]These four episodes were covered in the WWE TV Week in Review, but now they are here. Together.
The wrestling got better in the later rounds, as it stopped being about filler and introduction and more about talented wrestlers clicking and trying to win the match.
Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez are both tremendous, must-see matches.
Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kaitlyn vs. Mia Yim, Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purrazzo, Toni Storm vs. Mia Yim, and Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley are all quality too.
Mae Young Classic – Season 2 Episode 5 (10/3/18)
1. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
These are a couple of professional wrestlers, baby. Matsumoto brought the pain while Storm brought the crowd giving a shit. Holds, Matsumoto’s sweet missile dropkick, the slap exchange – good good good. Dug Toni sneaking the win after Matsumoto’s reckoning too. ***1/4
2. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Rhea Ripley vs. Kacy Catanzaro
Not the smoothest version of the little flyer vs. powerlifter dynamic but it’s still a fun dynamic. Kacy has undeniable charm and Rhea as lady Pete Dunne is good stuff. Kacy’s tilt-a-whirl DDT was WILD, and I liked how her screwing up then re-doing the springboard dropkick was somehow cooler than her hitting it the first time. **3/4
Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Lacey Lane vs. Taynara Conti
Not sure I get Lacey Lane. The moves take too long and the charisma ain’t there for the Cinderella role, even if Full Sail digs her. Anyways, this is a 2-minute match with Conti very questionably putting herself in a position for Lane to hit a crucifix bomb. *
4. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez
HERE WE GO! IT’S… MEIKO TIME! This was awesome. First of all, I love how Meiko Satomura is presented in WWE as if she is the God damn Undertaker, just such a reverence and awe for the legend. I assume whoever got assigned to produce this went up to them and went, “Eh – you do you.”
This here match was just these two beating the fuck out of each other. It was beautiful. In between that Mercedes Martinez kept trying to hit the Fisherman’s buster and when she did hit it, she got a major near fall. That was beautiful too. The hold-trading early on was cool too, and Mercedes slap after she escaped the headscissors was a proper, “OK – this is gonna get wild now.” Meiko was dropping shoot DDT’s and sweet kicks and in the end she had to basically KO Mercedes’ ass to win. Tremendous. ***3/4
Mae Young Classic – Season 2 Episode 6 (10/10/18)
1. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Io Shirai vs. Zeuxis
I hate saying this but I can’t shake it – Io Shirai can bump and strike like a MAN. What a dropkick! And what a bump to the floor off Zeuxis’ dropkick! This was too short to go anywhere but they fit in some cool stuff and Io is just a treat to watch. Zeuxis got the desired heel reaction in both her matches, but I can’t see her going anywhere beyond unique masked person to put over the fact that this is an international tournament. **1/2
2. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Xia Li
This was another one too short to go anywhere. It was a quick showcase for each and I like these two so I dug them getting showcased. Cole said it a dozen times but it’s true: Xia Li really has improved a ton since last year, and it’s insane that last year’s MYC was legitimately her first match. She’s your ideal PC rookie in that it’s certainly not all there, but she’s got some fun spots and charisma and is just generally on her way. Deonna meanwhile can’t not be a big deal. **1/4
Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Tegan Nox vs. Nicole Matthews
This followed the same theme of the last two matches – too short to go anywhere but an OK showcase of each wrestler. Nicole Matthews will beat some ass. Tegan is spunky and then she does a headbutt. You don’t need to watch it but if you are indeed watching all of the Mae Young Classic then it wasn’t a bad part of the show. **
4. Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Kaitlyn vs. Mia Yim
Really dug Mia’s “this bitch…” attitude. This took a bit to go anywhere but it had some strong stuff and was the most compelling match of the show. Once it become a brawl where Kaitlyn tried to break Mia’s hand I was into it. The spear near fall was awesome. And Kaitlyn sold Mia’s kneebar finish like a god damn professional. Mia Yim is having a tournament, baby. ***
Mae Young Classic – Season 2 Episode 7 (10/17/18)
1. Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Meiko Satomura vs. Lacey Lane
I don’t understand Lacey Lane being pushed as superhuman, but this had its moments. And aren’t the moments what it’s all about? Meiko playing with Lane, then kicking her in the head was very nice. Lacey’s run towards the end was the best example of what she’s capable of and very cool, only to be overshadowed by Meiko’s “how dare you” face before she ended her. Meiko in general is just very cool to watch in this WWE tournament format. **3/4
2. Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna can go, her combos are a trip, she sells big, and her fired up comebacks are awesome. Io meanwhile is other-worldly: The front flip out of the headscissors, the tope, the charisma – magic. Just bunches and bunches of fun professional wrestling right here. ***1/4
3. Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Tegan Nox vs. Rhea Ripley
Seeing them try to work through Tegan’s injury was half-interesting and half soul-crushingly awkward.
