2017 Mae Young Classic
The 2017 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, WWE.
It was constituted by a 32-competitor tournament for women from WWE's NXT brand division and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The majority of the tournament took place at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and was taped from July 13–14, 2017; these matches aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live on the WWE Network on September 12 and took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The event was named in honor of Mae Young. The winner of the inaugural tournament was Kairi Sane.
| Mae Young Classic | |||
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 Official logo | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date |
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| City | Winter Park, Florida Paradise, Nevada (final) | ||
| Venue | Full Sail University Thomas & Mack Center (final) | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| Mae Young Classic chronology | |||
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The 2017 Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee, Jessika Carr. A second edition of the tournament was held in the summer and fall of 2018.
Background
At a press conference during the weekend of WrestleMania 33, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced that a women's tournament would be taking place in the summer of 2017, with a total of 32 wrestlers competing. It was also announced that the tournament would be among wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The event was named in honor of the late WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young, who is considered a pioneer of women's wrestling. The first four wrestlers announced to be competing were Sarah Logan, Lacey Evans, Princesa Sugehit, and Toni Storm, with the rest revealed in the weeks leading up to the event. On June 26, Hall of Famers Lita and Jim Ross were announced as the commentators for the tournament.
On July 13, WWE held the Mae Young Classic: Parade of Champions, a pre-tournament event streamed live on YouTube and Facebook and revealed the remaining tournament participants. The Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee, Jessika Carr. Round 1 up through the semifinals of the tournament were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on July 13 and 14 and aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live on September 12 from the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, and was also streamed on the WWE Network.
Qualifying matches
The tournament consisted of various matches that resulted from scripted storylines and had predetermined results.
- NXT tapings – June 23 (Full Sail University – Winter Park, Florida)
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianca Belair defeated Aliyah | Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match |
| 2 | Vanessa Borne defeated Jayme Hachey | Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match |
Participants
| Wrestler | Country representing | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Abbey Laith |  United States | |
| Ayesha Raymond |  England | |
| Bianca Belair | United States | |
| Candice LeRae | United States | |
| Dakota Kai |  New Zealand | |
| Jazzy Gabert |  Germany | |
| Kairi Sane |  Japan | |
| Kavita Devi |  India | |
| Kay Lee Ray |  Scotland | |
| Lacey Evans | United States | |
| Marti Belle |  Dominican Republic | |
| Mercedes Martinez | United States | |
| Mia Yim |  South Korea | |
| Miranda Salinas | United States | |
| Nicole Savoy | United States | |
| Piper Niven | Scotland | |
| Princesa Sugehit |  Mexico | |
| Rachel Evers | United States | |
| Reina González | United States | |
| Renee Michelle | United States | |
| Rhea Ripley |  Australia | |
| Sage Beckett | United States | |
| Santana Garrett | United States | |
| Sarah Logan | United States | |
| Serena Deeb | United States | |
| Shayna Baszler | United States | |
| Taynara Conti |  Brazil | |
| Tessa Blanchard | United States | |
| Toni Storm | Australia | |
| Vanessa Borne | United States | |
| Xia Li |  China | |
| Zeda | China |
Replaced
This participant was taken out of the tournament for a specific reason and therefore was replaced by another competitor.
| Wrestler | Country representing | Progression in the tournament | Reason | Replacing wrestler | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nixon Newell |  Wales | Replaced before the official start of the tournament | ACL injury | Miranda Salinas |
Alternates
If any of the official participants had suffered an injury, they would have been replaced by one of the following wrestlers:
| Wrestler | Country representing |
|---|---|
| Barbi Hayden | United States |
| Deonna Purrazzo | United States |
| Jessica James | United States |
| Lei'D Tapa |  Tonga |
| Nicole Matthews |  Canada |
Broadcast team
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alundra Blayze | Debrah Miceli | Backstage interviewer Hall of Famer |
| Dasha Fuentes | Dasha Kuret | Ring announcer |
| Jim Ross | James Ross | Lead commentator Hall of Famer |
| Lita | Amy Dumas | Color commentator Hall of Famer |
| Lilian Garcia | Lilian Garcia | Ring announcer (finals) |
Referees
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Orengo | Eddie Orengo | |
| Jessika Carr | Jessika Heiser | |
| Danilo Anfibio | Danilo Anfibio | |
| Darryl Sharma | Darryl Sharma | |
| D.A. Brewer | Antoine Brewer |
Results
Finale
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler | Mae Young Classic tournament final match | 12:07 |
Tournament bracket
The following time limits were in place:
- Round one: 15 minutes
- Round two: 20 minutes
- Quarterfinals: 25 minutes
- Semifinals: 30 minutes
- Final: No time limit
| Round of 32 Taped July 13 Aired August 28 | Round of 16 Taped July 14 Aired September 4 | Quarterfinals Taped July 14 Aired September 4 | Semifinals Taped July 14 Aired September 4 | Final Live on September 12 | ||||||||||||||
| – Episode 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jazzy Gabert | 7:33 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Abbey Laith | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Abbey Laith | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rachel Evers | 4:49 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rachel Evers | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marti Belle | 6:10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Abbey Laith | 8:58 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Princesa Sugehit | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kay Lee Ray | 6:32 | |||||||||||||||||
| Princesa Sugehit | 5:14 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Xia Li | 3:07 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | 8:11 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| Nicole Savoy | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reina González | 4:27 | |||||||||||||||||
| Nicole Savoy | 5:53 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Candice LeRae | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Renee Michelle | 5:36 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Candice LeRae | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Candice LeRae | 3:13 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| Sarah Logan | 7:17 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mia Yim | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Mia Yim | 5:39 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| Zeda | 2:42 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | 12:07 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kairi Sane | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Kairi Sane | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tessa Blanchard | 8:38 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kairi Sane | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bianca Belair | 10:00 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sage Beckett | 5:33 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bianca Belair | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Kairi Sane | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai | 7:42 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kavita Devi | 3:58 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley | 7:03 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Miranda Salinas | 3:51 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kairi Sane | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | 12:23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa Borne | 6:22 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serena Deeb | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Serena Deeb | 7:10 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Piper Niven | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Santana Garrett | 7:10 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Piper Niven | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Piper Niven | 7:38 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Taynara Conti | 4:41 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lacey Evans | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Lacey Evans | 5:07 | |||||||||||||||||
| – Episode 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| Ayesha Raymond | 4:27 | |||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
Aftermath
Performers on the tournament such as Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, winner Kairi Sane, Lacey Evans, Reina González, Rhea Ripley, Sarah Logan, Taynara Conti, Vanessa Borne, Xia Li already had signed contracts with the company. Nixon Newell, who missed the tournament due to injury, also already signed a contract with the company.
On October 3, WWE officially announced that finalist Shayna Baszler had signed a contract with the company and started training at the WWE Performance Center. On October 15, 2017, WWE announced that performer Kavita Devi had signed a contract, and will start training at their Performance Center in January 2018.
On January 16, 2018, WWE announced that Candice LeRae had been signed to a contract, performing on the NXT brand.
On February 8, 2018, WWE announced that Serena Deeb had been signed by WWE to become a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
On March 8, 2018, WWE officially announced that Abbey Laith and Sage Beckett were released from their NXT contracts.
In April 2018, a second Mae Young Classic tournament was scheduled for later that year.
On May 31, 2018, WWE announced that Deonna Purrazzo had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their developmental territory NXT.
On June 2, 2018, Zeda was released from her NXT contract.
Rhea Ripley, Rachel Evers, Xia Li, Mercedes Martinez, Taynara Conti, Kavita Devi, Reina González, Toni Storm, alternate Deonna Purrazzo, and Nixon Newell (under the ring name Tegan Nox) all competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament.
On January 12, 2019, Toni Storm defeated Rhea Ripley to win the NXT UK Women's Championship.
On February 27, 2019, WWE announced that Kay Lee Ray and Jazzy Gabert had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their NXT UK.
On March 27, 2019 , WWE announced that Piper Niven had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their NXT UK.
On August 14, 2019, WWE announced that Santana Garrett had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their developmental territory NXT.
See also
References
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