Mae Young Classic 2018: Predicting the path of every participant

#13 Rachel Evers

Rachel returns.

Rachel Evers, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, makes her second appearance in the Mae Young Classic. Rachel Evers got to the second round last year before falling to Abbey Laith.

If she wasn't offered a contract last year, it seems pretty unlikely that she will be this year, especially with a whole new class of recruits having already entered the Performance Center. She'll go out in the first round against a veteran talent like Meiko Satomura.

#14 Xia Li

Xia is back.

Another returning name from last year, Xia Li was defeated by Mercedes Martinez in the first round. She didn't get to show much during that match, but one hopes that she's improved since last summer and will show more this time. She hasn't been featured on NXT TV at all, however, which either suggests that she hasn't improved enough or that there aren't big plans for her right now. I expect her to be in the same spot as last year.

#15 Zatara

Many of us will see Zatara for the first time.

This one is a bit hard to decide. Zatara is young at 26 years old and has years of experience despite her youth. She seems like a candidate that WWE would watch. There's still no word about a possible contract, however, and there's a better-known Luchadora in the tournament. We might see a first-round match between them, but either way, it's likely that Zatara appears in the first round to have a good match and make someone look great.

#16 Vanessa Kraven

Vanessa will put up a fight.

Known as the Mountain, Vanessa Kraven is the tallest woman in the tournament, and with over a decade of experience, she'll be a great hand to put over a babyface in a monster vs. underdog fight. That's ultimately what I expect her role to be in the first round - to help a babyface the company is very high on look as great as possible in victory.