane
- Bianca BelAir
- Vanessa Bourne
- Zeda
- Xia Li
- Sage Beckett
- Rhea Ripley
- Taynara Conti
- Lacey Evans

The ones who weren't signed but who have now according to TK Trinidad are

- Candice LaRae
- Mia Yim
- Jazzy Gabbert
- Santana Garrett
- Kay Lee Ray
- Piper Niven
- Shayna Baszler
- Mercedes Martinez
- Toni Storm

Ali Bomaye

My favourite match was easily the Kairi Sane vs Bianca Belair match. Belair was so good. I wasn't expecting that level a performance from a Performance Center rookie. Rhea Ripley stood out as well, as someone I hadn't heard of before the tournament.

I think the tournament has been fairly disappointing. It didn't really pick up after the first round and not many of the matches stood out. It felt a bit rushed and commentary added nothing to the matches. I don't think Baszler has being all that impressive either. The angle between the two horsewomen teams was awkward.

J. Marston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUaTyxlVepY

Her English is pretty good, even Funaki seemed surprised!

Pentecost

Indeed!

Bounty Hunter

Did I miss it or was there no Horsewoman angle on the show?

Happy Kari won although I kinda hope there are some shenanigans in the NXT match as I'd like her to be the one chasing the NXT title and then getting a big moment when she wins it. Not sure who she will be against though, maybe face vs face (as I can't imagine her as a heel) with Ember Moon but maybe against a heel would work better, maybe Nikki Cross & Sanity.

Guess the next time we see Bayzler will be on the main roster with the other MMA ladies but without a MYC angle happening (again unless I missed it) you would wonder what will trigger them turning up on Raw or SD especially seeing as the WWE 4 horsewoman are split over the 2 rosters. Guess the MMA ladies will just be at ringside for an upcoming PPV or Raw and have an altercation with their wrestling counterparts as there is still loads of time to build to Survivor Series

Blue_Dabadee

From in-ring standpoint, I thought MYC was pretty underwhelming. I will look forward to potentially Sane vs. Moon at NXT Houston though.

HandsomeBob

JR didn't seem on the ball again. Needed Lita to point out to him that Baszler was working the elbow rather than the "solar plexus" and I could have swore he genuinely referred to Asuka and co as fans at ringside.

The right person won anyway in what I felt was a surprisingly weak match to cap off a tournament that peaked in the first round. Was expecting more of a beatdown of Kairi......only for the match to come across as possibly her easiest of the tournament FFS!!

Hearing the commentary list Kairi's journey to the finals just makes you realise she really was the MVP here. Hopefully she pushes on.

Pentecost

Yeah he did refer to Asuka, Becky, Charlotte and Bayley as fans. Didn't sound like he was joking either. Then he said Marina Shafir was with Ronda and Jessamyn Duke when she wasn't there.

Lord TSC

HHH has confirmed now that as a result of winning the tournement, Kairi will compete for the NXT Women's title at the next Takeover.

CastorTroy

Did seem a bit short for such a match.

I just wanted to see Kairi lifting the trophy.

She had a close call with her top.

ShooterSF

Haven't watched wrestling in about 7 years but signed up to the network to relive some classics and ended up watching this almost straight through. Really enjoyed it, had a touch of old skool wrestling to it, 90% in the ring, no weapons, no gimmicky looking moves. Think Piper Nivin vs Toni Storm was my favourite. Just for that exchange at the start. Did like how they told the story with the ribs in the main event and using them to escape from the rear naked choke. (Sidenote: I did laugh at the idea of a rear naked choke as a finisher, it's like something I would have done playing those old Smackdown games when you make a wrestler and give them the least expected finishing move to annoy your mates).

magnumbud

still must watch the final at some point. my card expired so my account has been locked and havent gone to the effort of unlocking due to watching CL football the last 2 nights

ShooterSF wrote: »

Haven't watched wrestling in about 7 years but signed up to the network to relive some classics and ended up watching this almost straight through. Really enjoyed it, had a touch of old skool wrestling to it, 90% in the ring, no weapons, no gimmicky looking moves. Think Piper Nivin vs Toni Storm was my favourite. Just for that exchange at the start. Did like how they told the story with the ribs in the main event and using them to escape from the rear naked choke. (Sidenote: I did laugh at the idea of a rear naked choke as a finisher, it's like something I would have done playing those old Smackdown games when you make a wrestler and give them the least expected finishing move to annoy your mates).

if you enjoyed it for the story it told and with the network i advice go watch all the nxt takeovers from the last 3 years starting at NXT takerover brooklynn 1 sasha banks vs baley at that, which got me hooked on nxt, and the following one where it was a main event iron women match are a must. also all matches including #diy and the revival are top notch story telling in fights and nakamura vs sami zayn

Itssoeasy

I liked the final but it's clear Jr's best days are now long in the past.

