As has been noted, the second annual WWE Mae Young Classic taped all matches leading up to the finals back on August 8th and 9th at Full Sail University (for night one results go here, for night two results go here). With the Finals now set, taking place at WWE Evolution on October 28th, some reports have come out that the match between Toni Storm and Io Shirai may not have been the original plan.

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tegan Nox (formerly known as Nixon Newell), who suffered a severe leg injury in her Quarterfinal match against Rhea Ripley, was initially pegged to make it to the Finals to face Storm and there was a chance of her being the winner of the entire tournament. It’s being said that Tegan had been considered to win the Mae Young Classic, which would then set her up for a big run on NXT.

Of course, Nox fell victim to a torn ACL just before the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017, forcing her to miss the tournament and be on the shelf until April 13th of this year when she returned to action at an NXT Live Event. At last word, Tegan’s current injury is believed to be a broken leg, but that has not been confirmed and there is no timetable for her return.

EA’s Take: I actually had pegged Tegan as one of the likely favorites this year due to what happened last year. For those familiar with her and her return, it was an inspirational story and we all know how WWE likes to capitalize on that kind of stuff. While it didn’t work out this time, I think they will definitely go back to that well when she does come back.

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