The 2017 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American

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 ...

promotion, WWE. It was constituted by a 32-competitor tournament for women from WWE's NXT brand division 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 majority of the tournament took place at

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolit ...

and was

taped ''Taped'' is a 2012 Dutch thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen. The film won the Best Feature Film award at the 2012 Stony Brook Film Festival. Susan Visser was also nominated for the Golden Calf for Best Actress for her role in the ...

from July 13–14, 2017; these matches aired on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television an ...

on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

on the WWE Network on September 12 and took place at the

Thomas & Mack Center The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility wa ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...

. The event was named in honor of

Mae Young Johnnie Mae Young (March 12, 1923 – January 14, 2014) was an American professional wrestler. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling Alliance. Young is considered one of the pionee ...

. The winner of the inaugural tournament was

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 2017 Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee,

Jessika Carr Jessika Heiser (born June 25, 1991) is an American professional wrestling referee and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Jessika Carr. After signing with the compa ...

. A second edition of the tournament was held in the summer and fall of 2018.

Background

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, 2 ...

, the American

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 man ...

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 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 a ...

and wrestlers from the

. The event was named in honor of the late

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 ...

, who is considered a pioneer of women's wrestling. The first four wrestlers announced to be competing were Sarah Logan,

Lacey Evans Macey Estrella-Kadlec (née Evans; born March 24, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Lacey Evans. Originally introduced to wrestling while serving as a milita ...

Princesa Sugehit Ernestina Sugehit Salazar Martínez (born June 25, 1980) is a Mexican '' luchadora'' (Spanish for ''professional wrestler'') who is best known under the ring name Princesa Sugehit. She is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion C ...

, and

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, ...

, with the rest revealed in the weeks leading up to the event. On June 26, Hall of Famers

Lita Lita or LITA may refer to: People * Lita (given name) * Lita (wrestler) (born 1975), American professional wrestler * Adriana Lita, Materials scientist *Leroy Lita (born 1984), Congo football player * Selina Jahan Lita, Bangladesh Awami League pol ...

and

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career a ...

were announced as the commentators for the tournament. On July 13, WWE held the Mae Young Classic: Parade of Champions, a pre-tournament event streamed live on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

and revealed the remaining tournament participants. The Mae Young Classic also featured WWE's first full-time female referee,

. Round 1 up through the semifinals of the tournament were taped at

on July 13 and 14 and aired on the

on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals). The tournament final match aired live on September 12 from the

, and was also streamed on the WWE Network.

Qualifying matches

The tournament consisted of various matches that resulted from scripted storylines and had predetermined results. ; '' NXT'' tapings'' – June 23 (

–

)

Participants

Replaced

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

Alternates

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

Broadcast team

Referees

Results

Finale

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

Aftermath

Performers on the tournament such as

Bianca Belair Bianca Blair Crawford (born Bianca Nicole Blair; April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and a fitness and figure competitor. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bianca Belair, an ...

, Dakota Kai, winner

, Reina González, Rhea Ripley, Sarah Logan,

Taynara Conti Taynara Melo Guevara (née de Carvalho and formerly Conti; born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and judoka. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Tay Melo () and is a member of the ...

Vanessa Borne Danielle Sierra Kamela (born March 18, 1988) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She previously worked for WWE under the name Vanessa Borne. Early life Kamela was born to parents of Samoan, Polish, Chinese, German, and Irish ...

Xia Li Zhao Xia (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese-American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Xia Li (). Professional wrestling career WWE Mae Young Classic (2017 ...

already had signed contracts with the company. Nixon Newell, who missed the tournament due to injury, also already signed a contract with the company. 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 The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

. 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. On January 16, 2018, WWE announced that

Candice LeRae Candice LeRae Gargano (''née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way. L ...

had been signed to a contract, performing on the NXT brand. On February 8, 2018, WWE announced that

Serena Deeb Serena Deeb (born June 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is well known for her first stint with WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand and also known for her time with the develo ...

had been signed by WWE to become a coach at the

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. On May 31, 2018, WWE announced that

Deonna Purrazzo Deonna Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she is a former two-time Impact Knockouts World Champion and a former Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appe ...

had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

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

Rachel Evers Rachael Ellering (born December 28, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is a former Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She is the daughter of Paul Ellering. She has worked in WWE's NXT brand under the ring name Rachael Evers. Pro ...

Mercedes Martinez Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a form ...

, Kavita Devi, Reina González,

, alternate

, and Nixon Newell (under the ring name Tegan Nox) all competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament. On January 12, 2019,

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 ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

. On March 27, 2019 , WWE announced that

Piper Niven Kimberly Benson (born 6 May 1991) is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Doudrop. Benson began her career on the independent circuit under the name Viper; af ...

had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their

. On August 14, 2019, WWE announced that

Santana Garrett Santana Garrett (born May 22, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, valet and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she works as a coach at the Performance Center. During her career, Garrett has wrestled in many independent promo ...

had been signed to a contract by WWE and will be performing in their

NXT.

References

External links

* {{WWE Tournaments

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2017 WWE Network events 2017 in Nevada 2017 in professional wrestling in Florida Events in Paradise, Nevada Events in Florida Professional wrestling in the Las Vegas Valley Professional wrestling in Winter Park, Florida July 2017 events in the United States September 2017 events in the United States Thomas & Mack Center

Background

Qualifying matches

Participants

Replaced

Alternates

Broadcast team

Referees

Results

Finale

Tournament bracket

Aftermath

See also

References

External links