Csonka: 9 Mae Young Classic Competitors WWE Should Sign

– Welcome back to column time with Larry. Today we’re going to talk about the Mae Young Classic. I have reviewed all of the episodes, and spoke about the first four episodes at this link. In that column I spoke about how deep with talent WWE developmental is with talent, but there is always room for more. There are rumors that WWE will be cleaning house on some talents that they feel have peaked but not grown as quickie as they wound have hoped. There are also talks that WWE will expand the NXT & WWE main rosters in terms of the women, and that if the women don’t get their on show that some of them will be used on the WWE UK brand. With that being the case, the WWE will have to sign up more women.

NOTE: For the purposes of today’s column, I am looking at the women not currently signed to a WWE developmental deal. These are the women that I think are great and either have earned a shot in WWE based off of their track record or due to their potential and performances in the Mae Young Classic. The list is in no real order, just numbered because it bothers me not to do so…

– My Mae Young Classic coverage below…

* Episode 1
* Episode 2
* Episode 3
* Episode 4
* Csonka’s Early Mae Young Classic Takes
* Episode 5
* Episode 6
* Episode 7
* Episode 8

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9. Santana Garrett: Santana Garrett, age 29, had been working since 2009. She had a cup of coffee in TNA, and has worked all over the place, including STARDOM and had a very good match against Piper Niven in the first round on the classic. Garrett has been on WWE’s radar, working dark matches and attending tryouts, but never getting signed. She’s still young, has a lot of experience, in a great athlete and has some experience working on TV with TNA and on NXT. She is a strong and consistent performer who feels as if she should have been signed a long time ago. If WWE is looking to expand and change up the roster, she’s an easy pick up for me.

8. Kay Lee Ray: 25-year old Kay Lee Ray got bounced by Princesa Sugehit in the first round in the first episode of the tournament. She is from Glasgow, Scotland and started working back in 2009. Many know her for her work in ICW, SHIMMER, and STARDOM, and is a charismatic daredevil style performer. She’s a tremendously fun performer, that would be a valued addition to a deep roster of female talent. If women get added to the WWE UK show, (now rumored to shoot by the end of 2017), she’d be a prime candidate to add to that roster. She’s young, and has a lot of potential that’s worth exploring.

7. Mercedes Martinez: Mercedes Martinez is 36, and at another time in history, there would have been no chance of her getting signed. But in 2017 WWE things are different and she has a shot. Martinez is a longtime veteran of the indie scene and someone fans have wanted to see get a shot for years. She’s been working since 2000, and has been a regular for SHIMMER, SHINE and more; she’s a veteran of well over 400 matches. Word is that Martinez made the effort to go to the WWE Performance Center to train with Xia Li ahead of their Mae Young Classic match. That showed great maturity, and considering that Li’s experience in the ring is very limited, thee did well in the very short match that they worked. She’s a hard working veteran who has busted her ass for the chance, so I think she’s wroth a look. At worst, she’d be a great player coach to work with the inexperienced developmental talents on live events, which is an important role. If she’s good at it, it could lead to a coaching job at the PC.

6. Toni Storm: Storm has been a standout in the UK scene, working for PROGRESS and also logging time in Japan with STARDOM. Contrary to popular opinion, she hasn’t officially signed with WWE at this time, but is expected to be offered a deal. Storm was well on her way to becoming a good in ring performer, with a good look and great in ring presence and attitude, but the time in Japan refined her work and brought her up to a new level. The word was that she was on WWE’s radar, and that was confirmed as she was brought in to work AXXESS over Mania weekend so that WWE could get an up close and personal look. Word is that the weekly UK show, which could be a great starring vehicle for her before transitioning to the NXT brand or main roster. Storm is a star, she’s been great on the indies and if the WWE machine got behind her, the sky’s the limit. I think that she’s talented enough to become one of the biggest female stars in the company. She really delivered in her two final matches against Niven and Sane; the sky is the limit for her.

5. Shayna Baszler: Shayna Baszler made it all the way through the Classic to the finals, which should tell you what WWE thinks about her. WWE has also brought her in to work NXT live events in Florida, which is another vote of confidence from WWE. She has a completely different style than pretty much everyone else they have under contract. The other things to consider with Baszler is that she’s friends with many of the WWE women, has helped train a lot of them in submission work, is liked by the company and isn’t getting any younger. But she’s taken to wrestling so quickly, that she’s more than worth a shot. Add into things the reports that WWE is looking to run the MMA Horsewomen vs. WWE Horsewomen angle (which was set up during the Classic), culminating with a Ronda Rousey match on a major PPV, Signing Baszler could be part of that plan, and even if she doesn’t work out as a regular performer, I think she’d be worth bringing in to serve as a mentor to NXT’s Sonya Deville and to continue training with the other WWE women. Deville’s working an MMA gimmick, but hasn’t taken to wrestling nearly as quickly as Baszler, and Baszler may be the one that could help transform Deville into the bad ass WWE wants her to be.

4. Candice LaRae: I have been puzzled for years regarding the fact that WWE hasn’t signed Candice LaRae. In my opinion, LaRae is one of the best pure babyface performers out there, and she finally got a chance to show it during the classic. I think she has a great chance to be brought in as they heavily spoke about her being married to Garagno. Not only would he be a great addition to the roster, but also there are some great angle possibilities for her with Gargano. The first of those being a mixed tag against Almas and Vega, and down the line, you could do Johnny and Candice against Ciampa and Baszler. I could easily see that bastard Ciampa bringing in the woman that tried to take out Candice as part of his grand plan to ruin Gargano’s life. Candice is just too good to remain unsigned.

3. Piper Niven: In my opinion, Piper Niven was the breakout star from the Mae Young Classic that no one really saw coming. She was involved in some of the best matches in the tournament, putting in quality and consistent performances, showing good charisma and winning over the crowd. Niven also provides someone with a different look than much of the roster, and more importantly than that, she know show to use her size, unlike Tamina or Nia Jax. She’s a fun performer, who has worked extremely hard over the last year and became a much better in ring performer than I thought she could be. I thought she was solid but would simply become the cliché big woman, but has really grown past that and is a quality worker with a lot of upside. If she grew so much in the past year, it makes me feel that we’re just scratching the surface with her. She as the best kind of surprise out of the entire classic. If women get added to the WWE UK show, (now rumored to shoot by the end of 2017), at the very least, she’d be a prime candidate to add to that roster.

2. Mia Yim: I absolutely love Mia Yim and feel that she needs to be a star on the national stage as soon as possible. Similar to how Mark Andrews fell into their lap for the UK Tournament, WWE lucked into Yim for the Mae Young Classic. Yim has been working since 2009, has TV experience with TNA/Impact wresting, and has not only improved as an in ring performer, but has worked extremely hard to transform her body, becoming a real gym rat and getting into amazing shape. Another thing to consider is that WWE loves a good human interest story (Rich Swann in the CWC) and have been on an empowered women’s trip since starting Diva’s Revolution. Yim is a survivor of domestic violence, which was covered by the Huffington Post, and that’s a story WWE may want to tell in order to sell her rise to a strong and successful woman. She’s young, beautiful, talented and would help is WWE’s self-admitted desire for diversity, but more importantly, she’s TV ready.

1. Jazzy Gabert: After watching some of her better work, and how she handled herself in the MYC against Abbey Laith, I am convinced that Jazzy Gabert is absolutely everything WWE wants and needs as a monster force in the company. We’re on approximately the 15th Tamina push since she’s been signed, none of them have worked, she’s not over, she’s never improved and is simply taking up a roster spot. Every time Tamina gets cycled off TV or suffers an injury, I always hope that WWE is ready to move on, but they always bring her back. And then there’s Nia Jax, who seems like a really sweet person that works very hard. But she’s not the vicious monster they want her to be, she comes off as if she isn’t sure who or what she wants to be when she’s in the ring, and it just doesn’t work. Gabert looks big and tough because she is. Gabert comes off as a monster that can hurt you because she can, as she’s trained in Mixed Martial Arts and has had two MMA fights. Gabert showed more skill, potential and charisma in 10-minutes than Tamina has shown in seven years and was more of a monster in that short amount of time than Jax has been during her entire main roster run. The only thing she’s missing in the eyes of the WWE is The Rock’s DNA; it’s been strong enough to keep Tamina employed for seven years. If women get added to the WWE UK show, (now rumored to shoot by the end of 2017), she’d be a prime candidate to add to that roster at the very least but I’d fast track her to the main roster to be the monster that they have been looking for.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”