Mae Young Classic (2018)
2018 professional wrestling tournament
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The 2018 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, WWE. It was the second Mae Young Classic tournament produced and was constituted by a 32-competitor tournament exclusively for women from WWE's NXT brand division and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The tournament took place at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and was taped on August 8–9, 2018 and aired on the WWE Network from September 5 to October 4 (round 1, round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live as part of WWE's all-female pay-per-view Evolution, which was held on October 28 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. One of the producers of the tournament was Sarah Stock. The winner of this second tournament was Toni Storm.
- August 8–9, 2018
(aired September 5 – October 4) - October 28, 2018 (final)
Uniondale, New York (final)
| Mae Young Classic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Official logo | |||
| Date |
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| City | Winter Park, Florida Uniondale, New York (final) | ||
| Venue | Full Sail University Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (final) | ||
| Mae Young Classic chronology | |||
| |||
Background
In 2017, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE held a 32-woman tournament called the Mae Young Classic. It involved wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The event was named in honor of the late WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young, who is considered a pioneer of women's wrestling.[1] In April 2018, WWE announced a second Mae Young Classic tournament, following up on the 2017 tournament.[2]
On June 22, 2018, WWE confirmed the tournament would once again have 32 competitors from NXT and the independent circuit, with the event being held at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on August 8–9.[3] On July 12, the first two competitors for the 2018 tournament were announced as Kaitlyn and Rhea Ripley.[4] The tournament final match was scheduled to be held as part of WWE's all-female pay-per-view Evolution, taking place on October 28 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.[5]
On August 8, it was announced that the show would air every Wednesday on the WWE Network immediately after NXT, beginning September 5.[6] Beth Phoenix, Renee Young, and Michael Cole were confirmed as the commentators for the event.[7] In addition, the week prior to the first episode, WWE Network aired a bracketology special.[8]
Qualifying match
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taynara Conti defeated Vanessa Borne | Mae Young Classic Final Spot Qualifying Match |
Participants
Broadcast team
| Ring name | Real name | Notes[22] |
|---|---|---|
| Beth Phoenix | Elizabeth Kociański | Color commentator Hall of Famer |
| Cathy Kelley | Catherine Kelley | Backstage interviewer |
| Kayla Braxton | Kayla Becker | Ring announcer |
| Michael Cole | Michael Coulthard | Lead commentator |
| Renee Young | Renee Paquette | Color commentator |
| Sarah Schreiber | Sarah Schreiber | Backstage interviewer |
| Shadia Bseiso | Shadia Bseiso | Backstage interviewer |
Tournament bracket
| 1st Round[a] Mae Young Classic August 8, 2018 (Aired: September 5–26) | 2nd Round[b] Mae Young Classic August 9, 2018 (Aired: October 3–10) | Quarterfinals[c] Mae Young Classic August 9, 2018 (Aired: October 17) | Semifinals Mae Young Classic August 9, 2018 (Aired: October 24) | Final Evolution October 28, 2018 | |||||||||||||||
 Meiko Satomura
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Killer Kelly
| 7:41[23] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Meiko Satomura
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Mercedes Martinez
| 11:32[24] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ashley Rayne
| 7:31[25] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Meiko Satomura
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lacey Lane
| 4:34[26] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lacey Lane
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Vanessa Kraven
| 4:50[23] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lacey Lane
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Taynara Conti
| 2:38[24] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Taynara Conti
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jessie Elaban
| 4:44[27] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Meiko Satomura
| 13:05[28] | ||||||||||||||||||
 Toni Storm
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Jinny
| 7:08[29] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hiroyo Matsumoto
| 9:17[24] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rachel Evers
| 9:47[27] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hiroyo Matsumoto
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Mia Yim
| 8:25[26] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mia Yim
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Allysin Kay
| 9:39[29] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mia Yim
| Submission | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kaitlyn
| 7:09[30] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kaitlyn
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Kavita Devi
| 4:08[29] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Toni Storm
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Shirai
| 10:20[31] | ||||||||||||||||||
 Tegan Nox
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Zatara
| 6:10[23] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tegan Nox
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nicole Matthews
| 3:45[30] | ||||||||||||||||||
 Isla Dawn
| 7:20[27] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nicole Matthews
| Submission | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tegan Nox
| 3:14[26] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley
| Knockout | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| MJ Jenkins
| 7:41[23] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro
| 7:04[24] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reina González
| 4:46[25] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhea Ripley
| 12:52[28] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Shirai
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Shirai
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Xia Brookside
| 3:16[27] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Shirai
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
 Zeuxis
| 6:06[30] | ||||||||||||||||||
 Zeuxis
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Aerial Monroe
| 5:06[25] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Io Shirai
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deonna Purrazzo
| 8:44[26] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deonna Purrazzo
| Submission | ||||||||||||||||||
| Priscilla Kelly
| 4:28[25] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Deonna Purrazzo
| Submission | ||||||||||||||||||
 Xia Li
| 5:45[30] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Karen Q
| 4:21[29] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Xia Li
| Pinfall | ||||||||||||||||||
Aftermath
Performers on the tournament such as Deonna Purrazzo, Io Shirai, Jessie Elaban, Kacy Catanzaro, Kavita Devi, Lacey Lane, MJ Jenkins, Reina González, Rhea Ripley, Taynara Conti, Tegan Nox, and Xia Li already had signed contracts with the company. While Xia Brookside, Isla Dawn, Jinny, Killer Kelly, and winner Toni Storm had signed contracts with the company, performing on the NXT UK brand.
On August 25, 2018, Rhea Ripley started competing on the NXT UK brand, where she would eventually become the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion.[32]
On October 18, 2018, WWE announced that Mia Yim had been signed to a contract, performing on the NXT and NXT UK brand.[33]
In February 2019, WWE announced that Karen Q signed to contract and training at the WWE Performance Center.
In September 2024, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) announced that Léi Ying Lee (Zhao Xia during the Mae Young Classic) signed with the company.
In December 2021, AEW announced that Mercedes Martinez signed to contract All Elite Wrestling.
On April 15, 2020, Deonna Purrazzo was released from her contract. Two days later, Taynara Conti and M.J Jenkins were also released from their contract as part of budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On January 20, 2021, NXT announced they had signed Priscilla Kelly, where she would be competing under the new ring name Gigi Dolin.