WWE Mae Young Classic Episode 4

Candice LeRae vs Renee Michelle

I’ve never been too convinced by LeRae, who has managed to have both the worst Nixon Newell and worst Kay Lee Ray matches I’ve seen. That said, this match was totally fine. Michelle doesn’t look entirely comfortable running the ropes, but she shows some impressive little bits. The highlight of her offensive run was the sharp kick to LeRae’s shin that felled Candice into position for a kick to the head. She misses a moonsault really nicely well, not acting like she’s expecting it not to hit. Candice also looks decent here, picking up the win with a swinging neckbreaker from the second rope.

Lacey Evans vs Taynara Conti

Both women look to have a lot of promise, and both have distinctive looks that’ll help them stand out. Liked Conti’s offence here, working her judo background into the match with some fun throws on the larger Evans. One in particular, where she throws Evans totally over her head, looked terrific. She also shows good strength to hold up Evans for a neat swinging slam. Evans has some nice movement, working a few well timed kicks into the match, and finishes with a Jig’N’Tonic. This was pretty fun.

Nicole Savoy vs Reina Gonzalez

Pretty odd here, in that the pre-match video describes Savoy as the “Queen of Suplexes”, who loves throwing her opponents about in interesting ways….only for her to throw zero suplexes in the match. Gonzalez seems to have the power advantage, which she shows early by resisting some armdrag attempts and nailing a big clothesline. Savoy hits a decent rana and I liked Gonzalez’s reverse crab, but this wasn’t a particularly great match. Gonzalez seemed a bit green, and she controls the majority of this bout. The end was really good though, as Savoy grabs a wristlock to escape a fireman’s carry, and she uses it to work Gonzalez to the mat, locking in a cross-armbreaker for the tap.

Kairi Sane vs Tessa Blanchard

Kairi comes out to a fun Pirates of the Carribean knock-off theme, and she’s already over as. The initial stages are pretty close, until Kairi hits a running blockbuster from nowhere to heat things up. Blanchard fires back with a great looking neckbreaker. Both have some nice impact moves too, loved Blanchard hitting big forearms and Sane belying her tiny frame by blitzing through with a big spear. Sane has so much physical charisma that manages to keep the crowd hot past the initial pop. Blanchard heels it up a bit, with some cheap shots and kneeing Sane over the ropes. Sane hits an Alabama Slam then hits her ridiculous diving elbow for the win. Really fun stuff, got both girls over and this was a good little sprint.