BWOTW: 4/9/17 - 9/9/17

Hey there readers and welcome to this newest edition of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Thank You, Asuka' AKA 'Another Horrifically Late One'

We had a few headlines come at us this week....

1. Corey Graves is going to be replacing JBL on SmackDown!, and Nigel McGuinness will now be commentating on Main Event and 205 Live! I'm a big fan of both of these men and look forward to these changes
2. It turns out that the finals of the Mae Young Classic will be taking place after the next episode of SmackDown! LIVE in Las Vegas, taking 205 Live's spot for the night. Personally, I don't think this was the best of moves, but we'll see how it goes. Also, talking about the MYC, they sure teased a battle of the two sets of Four Horsewomen (WWE's and MMA's), so something might come of that on the night too.
3. WWE have officially announced the signing of Donovan Dijak this week. From what I hear he tore it up at PWG last weekend, and I am sure a guy like him will do very well for himself in NXT.
4. Monday Night RAW is going to be broadcast live on Christmas Day and New Year's Day too. It appears this more due to the USA Network's desires than WWE's, with them feeling a little shitty indeed.

And now for the frame in this painting of a wrestling blog, its the matches!

WWE Mae Young Classic

Episode 5

Best Match on MYC E5: Kairi Sane vs Bianca Belair
Honourable Mention(s): Rachael Evers vs Abbey Laith

It's the first episode of the next set of MYC tapings and good lord above did we get a fucking barn burner here or what? The excellent opener of Evers/Laith got things off to a hot start, but the bout between Kairi Sane and Bianca Belair was by far the top of the heap.

Both women got to show off more personality in this match over their matches in the first round, with Belair portraying the more cocky, confident side of her character, and Kairi with some very Nakamura-esque retorts.



The highlight of this match for me was Bianca really showing just how damaging her hair whip can be. We got a little bit of it in her first match, but things got turned up to 11 here, with her unleashing a torrent of nasty looking and sounding lashes from her braid. I've only ever seen her do it once in a match, so this really was something;

Just got damn brutal. This was definitely a stand out match for Belair, astoundingly good for how few matches she has had. She's got the character down, the facial expressions and mannerisms are there, as well as being pretty good in the interstitial spaces between spots. Plus, after seeing her NXT Combine results before this match, her athleticism really is something and it came to fruition here;

What a goddamn beautiful 450 splash, great rotation and great landing. However, Bianca did have an excellent opponent with her in this match making things all the more better. Kairi has been great in all of her matches so far in the tournament, and the highlight she gave me in this one was this harsh backfist;

That there spelt the end as Sane then ascended to the top and dropped a beautiful elbow on Belair for the 3-count.

This was an awesome match, through and through, quickly and easily becoming my favourite match of the MYC so far. I thoroughly recommend checking this one out.

Episode 6

Best Match on MYC E6: Rhea Ripley vs Dakota Kai

Holy kickerooni Batman, it's the Battle for Oceania as Australia's Rhea Ripley takes on New Zealand's Dakota Kai. 

Rhea is just massive and a great intimidating competitor to be paired with Dakota without having an explicit big/small dynamic but still putting across Kai's efforts as being an uphill battle. This factor of the match was shown best when Ripley dropped Kai across the ring apron right on her back in an especially sore looking spot. 

Kai had a great showing in this match, and this match marked the first time I can ever remember seeing an actual scorpion kick used in a wrestling ring.

Kai would ultimately come out victorious in this match, laying out Rhea with her cool double footstomp. This was a real good match, and it would lead to an even better one in the next round, featuring...

Episode 7

Best Match on MYC E7: Kairi Sane vs Dakota Kai
Honourable Mention(s): Piper Niven vs Toni Storm

That last match had some really nasty looking/sounding kicks, but with Dakota Kai taking on Kairi Sane, these two took it to an even stiffer level. They beat the dogfuck out of each other, like proper bad. I was wincing a fair bit as I watched these women not take things lightly at all and go hell for leather on one another, making it feel all the more dramatic and captivating. The nastiest of them all had to be from Kai going for her sliding boot into the corner;

They worked Kai aggravating her knee into the match, adding a nice layer of story to it, as well as helping to build Kai up as a plucky and enduring babyface for if/when they hopefully add her to the NXT women's division. 

Once again, Kairi would push the battle back, fighting her way up and finding herself dropping another huge elbow drop onto her opponent and securing her place in the next round of the tournament. Another great match here in the MYC, I would rank it as Dakota Kai's best match in the series, but not quite as good as Belair/Sane. With a win over Kai, Kairi Sane just had one match left separating her and a spot in the finals...

Episode 8

Best Match on MYC E8: Kairi Sane vs Toni Storm

It's the last episode, and the last match, to finish off the brackets before we get a live final after the next episode of SmackDown! (for some reason). Fighting for the opportunity to compete against Shayna Bazsler, it's Kairi Sane taking on Toni Storm.

To me, this felt like a real Japanese strong style match. With both of these women being well versed in the joshi scene in the Land of the Rising Sun, they were able to put on a match just like they have been putting on here in Full Sail University. I will say that this match was probably my least favourite of the MYC matches covered on this edition of BWOTW. I can't remember too much about it at all if I'm honest. I know a lot of people are really hot on Toni Storm coming out of this, but I wasn't really blown away by her like I was expecting to be. This was still a good match though, but, to me, not the big blowout match to send us into the finals.

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (4/9/17): Braun Strowman vs The Big Show - Steel Cage Match

It's the third in this seriously surprisingly good series of matches - Braun Strowman. The Big Show. INSIDE A STEEL CAAAAAAAAAGE!

Do you like big bastards doing big moves? This match is for you! Whilst this match doesn;t quite have as strong a structure and story to the previous match these two had, it sure had its own set of monumental and memorable moments, for example, Big Show pulling out a thunderous elbow drop (not quite Kairi Sane but still awesome to see);

Despite Big Show stretching to the spectacular, 

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (5/9/17): Shinsuke Nakamura vs Randy Orton - No.1 Contender's Match for the WWE World Championship

We're over on SmackDown! now and we've got this highly anticipated match-up between Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura to determine who will face Jinder Mahal at Hell in a Cell. What did I think? Yeah, it was alright.

There were definitely to some real cool moments in this match, that's for sure. Just get a load of this RKO counter that I don't think I've ever seen before;

So yeah, there was some fancy nice stuff like that which I enjoyed, but for the rest of the match, to me, it was all a bit of a blur. These two guys, especially Orton, tend to go at a bit of a slower pace compared to the rest of the roster, and I certainly felt it was a bit of a slog to watch at times.

The ending sequence did have another unique RKO reversal I thought was ultra-cool, and then we got to see Nak hit that Kinshasa with Corey Graves on commentary once again;

So yeah, I thought this was a decent match overall. Perhaps in a week where we didn't get as many great matches, this might have entertained me some more, but after the likes of the Mae Young Classic, I felt this fell a bit short in comparison. 

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (5/9/17): Tony Nese vs Brian Kendrick vs Cedric Alexander vs Gran Metalik vs Enzo Amore - No.1 Contender's Elimination Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

HOLY FUCK GRAN METALIK HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY ON TV FOR LIKE TWO MONTHS NOW AND I LOVE IT!

205 Live now and to decide who gets to challenge Big Nevvy Neville at No Mercy, we have an elimination 5-way between Nese, Kendrick, Cedric, Metalik and Enzo, and this was a really fun watch if I do say so.

There was a fair bit of really cool shit in this match. Metalik got to bounce all over the place, Kendrick and Nese were absolute dicks to everyone around them, Enzo was....there, but this was for sure Cedric's match. If I remember right, Cedric got all the eliminations until he was pinned for Enzo to win, going on a fucking rampage with his Lumbar Checks, even dropping Kendrick on the ring apron in a particularly rough looking one. His mannerisms after the loss also added a nice little touch to the match too, I really hope we get a championship programme with Cedric soon. He's great!

I have no idea where they are heading with Enzo. He was hardly involved here and spent most of the time mouthing off on the outside, and then pretty much stole the victory from Cedric. It all points to being very heelish tendencies as well as making him appear as a lesser wrestler compared to the others here, but he's still sorta being portrayed as a good guy character. It's a tad confusing, but in the end, it did make for this being quite a fun match and I cannot wait for Nev to rip him apart. Good times.

NXT

Best Match on NXT (6/9/17): Kassius Ohno vs Hideo Itami - No Disqualification Match

It's been months in the making (and probably should have been at Takeover if you ask me), Kassius Ohno faces off against the guy who has been a right dickhead to him for a long while, Hideo Itami with no disqualifications at work.

This was another match of having two lads knock some shit out of each other and it was great. With Ohno's signature weapon being his elbow strikes, I liked that they swung that into being the target of the body work done by Hideo, instigated by the countering of this Van-Ohno-Nator;

Proper clank and on bare skin, God I hope he didn't hit his funny bone. We got the damage being worsened off of a suplex on the steel ring ramp, a smart way of doing it I thought - not a move you'd associate with being harmful to the arms, but an odd landing could do just that. 

Rather than have Ohno being completely unable to use it, he eventually did hit a rolling elbow to finish the match, a nice detail to make him come across tougher I thought. Plus, with Ohno being one of my favourites, I was a very happy boy to see him get a big win here on this episode of NXT. I really liked this match, and I would recommend digging this one out if you haven't seen it.

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 311): Mark Briscoe & Bully Ray vs The Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes & Hangman Page)

We're off to Ring of Honour now and this week on television we have a tag team match between two thirds of a usual trio, Mark Briscoe and Bully Ray and a couple of Bullet Club members, Hangman Page and ROH World Champion, Cody Rhodes. 

The Cody/Page team is a combo that I really enjoyed in their match at the G1 Finals last month when they challenged War Machine for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Titles. Whilst I did enjoy them here, this match was not really as good as that one - which is totally fine and understandable seeing as this is just some episode of TV.

There were a fair bit of interference here in this match. Going in, they had like an injury angle that stopped Jay Briscoe taking part to make this a six man, but they had him do a run-in anyway for some reason when they could have just done a bigger tag match that I would have probably liked better. Marty Scurll interfered for the benefit of his Bullet Club friends, and I can't really remember him doing too much.

Overall, this was a fine match here on ROH TV, but this did very much feel like a bit of a throwaway episode. There was a great segment with Caprice Coleman and The Addiction that's worth a watch though. As always, you can catch ROH TV for FREE on either www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current, on the Fite TV app, or at www.fite.tv. It was a real good episode this week so I'd recommend it.

Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E34): Joey Ryan vs Castro Cortez - Five-O Street Fight

Over on Lucha Underground now and we've got a bizarre but awesomely so match between Joey Ryan and Castro Cortez in a Five-O Street Fight. I swear to God LU has some variation of a street fight with whatever props they happen to stumble upon for a good few episodes lately. Last week it was all biker stuff, but tonight we had a few riot police surrounding the ring for some reason, police weapons, and of course, a table with coffee and doughnuts (THAT'S RIGHT I'M BRITISH FUCK YER AND YER U.S.A SPELLING)

The best parts of this match was from the purely ridiculous stuff going on, like Joey just tossing a box of doughnuts into Cortez's face, Cortez pouring hot coffee down Joey's trunks and then shortly after tasering his penis. There was a couple of nasty looking spots with people being dropped on riot shields that shattered, and the end seeing Joey dropped on a pile of them, with a few already broken and jagged. 

