Mae Young Classic – Episode Four: And There’s the Winner
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Young Classic Episode #4
Date: August 28, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s the end of the first round here and there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing the tournament winner making her debut. There are a few big names still to go and that means it’s time for some showcases. We’ll also know the second round by the end of this episode and that means it’s time for big names to collide and things to really take off. Let’s get to it.
Long recap of the whole tournament so far and a preview of what we’re seeing tonight.
Opening sequence.
Video on Renee Michelle who is ready to show how awesome women can be.
Video on Candice LeRae, who is one of the biggest names in the tournament. She’s also married to Johnny Gargano but wants no special treatment.
Gargano is in the front row.
First Round: Candice LeRae vs. Renee Michelle
Feeling out process to start as a fan yells something that makes the crowd laugh. They trade rollups into a standoff as this is a VERY pro-Candice crowd. Candice sends her into the corner for a missile dropkick but Renee is back with kicks of her own. Renee gets kicked off and a jumping neckbreaker gives Candice two. Candice misses a charge in the corner but manages to avoid a middle rope moonsault. They head up top and it’s Miss LeRae’s Wild Ride (super swinging neckbreaker) for the pin on Renee at 5:37.
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here though you can tell LeRae is a step above a lot of these people. The fans are clearly into her and that’s the kind of reaction that’s going to guarantee at least a spot in the second round. Good enough match here with Michelle looking perfectly acceptable as well.
Video on Lacey Evans, a former Marine who has made some appearances in NXT before.
Video on Taynara Conti, a judoka from Brazil, who is ready to fight anyone.
Alexa Bliss (and I believe Bayley’s fan Izzy behind her) is here.
First Round: Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Evans
The fans get behind Lacey with the USA chants as Conti fires off some knees to the ribs. An armbar has Conti in some trouble until an over the head throw takes Evans down. A shot to the chest takes Conti back down and something like a Bronco Buster has her in more trouble. Evans throws Conti on her back for a kneeling piledriver and the pin at 4:43.
Rating: C-. Not much to see here and I’m a bit surprised that Conti, who seemed to be built up as a big deal, got beaten down that easily. Evans has been around WWE for a little while, now so her winning isn’t a big shock, but that was quite the quick exit for Conti. Evans doesn’t do much for me but she’s got something with the ex-military thing.
Video on Reina Gonzalez, a second generation wrestler and a powerhouse.
Video on Nicole Savoy, the self-described queen of suplexes.
First Round: Nicole Savoy vs. Reina Gonzalez
Reina is sporting chaps and a Phantom of the Opera mask. You see something new every day (weekly at worst) in wrestling. Feeling out process to start with the far smaller Nicole not being able to take Gonzalez down. A hurricanrana is shoved away and a hard clothesline drops Savoy. Reina plants her again with a sidewalk slam and a reverse Boston crab, only to get pulled down into something like a Kimura. A cross armbreaker works a lot better and Reina taps at 4:46.
Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but Savoy didn’t throw a single suplex, which was her main talking point in her video. Gonzalez was a bit slower than she probably should have been and that hurt things a lot. The ending hurt it a bit too as Nicole was dominated and then came back with two moves to win. That’s not the best thing in the world, but it was at least watchable. Kind of like Reina in general.
Video on Tessa Blanchard, another second generation wrestler who turns into a different person in the ring. She’s been around NXT for a good while now.
Video on Kairi Sane, a Japanese star who likes pirates. She’s probably the favorite in the whole tournament.
Kairi is very pale. Feeling out process to start with Kairi putting her on the ropes for a clean break. A cradle gives Kairi two and a running Blockbuster drops Tessa again. Tessa comes back with a running neckbreaker of her own before a middle rope Codebreaker gets two more. Some hard forearms stun Sane but she’s right back with a spear to cut Tessa off.
Something like a top rope Phenomenal Forearm drops Tessa for two and the fans are split again. Tessa gets two off a belly to back suplex and a top rope backsplash gets the same. Kairi’s sliding forearm is countered into a crucifix for two but she kicks Tessa down again. Kairi points to the elbow and drops one heck of a top rope elbow for the pin at 8:39.
Rating: B. I don’t know if it was enough to live up to Kairi’s hype but this was the best match of the first round. Tessa was more than game here and if she’s not pushed at least to like halfway to the clouds (the moon might be too far this soon), I’m not sure what WWE is thinking. Sane is likely the favorite to win the thing but it was a smart idea to have her sweat a bit in the first round.
They hug post match.
We don’t actually see the full second round brackets but here they are.
Abbey Laith
Rachel Evers
Princesa Sugehit
Mercedes Martinez
Nicole Savoy
Candice LeRae
Mia Yim
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Bianca Belair
Dakota Kai
Rhea Ripley
Serena Deeb
Piper Niven
Lacey Evans
Toni Storm
Overall Rating: C+. The main event alone is worth seeing and the rest of the card is more than watchable. It’s a lot better now that we know who is advancing to the second round as a lot of the deadwood has been cleared out. There hasn’t been that blow away match yet but the main event here was solid enough. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far and the second round should be an upgrade, especially in match quality. Good show here and hopefully it keeps getting better.
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