Completely, utterly tragic. Ugh. Injuries are crap, but injuries in wrestling when someone’s getting their big break after they just returned from an injury are heartbreaking.
4. Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Toni Storm vs. Mia Yim
I dug what they were trying, but I didn’t really get into this until they started slapping each other in the face 10 minutes in. These guys brought an aura of wanting to desperately end each other, but the build to that aura was that infamous word only a wrestling review guy would use: “disjointed.” Storm grabbing Yim’s hurt hand to setup a German suplex and Tiger suplex was a tremendous finish. ***
Mae Young Classic – Season 2 Episode 8 (10/24/18)
1. Mae Young Classic – Semi Final: Toni Storm vs. Meiko Satomura
Here is a match where the MYC went full NJPW and did it way better, with an ultra-violent to-the-death false-finish-filled finish but also big intensity and and lack of bullshit all the way through.
This was a credible wrestling match bell-to-bell and credible wrestling matches are the best wrestling matches. I like how Meiko carries the aura of somebody who has absolutely not one fucking thing to prove to the crowd that surrounds her. She is focused only on the job in front of her, like she’s performing surgery or something. Wrestling is real when Meiko Satomura wrestles.
There was so much to love here: the sweet beautiful matwork on WWE TV, Meiko’s transcendent spin kick, Meiko’s slow torture of Storm, Storm bringing it with an incredible big boot and a torque so hard on an STF chinlock that Randy Orton stopped whatever weird thing he was doing. The match kind of hit that special wrestling place in that STF, as Storm just keeping Meiko in it and trying to choke her out was not just a turning point in the match but an awesome, realistic way to beat somebody’s ass.
Meiko selling when Storm finally got a comeback was great, and Meiko’s comeback to Storm’s comeback was better than great.
And just a wild trip of a finish: Storm kicked Meiko straight in the chest followed by Meiko just dropping a knee on the back of Storm’s head. Storm kicked out after a Death Valley Driver and everybody flipped out. Meiko kicked out of the Storm Zero and everybody flipped out. They both kicked and kneed each other HARD and then Meiko hit a Scorpion Kick that Toni Storm kicked out of and everybody flipped out and I mean REALLY REALLY flipped out. I loved how Storm had to really hook Meiko for her finish too (a second Storm Zero) and her sell of surviving an absolute war afterwards.
This match even got the Renee “This is Women’s Wrestling!” soundbite!!!
Incredible stuff. Special. It might be hyperbole in the moment but I’m racking my brain and this felt like the only experience of straight-up joshi we’ll ever get in WWE, with the insane awesome wrestling but also emotion and a young gal being put over by this ultra-credible legend and the facial expressions and the crying and the respect and the wow.
I… I’m doing it. *****
2. Mae Young Classic – Semi Final: Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley has the theme music I probably would have wanted to use when I was 21 years old and I like that about her. I’m not 100% why they aired this one second. It was OK but, you know. This was a much more traditional match with Io getting in offense early before Rhea wore her down with holds before Io came back and then they fought back and forth until it was over. It was pretty good! Io is fun to watch and Rhea doesn’t feel ready yet sometimes but then she randomly does something awesome like that bump off Io’s missile dropkick and I am into it. ***
