Abbey Laith def. Rachel Evers in a Second Round MatchEvers had easily the worst match of the first round with Marti Belle, but I thought she redeemed herself quite well here against Laith, who has become a real fun babyface to watch in this tournament. Both women put forth a strong effort and it resulted in an excellent opener to the episode. Evers has potential, but Laith advancing to the next round was definitely the right call. Piper Niven def. Serena Deeb in a Second Round MatchI knew next to nothing about Niven coming into the Mae Young Classic, but between this bout and the one she had with Santana Garrett in the first round, she has since stood out to me in a major way. Sure, she's significantly bigger than the rest of the field, but she's incredibly athletic and versatile for someone of her size and she's damn good. Meanwhile, Deeb looked great in defeat and I hope this wasn't the last we've seen of her in a WWE ring.
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Candice LeRae def. Renee Michelle in a First Round MatchIt's rather well-known by this point, but LeRae is the real-life wife of NXT star Johnny Gargano, and she's an underdog in the ring much like he is. Michelle needs more experience before she can be considered good, but LeRae was able to carry her through a majority of the matchup and make it passable. Regardless of whether she wins the tournament or not, LeRae should end up with a WWE contract once it's over. Lacey Evans def. Taynara Conti in a First Round MatchEvans wasn't much more than a pretty face the few times we saw her on NXT TV earlier this year, but I love her backstory and how she's fighting for her family. It gave her an all-new purpose and allowed me (as well as the crowd) to root for her in this match. I believe Conti has already signed a developmental deal with NXT, so while she is a work in progress, she showed signs of being a skilled heel eventually. The in-ring work was better than expected, so that was a plus.
Toni Storm def. Ayesha Raymond in a First Round MatchI wasn't too familiar with Storm whatsoever coming into this tournament, but she has quickly become one of my favorites. Holy shit, does she have charisma! Not only that, she is incredibly skilled in the ring and has breakout star written all over him. Raymond did her best to elicit heat from the crowd, but she wasn't very skilled. Thankfully, this was largely a showcase for Storm who shined and advanced. Dakota Kai def. Kavita Devi in a First Round MatchKai initially impressed me when I saw her in action against a debuting Nia Jax about two years ago on NXT, so I'm happy she's finally made it to WWE as part of the Mae Young Classic. She's young and small yet feisty in the ring and her explosive offense was on full display in this match. There wasn't anything overly special about Devi, but at least she held her own in there.
Mercedes Martinez def. Xia Li in a First Round MatchI had no idea Martinez was a Connecticut native until she made her entrance, so it looks like I'll be pulling for her in this tournament as a Connecticut resident myself. At any rate, this was fine while it lasted and pretty much what it should have been with Martinez picking up the victory and doing so in relatively quick fashion. Xia Li is one of the top Chinese prospects at the Performance Center, so expect to see more of her down the road after she improves. Rachel Evers def. Marti Belle in a First Round MatchEvers has been a solid hand in the ring whenever she's surfaced on NXT (she is a second-generation wrestler after all), but this was a deplorable performance from both her and Belle. I was never a fan of Belle's work in TNA to begin with, and she was terrible here too, but Evers should take part of the blame as well. Most of the spots were sloppy, there was no sense of urgency and there was no flow to anything they did. I'm hoping Evers has a better showing in the second round for her sake.
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