The Mae Young Classic was a

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

tournament and

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

event produced by WWE, an American-based

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails mana ...

. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

r who is considered one of the pioneers of women's professional wrestling. The tournament was contested by wrestlers from WWE's

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

and wrestlers from the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

. The winner received the Mae Young Classic Trophy. To date, there have only been two tournaments. The first was held in the summer of 2017 and was won by

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...

. The second was held in 2018 and was won by

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

—the final of the second tournament was held at WWE's first-ever all female

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. As a result of both tournaments, many competitors from the independent circuit were signed by WWE to compete on their NXT brand, with some from the second tournament being signed to the upstart NXT UK brand. A 2019 tournament was planned but fell through.

History

At a press conference during the weekend of

WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 201 ...

, the American

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 involve wrestlers from WWE's

and wrestlers from the

and would air on the company's online streaming service, the

. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a

r who is considered one of the pioneers of women's professional wrestling. The inaugural tournament was won by

. In April 2018, a second tournament was announced, and like the first, it also featured wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and those from the independent circuit and also aired on the WWE Network. It was also held in the summer, but the final was scheduled for WWE's first-ever all female

on October 28. The winner of the second tournament was

. In August 2019, WWE executive and NXT head

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

confirmed that a 2019 edition of the Mae Young Classic was being planned. In October, WWE listed tickets for sale for November 2–3; however, the posting was later removed and the 2019 tournament never happened.

Prize

The winner of the Mae Young Classic was awarded the Mae Young Classic Trophy, made in the likeness of the event's logo for that respective year. Kairi Sane was also awarded a match for the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...

for winning the 2017 tournament; however, Toni Storm did not receive a championship match for winning the 2018 tournament.

Events and winners

References

{{WWEPPV, Mae Young Classic Recurring events established in 2017