The second round of Mae Young Classic, with its sweet sixteen, began wit a lot of intensity and three main event winners from the first round - Piper Niven, Kairi Sane and Abbey Laith. The 7th Episode continued the legacy of its predecessors and was a really nice pack of matches, presenting unique battles.
Let's dive in:
EPISODE 07. ROUND 2.
MATCH #01
RACHEL EVERS VS. ABBEY LAITH
As I said before - it's hard when you have two favorite contestants fighting for one spot! That was the situation for the audience of Full Sail University. They were divided between Abbey and Rachel. I don't have this problem - I was cheering for Abbey Laith, becasue for me Rachel Evers has the future in front of her, while Abbey must to grab her WWE opportunity and to use it at max.
The match was really dynamic and a great start of the Round 2. Rachel Evers was amazing with her demonstration of power and dominance. Stunning powerslam from the top rope, suplexes and hard hits - Paul Ellering's daughter really didn't allow her opponent to breath.
At the end Laith experience prove to be an advantage when she lock Evers leg, quickly went for powerbomb and ruthless Alligator Clutch pin! That was a really good kick-start for the evening and another uncompromising victory for Abbey Laith.
WINNER: ABBEY LAITH (US), via pinfall
EPISODE 07. ROUND 2.
MATCH 02
PIPER NIVEN VS. SERENA DEEB
I expected to see Piper later in this round, but ... what can I said? For me Christmas came earlier! These two women really tear down the house.
The Scotland powerhouse will never stop to amaze me about the way she sell moves, with a such a professionalism. For a big girls like her it looks really fabulous to roll over head and to play injured by a smaller opponent's moves. Oh, and I never love crossbody that much as when I love the move when Piper execute it!
Serena Deeb looked great. At the beginning, she tried several moves that didn't work until later in the match she performed them with some modifications - like headlock takedown and mat slam. I didn't know that simple move like the hedlaock could look so aggressive, but Serena made it looked like that! She really put her best.
At the peak of the match, when the crow were really seriously into Niven, Deeb who escaped diving crossbody, desperately tried to hit Spear, but Piper just grab her hand and set her for the devastating Michinoku driver and 1-2-3 count.
Total blockbuster!
WINNER: PIPER NIVEN (SCOTLAND), via pinfall
EPISODE 7. ROUND 2.
MATCH 03
MERCEDES MARTINEZ VS. PRINCESA SUGEHIT
If some of you think that Princesa Sugehit's magic expired in the first round, you are deceiving yourself!
The 21-years-in-ring veteran made her 16-years-experienced opponent Mercedes Martinez to work hard for her money. The Mexican megastar was all over the ring and did a lot of her stunning moves, like that amazing headscissors transitioned into armlock. She prove that she is not a Lucha Libre legend for nothing!
Well, Mercedes Martinez prove to be a serious threat for everybody. She really wants to win that tournament At the end her trademark Fisherman's buster prove to be the difference maker and the tool of victory for the US pro-wrestling veteran.
Now you are Legend, Mercedes! Or you and Sugehit, were always Legends? Of course they were!
WINNER: MERCEDES MARTINEZ (US), via pinfall
EPISODE 7. ROUND 2.
MATCH #04
KAIRI SAINE VS. BIANCA BELAIR
I think that Bianca Belair participate in the match of her (young) career and she must be grateful for this fact.
Kairi's erlier appearance was another surprise, but maybe they had other showdowns, for the next three episodes, that are stunning enough to push Sane vs. Belair , erlier in the round. No matter what the match was really dramatic. It told us a story: A story of two young women, who represented the East and The West and the desire to follow your dreams.
Kairi Sane was great as always. That Japanese wrestling scene is really a home of ultimate warriors, ready to do everything in the ring. It was obvious that Sane was kind of overprotective about her young and limited experienced opponent. There was some little slow-downs by her in a vital moments. But overall she was in her best shape.
Wow! Bianca Belair! Wow! Where did you hide this young woman, for so long Triple H? We saw her participate in a #1 Contender's battle royal and in a MYC Qualifying match against Aliyah, but why they hide her for so long? She is really quickly improving and really athletic. At some points of the match she was so destructively dominant and that long braid... OMG! How she use it as a whip on the poor Kairi! Really vicious way to use your hair!
The end! Hm! I don't know how to express my confusion... why Kairi Sane or more important, why Bianca Belair took the move this way? She lied down in a totally not right position for me, so Sane was able not to land across her chest and hit a Diving Elbow. Kairi landed with her full body on Belair's upper-body and I think the impact was really great! Maybe that was the plan!
At the end we had that amazing Japanese sportsmanship with all of the handshake and the hugs. Really emotional, but kind of different, looking at Bianca tension over her loss.
The match was amazing and really exciting for everyone. What a Main Event!
WINNER: KAIRI SANE (JAPAN), via pinfall
OVERALL:
The episode was perfect, with a dosage of sadness, when we saw some of the competitors, leaving the tournament! As in the previous episodes! For some of them this is not the end of their WWE career, for others we must wait until the opportunity returns to them, but the door is ajar for all of them.
All the four matches were really amazing and the typical high quality WWE production, related to their "Women's Revolution" theme.
TOP 5 PICKS
#05. MERCEDES MARTINEZ
Mercedes Martinez is really revived by this high level competition. Her statement that she will become Legend by beating Legend like Sugehit, was ... well she is a Legend, maybe outside of WWE, but she is definitely one of the most respected female wrestlers in the independent circuit!
#04. SEREANA DEEB
Serena Deeb put a good fight in this tournament. It was nice to see her back, where she started, in a sort of redemption. Her final match was her masterpiece in MYC and it was a really nice way to leave the whole thing - working with one of the best in it and pushing herself to her limits. We will miss her talent and moves.
#03. BIANCA BELAIR
We are sure that we ain't see the last of Belair vs. Sane!
This match was really great beginning of something, that obviously will be a great NXT and WWE career. Belair is a total NXT Women's championship material and maybe she and Sane will form their own rivalry over the belt in the future. Her vicious character already earned her some rivals in the future. We can't wait to see more from this amazing talent.
#02. KAIRI SANE
Sane put a good effort and was really competitive in her match. She survived every attack of her opponent with the Japanese toughness. Her young body was put on any kind of torture, but her spirit was unbreakable.
We hope that she will not reach the plateau of her talent. I hope to see more moves from her. But overall she was one of the top contestants in this episode and we are really interested where her road will lead her in MYC and NXT. It'll totally be a path of greatness!
#01. PIPER NIVEN