This was a really fun match, the most insane match this week for sure. I liked it a lot and I think you will too.
The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Kairi Sane vs Bianca Belair - Mae Young Classic Episode 5

It sure wins it for me this week. To me it's both of these women's best match in the tournament so far, with Belair really wowing me and proving her worth. This match made her go from one of my lesser anticipated competitors in the match to one of the most impressive. Shoutouts this week also go out to Ohno/Itami, Strowman/Show and Ryan/Cortez.

With that week done, dusted and duly noted, here's what the leaderboard looks like now.

And finally, it's time to award 'The Best Promo of the Week' who this time around I'm giving to Daniel Bryan from SmackDown! LIVE. Love it when continuity is kept in wrestling, and comparing the episodes events with him and The Miz was something I really liked;

All that's left for me to say is that I am really sorry for the wait on this one. Back to school now and still getting back into the swing of things as well as all the stresses that comes with it. The next edition hopefully wont be as much work, so here's hoping all turns out well. I hope that between now and then, you have a hell of a time in your part of the world and that you enjoy everyday that comes. I'll seeya later!

BWOTW: 28/8/17 - 2/9/17

Hey there dear readers and welcome to this newest edition of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Long Live Flair'

But before we get stuck in, here's the news we got this week (not much really);

1. Championship news with Alexa Bliss winning the RAW Women's Championship off of Sasha Banks this week on TV, continuing Sasha's inability to defend that championship successfully. Why? Well, rumblings about setting this up for Total Divas to use the belt as a focal point has been brought up....
2. JBL has stepped down from his commentary position on SmackDown! LIVE to focus on his charitable efforts. As of writing there is no news on who will be replacing him.
3. A couple of injuries this week. Samoa Joe has sustained some sort of knee injury at a house show this week and is reportedly going to be out for a little over a month or so, and Xavier Woods sustained some sort of sprain, so nothing too bad which is the good news.

And now for the cream in this Twinkee of a wrestling blog, it's the matches!

WWE Mae Young Classic

Episode 1

Best Match on MYC E1: Abbey Laith vs Jazzy Gabert

The Mae Young Classic is here with the first round in its entirety, and here on the first episode, the best match came in the form of Abbey Laith taking on 'The Alpha Female', Jazzy Gabert. 

The story of this match can be summed up as 'holy shit Jazzy is a fucking monster', and it was very well told. Both women's facial expressions sold this story, especially on the part of Laith who portrayed the early parts with some confidence, especially with this slick splits spot, and also the later desperation and frantic need to capitalise on every window of opportunity she had. 

With Gabert being dominant for the majority of the match did mean we didn't get to see a whole lot of offence from Laith. But, saying that, having her on the back-foot fighting up was a great way to get support from the fans that is sure to help later one. 

Another nice touch came with Laith using Mae Young's patented Alligator Clutch to win the match and go on to the next round.

This was a really good and well done match, a great choice to cap off the first episode. Whilst it's sad to see Gabert go out, I do like Laith and look forward to seeing how she fares in the next round.

Episode 2

Best Match on MYC E2: Sarah Logan vs Mia Yim

Episode 2 now and the best match this time around was the Kentucky strong Sarah Logan heading up against former TNA Knockout Champion, Mia Yim.

I will say that out of the four tournament matches covered on this edition, this is probably the weakest. The most I remember of this match was Yim kicking the ever loving shit out of Logan. I can't recall much of Logan being on offence, which is a shame because I was looking forward to seeing how she'd fare.

Eventually, the match came to a close with Yim winning with an Eat Defeat right on the money;

Decent match here, but like I said, there are better matches here in the field.

Episode 3

Best Match on MYC E3: Piper Niven vs Santana Garrett 

Another small/big dynamic here in the tournament, with Santana Garrett taking on Piper Niven, but less of a dominant powerhouse though.

Piper can move like nobody's business, with Santana keeping up for quite a pacey match here in the tournament. Niven did have the upper hand for most of the match, with Santana resisting her power, but not to the extent of Laith/Gabert from a couple of episodes ago. Unlike that one, the bigger woman would win, with Niven laying Garrett out with a sit-out powerslam;

Nice match here on Episode 3, I prefer Laith/Gabert but this was also an enjoyable watch.

Episode 4

Best Match on MYC E4: Kairi Sane vs Tessa Blanchard

The main event of the first round (or that set of tapings at least) taking the cake here on Episode 4 as the tournament's most hyped entrant, The Pirate Princess, Kairi Sane, takes on the woman with Horsemen blood, Tessa Blanchard.

This was a really great match, with Kairi putting on a hell of a show. This is my first time seeing her and I have to say that she is very good indeed. Tessa meshed really well with her, and although they perhaps didn't have the time available to put on a barnburner that I feel they could have, this was still awesome. 

Kairi's elbow drop was one of the most talked about things going into this match, but bloody hell that flying forearm off the top was equally as beautiful. JR seemed to call every fucking strike that took someone off of their feet a Superman Punch, and that irked me a little, but this was seriously on par with Styles in terms of form and execution.

But of course, it was the amazing elbow drop that finished the match off, much to the enjoyment of the crowd in Full Sail;

Hands down the best match of these first four episodes released so far. Kairi did not disappoint in any way, and Tessa did great job working with her to make that a reality. Definitely recommend checking this one out.

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (28/8/17): Cesaro vs Seth Rolllins

How do you fill time between pay-per-views with the tag champions? Mix 'em up in singles competition of course! We two matches come of this procedure on RAW this week, with this contest between Cesaro and Seth Rollins being the best match on the card.

