WWE Mae Young Classic (2017)

Original Airdate: August 28, 2017 – September 12, 2017

From Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Lita

Aired August 28, taped July 13

First Round Match: Princesa Sugehit (Mexico) v Kay Lee Ray (Scotland): They measure each other a bit to start, and Sugehit lands a kick for two, then hooks a schoolgirl for two. Sunset cradle, but Ray counters with a gory special - only to get countered with a sunset bomb for two. Sugehit with a bodyslam and a series of three elbowdrops for two, but a slingshot somersault senton misses, and Ray drives a knee home for two. Kay Lee hammers her in the corner, and a sloppy reverse STO gets her two. She tries tying Sugehit up on the mat, but gets countered into a cradle for two, and Sugehit executes a headscissors, followed by a bodyscissors into a cradle for two. Roundhouse kick to the noggin' gets two, so Ray throws a savate kick, but a backslide fails, and Sugehit kicks at her again. Ray hangs in there with a gory bomb for two, but a flying somersault senton splash misses, and Sugehit capitalizes with a fujiwara armbar to advance at 6:00. Nothing special, but watchable. * ¾   

First Round Match: Vanessa Borne (United States) v Serena Deeb (United States): Hey, female referee! That's a nice touch. They fight tooth and nail over the initial lockup, with Borne eventually getting the upper hand with an armdrag. Deeb regroups by latching on with a waistlock, and a pair of armdrags end in Serena holding an armbar. Monkeyflip gets blocked, however, and Borne pounds her down, then unloads with stomps in the corner. Ross and Lita are an odd combination on commentary. Borne with a headbutt for two, and she grounds Serena in a chinlock. Deeb uses a side suplex to escape, and she tries to mount a comeback with a series of jabs, followed by a bodyslam. Neckbreaker gets one, and a gutbuster follows, but a charge misses - Deeb crashing into the corner. Borne capitalizes with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and a flurry of mounted punches are worth two. Samoan drop gets two, but a splash misses, and Deeb spears her at 6:05. Looked like they were having trouble getting on the same page here. ¾*

First Round Match: Zeda (China) v Shayna Baszler (United States): Rhonda Rousey is in the crowd for this one. Baszler refuses a handshake at the bell. Zeda tries to take her down, but that doesn't end well for her, and Baszler dominates on the mat. Zeda manages a cradle for two, but makes the mistake of trying to shoot at the leg, and gets dropped on her ass. Zeda tries to get some traction in the corner, and a monkeyflip is worth two. Suplex, but Baszler won't budge, so Zeda tries a guillotine choke instead, but Baszler powers out with a backbreaker into a chinlock/bodyscissors for the submission at 2:19. This was really weird and MMA-ish. DUD

First Round Match: Jazzy Gabert (Germany) v Abbey Laith (United States): Gabert looks like Brigitte Nielsen in Rocky IV, if she prepared for the role by eating cheeseburgers. Laith goes right at the bigger opponent, but gets smacked down, and tossed across the ring by her hair a couple of times. Abbey manages to duck a few shots long enough to hit a chincrusher, but an attempt at a takedown goes badly, and Jazzy shoulderblocks her for two. Gabert hooks a modified cravat, but Laith counters into a headscissors, so Jazzy counters back to a chinlock/bodyscissors combo. Jazzy pounds her in the corner, and a snapmare sets up a chinlock. Laith fights free, but a 2^nd rope flying bodypress is countered with a bodyslam for two. Powerbomb, but Laith blocks, and hooks a tarantula on the ropes to try and wear the big Gabert down. Laith with an enzuigiri and a series of kicks to put Gabert on her ass for two, and a dropkick sets up a flying somersault senton splash for two. Now Gabert is good and pissed, and she clobbers her with a clothesline out of the corner, but Laith manages to counter the powerbomb again - this time hooking a sunset flip for the pin at 7:09. Good David and Goliath style match. Or, whatever the female equivalent of that would be. Debby and Galina? * ½

First Round Match: Xia Li (China) v Mercedes Martinez (United States): Martinez gets cocky after dominating on the mat in the early going, and Li fires off some strikes, then hooks a crucifix cradle for two. She uses Martinez's size against her, but runs into a rotating spinebuster for two, and Mercedes finishes up with a surfboard/dragon sleeper combo at a brisk 3:07. I wasn't expecting the finish there. Not much to this one, basically a squash. ¼*

First Round Match: Rachel Evers (United States) v Marti Belle (Dominican Republic): Evers is Paul Ellering's real life daughter. And apparently someone mistakenly told her that she's representing Brazil tonight, based on her outfit. Marti plays mind games to start, but runs into a big boot for two, and Evers holds a standing front-facelock. Springboard twisting legdrop gets two, so Belle bails, and snaps Rachel's throat across the ropes when she tries to follow. Belle with a somersault neckbreaker for two, and a clothesline is worth two. Belle with a series of turnbuckle smashes, but Evers starts no-selling her, and she unloads some turnbuckles smashes of her own. Evers with a senton splash, and a sloppy spinebuster gets two. Fisherman's spinebuster is worth two, but Belle rams her into the ropes to try to buy time, and she capitalizes with a forward legsweep for two - only to run into an inside cradle at 6:05. Apparently the finish was changed mid-match, with Evers going over where she was supposed to job. Weak outing. ¼*

First Round Match: Rhea Ripley (Australia) v Miranda Salinas (United States): Salinas looks like the second coming of Snooki, God help us. They trade headlocks to start, and Ripley throws a dropkick to send Salinas to the outside. Salinas manages to drop-toehold her to evade a charge on the way back in, but a turnbuckle smash is blocked, and Rhea chops her in the corner. Salinas turns the tables, and a snapmare sets up a running kneesmash for two. Short-forearm smash hits, but Ripley shrugs it off, and delivers another dropkick. Big boot in the corner follows, and a cross corner dropkick is worth two. This Ripley is very easy on the eyes. She goes for the kill, so Salinas clips the leg, and cradles her for two. Rhea shrugs her off with a kick in short order, however, and a full-nelson slam finishes at 3:51. Yay, the hot one won! ¾*

First Round Match: Sarah Logan (United States) v Mia Yim (South Korea): Feeling out process to start, with Yim able to take control with an armdrag and a dropkick for two. Series of kicks rattle Logan, but she fires back with a headbutt, and a knee gets her two. Sarah with some mounted punches for two, and she goes after the arm, but Yim cradles her for two, so Logan throws a running dropkick for two. Yim with another kick combo, punctuated with a pele kick for two, and she ties Sarah up with a tarantula on the ropes. Mia with a missile dropkick for two, and a guillotine choke is applied, but Logan fights free. That leads to a slugfest, which pretty much goes to a stalemate, so Sarah hiptosses her, then drives a kneesmash for two. Clothesline, but Mia counters with a bridging side suplex for two, and a bridging German is worth two. More kicks, so Logan tries a schoolgirl for two, and a northern lights suplex is worth two. Running double-high knee drives Yim into the corner, and Logan brings her out with a bridging fisherman's buster suplex for two. Yim dodges the follow-up, however, and an inverted facebuster finishes at 7:18. They were given plenty of time, and built the best match of the round thus far. ** ¾

First Round Match: Ayesha Raymond (England) v Toni Storm (Australia): If nothing else, this tournament proves that Australians are hot. Feeling out process to start, with some nice reversal sequences. Storm with a series of hip attacks, but a charge in the corner misses, and Raymond plants her with a sidewalk slam. Bodyslam follows for two, and an avalanche leaves Toni on her knees. Raymond shows no mercy with a choke, but Storm fights her off with a headbutt, and delivers a lungblower. Northern lights suplex hits, but a trip to the top rope ends badly when Raymond slams her off. Raymond goes up herself, but a flying splash misses, and Storm capitalizes with an Oklahoma roll at 4:28. Storm looked a little unsure of herself at points, but this was fine. * ¼


First Round Match: Dakota Kai (New Zealand) v Kavita Devi (India): Devi wrenches her on the handshake, and she shoves the smaller Kai around to start. Devi grinds a knucklelock, but telegraphs a backdrop, and Kai hooks a sunset flip for two. Dropkick follows, but a second one misses, and Devi press-drops her. Pair of hiptosses follow, but a corner charge misses, and Kai capitalizes with a corner big boot to ground the big Devi, then up for a flying double-stomp to advance at 3:56. Devi looked very green, but she kept her stuff basic, and Kai did a good job of selling for her. ½*

First Round Match: Sage Beckett (United States) v Bianca Belair (United States): Things gets rough early on, as they get into a shovefest, and start matching power, measuring each other. Sage with a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for one, but a corner charge misses, and Belair throws a dropkick for two. Man, all of these matches are so repetitive thus far. Bodyslam, missed corner charge, dropkick - it's like they're all working with the same toolbox. Belair with a legdrop and a splash for two, and she tries grounding Sage with a double underhook, but gets countered into a full-nelson bomb for two. Avalanche and a dropkick get two, and a kneelift leads to a tree of woe spot. Sage goes up with a 2^nd rope pump-splash, but Bianca dodges, and a spear finishes at 5:34. *

First Round Match: Santana Garrett (United States) v Piper Niven (Scotland): The much larger Niven overpowers Garrett to start, but Santana uses her speed to take control, and a kick gets two. Garrett with a headscissors takedown, but Piper throws a bodypress at her for two, and she applies a standing cravat. Garrett escapes, so Niven puts her down with a backelbow for two, and works a cobra clutch. Short-clothesline is worth two, but a corner charge hits boot, and Garrett delivers a tornado DDT for two. Dropkick and an inverted facebuster lead to a handspring backelbow, but Niven blocks a bulldog, and splashes Garrett for two. Piper goes up, but Garrett brings her down with a handstand rana for two, and a superkick sets up a handspring moonsault - only for Niven to dodge. She capitalizes with an elbowdrop, and a scoop sitout piledriver finishes from there at 7:10. * ½

First Round Match: Renee Michelle (United States) v Candice LeRae (United States): With names like that, you'd think France or Canada were being represented here. LeRae is Johnny Gargano's real life wife, and he's in the audience to cheer her on. Feeling out process to start, and a nice reversal sequence is dominated by LeRae. She comes off the top with a missile dropkick for two, and LeRae grounds Michelle in an armbar. Renee comes back with a series of kicks, and she drops Candice with a neckbreaker for two. More kicks, but LeRae is ready with a facebuster, and a neckbreaker of her own gets two. Dropkick to the leg puts Michelle down, but Renee fights her off from the defensive position, and kicks her down for two. Springboard moonsault, but LeRae moves out of the way, and gets two out of it. They fight up to the middle rope, and LeRae is able to get the better of that - bringing Michelle down to earth with a swinging neckbreaker off the middle at 5:37. Had its moments. * ½

First Round Match: Taynara Conti (Brazil) v Lacey Evans (United States): Evans looks like she'd have been right at home in GLOW. They feel each other out a bit to start, with Evans dominating. A slingshot kick gets two, and she holds Conti in a standing armbar, then kicks her down again for two. Back to the arm, but Conti escapes, and slams her for two. Monkeyflip follows for two, and a swinging scrapbuster is worth two, so Lacey swipes at her face, and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Bronco buster, and a back-to-belly piledriver finishes at 4:42. The work was kind of a mess, but they tried hard. Conti seemed more interesting, but I get why Evans advanced. ½*

First Round Match: Nicole Savoy (United States) v Reina Gonzalez (United States): Ross and Lita still leave a lot to be desired as a commentary team, but they're finding themselves a bit more as we progress. The bigger Gonzalez knocks her around a bit to start, but Savoy fights back with a rana. She throws a kick, so Gonzalez grabs a handful of hair to matslam her, then adds a clothesline. Sidewalk slam gets two, and an inverted crab looks to finish, but Savoy escapes. She tries to mount a comeback, but runs into a shoulderblock while charging, and Gonzalez scoops her up in a fireman's carry, but Nicole counters whatever she's going for with a cross-armbreaker for the submission at 4:27. I thought for sure Gonzalez would be going over, given how much time they spent building up her family history on commentary. This one was really rough and amateurish. DUD

First Round Match: Kairi Sane (Japan) v Tessa Blanchard (United States): Blanchard is Tully's daughter, and Magnum TA's stepdaughter. With that kind of pedigree, I'm surprised they didn't name her Husky Harriet, or something. The feel each other out to start, and Sane hooks a well executed schoolgirl for two during a criss cross, then follows up with a somersault neckbreaker. Blanchard decks her, and hits her own neckbreaker for two, followed by a double-kneeling facebuster for two. Abdominal stretch is applied, but Sane hiptosses her way out, so Tessa starts slugging her again. Considering she's only been wrestling for three years, Blanchard is surprisingly composed, and smooth. Sane fires off a spear, then unloads on Blanchard with chops, followed by a cross corner clothesline, and a flying punch for two. Octopus hold is applied, but Tessa gets the ropes, and she dodges a charge. Blanchard with a running dropkick and a pair of short-clotheslines, ahead of a saito suplex for two, but she gets crotched while going to the top. Sane tries superplexing her down, but Blanchard knocks her back down, and dives with a flying senton splash for two. Sunset flip gets two, but Sane reverses for two, so Tessa tries a crucifix cradle for two. Kick, but Sane grabs the leg in a sweep, and she whiplashes Blanchard to set up a well executed flying elbowdrop for the pin at 8:22. Really good stuff, especially compared with the rest of the largely amateurish first round. I hope we see more of Tessa in the future, she has tons of potential. And, hey, if you're gonna do a Four Horsewomen, who better to stand at Flair's daughter's side than Tully's? And that's the end of the first round, which was mostly uneventful, with quick introductory matches. Hopefully the next round will let us sink our teeth in a little more. ***

Aired September 4, taped July 14

Second Round Match: Abbey Laith (United States) v Rachel Evers (United States): They trade takedowns to start, until Laith blitzes her with a flurry of kicks for two, and armdrags her out of the ring. Abbey dives after her with a tope, then quickly rolls Rachel back in to get a two count out of it. Evers fires back with a cutter and a senton splash for two, and she pounds Laith with chops in the corner. STO sets up a springboard twisting legdrop for two, and a bicycle kick follows. Again, but Laith gets the same idea, and both ladies are left looking up at the lights. That leads to a slugfest, controlled by Laith, and she goes to the top to finish, but Rachel powerslams her off for two! Big boot, but Laith counters it with a powerbomb into a cradle to advance at 4:48. Short but solid outing here. ** ¼

Second Round Match: Serena Deeb (United States) v Piper Niven (Scotland): Niven overpowers the smaller Deeb in the early going, but Serena dodges her in the corner. She wrenches on a headlock, but can't take the big Niven to the mat in the hold, and an attempt to bodyslam her ends badly when Piper topples her for two. You can't even take her down in a headlock, so your gut tells you to try a slam instead? These kids today. Deeb manages a schoolgirl for two, and she goes back to the standing side-headlock, but Niven side suplexes her way out, and splashes Deeb for two. Senton splash follows, but Deeb dodges, and she goes back to the headlock. This time, she runs the ropes to leverage a takedown in the hold, but Piper powers to a vertical base. She tries the side suplex again, but this time Deeb back flips onto her feet to block, and she dives off the middle rope with a flying monkeyflip. She actually manages a slam to set up a neckbreaker, but it only gets two. Samoan drop, but her luck with lifting Piper ends there, and Niven hits a somersault bodyblock in the corner for two. Niven goes for the finisher, but Deeb manages a snapmare for two to block. Spear, but Piper dodges, and she cross corner whips Deeb to set up a 2^nd rope pump-splash for two! Frustrated, Niven goes all the way up to finish her off, but the flying splash misses! That allows Deeb to try a spear again, but Piper is able to counter with a scoop sitout piledriver at 7:11. Good match, with lots of believable near falls, and hard work all around. *** ¼

Second Round Match: Princesa Sugehit (Mexico) v Mercedes Martinez (United States): Sugehit controls on the mat to start, but runs into a short-clothesline while working a wristlock. Mercedes tries another clothesline, but ends up taking a cradle into the turnbuckles, and Sugehit follows up with a somersault bodyblock in the corner for two. She throws kicks, but runs into an inverted tilt-a-whirl slam for two, and Mercedes delivers a two-alarm rolling vertical suplex into a rope-hung DDT for two. Boot in the corner misses, however, and Sugehit plants her with a double-kneeling facebuster, then drops her with a gourdbuster off the top! Tornado DDT gets two, so she tries a fujiwara armbar, but Mercedes escapes, and lands a big boot to set up a muscle buster at 5:14. Definitely some good spots, but too rushed to properly develop as the kind of match they were going for. ** ¼

Second Round Match: Kairi Sane (Japan) v Bianca Belair (United States): Belair tries to corner her, but Sane is too quick. Trying to grab Belair in a waistlock doesn't go well, however, and Sane gets dominated on the mat, then knocked around with shoulderblocks. Sane makes her run around with a criss cross to set up a dropkick for one, and she starts throwing forearm shots to rattle Bianca. Rollup is blocked, so Sane tries speeding things up again, but Belair punches her in the gut to stop that effort, then whips her with her super long ponytail. Hiptoss and a clothesline get two, so Sane tries a guillotine choke, but Belair escapes before she can get it fully applied. Belair with a hanging vertical suplex (complete with squats while holding Sane in the air!) for two, and a camel clutch allows Belair to show off her strength some more by bashing Sane's face into the mat while applying it. That's awesome! Sane counters into a cradle for two, but gets trapped in a full nelson, and Belair tiger drops her for two. Frogsplash, but Sane lifts her knees to block, and she starts throwing chops in the corner. 2^nd rope flying forearm gets two, so Sane tries a straightjacket, but Belair snapmares free, and hits a front-powerslam for two. That leads to a slugfest, and it literally takes Sane three blows to match every one Belair throws. Belair slams her with a spinebuster to set up a flying 450 splash, but it only gets two. Frustrated, Belair tries a desperate charge, but hits the corner, and Sane capitalizes with a cross corner forearm. Spinning backfist sets up the flying elbowdrop, and we're out at 10:02. Lots of action and big moves here - good work from both women, with Belair keeping up with the amazing Sane. *** ¼

Second Round Match: Lacey Evans (United States) v Toni Storm (Australia): Feeling out process to start, and Storm starts throwing hip attacks, but gets countered with a schoolgirl for two. Evans sweeps her down and hits a slingshot elbowdrop for two, then drives a pair of knees to the arm for two. Lacey works her over in rather dull fashion, but Storm fights her off in the corner, and hits a lungblower to setup a hip attack in the corner. Toni with a northern lights suplex, but Evans blocks a whiplash, so Storm uses a sunset cradle for two instead. Lacey tries a neckbreaker, but Storm blocks the follow-up by lifting her knees, and Strong Zero finishes at 5:07. Two of the most attractive competitors, but the weakest match of the round. *

Second Round Match: Mia Yim (South Korea) v Shayna Baszler (United States): They trade strikes to start, as they measure each other. Baszler takes her down with a series of kicks, but gets schoolgirled for two, and Yim dumps her to the outside with a headscissors. Mia dives after her with a tope, then brings Baszler right back in to get a two count out of the deal. Yim with a flurry of kicks, but she gets taken down in a modified anklelock, and Baszler delivers a cool two-alarm rolling gutwrench suplex for two. Unique! Yim tries holding her off with a tarantula to set up a somersault bodyblock in the corner for two, but Baszler escapes the cradle with an anklelock. Mia is immediately in the ropes, and she tries keeping control with a series of strikes to set up a pele kick for two. Another bodyblock in the corner, but Baszler counters with a knee for two, so Yim tries a bridging German suplex for two. Again, but this time Baszler counters to an anklelock. Mia escapes with a series of kicks, and a sitout powerbomb gets her two. She goes up for a flying 450 splash, but Baszler lifts her knees to block, and the sleeper/bodyscissors combo finishes at 5:39. Afterwards, Baszler (and her MMA pals) tease a confrontation with Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky at ringside - which I hope ends up going somewhere. **

Second Round Match: Dakota Kai (New Zealand) v Rhea Ripley (Australia): Ripley dominates the early going by using her size to her advantage, but Kai is quick, and peppers her with armdrags, followed by a dropkick. Snapmare sets up a kick to the back of the head, followed by a shining wizard for two. Backdrop sends Ripley over the top, but she lands on her feet, so Dakota tries riding on her shoulders, but ends up taking an absolutely brutal electric facebuster into the apron. Holy shit, that was like a Mick Foley level bump. It only gets two. Rhea works a cravat, but Kai starts to throw kicks, so Ripley snapmares her over, and hits a seated dropkick for two. Ripley versus Charlotte would be an interesting match. Especially for me, since I have a thing for tall, athletic blondes. Kai tries a bridging cradle for two, but gets pop-up flapjacked in short order for two. Full-nelson slam looks to finish, but Dakota throws a kick to escape, then adds a pair of dropkicks to set up a shining wizard against the turnbuckles for two. Rhea fires back with a savate kick and a bridging northern lights suplex for two, but she's rattled, and the follow-up is delayed. She gets Kai to the top rope for a superplex, but Dakota knocks her down into a tree woe, then comes flying after her with a double-stomp to advance at 7:04. These two worked well together. ** ¾

Second Round Match: Nicole Savoy (United States) v Candice LeRae (United States): Savoy dominates on the mat, but misses a corner charge, and LeRae dives with a 2^nd rope flying hangman's clothesline for two. Chincrusher follows, but Savoy fights her off with a nicely executed saito suplex for two, followed by a side suplex. Surfboard into a cradle gets two, but LeRae reverses the hold, then hooks her own cradle for two. Nicole responds with a bodyscissors, but LeRae elbows free, and a double-kneeling facebuster connects. She goes up, but Savoy pulls the proverbial rug out from underneath her, and LeRae smacks her head on the middle turnbuckle for two. Nicole with a two-alarm rolling vertical suplex into an armbreaker, but LeRae escapes. She tries a springboard hip attack, but gets caught in a bridging German suplex for two. Savoy tries a tiger suplex, but LeRae blocks, and hooks on an octopus hold. Savoy powers out, and decides to try a superplex, but LeRae counters with a swinging neckbreaker off the middle rope to advance at 5:54. These big rings seemed to throw off their timing, which has been happening quite a bit so far with this tournament. They need a WCW-sized ring for the ladies. And that's that for the second round, which was certainly a lot better than the first. ** ¾

Quarterfinal Match: Abbey Laith (United States) v Mercedes Martinez (United States): Feeling out process to start, staying grounded, until Martinez starts lashing her with chops in the corner. Awkward sequence ends in Abbey sitting a chincrusher, and a spinkick follows for two. Snapmare, but Martinez blocks, and she throws a kick for two. Mercedes hammers Laith in the corner, but Abbey fires back with chops, and a big boot gets her two. Monkeyflip, but Martinez blocks, and hits a big boot in the corner. That sends Laith onto the apron, so Mercedes follows for a suplex, but gets shoved to the floor to block. Laith dives after her with a flying bodypress, and they tease a double countout before beating it in - where Abbey hooks the leg for two. Bridging German suplex gets two, but Martinez blocks a cradle, and delivers a fisherman's buster at 8:58. Man, they kinda shit the bed with that performance, delivering an awkward, clumsy looking match. ¾*

