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| The Pirate Princess sails off to victory Photo Credit: WWE.com |
The Good - First and foremost, the match itself was good. While I wouldn't even put it in my top five matches for the tournament1, but it scratched the itch. Sane is pretty much what you want in a babyface worker, even with Jim Ross blowing up her spot and heavily publicizing her bougie yachting past because IT'S A SPORT, SAUCE IT SAUCE IT, and she showed it here more than in any other match. Shayna Baszler actually wasn't the largest opponent the diminutive Pirate Princess went up against (Bianca Belair was the same height and even had 15 pound advantage over Baszler), but she was clearly the most imposing. She knew how to lord over Sane and bully her in ways the other opponents may not have known or even were able to do. So even if many in the crowd didn't have familiarity with the wrestlers going in, they were able to pick the story up right away, and it showed.
While I thought it was a mistake not to have the finale at Full Sail, the Vegas crowd seemed to get as up for the match as it possibly could, certainly more raucous and heated than it would have been for TJP vs. Brian Kendrick, Part 69. My doubts were even more aggrieved given the heavy angle that was presented right before. A heel wrestler kicking the shit out of an old man has big crowd-killing potential, especially when that victim is the inexplicably popular Vince McMahon. But it's a testament to how well each wrestler played her part during the match, even if some of the more ambitious spots, like the elbow countered into the rear naked choke and the subsequent attempt at escape, didn't come off as well as they could have. It all comes down to each wrestler getting what her element should have been. Sane's body language and mannerisms were a pied piper song for the crowd to get behind, while Baszler got how to project her bullying presence.
The Bad - Obviously, Ross and Lita continuing to trip over their own tongues was expected, so expected that I tuned them out. You could say, "Well, that's good, you're focusing on the positive!" but if I have to ignore a part of a broadcast because it is so far below standard that it's painful to give note to, then that's a failure of planning. Honestly, the whole tournament would have been better presented without commentary and a mic'd ring. I'd rather have heard the banter, the grunts, and even the called spots over Ross reassuring the audience for the 80th time that yes, this was a single elimination tournament, and that means win or go home. I will admit Lita wasn't terrible last night from what I actually paid attention to, but praising her for boilerplate aphorisms instead of random "wows" and other fragmented thoughts is patronizing. If WWE presents a Mae Young Classic next year, it'd be better served to go all the way and pair Michael Cole with a woman who's comfortable behind the microphone like Renee Young, Charly Caruso, or, I don't know, maybe Veda Scott or Portia Perez?
The Ugly - Honestly, the entire presence of Ronda Rousey and her Horsewomen opposite three of the four WWE Horsewomen felt shoehorned in, as did the red carpet broadcast on Facebook Live opposite Smackdown Live! airing on USA. It really drove home how secondary this tournament was presented opposite the Cruiserweight Classic. The CWC got an hour live special at the arena where the prior portions were broadcast with non-tournament action on a night that didn't belong to one of the flagship shows. The final didn't have the pall of a larger angle for the eventual loser hanging over it without any action on it. Even if you couldn't procure Toni Storm or Mercedes Martinez for a live finals date, which is kinda bullshit since they were both on the red carpet, why not go a whole hour at Full Sail on a Thursday featuring some of the Performance Center bodies in tag matches or what have you? Maybe you shoot an angle between the Horsewomen factions to diffuse some of the tension instead of hyping it up and leaving it unresolved? Leaving it fester in the air was worse than any potential action overshadowing the final, because at least you give the people even more release or more of a tease towards the future in addition to the closure of having a tournament final. Then again, I don't fuckin' know.
The Aftermath - So, what does Sane get aside from a big trophy that looks like a piece of the background from a Final Fantasy game? Well, she'll get to challenge for the vacant NXT World Women's Championship at Takeover: Houston rather than getting the strap outright. Who will get the spot across from her, or will it even just be one spot? The next round of tapings for NXT television happens tomorrow night, so I'm sure some light might be shed on that.
Anyway, despite the second-class nature of the tournament and bad commentary, the Mae Young Classic still was a more than worthwhile venture. While, top-to-bottom it wasn't as big a critical success as the Cruiserweight Classic, it had more than its share of great action and drama. It also showed the world that Kairi Sane could make the jump from joshi to WWE, and that the current crop of PC recruits may end up more Alexa Bliss than Kelly Kelly. All in all, it was a hoot.
1 - For posterity, those matches are Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert, Kairi Sane vs. Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane vs. Bianca Belair, Piper Niven vs. Toni Storm, and Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan.