What’s the story?
The WWE continues to pick up more talent for the upcoming Mae Young Classic this week. Per WWE.com, Rhea Ripley and Sage Beckett have been announced as the next two participants in the tournament.
In case you didn’t know...
The Mae Young Classic is only a week away, and WWE is still finding talent to fill out the brackets to the anticipated tournament. Among the named participants are Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Abbey Laith, Tessa Blanchard, Kari Sane, along with twelve other women. The participants hail from all across the globe, spanning 9 other countries outside of the US.
Trending
The heart of the matter
WWE.com announced today that two more participants have been added to the mix, Rhea Ripley, and Sage Becket. 20-year-old Ripley, known to the Indy scene as Demi Bennet, is an Australian wrestler known for her time in Professional Wresting Alliance and Riot City Wrestling, where she is a two-time RCW Women's champion.
Sage Beckett, the 32-year-old vet worked in TNA as Rosie Lottalove. According to WWE, Beckett was trained by the Dudley Boys at their Team 3-D Academy.
What’s next?
The Mae Young Classic begins on July 13th and will end with a live final match on September 12th. Its commentary team will consist of Good Ol’ Jim Ross and former 4-time Women’s Champ Lita.
Author’s take
If the women’s tournament is half as good as the CWC was last year or the UK Tournament from January, we’re in store for some great wrestling. WWE has been high on giving women equal opportunity in NXT and on the main roster, so I can only assume these women will be allowed to go all out in the Mae Young Classic.
I’m excited to see what happens with these participants, especially considering NXT’s women’s division is starting to dry up a bit. With names like Asuka, Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross, and Ember Moon leading the pack, the division is in a great spot but will look a little weak once one or two of them join the main roster.
It’s unknown how many of these women will be, or are already, signed to the WWE, but I like to think we’re looking at the future of NXT.