I think that Cesaro/Ambrose from the other week was a better match than this. That felt more exciting with more near falls and some really good pure wrestling coming out of nowhere to liven up a pretty dull episode. There wasn't too much out of the ordinary playbook this time around, which lent to this not being as exciting to watch. The main thing I popped for was that Cesaro ended up winning straight from a nasty looking uppercut straight up. I like it when that happens. Its a fun match here on RAW if you're wanting something to watch, with these two guys being great in-ring workers putting on a match above the average of what you get on RAW.

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (29/8/17): Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)

AIN'T NO STOPPING ME NOOO-Oh they went with a different song. Okay.

Shelton Benjamin is back competing in a WWE ring after years away from the company, with his new tag team partner, Chad Gable, taking on Eddie Money lovers, The Ascension.

This was a quick little match here on SmackDown!, reintroducing ol' Shelty to the audience with him getting the hot tag and the eventual pin to claim the win. I'm not sure whether it was intentional, but there was a bit of miscommunication/Shelton doing as he liked, going against Gable's plan for a double team. This could either be just to show that they aren't totally familiar with each other, or perhaps planting the seeds to Benjamin breaking out on his own later on. I found it interesting at least.

So yeah, Benjamin hit the Jumping Complete Shot for the win. Bit of a tame finisher in my opinion but its not too bad. 

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (29/8/17): Tony Nese, Noam Dar & Drew Gulak vs Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander & Enzo Amore

GRAN METALIK IS STILL HERE! Lovely to see him getting this much TV time over the past month, and here he is teaming with Cedric Alexander and 205 Live's newest addition, Enzo Amore, to take on the team of Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Noam Dar.

It's your fairly standard six man tag here, but with some good wrestling, especially watching my boy Metalik showing why he is called 'The King of the Ropes'. Another touch I liked was seeing both sets of teammates on the apron mouthing off to each other across the ring early on in the match, it's something I've never really thought about, but seeing it here made the animosities between both sides come across better and made for a more engaging viewing experience. 

Eventually things boiled down to Enzo picking up the win, putting his feet on the ropes to secure a pin. This was another little something about this match I liked. It is clear to near everyone that Enzo is not a great wrestler, so having him this way got across this mentality as well as giving him a win. It was a fun little match here on 205, a nice something if you're looking for something like that.

NXT

Best Match on NXT (30/8/17): Roderick Strong vs Bobby Roode
Honourable Mention(s): Peyton Royce vs Ruby Riot

It's a new set of tapings here at NXT, and I was so excited coming out of Takeover: Brooklyn III that this was the first episode I have stayed up to watch (airing at 1am here in sunny ol' England Towne). I was sure not to be disappointed as not only did Ruby Riot and Peyton Royce have a good match, but the main event of Roderick Strong taking on Bobby Roode was a great match too.

Roddy got his vengeance in this match, taking the first few minutes seeking and destroying the back of Roode with a variety of backbreakers, a focus on the match developing with seeing him apply the Stronghold submission and would eventually lead to Roode's downfall. Bobby got his fair share of offence in, highlighted with him landing his beautiful spinebuster on the outside.

Roddy's retribution would come in the form of not one, but two End of Heartache backbreakers, easily the coolest move in his playbook, looking absolutely devastating
to everyone he delivers it to. Really great, exciting match here on NXT, one that I recommend checking out.

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 310): Jay White & Jonathan Gresham vs War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

We've got a great tag team match here from Ring of Honour, with Jay White and Jonathan Gresham teaming up to face the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, War Machine.

It occurred to me in this match that Gresham has gotten a lot better since debuting in ROH sometime last year (?). He's more vocal, more expressive and has a better air of charisma about him. I was really high on White coming off of his match with Will Ospreay at Mayhem in Manhattan, but he hasn't quite lived up to continuing this trend. Perhaps when he returns to New Japan he might find his niche.

Having said that, this match was really exciting. There were plenty of near falls and kick outs that made this seem like a pay-per-view worthy match in my opinion. With each one, I was rooting more and more for Gresham and White to win. They found themselves on top of things several times in this bout, but there were certainly times where War Machine had their way with the two smaller men.

War Machine are just fucking beasts, accentuated by their new badass finisher, an assisted pop-up powerslam, aptly called 'Thor's Hammer'. That brought this great match to a close and made for a tantalising start to the episode.

As always, you can catch ROH TV for FREE on either www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current, on the Fite TV app, or at www.fite.tv. It was a real good episode this week so I'd recommend it.


Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E33): Son of Madness vs Son of Havoc - Biker Brawl Match

We're in the lead to Ultima Lucha Tres now, and this week we have a match for one of the seven ancient medallions, pitting Son of Havoc against his new rival, Son of Madness, in a Biker Brawl match - meaning that it was no disqualification but also there was some bikes at ringside.

This was a very spotty match, some pretty goddamn brutal. Like a minute into the match, Madness hit with a double footstomp to the outside that looked deadly. How Havoc retained breathing function after that, I have no idea. Most of this match took place outside the ring, going into the audience for a fair bit before they would get back in between the ropes. Lots of weaponry use here in the match, predominantly trash cans, like biker's have. The weapons led to a pretty hype finish, with Madness looking to clock Havoc with a claw hammer, only to have a bottled smashed over his head before Havoc ascended to the top and pulled off a picture perfect Shooting Star Press. So pretty.

A really good match here on Lucha Underground, but, will it be able to top the charts this week....?

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Kairi Sane vs Tessa Blanchard - WWE Mae Young Classic Episode 4

Although the average match quality of the first round might not have been outstanding, this match was head and shoulders above the rest. Kairi came off like the star WWE has built her to be, in the process making Tessa look real good in that ring. If you are interested in this tournament, I would recommend watching it all regardless, there are some great characters and the presentation of it is wonderful. Plus, I can't get that theme song for it out of my head. Shoutouts to Strong/Roode from NXT, the tag match from ROH TV and the Lucha Underground match, they were all incredibly exciting too.

