Ten Wrestlers We’d Like to See in Mae Young Classic 2018

WWE has announced that Mae Young Classic 2018 will take place in August 2018. While names like Toni Storm and Meiko Satomura are a sure bet, there are plenty of other wrestlers we’d love to see in the tournament spotlight.

With Meiko Satomura reportedly booked and rumors swirling around Toni Storm, Io Shirai, and other WWE signees, it’s time to start fantasy booking Mae Young Classic 2018. As much as I would love to just list a hundred awesome wrestlers, booking a tournament like the Mae Young Classic requires a little more thought.

To create a compelling tournament, we need wrestlers that are as good at telling stories as they are at wrestling. We need folks with fully formed characters who can scorch their promos and turn in compelling matches with wrestlers at a variety of skill levels. So who should make the cut?

In order to narrow things down, this list does not include previous Mae Young Classic contenders (though I would love to see Jazzy now that she’s been cleared!), wrestlers that have signed to WWE, or wrestlers who are not legally old enough to wrestle for WWE in the United States (sorry, Millie McKenzie, but there’s always next year).

Here are ten wrestlers I believe are worthy of serious consideration for the Mae Young Classic 2018:

SHOTZI BLACKHEART

Once you see Blackheart do her thing in the ring, you don’t forget her. The ballsy badass from the Black Lagoon would bring some much-needed personality to the Mae Young Classic.

Shotzi Blackheart was the first RISE wrestler selected to appear on IMPACT, and there’s a reason she’s TV-ready. Blackheart is a maniac on the mic and she’s incredible in the ring, with crazy acrobatic moves and some of the coolest submission holds I’ve ever seen.

Fright Night is probably my favorite wrestling move right now, and I’d love to see her do it to Io Shirai. While her punk rock look might make you expect Blackheart to work as a heel, she’s been awesome as a badass babyface on RISE. Book her as a wildcard and see what happens.

DELILAH DOOM

If you’re looking for a babyface that can get a crowd on her side in no time, you’re looking for Delilah Doom. Though she’s probably best known in the wrestling world as the Phoenix of RISE, she’s been tearing it up at indie promotions across the country for a while now.

The “Queen of Aerobic Style”, Doom brings aerobic-style high kicks and an eighties aesthetic into every match. But don’t let the gimmick distract you-  Doom has wrestled opponents ranging from technical pros like Deonna Purrazzo to big-time bruisers like Jessicka Havoc, and she can hang with the best. Her cheery attitude and fun aesthetic could make her the same kind of face to root for that Kairi Sane was last year. Doomies never say die!