Mae Young Classic 2017 Episode 3

Piper Niven and Santana Garrett’s hard-fought main event blew the roof off Full Sail University. Plus, WWE Performance Center standouts collided, Australia’s Toni Storm rocked out against U.K.’s Ayesha Raymond, and New Zealand’s Dakota Kai put her foot down against India’s Kavita Devi.

## Episode recap

#### **Toni Storm vs. Ayesha Raymond**

British brawler “Amazon” Ayesha Raymond came for a fight, and she got one out of Toni Storm. Storm, who represents Australia and is a champion in the U.K., had the support of the WWE Universe as she endured The Deadlift Diva’s powerful offense and hit Raymond with hip attacks.

Raymond regained the advantage, but a tactical error — her decision to climb down from the turnbuckle to exchange words with WWE fans at ringside before scaling the turnbuckles in another corner — did her in. The towering titan soared off the top rope, but Storm moved and slyly rolled up Raymond for the three-count.

#### **Kavita Devi vs. Dakota Kai**

India’s Kavita Devi, a champion powerlifter and student of The Great Khali, showed incredible strength facing the much more experienced Dakota Kai of New Zealand. Devi military press-slammed Kai, chucked her into the corner and smothered her with avalanches.

Devi wasted too much time between her attacks, however, and Kai avoided Devi’s splash in the corner. Kai raced into Devi with a running big boot and trampled her with a double foot stomp from the top rope to snare the win. Kai advances to meet Australia’s Rhea Ripley in a Trans-Tasman match in the Second Round.

#### **Sage Beckett vs. Bianca Belair**

“The EST of NXT” Bianca Belair used not just her world-class athleticism, but also her ingenuity to get past one of tournament’s most cerebral and physically imposing competitors, Sage Beckett. The boundlessly agile Belair sprung into a running frog splash and clobbered her fellow WWE Performance Center athlete with a clothesline. Beckett fired back and rattled Belair with a coccyx-quaking variation of the atomic drop.

Belair dodged a Vader bomb and wound up her extra-long hair braid before whipping Beckett with it. The staggered Beckett left herself open for a full-speed spear from Belair that nearly cut Beckett in two. Belair pinned the decorated veteran, punching her ticket to the Second Round.

#### **Piper Niven vs. Santana Garrett**

Full Sail University was split between Scotland’s Piper Niven and Ocala, Fla.’s Santana Garrett, serenading the competitors with dueling chants of “Let’s go, Piper” and “Santana.” Garrett worked hard to avoid Niven’s crushing bursts of offense, though she couldn’t steer clear when Niven leveled her with a crossbody block.

Garrett persevered, shook Niven with a palm strike and ripped her off the turnbuckles with a Trish Stratus-like headscissor takedown. The WWE Universe roared in excitement, and Garrett, a former gymnast, attempted her Shining Star Press finisher, but missed. Niven quickly squashed her with a senton to the back and spiked her with a Michinoku Driver to claim the fall. The hard-fought win earns Niven a match with Serena Deeb in the next round.

## Results

1. Toni Storm def. Ayesha Raymond in a First-Round Match
2. Dakota Kai def. Kavita Devi in a First-Round Match
3. Bianca Belair def. Sage Beckett in a First-Round Match
4. Piper Niven def. Santana Garrett in a First-Round Match