Earlier this week we reported that New Zealand wrestler Evie would be competing in the upcoming Mae Young Classic, and that she had been given the new name of Dakota Kai. WWE has now confirmed that three additional names have been added to the upcoming women’s tournament, with two of them bringing even more international flair to the already decorated lineup.
The first competitor announced is none other than Japanese wrestling sensation Kairi Hojo, who will be taking the new ring name Kairi Sane going forward. The 28-year-old former Stardom Champion appeared on screen at today’s WWE Live event in Tokyo, Japan announcing to the sold out crowd at Ryugoku Sumo Hall that she had officially signed with NXT and would be making her debut in the Mae Young Classic.
Kairi Sane announces that she will take part in the historic #MaeYoungClassic! #WWETokyo pic.twitter.com/LleJ4P9XHN
— WWE (@WWE) June 30, 2017
Piper Niven, which appears to be the new ring name for Scottish wrestler Kimberly “Viper” Benson, has also been announced for the tournament. Niven first made her name on the UK indies but has made her way to the U.S. to work for both Shine and the Chicago-based SHIMMER promotion. She has been wrestling for nearly a decade and was trained by current NXT Superstar Killian Dane (aka Big Damo) and Mikey Whiplash.
WWE Performance Center standout Bianca Belair (who got a very slight name change from “Bianca Blair”) is the final name announced in today’s Mae Young Classic reveal. Belair is very new to the actual wrestling side of the business, but is said to be a freak athlete that has been impressing everyone at the P.C. in Orlando since being signed. She recently qualified for the tournament after defeating Aliyah in a match before last week’s NXT television tapings – you can check out the full match on WWE.com if you’re interested.
That brings the total number of announced competitors in this year’s Mae Young Classic to 15, with 17 more names to be revealed in the coming weeks. The standouts thus far are Sarah Logan (aka Crazy Mary Dobson), Progress Women’s Champion Toni Storm, Abbey Laith (aka Kimber Lee), third generation star Tessa Blanchard, the recently announced Kairi Sane and Piper Niven, as well as Brazilian martial artist Taynara Conti and Mexican National Women’s Champion Princesa Sugehit.