With another week in the books, here is how the leaderboard looks, populated by a lot of newcomers to the blog this week. But, Kenny Omega still leads the charge by quite a considerable lead.

And now to present 'The Best Promo of the Week', and whilst Dolph Ziggler topped his mental breakdown from last week on SmackDown!, the best we got this week was the confrontation between Roman Reigns and John Cena is a fantastic segment;

That's all from me for this week folks, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves in whatever part of the world you are in, in whatever walk of life you are from. Us graps-fans gotta stick together, and I wish you all the best for the next few days. Seeya!

BWOTW Special: Your Guide to the Mae Young Classic

Hey there readers and welcome to the third of my tournament guides. First it was the Cruiserweight Classic, then it was the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, and now the series is continued with the Mae Young Classic. Episodes will start airing shortly after SummerSlam, uploaded in blocks of 4 it seems, with there being another Bracketology show beforehand. In an ideal world, I would have got this done before the tapings and spoilers got out, but hey ho, I blame WWE.

So, let's get into it.

The Ladies I Know

Toni Storm

Age: 21

Pro Debut: 2009

Billed From: Auckland, New Zealand

Associated Companies: Stardom, PROGRESS

Notable Accomplishments: Current SWA Undisputed World Women's Champion (Stardom), Current PROGRESS Women's Champion

Starting us off on this guide, it's Toni Storm! Storm is one of the most high profile competitors in this tournament, being a top wrestler in her most well known companies, Stardom and PROGRESS. She's also already competed under the WWE banner at WrestleMania Axxess this past year. With all that in mind, I expect her to be promoted very highly and pushed quite far into the brackets in this tournament.

Fun fact, I've seen Toni Storm live at a Global Force Wrestling show like 20 minutes from my house in a rural part of Eastern England against Mickie James in 2015, where I also saw Tyler Bate before he became the star he is today, but I was too focused on his opponent, Trevor Lee. Why the fuck GFW came here, or with this calibre of talent, I'll never know. The next year's show was shite.

Sarah Logan

Age: 23

Pro Debut: 2011

Also Known As: 'Crazy' Mary Dobson

Billed From: Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA

Associated Companies: NXT, Ring of Honour, Resistance Pro Wrestling

Notable Accomplishments: Former Resistance Pro Wrestling Champion

As far as I'm aware, Logan has only had one NXT appearance since signing with the company. Her gimmick is a sort of huntress wild-woman, with her in-ring style being that of unorthodox movements and grappling. I've seen her compete in Ring of Honour under the Dobson name, and it is very similar to this current incarnation of her. So, expect some weird stuff from her.

Lacey Evans

Age: ??

Pro Debut: 2016

Billed From: Parris Island, South Carolina, USA

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

It's former member of the armed forces Lacey Evans who first came to my attention on WWE's YouTube page when she was acting as drill sergeant during one of the tryouts. With that legitimate badass background, I figured they'd run with that. I'm not sure I quite understand Lacey's current gimmick, like some sort of proper lady...thing? She's shown promise in her NXT TV appearances, so it'll be interesting to see how she does in the tournament.

Tessa Blanchard

Age: 21

Pro Debut: 2014

Billed From: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Associated Companies: Stardom, SHIMMER, Queens of Combat, NXT

Notable Accomplishments: Current SHIMMER Tag Team Champion (w/ Vanessa Kraven)

Daughter of member of the legendary Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard, Tessa has made a couple of appearances in WWE so far, though they have tended to be quick matches in a losing effort. She has the power of her hoss daddy and uses that to great effect in her matches, with slams and thudding strikes a plenty. I haven't heard the best things about her outside of the ring, with some backstage drama and the like, so I'm not too sure how to feel about Tessa. I suppose this tournament will help me come to a conclusion.

Abby Laith

Age: 26

Pro Debut: 2011

Also Known As: Kimber Lee, Princess KimberLee

Billed From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Associated Companies: Chikara, NXT, SHIMMER, Beyond Wrestling, AAW, SHINE

Notable Accomplishments: Former Chikara Grand Champion, Former SHIMMER Tag Team Champion (w/ Cherry Bomb), Former SHINE Tag Team Champion (w/ Cherry Bomb)

Laith is another one that has had a couple of matches on NXT TV in the past few months but hasn't had a whole lot of time to shine. Here's hoping she gets a good showing in this tournament and show us why she was the first female Chikara Grand Slam Champion. Laith is well versed in inter-gender wrestling too, a medium that is explored in this mini-documentary about her;

Jazzy Gabert

Age: 35

Pro Debut: 2001

Also Known As: The Alpha Female

Billed From: Berlin, Germany

Associated Companies: wXw, Stardom, Impact Wrestling, 

Notable Accomplishments: Former World of Stardom Champion, Former Artist of Stardom Champion (w/ Kyoko Kimura & The Female Predator Amazon), Former Goddesses of Stardom Champion (w/ Kyoko Kimura)

Yes, there were several higher quality photos out there, but fucking hell how awesome does she look there. I hope that she carries a machine gun to the ring, but from what I know about Jazzy, she doesn't need one to lay people out. I think the name 'The Alpha Female' speaks for itself, meaning that we have our first hoss of the tournament here, being a big, badass machine keen on destruction. Gabert is one of the widest travelled and most experienced women competing in this thing, it's just a matter of whether the wear and tear will catch up to her.

Kairi Sane

Age: 28

Pro Debut: 2012

Also Known As: Kairi Hojo

Billed From: Hikari, Yamaguchi, Japan

Associated Companies: Stardom

Notable Accomplishments: Former World of Stardom Champion, Former Wonder of Stardom Champion, Former 3x Goddesses of Stardom Champion (1x w/ Natsumi Showzuki, 1x w/ Nanae Takahashi & 1x w/ Yoko Bito), Former 4x Artist of Stardom Champion (1x w/ Kaori Yoneyama & Yuhi, 1x w/ Chelsea & Koguma, 1x w/ Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani & 1x w/ Hiromi Miruma & Konami)

Perhaps the most decorated and highly acclaimed participants in the Mae Young Classic, Kairi Sane has been a staple in the world of Japanese women's wrestling, up there with Io Shirai as one of the stars Stardom has been built around. Possessing one of the most beautiful looking top rope elbow drops I've ever seen, the 'Pirate Princess' is sure to become one of the most popular competitors coming out of this.

Piper Nevan

Age: 26

Pro Debut: 2008

Also Known As: Viper

Billed From: Ayrshire, Scotland

Associated Companies: ICW, Fierce Females, WCPW, Stardom, Preston City Wrestling

Notable Accomplishments: Former ICW Women's Champion, Current Scottish Women's Champion

Nevan's size is definitely the first thing that strikes you when you see her, possibly being the biggest participant in the Mae Young Classic. From what I've seen of her, although the size-game is a big part of her repertoire and wrestling style, and rightfully so, she can brawl with the best of them, and has been known to take to the skies every now and then. Having been through some bloody battles in ICW, against both men and women, Nevan is one of the toughest ladies you've got here.

Kay Lee Ray

Age: 24

Pro Debut: 2009

Billed From: Glasgow, Scotland

Associated Companies: ICW, SWE, SHIMMER, Stardom, Fight Club: PRO, PROGRESS, WCPW

Notable Accomplishments: Former ICW Women's Champion, Former 2x Queen of Southside, Former Scottish Women's Champion, Former SWE Speed King Champion, Former WCPW Women's Champion

It's our first high-flyer of the tournament here, Kay Lee Ray, one of Piper Nevan's most storied adversaries battling in Scotland's women's wrestling scene. However, compared to her rival, she is arguably the more established and renowned of the two. Either way, my British pride is definitely going to be cheering both girls on through this.

Serena Deeb

Age: 31

Pro Debut: 2005

Billed From: Oakton, Virginia, USA

Associated Companies: WWE, OVW, FCW, SHIMMER

Notable Accomplishments: Former 6x OVW Women's Champion, Former Queen of FCW Champion

She's more recognisable without her hair, it's Serena Deeb, former member of CM Punk's Straight Edge Society. Deeb is coming out of retirement to compete in the Mae Young Classic, having hung up her wrestling boots just a couple years ago and becoming a yoga instructor. Having been with various forms of WWE's developmental system for a large chunk of her career, this has the makings to be this tournament's version of the Brian Kendrick redemption story. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out for Deeb, and who knows, maybe she could reunite with goodbrother Gallows after this.

Rachael Evers

Age: 24

Pro Debut: 2015

Also Known As: Rachael Ellering

Billed From: Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA

Associated Companies: NXT, WrestleCircus, Impact Wrestling, Shine

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

Another second generation wrestler here in Rachael Evers, daughter of The Authors of Pain's current manager, Paul Ellering, though more known for his run with The Legion of Doom through various promotions. Evers is another one of those who have popped up every now and then in NXT's women's division with limited success. Perhaps the tournament could be just what she needs to cement herself in the division and gain some traction. Plus, I've always thought something looks a little off about her gear, but I can't quite but my finger on it.

Santana Garrett

Age: 29

Pro Debut: 2009

Billed From: Ocala, Florida

Associated Companies: NXT, Stardom, Shine, WWN, GFW, NWA

Notable Accomplishments: Former Shine Champion, Former Shine Tag Team Champion (w/ Raquel), Former Wonder of Stardom Champion, Former NWA World Women's Champion

Definitely one of the most popular women in the tournament, Santana Garrett is a far traveller in pro wrestling. I'm a sucker for Ultimo Dragon-esque pictures, and the one above is certainly doing it for me, making me like her even more. If you're that good you hold more title than you have arms at one time, you have my admiration. Again, another woman who has had sporadic appearances on NXT already, let's hope this propels her into serious contention on the NXT women's division.

Candice LeRae

Age: 31

Pro Debut: 2002

Billed From: Anaheim, California, USA

Associated Companies: PWG, AIW, Smash Wrestling, AAW, SHIMMER, DDT, NWA

Notable Accomplishments: Former PWG Tag Team Champion (w/ Joey Ryan)

Awwwww fuck yeah, it's Candice LeRae. Known primarily for her intergender wrestling, Candice has competed in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's most notable matches, especially her and Joey Ryan teaming to face The Young Bucks in a Guerrilla Warfare match in which she was busted open after taking an Indytaker on the outside, which cemented her as being one tough motherfucker. Hands down the purest babyface there is gunning for the trophy, I expect Candice to have the audience's support and win the hearts of many. I love my mini-documentaries, and here's one about Candice and her husband, Johnny Gargano.

The Ladies I Sorta Know

Dakota Kai

Age: 29

Pro Debut: 2007

Also Known As: Evie

Billed From: Auckland, New Zealand

Associated Companies: SHIMMER, Stardom, NXT

Notable Accomplishments: Former SHIMMER Tag Team Champion (w/ Heidi Lovelace (Ruby Riot)), Former Artist of Stardom Champion (w/ Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kellie Skater)

I've heard good things about Dakota Kai for a long time, so I'm real excited to see her compete. Coming into this as a fresh signee with barrel loads of support, I'm fairly confident the 'E will have her progress into the tournament a bit at least, here's hoping anyway.

Bianca Belair

Age: 28

Pro Debut: 2016

Billed From: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

According to my research, Belair is a former CrossFit competitor and powerlifter, meaning although she doesn't have tonnes of experience going into this, she does have a great athletic background. Belair has made a couple of NXT TV appearances so far in her relatively short career, being most memorable for using her unbelievable long braid as a whip with wincing effect. I'd bet good money that we'll see that come into play again in this tournament.

Shayna Baszler 

Age: 37

Pro Debut: 2015

Billed From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

Associated Companies: UFC, Stardom, SHIMMER, AIW

Notable Accomplishments: Current AIW Women's Champion, MMA Record: 15-11 (I know it's not that great a record, but still)

Before I even knew that Baszler was a fighter, I just knew her as that one woman who got front row seats to a lot of PWG shows and was also friends with Ronda Rousey. Turns out, she is one of the other Four Horsewomen in the world of mixed martial arts WHO USE THE GODDAMN HORSEMAN HAND SIGN, YOU BETTER HOPE YOU'RE NOT IN FLAIR COUNTRY NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT. Anywho, having competed in the UFC, Baszler is as legit as it comes in this tournament, following the likes of Ken Shamrock and Dan 'The Beast' Severn as UFC fighters to step into a WWE ring. I expect her to be the Dean Malenko of this tournament, cold, calculated, killing machine.

Mia Yim

Age: 28

Pro Debut: 2009

Also Known As: Jade

Billed From: Fontana, California, USA

Associated Companies: Impact Wrestling, SHIMMER, Shine, SWE

Notable Accomplishments: Former Impact Knockout's Champion, Former Queen of Soutshide Champion, Former Shine Champion, Former Shine Tag Team Champion (w/ Leva Bates)

Mia Yim debuted on Impact Wrestling a little while before I fell out of watching it, so I have some memory of watching her, but I have witnessed people sing her praises since then. I'm expecting good things from Yim with that in mind, let's hope she can wow even more people on her biggest stage yet.

The Ladies I Don't Know

Welcome to the initial reactions portion of the guide, not really knowing any of these women before the announcement of their inclusion in the tournament. Let's see how things go...

Rhea Ripley

Age: 20

Pro Debut: 2013

Billed From: Adelaide, Australia

Associated Companies: Riot City Wrestling - (Mainly Aussie Indies)

Notable Accomplishments: Current and 2x RCW Women's Champion

I don't remember buying tickets to a gun show, yet here I am. WWE just can't get enough of the Aussies it seems, though the growth of that scene down under certainly helps the reasoning. I'm guessing a focus on the power game with Rhea, and we can never have too many hosses, sometimes.

Taynara Conti

Age: 22

Pro Debut: 2017

Billed From: Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: Competed in 2016 Olympic Judo trials

Taynara Conti here, being one of the rare breed of Brazilian wrestlers in the WWE. It's just a shame I'm not too sure which one judo is - is that the one all about throws where they can grab each other? Any help is much appreciated. Conta adds to those in the tournament who have signed with WWE and begun wrestling very recently, it's a risky move by WWE, hopefully it pays off.

Princesa Sugehit

Age: 36

Pro Debut: 1996

Billed From: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Associated Companies: CMLL

Notable Accomplishments: Current Mexican National Women's Champion (CMLL)

Undoubtedly the coolest looking wrestler in this tournament, Sugehit is the most experienced in the roster, with over 20 years to her career, primarily wrestling for CMLL in Mexico. As another veteran in the tournament, it will be interesting to see how they handle her, with the CWC's vets of Tajiri and Kendrick picking up wins in last summer's tournament.

Sage Beckett

Age: 32

Pro Debut:

Also Known As: Andrea

Billed From: Ruskin, Florida, USA

Associated Companies: NXT, SHINE, FIP, NWA

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

If you thought Cedric Alexander dropping 20lbs was impressive, wait til you get a load of Sage Beckett. Beckett retired from wrestling in 2012 and returned in 20114 having lost 130lbs in the process. Christ alive, that's a whole person! That's all I really have on her, bit of a mystery this one.

Kavita Devi

Age: 34

Pro Debut: 2016

Billed From: Jind, Haryana, India

Associated Companies: That one Great Khali runs

Notable Accomplishments: Gold Medal in Weightlifting at South Asian Games

Another high level powerlifter in the form of Kavita Devi. What is most notable about her however is that she is the first Indian woman signed by the WWE. With the push that Jinder Mahal has received in the bid of aiding WWE's progression in India, it will be interesting to see how they handle Devi in this, and beyond. Plus, she was trained by The Great Khali, so here's hoping we get a repeat of Battleground and helps her win. Typing that sentence made me sick in my own face.

Vanessa Borne

Age: 24

Pro Debut: 2015

Billed From: Los Angeles, California, USA

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

Vanessa Borne hear, with 2 years of wrestling experience being backed up from her time as a cheerleader and a dancer. Also, I like those boots, I hope she wrestles in them. That is literally all I have on her.

Zeda

Age: ???

Pro Debut: 2017

Billed From: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: MMA Record: 2-0 

Another of WWE's freshly signed competitors for in-house training from the ground up. However, having competed in mixed martial arts, Zeda knows how to fight. Unlike others with similar backgrounds in this tournament, her look doesn't seem to show that that'll be her selling point. But, I could be wrong, only a matter of time will tell what sort of wrestler Zeda is, and how well she will do in the Mae Young Classic.

Mercedes Martinez

Age: 36

Pro Debut: 2000

Billed From: Waterbury, Connecticut, USA

Associated Companies: SHIMMER, Shine, WSU

Notable Accomplishments: Former 2x and Current SHIMMER Champion, Current Shine Tag Team Champion (w/ Ivelisse), Current and Former 3x WSU Champion, Former WSU Tag Team Champion (w/ Angel Orsini)

From the sounds of it, Martinez is the most successful participant I don't know about, making her all the more interesting. Another very experienced member of the line-up, Martinez certainly looks the part like a mix of Ruby Riot and a heavy helping of Baron Corbin. I have no idea if that concoction is apt in regards to her wrestling style, and God I hope not because that sounds like it'd be terrible.

