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My official ranking of the Mae Young Classic competitors after Round 1:

1) Toni Storm - I hated her after her initial video package last year with the tiny hat. She won me over with her amazing in-ring presentation and her personality. Count me as a huge Toni Storm fan.
2) Mia Yim - Her rivalry with Shelton Benjamin is the best feud in WWE, and she's got great personality and solid in-ring work.
3) Io Shirai - She hasn't quite sold me on her hype coming into the tournament yet, but it was mostly a squash match. What I did like was her immediate charisma and that moonsault. Damn.
4) Lacey Lane - I loved her look and her attitude. Sure, she's a bit of an Ember Moon, but I liked her whole package. I could definitely sign up for more of her.
5) Ashley Rayne - Despite the announcers overdoing the "SHE'S DOING THIS FOR HER DAUGHTER" schtick (who's the daughter? Madison?), she was super-polished as a sports entertainer. I think she is a natural brand ambassador-type for any company.
6) Mercedes Martinez - She's so great. Her theme sucks so fucking much that it prevents her from getting in the top 6.
7) Allysin Kay - I didn't think she was great in her match, but man she was excellent in her video package. She has a natural presence and she gets her character.
8) Tegan Nox - She impressed me in her match, but she didn't really wow me as a character.
9) Meiko Satomura - Seems like a great damn wrestler. I had never seen a match of hers before, and I thought she was great. I felt a little weird about how much they were pushing "SHE'S A LEGEND". It kind of felt forced for me.
10) Deonna Purazzo - Her theme sucks. I don't like her bowing. I kind of liked her way more as a generic babyface than as a reject from Mozart in the Jungle.
11) Kacy Catanzaro - She was a little canned and forced for my tastes, but I can definitely see her potential as a D-List celebrity turned star. She'll be fighting Ronda in 3 years.
12) Xia Li - Waaaaaay better than last year. Her character work was pretty strong but her wrestling was awful.
13) Taynara Conti - I just love trying to figure out what the fuck her gimmick is supposed to be? Is she an arrogant heel? A jiu-jitsu tae kwon do master like Glacier? A person who cries a lot? A member of Undisputed Era? I have no clue.
14) Rachel Evers - That Queen of Strong Smile gimmick was awful. Never again.
15) Priscilla Kelly - Paige's daughter probably has a future in wrestling.
16) Jinny - Not sure why she dyed her hair, and not sure why she wasn't using any of her powers in this match.
17) Isla Dawn - She looks like Isla Fisher. She had slightly less acting ability than Isla Fisher.
18) Xia Brookside - N E P O T I S M
19) Aerial Monroe - See above.
20) Karen Q - Boring.
21) Hiroyo Matsumoto - Less boring but more cringy. Stop talking about Godzilla.
22) Rhea Ripley - Kind of forgot who she was.
23) Reina Gonzalez - Something about cowboys? I don't know.
24) Killer Kelly - Explain the gimmick. Is she a killer of Kellys or a killer named Kelly?
25) Zeuxis - Something about her gimmick and theme made me cringe.
26) MJ Jenkins - Really annoying.
27) Zatara - Not even related to the REAL Zatara!
28) Kaitlyn - Some careers should just remain over.
29) Jessie Elaban - "Goofy" "Clumsy" "Loves to have fun" are all code for "characters scarlet won't like"
30) Nicole Matthews - Practically unremarkable in every way.
31) Vanessa Kraven - Man, nothing about that match or her gimmick was good.
32) Kavita Devi - Stop showing up until you learn a move.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful