Mae Young Classic (2017)

The 2017 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, WWE. It was constituted by a 32-competitor tournament for women from WWE's NXT brand division and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The majority of the tournament took place at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and was taped from July 13–14, 2017; these matches aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live on the WWE Network on September 12 and took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The event was named in honor of Mae Young. The winner of the inaugural tournament was Kairi Sane.

Mae Young Classic
Official logo
Promotion	WWE
Date	July 13–14, 2017 (aired August 28 and September 4) September 12, 2017 (final)
City	Winter Park, Florida Paradise, Nevada (final)
Venue	Full Sail University Thomas & Mack Center (final)
WWE event chronology
← Previous SummerSlam Next → No Mercy
Mae Young Classic chronology
← Previous First Next → 2018

The 2017 Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee, Jessika Carr. A second edition of the tournament was held in the summer and fall of 2018.

Background

Mae Young – WWE Hall of Famer and the tournament's namesake

At a press conference during the weekend of WrestleMania 33, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced that a women's tournament would be taking place in the summer of 2017, with a total of 32 wrestlers competing. It was also announced that the tournament would be among wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and wrestlers from the independent circuit.^[1] The event was named in honor of the late WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young, who is considered a pioneer of women's wrestling. The first four wrestlers announced to be competing were Sarah Logan, Lacey Evans, Princesa Sugehit, and Toni Storm,^[2] with the rest revealed in the weeks leading up to the event.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} On June 26, Hall of Famers Lita and Jim Ross were announced as the commentators for the tournament.^[8]

On July 13, WWE held the Mae Young Classic: Parade of Champions, a pre-tournament event streamed live on YouTube and Facebook and revealed the remaining tournament participants.^[9] The Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee, Jessika Carr.^[10] Round 1 up through the semifinals of the tournament were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on July 13 and 14 and aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live on September 12 from the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, and was also streamed on the WWE Network.^[11]

Qualifying matches

The tournament consisted of various matches that resulted from scripted storylines and had predetermined results.^[12][13]

NXT tapings – June 23 (Full Sail University – Winter Park, Florida)^[14]

No.	Results	Stipulations
1	Bianca Belair defeated Aliyah	Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match
2	Vanessa Borne defeated Jayme Hachey	Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match

Participants

Wrestler	Country representing	Ref
Abbey Laith	United States	[15]
Ayesha Raymond	England	[16]
Bianca Belair	United States	[17]
Candice LeRae	United States	[18]
Dakota Kai	New Zealand	[19]
Jazzy Gabert	Germany	[20]
Kairi Sane	Japan	[21]
Kavita Devi	India	[22]
Kay Lee Ray	Scotland	[23]
Lacey Evans	United States	[24]
Marti Belle	Dominican Republic	[25]
Mercedes Martinez	United States	[26]
Mia Yim	South Korea	[27]
Miranda Salinas [Note 1]	United States	[28]
Nicole Savoy	United States	[29]
Piper Niven	Scotland	[30]
Princesa Sugehit	Mexico	[31]
Rachel Evers	United States	[32]
Reina González	United States	[33]
Renee Michelle	United States	[34]
Rhea Ripley	Australia	[35]
Sage Beckett	United States	[36]
Santana Garrett	United States	[37]
Sarah Logan	United States	[38]
Serena Deeb	United States	[39]
Shayna Baszler	United States	[40]
Taynara Conti	Brazil	[41]
Tessa Blanchard	United States	[42]
Toni Storm	Australia	[43]
Vanessa Borne	United States	[44]
Xia Li	China	[45]
Zeda	China	[46]

1. This competitor is a replacement for another participant who was taken out of the tournament.

Replaced

This participant was taken out of the tournament for a specific reason and therefore was replaced by another competitor.

Wrestler	Country representing	Progression in the tournament	Reason	Replacing wrestler	Ref
Nixon Newell	Wales	Replaced before the official start of the tournament	ACL injury	Miranda Salinas	[47]

Alternates

If any of the official participants had suffered an injury, they would have been replaced by one of the following wrestlers:

Wrestler	Country representing
Barbi Hayden	United States
Deonna Purrazzo	United States
Jessica James	United States
Lei'D Tapa	Tonga
Nicole Matthews	Canada

Broadcast team

Ring name	Real name	Notes
Alundra Blayze	Debrah Miceli	Backstage interviewer Hall of Famer
Dasha Fuentes	Dasha Kuret	Ring announcer
Jim Ross	James Ross	Lead commentator Hall of Famer
Lita	Amy Dumas	Color commentator Hall of Famer
Lilian Garcia	Lilian Garcia	Ring announcer (finals)

Referees

Ring name	Real name	Notes
Eddie Orengo	Eddie Orengo
Jessika Carr	Jessika Heiser
Danilo Anfibio	Danilo Anfibio
Darryl Sharma	Darryl Sharma
D.A. Brewer	Antoine Brewer

Results

Finale

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times[48]
1	Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler	Mae Young Classic tournament final match	12:07

Tournament bracket

The following time limits were in place:

• Round one: 15 minutes
• Round two: 20 minutes
• Quarterfinals: 25 minutes
• Semifinals: 30 minutes
• Final: No time limit

Round of 32 Taped July 13 Aired August 28

Round of 16 Taped July 14 Aired September 4

Quarterfinals Taped July 14 Aired September 4

Semifinals Taped July 14 Aired September 4

Final Live on September 12

– Episode 1

Jazzy Gabert

7:33[49]

– Episode 5

Abbey Laith

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Abbey Laith

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– Episode 2

Rachel Evers

4:49[50]

Rachel Evers

Pin

– Episode 7

Marti Belle

6:10[51]

Abbey Laith

8:58[52]

– Episode 1

Mercedes Martinez

Pin

Princesa Sugehit

Sub

– Episode 5

Kay Lee Ray

6:32[49]

Princesa Sugehit

5:14[50]

– Episode 2

Mercedes Martinez

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Xia Li

3:07[51]

– Episode 8

Mercedes Martinez

Sub

Mercedes Martinez

8:11[53]

– Episode 4

Shayna Baszler

Sub

Nicole Savoy

Sub

– Episode 6

Reina González

4:27[54]

Nicole Savoy

5:53[55]

– Episode 4

Candice LeRae

Pin

Renee Michelle

5:36[54]

– Episode 7

Candice LeRae

Pin

Candice LeRae

3:13[52]

– Episode 2

Shayna Baszler

Sub

Sarah Logan

7:17[51]

– Episode 6

Mia Yim

Pin

Mia Yim

5:39[55]

– Episode 1

Shayna Baszler

Sub

Zeda

2:42[49]

– Episode 9

Shayna Baszler

Sub

Shayna Baszler

12:07[56]

– Episode 4

Kairi Sane

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Kairi Sane

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– Episode 5

Tessa Blanchard

8:38[54]

Kairi Sane

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– Episode 3

Bianca Belair

10:00[50]

Sage Beckett

5:33[57]

– Episode 7

Bianca Belair

Pin

Kairi Sane

Pin

– Episode 3

Dakota Kai

7:42[52]

Dakota Kai

Pin

– Episode 6

Kavita Devi

3:58[57]

Dakota Kai

Pin

– Episode 2

Rhea Ripley

7:03[55]

Rhea Ripley

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– Episode 8

Miranda Salinas

3:51[51]

Kairi Sane

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– Episode 1

Toni Storm

12:23[53]

Vanessa Borne

6:22[49]

– Episode 5

Serena Deeb

Pin

Serena Deeb

7:10[50]

– Episode 3

Piper Niven

Pin

Santana Garrett

7:10[57]

– Episode 7

Piper Niven

Pin

Piper Niven

7:38[52]

– Episode 4

Toni Storm

Pin

Taynara Conti

4:41[54]

– Episode 6

Lacey Evans

Pin

Lacey Evans

5:07[55]

– Episode 3

Toni Storm

Pin

Ayesha Raymond

4:27[57]

Toni Storm

Pin

Aftermath

Performers on the tournament such as Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, winner Kairi Sane, Lacey Evans, Reina González, Rhea Ripley, Sarah Logan, Taynara Conti, Vanessa Borne, Xia Li already had signed contracts with the company. Nixon Newell, who missed the tournament due to injury, also already signed a contract with the company.^[58]

On October 3, WWE officially announced that finalist Shayna Baszler had signed a contract with the company and started training at the WWE Performance Center.^[59] On October 15, 2017, WWE announced that performer Kavita Devi had signed a contract, and will start training at their Performance Center in January 2018.^[60]

On January 16, 2018, WWE announced that Candice LeRae had been signed to a contract, performing on the NXT brand.^[61]

On February 8, 2018, WWE announced that Serena Deeb had been signed by WWE to become a coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

On March 8, 2018, WWE officially announced that Abbey Laith and Sage Beckett were released from their NXT contracts.

In April 2018, a second Mae Young Classic tournament was scheduled for later that year.^[62]

On May 31, 2018, WWE announced that Deonna Purrazzo had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their developmental territory NXT.

On June 2, 2018, Zeda was released from her NXT contract.

Rhea Ripley, Rachel Evers, Xia Li, Mercedes Martinez, Taynara Conti, Kavita Devi, Reina González, Toni Storm, alternate Deonna Purrazzo, and Nixon Newell (under the ring name Tegan Nox) all competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament.

On January 12, 2019, Toni Storm defeated Rhea Ripley to win the NXT UK Women's Championship.

On February 27, 2019, WWE announced that Kay Lee Ray and Jazzy Gabert had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their NXT UK.^[63]

On March 27, 2019 , WWE announced that Piper Niven had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their NXT UK.

On August 14, 2019, WWE announced that Santana Garrett had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their developmental territory NXT.^[64]

See also

• Cruiserweight Classic
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic