The 2018 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

promotion,

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. 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 In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

. 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 f ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

and was taped on August 8–9, 2018 and 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 professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

from September 5 to October 4 (round 1, 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'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

as part of WWE's 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 ...

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

, which was held on October 28 at the

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, a ...

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

. The winner of this second tournament was

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 signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the epithet "Timeless" Toni Storm and is the reigning AEW Women' ...

Background

In 2017, the American

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

held a 32-woman tournament called the Mae Young Classic. It involved wrestlers from WWE's NXT

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

and wrestlers from the

. The event was named in honor of the late

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, 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 An ...

Mae Young Johnnie Mae Young (March 12, 1923 – January 14, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling A ...

, who is considered a pioneer of women's wrestling. In April 2018, WWE announced a second Mae Young Classic tournament, following up on the 2017 tournament. 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

on August 8–9. On July 12, the first two competitors for the 2018 tournament were announced as Kaitlyn and

Rhea Ripley Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. As of July 2017, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley. She is a List of Women ...

. The tournament final match was scheduled to be held as part of WWE's all-female

, taking place on October 28 at the

. On August 8, it was announced that the show would air every Wednesday on the

immediately after '' NXT'', beginning September 5.

Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Copeland ( Kociański; born November 24, 1980), better known as Beth Phoenix, is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's ...

Renee Young Renee Jane Paquette is a Canadian-American television personality. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a backstage interviewer and pre-show panelist. She was previously known for her time in WWE between 2012 and 2020, where she served ...

, and Michael Cole were confirmed as the commentators for the event. In addition, the week prior to the first episode, WWE Network aired a bracketology special.

Qualifying match

Participants

Broadcast team

Tournament bracket

The following time limits were in place: * Round One: 15 minutes * Round Two: 20 minutes * Round Three: 25 minutes

Aftermath

Performers on the tournament such as

Deonna Purrazzo Deonna Lynn Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Purrazzo began training in December 2012, and then started wrestling in various independent promotions the following y ...

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name (stylized in all caps) and is the current Women's World Championship (WWE), Women’s Wo ...

, Jessie Elaban,

Kacy Catanzaro Kacy Esther Catanzaro (born January 14, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and a former gymnast and obstacle racer. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Katana Chance. Alongside Kayden Carter, ...

, Kavita Devi, Lacey Lane, MJ Jenkins, Reina González,

, Taynara Conti,

Tegan Nox Steffanie Newell (born 15 November 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler. She performs on the independent circuit under the ring name Nixon Newell. She is best known for her tenures in the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, where s ...

, and

Xia Li Xia Zhao (; born July 28, 1988) is a Chinese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Léi Yǐng Lee. She also makes appearances on the independent circuit under her real ...

already had signed contracts with the company. While

Xia Brookside Xia-Louise Brooks (born 16 October 1998), better known by the ring name Xia Brookside, is an English professional wrestler and valet. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). She previously worked for World Wonder Ring Stardom, wh ...

, Isla Dawn, Jinny, Killer Kelly, and winner

had signed contracts with the company, performing on the

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was 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 ...

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 The NXT UK Women's Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE's developmental territory NXT bas ...

. On October 18, 2018, WWE announced that

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989), better known by the ring name Mia Yim, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Michin ( , ). Bell is also kno ...

had been signed to a contract, performing on the NXT and NXT UK brand. In February 2019, WWE announced that Karen Q signed to contract and training at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

. In September 2024,

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

(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 Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler 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 former ROH W ...

signed to contract

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

. On April 15, 2020,

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On January 20, 2021, NXT announced they had signed

Priscilla Kelly Priscilla Lee Kelly (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former reality television personality. She is best known for her tenure in WWE where she performed under the ring name Gigi Dolin. She is a former record-tying two- ...

, where she would be competing under the new

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Gigi Dolin.

References

External links

* {{WWE Tournaments

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Professional wrestling shows in Uniondale, New York 2018 on Long Island August 2018 in the United States October 2018 in the United States