The latest confirmed competitors for the Mae Young Classic 2018 Tournament were revealed today by WWE. The masked luchadora Zeuxis, NXT UK’s Isla Dawn, new NXT signee Lacey Lane, and US indy wrestling Superstar Karen Q are joining the 15 participants already announced or qualified for the tournament (Taynara Conti earned a spot for the tournament last week during NXT tapings).
Zeuxis is a Puerto Rican masked Luchadora, best known for her 10 years tenure with the Mexican wrestling promotion CMLL. She also made regular tours of Japan with the Reina Joshi Puroresu promotion. The “Puerto Rican Power” is a proponent of “Lucha Strong Style,” a mix of Lucha Libre and Japanese Strong Style. she put an end to former Mae Young Classic participant Princesa Sugehit when she defeated her in a mask vs. mask match. Like Pentagon Junior or Fénix, Zeuxis chose to hide her private life and real identity thanks to the mask she’s wearing.
The newest member of NXT UK Isla Dawn will represent Scotland in the tournament. The former dancer transitioned into wrestling in 2013 and worked for Scottish Wrestling Alliance and ICW, before making her own European tour of the business, wrestling in Spain, Denmark, Holland and Germany. She made her debut in 2016 in US wrestling promotions like CZW, Shine or NOVA. With fellow Superstars Toni Storm, Jinny and Killer Kelly, she will compete in the brand-new NXT UK division
Lacey Lane was set to participate last year but, because of arthritis in her knee, WWE rescinded its contract offer. Lane will be a part of the second Mae Young Classic as one of the recent recruits who headed to the WWE Performance Center last week. Lane was trained at the Dudley Boyz’ Team 3D Academy and has worked for promotions like The Crash Lucha Libre and AroLucha. She was also on a Division II Basketball National Championship team.
Chinese-American Karen Q made her professional in-ring debut in 2014 and worked for many indy promotions. She became a Woman of Honor when she made her debut with Ring of Honor in April 2017. She took part in the ROH Women Of Honor Championship inaugural Tournament. She’s described as tough, aerial, acrobatic and entertaining. She has a 12-year background in gymnastics, a background in diving, and a background in volleyball as well.
More names will be announced by WWE in the coming days and weeks. The Mae Young Classic 2018 Tournament tapings are taking place on August 8 and 9 at Full Sail Live in Orlando, Florida. The shows were sold out a few hours after the announcement of the tapings. The finals will be held as part of the WWE Evolution pay-per-view on October 28, 2018, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
All pics courtesy of WWE.com