Quarterfinal Match: Candice LeRae (United States) v Shayna Baszler (United States): Baszler stuns her with a high knee right off the bat, and she toys with Candice as LeRae tries to regroup. Baszler misses a charge and takes a spill to the outside, however, and Candice dives after her with a tope tornado DDT on the ramp! Damn! Back in, that gets her two, so LeRae tries an octopus hold. Baszler looks to power out, but Candice is ready for it, and shifts down into an arm-trap clutch! She keeps Baszler away from the ropes, so Shayna is forced to gut it out, and power into a side suplex to escape. LeRae keeps coming, but a trip to the middle rope for a swinging neckbreaker ends badly when Baszler counters to a sleeper/bodyscissors on the way down at 3:12. Well, that was quick. * ½

Quarterfinal Match: Piper Niven (Scotland) v Toni Storm (Australia): Storm actually manages to overpower Niven through the initial lockup, much to the shock of the larger Piper. It's all in the ass. Niven takes her down in a double-knucklelock for a few two counts, but Toni monkeyflips free for two, and they go to a stalemate. Reversal sequence ends in Niven splashing her for two, and an avalanche hits. Second one misses, however, so Toni tries a rollup, but gets blocked. Niven with a bodypress for two, and she grounds Storm in a cravat, followed by a seated bodypress for two. Senton splash gets two, and poor Toni is on the verge of tears. Piper tries a suplex-slam, but Storm counters with a lungblower. Niven tries to keep control with a somersault bodyblock in the corner, but she misses, and Toni charges with a hip attack. German suplex, but Niven blocks, and hits the scoop sitout piledriver - only for two! Somersault bodyblock in the corner sets up the 2^nd rope pump-splash, but Storm release German suplexes her off the middle rope, and then hustles to the top for a flying legdrop at 7:36. Solid action throughout here. ** ½

Quarterfinal Match: Kairi Sane (Japan) v Dakota Kai (New Zealand): Sane dominates on the mat in the early going, so Kai throws a cheap shot, but that just earns her a somersault neckbreaker! Sane whips her into the corner for some chops, but Kai slams her off the middle rope for two when Kairi tries to climb. Dakota with a running boot in the corner for two, but another charge is countered with a spear, and Sane hits a running dropkick to the back to set up a springboard double-stomp for two. Her own charge misses, and Kai blasts her with a corner big boot for two, so Sane fires off a spinning backfist. Sane tries a superplex, so Kai tries to counter with the tree of woe/flying double-stomp, but Kairi dodges. She comes off the top with a flying forearm for two, and a seated forearm is worth two. Whiplash, but Dakota counters with a sunset cradle for two, and she throws a roundhouse kick. Running boot in the corner, but Sane dodges, and whiplashes her to set up the flying elbowdrop at 7:41. This round was largely a write off, as I guess everyone is saving strength for the semis. * ¾

Semifinal Match: Mercedes Martinez (United States) v Shayna Baszler (United States): Mercedes tries dodge some strikes by shooting at the leg, but that doesn't work out for her. Shocking. She reroutes by unloading on Baszler with chops in the corner, and that gets some traction, so Shayna slows things down by threatening strikes again. Mercedes shows no fear, and chops her against the ropes, then snapmares Baszler down for a chinlock. And when Shayna tries to wrestle free, Martinez starts driving elbows into her face to stifle her! Go Mercedes! Baszler escapes, and starts landing those strikes this time, and that takes the pep out of Martinez's step. Baszler with a two-alarm rolling gutwrench suplex for two, and a simple stomp gets two. She tries for the submission with a kneebar, and Mercedes kicks her way free, so Baszler tries a roundhouse kick - Martinez ducking, and sweeping Baszler down into an STF. Shayna elbows her way out, leading to a slugfest on their knees, and Martinez gets the better of it. She fires off a fisherman's buster suplex, but it takes her a while to make the cover, and she only gets two. She starts going wild with suplexes, throwing a pair of saito's and a German, but a vertical gets countered with a falcon arrow into a sleeper at 8:11. Not great, but really physical. ** ½   

