WWE’s Mae Young Classic tournament is officially underway, with 32 of the best female athletes from all around the world competing in a single-elimination tournament. Among those 32 are four entrants from the UK: Kay Lee Ray, Piper Niven, Ayesha Raymond and the New Zealand-born Toni Storm. So, while watching the matches involving those four women, I wrote a quick review on each. Would any of them go on to reach the finals? Let’s take a look!
First Round: Princesa Sugehit def. Kay Lee Ray by Submission (Episode 1)
Match 1 of the entire tournament saw Scotland’s Kay Lee Ray taking on Mexico’s Princesa Sugehit. Despite both women bring known for their high-flying style, the majority of the match was kept on the ground with KLR using various submissions to her advantage, including a brutal Gory Special. After going back and forth for a few minutes, Kay Lee planted Sugehit into the mat with a sliding reverse STO before transitioning into a Koji Clutch. Princesa was able to escape and executed two massive roundhouse kicks to the head of The Hardcore Daredevil before KLR fought back with her signature Gory Bomb for a two count. As she headed up top for a Swanton Bomb, the Mexican native rolled out the way causing Kay Lee to go spine-first into the ring. Princesa capitalised on this and locked in a vicious fujiwara armbar for the submission victory as she went on to face Mercedes Martinez in the next round after Mercedes eliminated Xia Li in the first round.
First Round: Toni Storm def. Ayesha Raymond by Pinfall (Episode 3)
Kicking off episode three was Ayesha Raymond against the current and first ever PROGRESS Women’s Champion, Toni Storm. Toni used her trademark hip attacks early on to mock Ayesha, before faking a handshake by pulling away at the last second. With Ayesha angered by Toni’s fooling around, The Amazon used her size advantage to take control of the match with a huge body avalanche in the corner. As she went for her finishing chokebomb, Storm used a headbutt to get out but it wasn’t long before Raymond regained control. Heading up to the middle rope for her diving splash, Ayesha stepped off the ropes to shout at the fans chanting for Toni. She headed back up top but the distraction allowed Toni to roll away before using an Oklahoma roll to pick up the victory. Toni would now go on to face Lacey Evans in the round of 16 after she defeated Taynara Conti to move forward.
First Round: Piper Niven def. Santana Garrett by Pinfall (Episode 3)
The main event of episode 3 saw the first ever ICW Women’s Champion, Piper Niven facing off against Santana Garrett. Piper used her size advantage to remain in control for the majority of the match, with a beautiful running crossbody flattening Santana. As Piper headed up to the top rope, Santana attempted a handstand frankensteiner but The Vixen of Violence pushed her away. As she tried a second time, Santana connected to send Piper down on to her back. Santana bounced off the ropes looking for her signature Shining Star Press handspring moonsault but Niven moved out the way. With Santana downed, Piper performed a jumping senton to her back before driving her in to the mat with a Viper Driver (Piper Driver?) for the three count. She moved on to the round of 16 where she would go one on one with Serena Deeb, who advanced by defeating Vanessa Borne.
Second Round: Piper Niven def. Serena Deeb by Pinfall (Episode 5)
The second match of episode 5 saw Piper Niven taking on former Straight Edge Society member Serena Deeb. Just like in the first round, Piper used her size advantage to good use as Deeb kept trying to scoop Niven up for some sort of slam. Later on in the contest, Piper dumped Serena in the corner and flattened her with a cannonball senton for a close two count. Staying in control, Piper followed up with a big splash off the second rope for another two count. As the fans chanted for one more, Piper instead went to the top rope where she failed to connect with another splash. With Serena in control, she finally nailed a front slam but Piper still kicked out. As Deeb looked to remain in control, Piper managed to spin her out and drop her with a Viper Driver to cement her place in the final eight of the Mae Young Classic as she was set to face Toni Storm.
Second Round: Toni Storm def. Lacey Evans by Pinfall (Episode 6)
Kicking off episode 6 was Toni Storm taking on the athletic Lacey Evans. Both women showed off their technical skills, before Storm used the hip attacks we saw in round one against Ayesha Raymond. As she connected with the first two, the third was countered into a rollup by Evans for a near fall. Taking the fight to the corner, Lacey used her long legs to down Toni before coming over the ropes with a beauty of a slingshot elbow drop. Unable to pick up the win, Lacey looked for her cradle belly to back piledriver that allowed her to defeat Taynara Conti in the first round but Toni countered it with a sunset flip for a two count. As Evans again for her finisher, Storm countered into her Strong Zero finisher for the three count to move ahead to the quarterfinals, where she would meet Piper Niven.
Quarterfinals: Toni Storm def. Piper Niven by Pinfall (Episode 7)
The third quarterfinal in episode 7 saw the first ever PROGRESS and ICW Women’s Champions collide as Toni Storm faced off against Piper Niven. The two had a test of strength early on, with both women’s shoulders down on the mat on more than one occasion. Piper used her trademark running crossbody and jumping senton to keep Toni downed, but Storm avoided the cannonball senton in the corner and connected with a running hip attack to Niven. With Piper regaining the advantage, she eventually nailed the cannonball before driving Toni in to the mat with a Viper Driver for the closest of two counts. Realising she couldn’t get the win, Piper headed to the middle rope but before she could dive off, Toni pulled her off the ropes with a release German suplex before coming off the top rope with a huge diving legdrop for the win to cement her place in the semifinals. If Toni hoped to get to the finals, she would have to get past Japanese sensation Kairi Sane, who defeated Tessa Blanchard, Bianca BelAir and Dakota Kai to reach the final four.
Semifinals: Kairi Sane def. Toni Storm by Pinfall (Episode 8)
Rounding out the last episode before next week’s live final was a semifinal collision between Toni Storm and Kairi Sane. Both women were willing to give it all they had to advance to the finals, with Kairi diving off the ropes with a crossbody to the outside with her face bashing off the steel ramp and appeared to have hurt her arm. Back in the ring, Toni focused on Kairi’s arm and locked in a vicious bridging fujiwara armbar with Sane just making it out. Toni continued her onslaught with a bridging muscle buster for a near fall. As Toni went up top looking for a diving legdrop, Kairi rolled over to avoid full impact. With Toni downed, Kairi went up top and dove off with her gorgeous Sailing the Seas diving elbow drop for the win. Kairi and Toni embraced after the match before Kairi was awarded with a bouquet of flowers from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The Japanese sensation now goes on to face Shayna Baszler in next Tuesday’s live final from Las Vegas.
All the matches in the tournament had something to offer. But don’t just take my word for it, you can watch all the Mae Young Classic action on the WWE Network!
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