14 Names Confirmed For WWE's Mae Young Classic

A batch of major additions bolster the upcoming women's tournament.

Kairi Hojo
We-Are-Stardom.com

Two weeks out from the first set of tapings, the WWE Mae Young Classic has just added its most noteworthy participant yet. Japan's Kairi Hojo, who was signed in March and began training at the Performer Center last week, will compete in the tournament as 'Kairi Sane.'

The announcement was made during WWE's house show in Tokyo earlier today:-

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WWE.com's feature on Kairi's inclusion also names three more new additions. Among them is Scottish powerhouse Viper, who the Wrestling Observer speculated would be participating last month, and is now confirmed to be taking part as 'Piper Niven.'

New Zealand's Evie has also been named, and while she has competed for NXT under her existing ring name before, she'll work the Mae Young Classic as 'Dakota Kai.' The same goes for current WWE developmental wrestler Bianca Blair, who has seen her surname switched to 'Belair' for the tourney.

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These additions bring the 32-person tournament's competitor count up to 14 names. As of right now, the list looks like this: Toni Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Tessa Blanchard, Abbey Laith, Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Taynara Conti, Kavita Devi, Jazzy Gabert, Bianca Belair, Vanessa Borne, Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, and Piper Niven.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.