10 - competitors in the front coming broadcast of Mae Young Classic were presented immediately after SummerSlam. The Bracketology was nice, but... I always have several buts, there could be more. But it was a really interesting selection.
This days I am pretending that my memories about MYC pre-tapes are erased! What? What 1st round? Who is on the Final?... Because I want to see 'How?' it all happens and how the finalists reach the spot where they are. So I am playing this game without any hesitations - I even enjoyed watching the brackets and the way they presented them.
I like it overall! It was nice first look, besides the hosts- Lita and Corey Graves 'picks' jokes! Of course I will pick everyone of these 32 competitors, because every single one of then has something in herself - that IT factor, that is needed!
10-BRACKETS BREAKERS ON DISPLAY
In the Bracketology were presented the following 10 women:
Mercedes Martinez
Kay Lee Ray
Marti Belle
Shayna Baszler
Jazzy Gabert
Lacey Evans
Kairi Sane
Dakota Kai
Serena Deeb
Toni Storm
Let's talk about them from our perspective and view!
She is current SHIMMER Champion, SHINE Tag Team Champion with Ivelisse Velez and as far as I know WSU Champion - i.e. she owns three really important key positions in the top 3 all-women's promotions. It's so great to see WWE showing real respect to this amazing competitor, with over 16-18 (dbuted in 2000) years experience. She is really someone you must not underestimate and one of the serious picks, for reaching the final!
Mercedes promise to destroy even her friends Shayna Baszler and Nicole Savoy, if they step on her way. She say 'Everything is just business, when you are in the ring!' and she is right. The Iconic wrestler will reach far in this tournament. I have that good feeling about her ;)! Who knows she may even met one of her friends - Baszler or Savoy, somewhere on the road to the top?!
I don't want to be mean, but it was hard for me to understand this Scottish Daredevil's accent, not that my English is fluent, but the Scottish accent is kind of hard to understand. But forget about the accent!!! She is really amazing and even just one look at her accomplishments is enough to make you feel that this girl is amazing (Don't Spoil! Don't spoil!). Wherever she reach in the tournament the fact is that she was chosen to be one of the 32 and we are looking forward to see more from this stunning Daredevil!
I first saw Marti Belle as Marti Bell in Impact Wrestling, as a part of the Dollhouse stable. I started to search about her and I really was impressed by this young lady's pro-wrestling bio. She is overconfident and sure in her success, which brings a lot of heat to her character. She also is a part of every major all-women promotion and her future is definitely bright. She is kind of unfamiliar for the NXT and WWE audience, but I sincerely hope that we will see more from her in the #1 Promotion! Until then we will watch her close in MYC!
I don't know what my inner problem is, with this powerful and skilled woman. I am waiting to see her fighting in the ring at MYC, to clear her image for myself. Shayna Baszler's transition from MMA to professional wrestling is not the first, neither the last. The MMA experience definetly will be the X-factor for this juggernaut in MYC and I am curious where it will lead her. Simultaneously, you can see her name in almost every pro-wrestling promotion's roster, which means that she is well respected and amazingly talented to be booked from SHIMMER to AIW.
(Don't spoil it! Don't spoil it!)
I ... LOVE... THIS... WOMAN! I love her from the bottom of my wannabe-booker's heart, and you know that I have a soft spot for powerhouses! But his is not the only reason!
She is amazing, so different as appearance, so German-charismatic! I want to see more of her and WWE, you'll make a huge mistake if you don't sign her! I can't wait to see her working with Abbey Laith in the first round. No matter where she will reach to, in MYC I desperately hope that this is just the beginning of her WWE career!
Lacey Evans presentation was really emotional and as we had some doubts about her involvement, we used to the fact that she is here and we also want to see how Evans will deal with her opponents in the tournament. She is a part of a really interesting group of recruits, like Vanessa Borne (Danielle Kamela - our secret professional interest), Bianca Belair (Bianca Blair- man, this woman is tough) and Nikki Cross (Nicola Glencross- Nikki Cross forever!), plus the guys from TM-61, who are just great, too. This group of recruits is really stunning and we hope to see Evans, Borne and Blair as official part of the NXT TV Roster, soon.
It's looks like Lacey is destined to be great in NXT!
Actually if Evans win, that will be her televised victory for her and that will help her to kick her career in NXT further!
Everyone is so excited about Kairi Sane - the forth Japanese Superstar signed by WWE. Having Asuka, cleaning the path for Japanese female competitors, you must be not familiar with the possibilities and the abilities of these women! They are ready to fight with injuries, just in the name of the adrenaline and the show! Real entertainment kamikazes!
So devoted, so loyal, so traditional and at the same time sooo amazingly bright, colorful, talented and kind of positive! This is what you can say about Kairi Sane and her joshi fellows! We are sure that this pure talent will capitalize of the legacy of the previous Japanese trailblazers and will accomplish a lot in WWE! We'll wait and we'll see, until then we can enjoy her high angled Diving Elbow Drop, which she performed as a kind of Japanese Superwoman!
How long has she been on the radar of WWE and how long had they been waiting for her to refine her skills and got older to sign her!
Dakota Kai or Evie (as she was known in the indies), is really one of the great investment in talent, these past two years. To see her, Sarah Logan, Abbey Laith, Sage Beckett and many other in WWE. Kai is someone we all will watch with interest. This young woman will definitely change the landscape in NXT, for sure! Dakota is one of our favorites in MYC and we are sure that she will not disappoint her!
The video package and the interview of Serena Deeb was so nostalgic. Actually she had a lot of accomplishments in OVW and she was a really promising then-Diva, but as she said some private issues ruined her career, maybe for good, because she became a real independent women's scene legend! I am so happy about her appearance in MYC and that WWE showed that they can be good into giving second chances, sometimes as well, as they are good of being quick in the quick firing and releases!
Toni Storm described herself as a rock star of the pro-wrestling and damn! She looks like one! The Australian wrestling scene brought to us amazing talents as Emma, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce and TM-61! Now we have Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm, ready to enter the grand stage with a lot of energy and talent! Toni Storm is really well established name, even out of WWE and it's nice to see her receiving this honor, to work at a huge scale, like this historical for the #1 Promotion's tournament! Toni Storm is definitely one of our favorite picks!
WHO WE WANTED TO SEE, TOO
The compilation of 10 was good and multinational, but we still wish that we were seeing ans several other names, too... Like:
Mia Yim is one of the most favorite pro-wrestlers, overall. We think that she is someone who has a real devotion to pro-wrestling. You can feel it! It streams from her from her entrance to the moves she delivers! I think that this tough young woman will be a relly good addition to WWE in the near future, because her unbreakable spirit and constant desire for work and earning experience is valuable!
Soft-spot! Soft-spot!
I enjoy watching Piper Niven. I watched her at the historical SHINE 35, in her only, I hope not last appearance for the promotion as Viper, teaming with Rhia O'Reily against Maria Maria and Lucious Latasha. I remember what simple but with really great impact Senton she hit and she won my heart! I am also happy to see her next to her IWC fellow Kay Lee Ray - honored and respected by WWE! I hope to see more from her in NXT and WWE, because she is real standards breaker, great talent and ... I... will... say...it super charming and charismatic, which is helpful, too!
I think that Candice Le Rae deserved a spot in the Bracketology analysis as well. But I think that they skipped her, just a little, because of her relationships with Johnny Wrestling/Gargano... I don't even know that they are married! For me Candice was amazing wrestler, long before I learn that several months ago, during a research about an article about the #1 Contender's Battle royal in NXT, where she participated. And that fact didn't change anything in my perceptions.
This woman who is not afraid to face men in the ring is a pure example how someone can build a name for herself, without relying on any relatives. She is strong enough to accomplish a lot on her own!
THE PANEL
Sorry, but I will analyze this!
I love to see Lita - she is one of my best for all times and I love to see her involved in working for WWE in pre-shows, panels, broadcast, training, etc. I don't mind to see her often (why not with Trish Stratus). She didn't talk a lot, but was good overall, not like Jerry 'The King' Lawler or JR, but she was good and I hope to hear more from her from MYC commentators table!
I watched really closely the appearance of Alundra Blayze, because I have some respect for her as 3-times WWF Women's Champion, great athlete and legacy-maker, buuut... I don't like her attitude! I don't like her hypocrisy 'Hellooo, Lita! I like/love your work", while several months ago she stated on WWE Network at "Legends with JBL", how Trish and Lita can't wrestle -this at the time when the women's divisions world wide are fighting for establishment and respect, saving every good piece of their legacy to build a stable foundation. I don't know how Lita stood by her presence. Overall, neither Trish, neither Lita had thrown their title in the dumpster!
Corey Graves. He is good as heel commentator, with his praise for the evil girls and his macho comments for the likes of Mandy Rose, for example. It's nice to see someone who was on the other side, who was a competitor and NXT Tag Team Champion, commenting events and have a work in WWE. He is not my all-time favorite announcer, but he is a good addition to every broadcast team, even when he pick all of the selected competitors (joking)!
The appearance of 'the Triple H' Paul Levesque, as a special guest was great hit, too. The man who created WWE NXT and the Performance Center is vital force for the reboot of the women's division and women's wrestlers fame and popularity again! I enjoy watch him caring about his talents, congratulate them and support them, not simply as some Products. noooo, he support them as a human-beings. I think that he is so proud with his talents success, like we are!
I don't like the way that Lita and he colleagues tried to make most of these women's careers, as something miserable. How, they were kind of totally unknown, but WWE gave them fame and opportunity. We got the idea, but we are not its fans, too much. Mercedes Martinez, Marti Belle, Mia Yim, Piper Niven, Santana Garrett, Tessa Blanchard etc. they were or are a iconic and well known talents, and I think that there are a lot of WWE Universe fans , who know who they all are. WWE can rename them - Peyton, Billie, Abbey, but their accomplishment and legacy can't be erased!
So, remember the date - August 28, 2017 (next Monday), on WWE Network, will be broadcasted the first 4 episodes of Mae Young Classic.