Also that referee that seems incapable of passing messages to the wrestlers with it being blatantly obvious is still bugging me. I mean I get it that the refs tell the wrestlers things but it's never obvious. This ref at one point said in the final match "KICK OUT" so loud it took me right out of the moment.

jrkb

Just got through watching this,decent show,is Stephanie pregnant?

CastorTroy

With the Bracketology airing last night, I figured I would resurrect this thread.

I wouldn't recognise Kaitlyn.
They actually said Madison Rayne (now Ashley Rayne) was a former Knockouts Champion. And images from Impact.

I don't know if they'll have another Japanese winner this year. Maybe in the final though.

I haven't read the results, but have all matches except the final taken place?

And did they air the introduction show? I saw clips during the bracketology, but don't remember seeing the actual show.
Would google it but don't want to risk the results being returned.

Itssoeasy

Just watched the opening match of this years tournament which was tegan nox vs Zatara and Michael Cole without Vince and Kevin Dunn in his ear is so much better as a commentator it's unreal. You can see Beth Phoenix is more comfortable on commentary after her MMC stint. And renee young(given this was taped before her raw debut. Which may have helped her on raw) is fine.

CastorTroy

Had to laugh at the ref for the Rhea Ripley match. What was she looking for when she checked the boots and wrist straps. If it was weapons, then how could she miss the metal studs on Rhea's wrists?

From watching the bracketology last week it's obvious enough who will win some of the matches, since not everyone got coverage.

Blue_Dabadee

Rayne and others appeared on UpUpDownDown this week.

Blue_Dabadee

They are really over doing guest in the crowd spot this year.

CastorTroy

Especially when they're taking each other's spots. Like Sarah and Liv were in the same spot as Nattie.
I'm guessing they're not airing the matches in the order they were recorded.

Felt the wrong person won the match between Aerial and Zeuxis. Though hard to tell who was messing up some of the bits. Can see her going out in the next round.
Kacy was flippy and will likely get compared to AJ more than Bliss due to her size and appearance. She's the one who was Stephen Amell's trainer on celebrity Ninja Warrior.

Omackeral

Kacy was great but they already did the tiny girl beats the giant on the first show with Lacy Lane going over Vanessa Kraven. Seems if you're a big girl, you're not getting through. I thought Reina Gonzales showed great character and has improved since last year and deserved a win. Going out in round 1 two years in a row is a bit sh*tty. I would've let Kacy beat Vanessa and have Reina beat Lacy Lane. Keep one big hoss in as a threat.

Spanish fly from Zeuxis looked great. Was weird seeing Ashley 'Madison' Rayne on WWE. Also, Aerial Monroe being married to Cedric Alexander means he cheated on her with Alicia Fox does it not!?

CastorTroy

Seems the main events are the least predictable of the matches so far, but enjoying it.

I said before, but I wouldn't recognise Kaitlyn now.

And Cole mentioning NXT season 3 and how he acted a tool on it.

CastorTroy

"Good news! You're in the Mae Young Classic" "Great! I'll be a 19 year old winner" "Your first match is against Io Shirai" "Oh s..."

Decent first round but there are a few that I would be surprised if they made it past round 2.

Itssoeasy

So I've watched two of the four episodes up so far and that kacy girl is unbelievable. I mean some of the things she can do and it was a nice David vs gilioth dynamic with the bigger girl. I liked episode 1 better than episode 2. Episode 2 was a bit crap.

I'm going to watch episode three and four tonight and watch the newest episode later in the week.

Itssoeasy

Kaitlyn looked great in her match with the great khalis pupil(I wouldn't be rushing to put that on the CV because dory funk Jr he ain't) I don't know if it was here or on another wrestling message board but they were saying they wouldn't recognise her. She's changed her hair colour and got more tattoos but it's not judo Billy graham lads. Also I was shocked to hear Cole apologise for him being a dick on nxt when it was a show and not a brand.