The second night of the Mae Young classic was a ton of fun, and followed a terrific NXT main event between Bianca Belair and Nikki Cross. This is Wrestling Thursday.
I continue to be mostly interested in women's wrestling, as far as WWE goes. In fact, here's my Hell In A Cell prediction: Becky and Charlotte will have the match of the night.
NXT
EST vs. Banshee
This was an amazing main event. Both women brought it, and then brought a bunch more. I kinda thought we were heading for a simple Bianca/Kairi match for the title, but Nikki may just join them. Nikki is a complete wrestler. She's got an amazing character, but she's also a seasoned and highly skilled worker. But Bianca... that women's physical abilities are just mind blowing. She may be recruited to the X-Men instead of the main roster.
Mae Young Classic
Once again, we got four matches, one of which pitted two strong contenders in the main event. I thought the undercard was stronger this time, however. Also, my prediction game was MUCH stronger this week. Let's get into it.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Priscilla Kelly
The virtuosa is a known commodity, who I've seen work multiple times. Kelly was new to me, and she's got a ton of potential. The match was sound, with Kelly as the cunning heel and Purrazzo as the pure and more skilled face. This is also her character in NXT right now, and she's actually got a tag match there next week. While she's got no chance of winning the Classic, her first round win was never really in doubt. This was kinda the story told. Whenever Kelly seemed to have a shot, Cole was shocked about the possible upset.
Prediction: Purrazzo
Winner: Purrazzo
Zeuxis vs. Aerial Monroe
While the luchadora went over, it was Monroe who was over, and got even more over with the crowd. That young woman has charisma for days, and her powerful build in a smallish frame is reminicent of Ember Moon. Zeuxis didn't really impress me until the finish. That Spanish Fly was awesome. Monroe definitely has more of a future in the company, though. Especially with her hubby Cedric Alexander being firmly entrenched in 205 Live.
Prediction: Zeuxis
Winner: Zeuxis
Kacy Catanzaro vs. Reina Gonzales
Reina showed huge improvement from last year's effort. She's huge, she's young, and she's improving. The story here, of course, was former American Ninja Warrior trailblazer Catanzaro. Kacy was booked as a massive underdog, which makes sense considering the size disparity. But the longer the match went, the more certain I was that she was going to win. Otherwise, the sheer dominance Gonzales enjoyed earlier in the match would have made no sense. Sadly for her, in the next round she gets Rhea Ripley.
Prediction: Catanzaro
Winner: Catanzaro
Ashley Rayne vs. Mercedes Martinez
The main event featured two seasoned veterans, with multiple championships from other places. This was a very solid match, as Rayne got to show off every move in her arsenal. But Mercedes Martinez is in an entirely different league. She sold like a champ, but her offense looked simply devastating. This was not as good as last week's main event, but it does set up a second round match between the winners of these two matches. Mercedes Martinez vs. Meiko Satomura? That's a bonafide dream match.
Prediction: Martinez
Winner: Martinez
That's right, folks. Last week, I got half the matches wrong. This time, I got them all right. We've done one half of the first round, and it's been a lot of fun. But remember, last year's tournament saw a significant uptick in quality in round two. Things are going to get even better.