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Daily She-DT: Appreciating Meiko Satomura, Kacy Catanzaro Has ‘It’

By Kevin Parvizi

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Today’s Daily She-DT reviews the Mae Young Classic 2’s initial second-round matchups, including praise for Meiko Satomura, Toni Storm, and Kacy Catanzaro.

Let’s start with Toni Storm, whose match with Hiroyo Matsumoto was an electric way to kick off the second round of the Mae Young Classic 2. Based on Storm’s performances in last year’s tournaments, WWE fans already understood just how magical it is to watch Storm go to work inside the ring, but I think we’re still just taken aback by how good she is at getting us to invest in her matches.

Storm really shines when she’s getting grounded by an opponent early before charging back with a spirited comeback, showcasing her resiliency and power. She avoided losing to Matsumoto’s violent finisher by getting her foot on the ropes, and her ability to sell pure exhaustion allows her inevitable comeback to feel that much more satisfying. We feel that our cheering, even if it occurred at home when watching a match taped months ago, actually influences the match when Storm is in there.

Facial expressions are so important in wrestling, and Storm is able to nail the full gamut of emotions without moving from “easy-to-read” to “overdone” (you know, Cedric Alexander territory). Storm is everything WWE wants in a superstar from an in-ring standpoint, because she’s so good at making her own moves and her opponent’s moves mean something. Whenever she starts hitting her big suplexes to get back in the match, it’s hard not to pretend like you aren’t there at ringside, cheering her on against a tough opponent.

That tough opponent in this match was Hiroyo Matsumoto, who looks like a wrestler WWE should very much be interested in. She brings just as much energy to a match as Storm, which speaks volumes. At 32, Matsumoto is a seasoned veteran of the wrestling business, with an impressive list of accomplishments that made her one of the most respected wrestlers in the tournament. It’s sad to see her exit the Mae Young Classic 2, but she definitely went out with a bang.

The Taynara Conti Story

Coming into the Mae Young Classic 2, I admittedly remembered precious little about Taynara Conti’s work in the first tournament, let alone her work in NXT. All I could recall was that the Undisputed Era essentially used her to their advantage but never returned the favor when it came to helping her in her career as a character.

I think it’s a good thing that the Undisputed Era hung Conti out to dry, because she never needed them at all.

Though she was eliminated by Lacey Lane after a crucifix powerbomb that left her stunned and in tears, her two matches in the Mae Young Classic 2 have provided so much in terms of character development. Here is an athlete who believes in herself wholeheartedly as a black belt in judo and carries that with her into her matches. Conti was one of the most aggressive wrestlers in the tournament, using the ropes to attack the webbing of her opponent’s hands or sending them reeling with vicious strikes.

Though it isn’t necessarily obvious, Conti has one of NXT’s most intriguing movesets, now that we’ve been able to witness more of her work, thanks to the Mae Young Classic 2. Conti’s confidence and aggressiveness, however, leave her vulnerable to getting hit by a big move from out of nowhere, as Lane essentially used Conti’s strength to her own advantage to pick up an underdog-style victory.

That will be an interesting wrinkle in Conti’s character worth examining, because there’s so much more growth ahead for her. The lasting image of her in tears, juxtaposed with her tears of joy after winning in round one, is a powerful one, and I hope we see the fallout over the coming months of NXT programming.

Kacy Catanzaro Has ‘It’

Maybe it’s because I’m also a short person, but I cannot get enough of Kacy Catanzaro. Her upbeat personality comes across as being so genuine that you’d have to be an actual monster to not root for her to pick up a “W”, and her in-ring style is so acrobatic that you’d have to be an even bigger troll than Jim Cornette to be unable to enjoy her matches.

Hyperbole aside, Catanzaro has “it”, and she could become a breakout star for NXT in 2019. I’d like to highlight a mistake Catanzaro made in her loss to Rhea Ripley as an example of why she has so much potential in this business.

Catanzaro does this insanely difficult move that I can barely describe or even contemplate the physics of how it is possible. But she basically jumps over the top rope from the outside, hits the middle rope and bounces off of it to hit a ridiculous missile dropkick.

It’s an insanely difficult move to complete, and Catanzaro slipped off the top rope on her first attempt. She and Rhea Ripley traded some strikes, and then Catanzaro went back to do it again. She egged the crowd on, executed the move to perfection, and then moved in for the cover after hitting another crazy move. Renee Young exclaimed that Catanzaro might be her new favorite WWE Superstar, and the crowd was going crazy.

That type of recovery showed wisdom and resolve, and, yes, it’s hard not to respect Catanzaro that much more after this.

Catanzaro was lights-out in the match, hitting a corkscrew plancha, the prettiest around-the-world DDT you’ll ever see, and a jaw-dropping handstand-off-the-ropes/headscissors/what is that move even called????

She drew comparisons to Rey Mysterio and Bayley with her performances in the Mae Young Classic 2, but Catanzaro is her own beast. And she could be an inspiration for a lot of women and athletes who were told they were too small to excel in a sport (particular a “strength sport”). Catanzaro is undoubtedly going places, and I’m ecstatic that I may get a chance to watch her wrestle on a bigger stage soon.

Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez

I mean, damn. This was a tremendous match, and it will go down as one of the classics of the Mae Young Classic. It’s hard to fathom how good Meiko Satomura is, because there are so many little details about wrestling that you only begin to notice when Satomura wrestles.

It’s not because she makes them obvious, but, rather, it’s because she’s so mind-blowingly good at wrestling that you pay attention to her matches more closely as a result of wanting to absorb as much of her brilliance as possible. Every transition into her holds is exquisitely tight, as there’s no wasted movement as she fluidly moves herself from one end of the body to another.

The timing and the desperation make you realize that psychology is so subtle in wrestling that it’s not even noticeable until you watch matches closely, examining moves under a microscope as you allow Satomura’s flawless execution to increase your understanding of a sport she’s lived and breathed for decades.

Each submission feels like a life-and-death struggle, each kick-out more pained than the last, and each gathering of strength before a big move as exhilarating as any dive or powerbomb could ever be.

Martinez was equal to Satomura in this match, too, which made the back-and-forth battle even more memorable. You just could not tell which woman was going to win, as they brought a different type of resolve to the table. Martinez fought past everything Satomura threw her way until it just wasn’t enough. For as much emotion and determination as Martinez showed, she could not surpass a living, breathing wrestling machine who just instinctively knows what to do next.

This match was a clinic, and it served as an example of the heights women’s wrestling in WWE can achieve. Satomura and Martinez gave the fans a textbook example of how there just might be nothing better in pro wrestling than a straight-up fight between two great wrestlers who will leave it all on the line solely for the love of the sport.

Satomura vs. Martinez was about passion and respect, as much as it was about winning. Coming out on top was just a way of manifesting the raw emotions into an end product, but each devastating hold and last-gasp kick-out was crafted with a deep love for a sport these two women have dedicated years of their lives to.

P.S. This post-match promo from Mercedes Martinez was awesome! 

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