WWE: Kairi Sane Wins Inaugural Mae Young Classic

The inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament concluded Tuesday night.

After SmackDown Live went off the air Tuesday, the fans in Las Vegas were in for a treat. The final match of the Mae Young Classic was scheduled to air live. The finalists were Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler.

Both women ran roughshod over the competition to even get to the finals. Baszler had won all three of her prior matches via submission. Her MMA background served her well throughout the tournament. Of course, her pal Ronda Rousey was in the building, cheering her fellow Four Horsewoman on.

Meanwhile, Sane was possibly the most eccentric member of the field. Sure, other competitors had their quirks, but who else came out as a literal pirate princess? Only Sane had that kind of charisma and personality. That doesn’t mean anyone should discount her ability in the ring – just ask her first three opponents in the tournament.

When the two standout grapplers met with the tournament on the line, it was a big change from the first three rounds. Rather than a small but rabid fanbase at Full Sail University, the MYC finals were held in front of a main roster WWE crowd. That means the audience was bigger, but needed to be won over. When Sane’s (awesome) entrance was met with near silence – after Baszler was met with crickets as well – I feared the worst for the crowd reaction.

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But when you have two superstars who are so talented, and so willing to do whatever is necessary to put on a good show, it becomes easier to win the crowd over. By the time the match concluded, the audience was all in on the action in front of them.

And the action was intense. Baszler looked to use her considerable size advantage to wear down Sane for a submission chance, but Sane kept fighting out. As the match wore on, Baszler looked like she was nursing a rib injury of some sort.

Sane had a hard time stringing offense together in the early going. But as Baszler suffered the effects of the rib injury, Sane saw her opening and capitalized. A double stomp while Baszler was in a sort of tree of woe position opened things up for the pirate princess.

And once things were opened up, it was time for Sane to drop the Insane Elbow from the top. No one kicks out of that vicious elbow drop, and Baszler fell victim as well. After the three count, Sane became the winner of the inaugural Mae Young Classic.

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Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and NXT Assistant Coach – and WWE Women’s Division savior – Sarah (Del Rey) Amato congratulated both competitors in the ring. Sane was presented flowers and the trophy, and we all hope that this becomes a somewhat regular occurrence.