an insurmountable mountain, a lethal venom, a freak tragedy and a comeback story.

wrestling 019 & tv review 060

WWE

Mae Young Classic 2018

s02e07

[ WWE ]

[17th of October, 2018]

[55min, Pop culture, Sports Entertainment, Wrestling]

It's all too late already now but I just want to finish what I have started for once. Here we go with the first day of the quarter finals!

Starting with the ambitious mountain climber trying to conquer the intimidating mountain, the styles of Lacey Lane and Meiko Satomura have a great chemistry as they exchange kicks after kicks while matching their speedy movements around each other and around the ring. Not paying back the acknowledgement given by the more experienced wrestler cause Lane the first momentum of the match but she admittedly rise up to meet the legend half way. Even if only for a moment that you think she might cause an upset, Satomura just lashes back with the killing blow of a kick to the head and her signature Michinoku Driver. The homegrown talent really outdo herself in this tournament and it is a guarantee we will see her again soon. Meiko will keep on shining bright, for now.

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Io Shirai versus Deonna Purrazzo is a match of rising potential, with the former's edge against the latter's grace. While Shirai takes the advantage in the opening minutes, Purazzo isn't a slack either as she tries to fight back every now and then but to no avail. When she does get the upper hand however, she tries to end it quickly with the application of the Fujiwara Armbar but it is a short lived fightback as the rollercoaster of momentum begins with the Japanese tribute to Rey Mysterio and the following triple German Suplex. We are back again to the now two hands Armbar but Deonna just can't keep Io down as she counter with her own Cripple Crossface, another tribute to a tragic fallen legend, Chris Benoit. That devastating knee to the face is the deciding factor as this closely fought match goes to the Genius in the Sky with her signature Asai Moonsault. The Armbar Specialist will keep on shining bright in the indies but the more complete package goes through to fight for the honour.

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And now the most tragic news of the tournament as Tegan Nox who missed the inaugural tournament last year through injury made an incredible effort to come back despite the circumstance and even goes as far as this quarter finals, but unfortunately it is cut short despite her best efforts. Rhea Ripley is a hard threat to overcome and the Welsh's attempt to take the bull by its horns from the start turns out to be the one that deals her in. Suicide dive is named so because of the risk involves when executing it from not getting caught in the ropes to how you fall on the opponent and of course how you land on the mat below. She do the first two well in this instance but how her left leg lands on the steel surface that cause it to bend in an awkward way. It is a freak accident and it is just disheartening to happen to such a talent that is already recovering from an injury to her right leg. I applaud Tegan for even trying to keep the match going despite the official and doctor's concern but the pain is just too unbearable for her in the end. She shouldn't apologize at all for giving her all in the ring since fate just deals her the worst card sometimes. Rhea does her best to keep to her heel persona by giving that smirk when she is announced as the winner but you can see her concern for her fellow competitors before then. It is nice to see Triple H tries to console her and just like him, I know she will bounce back even better in the future!  

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Being professional to the end, they keep the show going as we end the night with the last quarterfinal match between Mia Yim and Toni Storm, as exchanging of blows keeps the momentum changing hand in every instance The former uses her experience to her advantage though by trying to ground down the feisty latter with a number of effective submission holders from the modified double knee-to-backbreaker to conventional reverse chokehold while alternating with numbing varieties of hard kicks but that still bandaged hand is smartly used against her to restore the parity. Despite her best efforts, the Korean American just can't get the decisive pin after applying moves after moves on the Australian from a Side Suplex to a Powerbomb, and that proves to be her undoing in the end as Toni pulls out another comeback win by again putting pressure on that injured hand to deliver a Snapped German Suplex that quickly follows by her Storm Zero. Mia performs consistently enough that she catches the eyes of WWE to be fully signed under their umbrella, proving that hard work will pay off in the end. Storm has been single out to be the talent they will fully get behind this year, and for good reasons too.

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Execution = over 90% with the cream of the crop left for us to savour!

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P.S. I've hoping for the best for Tegan Nox to eventually have a full recovery ... nothing can keep her down!