On Wednesday night, I sat down and wrote a Wrestling Thursday post. And then I put it in SteemPeak's scheduled posts, and went to sleep. This week was ICon, the largest annual Israeli science fiction convention. During ICon, I'm usually either working at ICon or asleep. So I was quite proud of myself for knocking that post out. Except it never posted. Maybe it was the hardfork that hardborked it, and maybe there was some other reason. I don't know. But it never showed, and it's not in the scheduled posts queue, or anywhere else. So I wrote it again. And here it is. This is Wrestling Thursday, on Saturday.
The first round of the Mae Young Classic is behind us, and we've got the second round looming. In this post, I'll cover the last night of the first night, as well as say a few words about the upcoming round 2. I won't make predictions, because I know how two of the matches end (for reasons that will become obvious later on).
Mae Young Classic Night 4
This was different from the previous nights, in that the fourth match wasn't the best one. Instead, it served to showcase the top talent in the tournament. But we got good matches before that, so I'm happy. Also, all of my predictions panned out, so that's nice.
Rachel Evers vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
This was great. While Matsumoto isn't quite at the Meiko or Io "best in the world" level, she's very good. And Evers has progressed nicely since last year. Together, they had the match of the night, and set the tone for a fun hour of wrestling.
Prediction: Hiroyo Matsumoto
Winner: Hiroyo Matsumoto
Jessie Elaban vs. Taynara Conti
Let's start with this: They should stop making Jessie Elaban say she's clumsy, and not a striker. She's a terrific athlete and a good striker. She's still super raw, but the combination of size, personality and athlethicism can take her a very long way. Conti has certainly improved since last year, and should have a better match in the next round.
Prediction: Taynara Conti
Winner: Taynara Conti
Isla Dawn vs. Nicole Matthews
As much as I like Isla Dawn's whole vibe, she is not ready for this level. Nicole Matthews, on the other hand, is ready for whatever level you want to throw at her. She made this fun.
Prediction: Nicole Matthews
Winner: Nicole Matthews
Io Shirai vs. Xia Brookside
Xia Brookside is young, energetic, and has tons of upside. But she was in there with Io Shirai, and this match was all about one thing: Showcasing the awesome abilities of Io Shirai. Io Shirai is like a hybrid of the two top Japanese talents who preceded her: She can strike like her former partner and former rival Asuka. She can fly like her former partner and former rival Kairi. There is not a weak spot in her game. Give her all the things.
Prediction: Io Shirai
Winner: Io Shirai
Second Round Matchups
One thing that changed since I originally wrote this post is that WWE posted a video in which the second round competitors got to face off:
It's a fun video, and we got a tiny preview of how the duos vibe with each other. All of the pictures in this segment are from this video.
First, the brakcet! I love a bracket.
Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
Two of the top competitors in the tournament square off. I fully expect this to be a main event of whichever show it's on, and to be awesome.
Rhea Ripley vs. Kacy Catanzaro
Both of these women still lack some experience, so this may well be one of the weakest matchups in the second round. Expect Rhea to throw Kacy around a lot. There's a very clear heel/face alignment, which will help.
Lacey Lane vs. Taynara Conti
Another of the lesser matchups, featuring two women who may be awesome one day. Lane is less experienced, but the better athlete. This should be fun, but not great.
Mercedes Martinez vs. Meiko Satomura
Everything about this faceoff said "I'm a legend, you're a legend. We respect each other and will tear each other apart." It was amazing. The match should be amazing and incredibly hard hitting. I just hope they get the time to really show what they can do.
Io Shirai vs. Zeuxis
If the previous faceoff was all about respect, this one was the opposite. Io's whole vibe was "I'm great, and... who are you again?" This one will be interesting, as Zeuxis's last match was a bit of a dud with a great finisher.
Xia Li vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Xia Li was the surprise revelation of round 1, and Purrazzo is great. This should be really good.
Tegan Nox vs. Nicole Matthews
This one will be entertaining as hell. Matthews basically trolled her way through this faceoff, and Nox is such a pure babyface. Also, they're really good. Looking forward to it.
Mia Yim vs. Kaitlyn
Super curious about this one. Kaitlyn was super fun in the opener, against a very green Davi. Here, she's going up against a terrific wrestler. Can she raise her game appropriately?
Round 1 was a lot of fun. I fully expect round 2 to be significantly better, as we build on to the final at WWE Evolution.
Previous MYC coverage
Women's Wrestling Thusday: Mae Young Classic Night 3
Women's Wrestling Thursday: Mae Young Classic, Night 2
Mae Young Classic: First Round, Part 1
Rethinking the Mae Young Bracket
Overthinking the Mae Young Classic Parade of Champions