Mae Young Classic | |
---|---|
Promotions | WWE |
First event | 2017 |
Last event | 2018 |
The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is considered one of the pioneers of women's professional wrestling. The tournament was contested by wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and wrestlers from the independent circuit. The winner received the Mae Young Classic Trophy.
To date, there have only been two tournaments. The first was held in the summer of 2017 and was won by Kairi Sane. The second was held in 2018 and was won by Toni Storm—the final of the second tournament was held at WWE's first all female pay-per-view, Evolution. As a result of both tournaments, many competitors from the independent circuit were signed by WWE to compete on their NXT brand, with some from the second tournament being signed to the upstart NXT UK brand. A 2019 tournament was planned but fell through.