Xia Li

Age: ???

Pro Debut: 2017

Billed From: Chong Qing, China

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

One of WWE's recent signings from their China tryouts, Xia Li is another of this tournament's MMA fighters. At this rate they should have just done another Brawl For All...I'm sorry I take that back.

Miranda Salinas

Age: 23

Pro Debut: 2014

Billed From: Houston, Texas, USA

Associated Companies: Reality of Wrestling

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

Coming in under the tutelage of Booker T in ROW, WWE's notes describe her as having a fast paced, lucha libre influenced style. Flyers are always a good thing to have, let's hope she's a good one.

Ayesha Raymond

Age: 27

Pro Debut: 2009

Billed From: London, England

Associated Companies: IPW:UK, UPW, Wrestle-1, Stardom

Notable Accomplishments: Former Artist of Stardom Champion, Former IPW:UK Women's Champion, Former IPW:UK Tag Team Champion (w/ Paul Robinson, Scott Wainwright & Will Ospreay), Former Artist of Stardom Champion (w/ The Alpha Female & Kyoko Kimura)

EN-GUR-LUND! EN-GUR-LUND! More Brits for me to cheer now, as we have Ayesha Raymond who cagematch.net has listed as winning the IPW:UK tag titles with The Swords of Essex. Interesting. She also won Stardom's trios titles with none other than our favourite machine gun wielding badass, Jazzy Gabert. Looks like we've got another hoss on our hands!

Renee Michelle

Age: ???

Pro Debut: 2013

Billed From: Washington D.C., USA

Associated Companies: Shine, MCW, ECWA

Notable Accomplishments: Former 2x ECWA Women's Champion, Former 3x MCW Women's Champion

I don't know who Renee Michelle is at all. But, here gear and those things in her hair look cool. I'm dying here guys someone add something interesting.

Marti Belle

Age: 29

Pro Debut: 2008

Billed From: New York City, New York, USA

Associated Companies: Impact Wrestling, Shine, SHIMMER, AIW, WSU, WWN

Notable Accomplishments: Former Shine Tag Team Champion (w/ Jayme Jameson), Former WSU Spirit Champion, Former WSU Tag Team Champion (w/ Tina San Antonio)

Another Impact wrestler that has made the jump from TNA to WWE here, I've definitely heard the name Marti Belle, but that's all I can really tell ya. That and that she looks like Ramsey from the last two Fast and the Furious films.

Nicole Savoy

Age: 31

Pro Debut: 2011

Billed From: Pulaski County, Missouri, USA

Associated Companies: SHIMMER

Notable Accomplishments: Former Heart of SHIMMER Champion

According to my research on Savoy, she is called the 'Queen of Suplexes', and by God I hope she lives up to that moniker. I love it when wrestlers become a connoisseur of particular moves, like Roderick Strong and backbreakers and The Young Bucks with suplexes, it makes them all extra special and when you're focusing on suplexes, you're joining the likes of Angle and Taz, so here's hoping she tosses some fuckers around. 

Reina Gonzalez

Age: ???

Pro Debut: 2014

Billed From: Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA

Associated Companies: NXT

Notable Accomplishments: N/A

Rounding off the guide is another second generation wrestler, Reina Gonzalez, daughter of Ricky 'Desperado' Gonzalez. Her WWE bio paints her as another big girl in the tournament, standing at 6 feet tall (you can teach that, though) and is a former college basketball player. Let's hope her finisher is squishing her opponents into a ball and dunking them.

Matches

Kairi Sane (Kairi Hojo) vs Konami - Stardom (27 mins)

Piper Nevan (Viper) vs Kay Lee Ray - WCPW Fight Back (10 mins)

Bianca Belair vs Aliyah - Mae Young Qualifier Match (8 mins)

Jazzy Gabert (The Alpha Female) vs Toni Storm - EAW (15 mins)

Dakota Kai (Evie) vs Shazza McKenzie - Melbourne City Wrestling (10 mins)

Tessa Blanchard vs Abby Laith (Kimber Lee) - Five Borough Wrestling 'Night to Remember' (10 mins)

Sarah Logan ('Crazy' Mary Dobson) vs Veda Scott - Women of Honour 6/5/16 (12 mins)

Mercedes Martinez vs Abby Laith (Kimber Lee) - AAW Windy City Classic XII (12 mins)

Santana Garrett vs Kairi Sane (Kairi Hojo) - Stardom (24 mins)

Marti Belle vs Mia Yim - NWL KC (23 mins)

Serena Deeb vs Lacey - Ring of Honour, 6/22/07 (7 mins)

Shayna Baszler vs Christina Von Eerie - Q Pro Wrestling,10/8/16 (15 mins)

Rachael Evers (Rachael Ellering) vs Tessa Blanchard - WrestleCircus SXSW March 2017 (20 mins)

Rhea Ripley (Demi Bennett) vs Savannah Summers - RCW: Reanimated 2016 (11 mins)

Santana Garrett vs Toni Storm - The stage says Stardom as well as RCW so I don't know what to believe (10 mins)

Candice LeRae vs Kay Lee Ray vs Mia Yim vs Nixon Newell vs Session Moth Martina - Southside Wrestling (12 mins)

Mia Yim vs Sarah Logan ('Crazy' Mary Dobson) vs Leah Von Dutch - REINA 6/9/12 (8 mins)

Abby Laith (Princess KimberLee) vs Mickie James - Chikara (15 mins)

Princesa Sugehit vs Zeuxis - CMLL (17 mins)