The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: The Mae Young Classic

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Backstory

This will be my Mae Young Classic review using the Good, Bad & Ugly format I used frequently back in the day. At the end will be my finals preview. Hopefully, this is posted before Tuesday night. Otherwise, I may look pretty foolish. Or just pretty, either way..

Mae Young Classic Review

The Good

Predictions – Let’s just get this out of the way now. I did exceptionally well with my predictions. I got the final two wrestlers correct in Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler. I got the final four correct. I even had a few ‘upsets’ in the opening round correct. My big misses were going with a nice little Serena Deeb redemption story and expecting Jazzy Gabert to make it far. Other than that, my spoiler-free preview was a massive success!

Bracket Special – Great way to kick off the tournament. The little WWE Network special set the tone for what would mean an entertaining spectacle. Anything Corey Graves is involved with is usually very fun. No different here. The story of Lacey Evans was inspiring. The little deal with Marti Belle was interesting. I even liked the cameo from Alundra Blayze…who has not been seen or heard from since. Maybe being saved for the finale? Either way, for casual viewers who didn’t know much about all the participants, this was perfect.

Showcase Matches – I didn’t expect much from the opening round to be honest. It was designed to give us the favorites, let them hit their finishers, show their personalities, and move on to the ‘real’ competition in the second round. That was fine. No real complaints. Doing that all in the first four episodes was simple yet effective. By the time the next four episodes were released, we knew who each woman was and why they should/could win the tourney. KISS Method ladies and gentlemen, always the best path.

Toni Storm – So much talent should be signed to a contract immediately. Considering the lack of depth in the NXT womens division right now after Asuka wiped the floor with everyone and then left? Yeah, we are going to need some fresh faces. Piper Nevin comes to mind immediately. Serena Deeb has some buzz and momentum (as did Mickie James last year after a one off NXT return before getting re-signed to WWE). Mia Yim seems inevitable, as does Kay Lee Ray and Rhea Ripley. Above all of them though was my “one to watch” Toni Storm. I said it in my preview and will again – win or lose, she was going to be a star after the tournament. No surprise, I was right.

Winners – Triple H, William Regal, and the entire brain trust had the impossible task in picking the perfect 32 wrestlers for the Mae Young Classic. Yeah, we can all name a few girls that missed the cut and some who shouldn’t have. For my money though, it is not about getting all 32 names right. We know that is not going to happen. Surely, you will swing and miss on a couple. What really matters is the final four. Same with sports. Truthfully, we only really care about the best teams and who face each other in the championship rounds. I dare you right now to name me another fight on the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor pay-per-view card. You can’t because you didn’t care. It was about the main event and top stars, hence the record breaking business. It mattered none what else happened that night. For the Mae Young Classic, who cares who gets last or finishes in the middle of the pack? We ended up with Shayna Baszler, Kairi Sane, Toni Storm, and Mercedes Martinez. WWE hit a home run.

The Bad

Seeding – It was just not a very good way to seed the tournament. Who created the bracket? What system was used? Geez. Far too many great talents were out in the first or second round. I am not going to call out anybody individually, but certain women really had no business advancing above others. Sorry. The final four ended up being right, so I guess the ends justify the means, right? Eh.

Binge Watching – Triple H said viewership for the Cruiserweight Classic began to fade as time went on, so the company decided to try out this format instead. He has access to the actual viewing numbers for the WWE Network, so we will trust his word on it. I am fine with trial and error. You have to test run an idea sometimes. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, oh well. Still, didn’t this all seem a tad bit rushed? Here’s eight episodes within a week, and BOOM! Finale is the following Tuesday after Smackdown and crammed somewhere in between the weekly 205 Live show nobody watches. Didn’t really get much of a chance to digest anything. I know it is 2017 and binge watching is kinda the new normal but yikes, this thing is here and gone in a flash. Within 48 hours, it will just be a memory. Gone. Done. Finished.

The Ugly

Commentary – If you have read my columns for the past nine years, you will notice that I rarely ever attack the talent too harshly. I am not one to sit here and say “YOU SUCK!” at certain performers and rip on them relentlessly. Believe it or not, I do not cuss nor do I show blatantly disrespect for the guys and gals who bust their butt to put on a good show. In ring or out of the ring. That is not my style and never has been…which is why it stinks to say the next sentence. Jim Ross and Lita were lousy. No chemistry, no real passion, didn’t come across as very knowledgeable and seemed downright bored at times. Good ol’ JR mentioned doing some edits due to creative reasons or whatever. I don’t know. Felt like a BS excuse to cover his tracks. I could be wrong; I honestly don’t know. What I DO know is that the commentary was not up to par with what this tournament deserved. Hopefully, they are ready to go for the live special on Tuesday. No chance for edits there. Or if need be – have a brand new commentary team on hand?

Mae Young Classic Finals

As you can tell, I have enjoyed the presentation. The matches were good, and WWE got it right with the finals. I am looking forward to the climax on Tuesday night. Ronda Rousey, legends, the cast of GLOW, and many more will be in attendance. Las Vegas will be popping indeed! All built around the showdown between Sane and Baszler. In my preview column, I picked Sane to get the under dog victory thanks the WWE Four Horsewomen having some kind of involvement with the MMA Four Horsewomen.

How freakin’ awkward!

That was then.

This is now.

I think I am leaning towards Shayna Baszler as of September 9th, Saturday afternoon as I finish this. My gut still says Kairi Sane. My head says the opposite. Ugh, so tough. I guess it all depends on who is poised for an immediate NXT debut to be crowned champion and also what is planned for the WWE/MMA story line (if anything at all). That is the beauty of this finals matchup. You really can’t call it…

NRW: The Match

Well over 1,500 views now. An updated version is coming soon with more special features added on, including commentary! Thanks to all of you who commented and/or watched. Even if YOU may not care one bit, it means a lot to us. Much appreciated.

Cheap Plugs

Story behind NRW: https://noahwatry.tv/2017/07/09/the-lessons-of-backyard-wrestling/

Next project in 2017 is complete…my debut novel. Time for editing and finding a publisher.

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