5 surprising moments from the Mae Young Classic - Episode 1

The idea of an all-women’s tournament -- the Mae Young Class -- is a wonderful one. There are dozens of quality female performers that, for multiple reasons, don’t get a shot at the “big time”.

The WWE has done tournaments well and I am more than glad to see women’s wrestling gaining more respect finally.

With all of this in my thoughts, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments from the wonderful premiere episode of the Mae Young Classic:

---

#5 Formatted exactly like the Cruiserweight Classic

Very similar to the Cruiserweight Classic

The Cruiserweight Classic was my favourite show of all of 2016 in the WWE. The match quality was fantastic, the storytelling simple but logical and the professional production top notch. But was I surprised to see the exact format for the Mae Young Classic? A bit.

The issue with doing that is it leads to comparisons between the two shows. The commentary is the biggest thing that stood out. Jim Ross and Lita didn’t mesh well; Ross pulled out his usual formula and Lita was very delayed in her reactions to the action in front of her.

If you compare that to Daniel Bryan and Mauro Ranallo, it looks like a very poor imitation. When you do that with the video packages, handshake element and going to a bracket “control” room, it gives a repeat feel that hurt the tournament.

#4 Kay Lee Ray loses

Kay Lee Ray in a rare moment of dominance

The WWE did a great job of building tournament stars in the Bracket special. One of the most promising was Kay Lee Ray. I have had a chance to see some of her work in the British indies and she is an impressive young star.

The crowd knew her and loved her unique offence. It was clearly a chance to establish her as a future WWE star. Then she lost in the first round to a 37-year-old CMLL veteran. Sigh.

The WWE gave us the first surprise of the tournament by eliminating the popular Ray in the first match. No offence to Princess Sugehit but her offence wasn’t as impressive as her counterpart. I am hoping it leads to a good story but to see a popular star go out early was quite shocking.

#3 Serena Deeb is this year’s Brian Kendrick

Serena Deeb looks weird with hair

When you watch 205 Live today, you will always see Brian Kendrick acting as the arrogant heel. He plays the part well and is a solid veteran that the Cruiserweight brand really needs. It is easy to forget his very different role in the Cruiserweight Classic.

He was the lovable veteran with one last chance at WWE stardom. When he finally lost in the quarterfinals, he received a hug from Daniel Bryan and a standing ovation from Full Sail. The WWE wants to repeat that formula with Serena Deeb.

If you remember Serena Deeb only as the bald lady from Straight Edge Society, it is more than understandable. She was, however, a five-year veteran before finally arriving on the main roster. Then she was quickly gone in less than a year.

After wrestling outside the WWE for another five years, Deeb retired. So the “one last shot” angle works for her as well. She had a solid outing against an inexperienced Vanessa Bourne and pulled off the logical win. It is interesting to see the veteran angle repeated again.

#2 Shayna Bazler is made a star in one move

Shayna Bazler terrifies me in this photo

The WWE really wants you to know Shayna Bazler was in UFC. The multiple shots of her friend Ronda Rousey didn’t hurt the UFC angle either. The entire build and look of Bazler made her look like the legit monster of the tournament.

Her match with Zeda was likely the worst of the first show but was still booked perfectly. Zeda attempted offence for about two minutes and then Shayna hit a falcon arrow followed by a rear naked choke submission for the lighting quick tap out.

I don’t know how good a wrestler Bazler is, but this first round match sold her as a star rather quickly.

#1 Abbey Laith stole the show

What a main event this should be

Once again the WWE wanted you to believe Jazzy Gabert was a favourite to win the tournament based on her vignettes. She was easily the most physically imposing competitor in the tournament. She is the kind of person that would usually go far in WWE booking; then she lost to WWE developmental wrestler, Abbey Laith, in the first round.

They quickly established Abbey as a crowd favourite to win the tournament. She even had a finishing move, the Alligator Clutch pin, that was originally gotten from Mae Young. It is a simple way to make her story a fun one to follow.

The match did a good job of selling both competitors as legit threats. Abbey had to do a lot of high flying moves to “damage” the bigger Jazzy. A lot of her kicks and punches had no effect. This allowed fans to get behind Laith right away.

She didn’t disappointed and pulled the “upset”. A surprising but perfect end to a strong premiere episode.