What’s the story?
This past week, WWE was back at Full Sail University for two back-to-back tapings for the Mae Young Classic. Thursday night’s tapings covered the first-round bouts, with Friday’s show staging the second-round as well as the quarter and semi-final stages.
This means that we now know who’ll square off in the live final in mid-September, with Shayna Baszler set to go up against Kairi Sane for the Mae Young Classic trophy.
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In case you didn’t know…
WWE made the decision to pre-tape the bulk of the Mae Young Classic, with the final itself being the only part of the tournament set to be aired live.
The pre-taped rounds will be split into eight episodes, four of which will be released on the Network on Monday 28th August, with the remaining four coming seven days later on September 4th. The final will then take place the following week, airing live after Tuesday’s SmackDown show from Las Vegas on Sep 12th.
The heart of the matter
A full list of results can be found below, with Baszler defeating Zeda, Mia Yim, Candice LeRae and Mercedes Martinez on her way to the final, while Sane overcame Tessa Blanchard, Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai and Progress Women’s Champion Toni Storm. Also of note was the stand-off we saw between both sets of Four Horsewomen.
Baszler and her ringside buddies Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke talked some trash to Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, who themselves were in attendance, which only served to tease a possible angle down the line. Full results are as follows:
Round 1
Princesa Sugehit defeated Kay Lee Ray
Serena Deeb defeated Vanessa Borne
Shayna Baszler defeated Zeda
Piper Niven defeated Santana Garrett
Mia Yim defeated Sarah Logan
Mercedes Martinez defeated Xia Li
Rhea Ripley defeated Miranda Salinas
Abbey Laith defeated Jazzy Gabert
Toni Storm defeated Ayesha Raymond
Dakota Kai defeated Kavita Devi
Candice LeRae defeated Renee Michelle
Rachel Evers defeated Marti Belle
Bianca Belair defeated Sage Beckett
Lacey Evans defeated Taynara Conti
Nicole Savoy defeated Reina Gonzalez
Kairi Sane defeated Tessa Blanchard
Round 2
Abbey Laith defeated Rachel Evers
Piper Niven defeated Serena Deeb
Mercedes Martinez defeated Princesa Sugehit
Kairi Sane defeated Bianca Belair
Toni Storm defeated Lacey Evans
Shayna Baszler defeated Mia Yim
Dakota Kai defeated Rhea Ripley
Candice LeRae defeated Nicole Savoy
Quarter-finals
Mercedes Martinez defeated Abbey Laith
Shayna Baszler defeated Candice LeRae
Toni Storm defeated Piper Niven
Kairi Sane defeated Dakota Kai
Semi-finals
Shayna Baszler defeated Mercedes Martinez
Kairi Sane defeated Toni Storm
What’s next?
The most obvious next step is, of course, the final – Baszler vs. Sane on Sep 12th. After that, though, don’t be surprised if a fair few girls from the tournament’s earlier rounds find themselves winding up in NXT, much like we saw after the Cruiserweight Classic last year.
Plus, there’s always the promise of some kind of payoff to the Four Horsewomen showdown, most likely in the form of a singles bout between Baszler and one of WWE’s Horsewomen.
Author’s take
As interesting as it is to see these results, it’s something of a shame in the grand scheme of things that the more of the tournament wasn’t aired live. Plus, the fact that they’re dropping all eight episodes in a two-week period seems a little half-hearted on the company’s part.
Immediately, that timeframe makes the tournament pale in comparison to the nine-week long Cruiserweight Classic we were treated to last year.
Still, judging by the brackets and the matches we have in store, there’s plenty to look forward to in that fortnight at the start of September. And depending on how they handle the Horsewomen situation, September may only be the beginning of it all.