Semifinal Match: Kairi Sane (Japan) v Toni Storm (Australia): Apparently, this was originally slated as the final, before they decided to push Shayna to the spot instead. Feeling out process to start, as we get an insert of Shayna watching from backstage. Sane comes off the top, but Storm dodges, and they criss cross - ending in Kairi dropkicking her down. She goes for the a follow-up, but Toni slams her arm to the mat for two, then stays on it, working the part. Series of uppercuts get two, so Sane tries a charge, but ends up spilling to the outside. Storm tries to go after her, but gets yanked off of the apron, and Kairi leaps with a crazy flying bodypress that ends in her connecting, but smacking her face into the ramp in the process. That was nasty, and she has an immediate bruise on her cheek from it. I've said for a while that they keep the ramp at the Full Sail set a bit too close to the ring - this was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm honestly surprised it didn't happen during the Cruiserweight Classic at some point, with all the dives. Sane shakes it off, and rolls Storm in to get a two count out of the deal, then traps her in a half-crab. Toni makes the ropes, so Sane tries to shine her wizard, but Storm blocks. She tosses Kairi with a release German suplex to set up a running hip attack in the corner, but a second one is countered with a spear! That leads to a slugfest, with Toni getting the better of it, but getting clotheslined down while looking for a follow-up. Kairi goes up for the flying elbow, but Toni stops her with a muscle buster into a bridge for two. Whiplash, but Sane blocks with a spinning backfist, so Toni grabs the arm and whips her down into a bridging fujiwara armbar! That was nice! Kairi counters to a cradle for two, but gets knocked down with a shoulderblock, and Storm goes up for the flying legdrop. Looked like a miscommunication there - Sane ended up rolling toward Storm instead of away, resulting in Toni landing the move where I believe she was supposed to miss it. Not sure if it was the language barrier coming into play there, but it definitely looked like a miscue. They cover it up nicely, though. Sane nails her with a spinning backfist as they both recover, and she tries a crab, but Toni won't quit. Sane decides to try for the elbow again, and this time she lands it to put things away at 12:24. The finish seemed kind of anticlimactic, but a good match, even with the botches. ** ¾

Aired September 12

WWE Mae Young Classic Tournament Final Match: Shayna Baszler (United States) v Kairi Sane (Japan): I feel like they should have done the finals at Full Sail, like the rest of the tournament, because the crowd would have been invested, and likely molten. They size each other up a bit to start, before Baszler takes her down for some abuse on the mat, but Sane uses Shayna's size against her - getting a series of cradles for some two counts. Kairi again uses Baszler's size against her through a headscissors takedown, but Shayna smacks her with a roundhouse kick to send Sane to the outside. Baszler runs down the apron with a kick before bringing Sane back in to get a two count, and she starts going after the arm. She tries the gutwrench suplex, but Sane counters with a schoolgirl for two, so Baszler stomps her down, then rips at the arm again. Suplex, but Kairi blocks. She tries a spear, but Baszler catches her in the two-alarm rolling gutwrench suplex for two, then ties her up on the mat while wrenching at the arm. Like a dog with a bone, that one. Baszler with a high knee, but Sane shoots back with a spear for two, then blasts Baszler with a seated forearm smash. Double-stomp gets two, and Kairi works a bodyscissors, but can't put her away. Spear in the corner sets up a cross corner forearm smash, but Shayna dodges. Suplex, but Sane blocks, and heads up - only to have a dive countered into the sleeper! Kairi fights free - and it actually MEANS SOMETHING since they've spent the entire tournament building up finishers, instead of killing them. Sane snaps off a spinning backfist, and she goes back up for the elbow, but Baszler is too quick - crotching Kairi up there. She aims to bring her down with a superplex, but Sane knocks her back into a tree of woe, then dives with a flying double-stomp - Baszler needing the ropes to save her from the pin! That's enough to allow Kairi the cross corner forearm, and this time she sticks the flying elbowdrop as well for the win at 11:54. There were better matches in this tournament, but this made for a good, emotionally resonant final, with the right girl going over. ***

BUExperience: Though not quite at the level of last years Cruiserweight Classic, this is still one heck of a tournament, with lots of interesting characters introduced, strong booking, and clean finishes up and down. I came into this not knowing who anyone was, and by the end, I was invested and rooting for different girls. Definitely worth a watch on the Network, though I’d say you can pretty safely skip the first round without missing anything essential.