Five New Wrestlers Announced for Mae Young Classic (Photos & Info)

WWE has announced five new wrestlers for the Mae Young Classic tournament, in addition to the four that were previously announced.

Third-generation wrestler Tessa Blanchard, hard-hitting veteran Abbey Laith, black-belt judoka Taynara Conti, international bruiser Jazzy Gabert and Great Khali protégé Kavita Devi are the latest additions to the Classic.

They will join Toni Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Lacey Evans and Sarah Logan, who were announced last week for the 32-woman tournament.

WWE will tape the first few rounds of the tournament on July 13 and 14 at Full Sail University and will release those episodes on WWE Network some time at the end of August, with a live finals special taking place on Tuesday, September 12.

Here is more info on the officially announced competitors, via WWE.com:

Tessa Blanchard

Twenty-one-year-old Tessa Blanchard, of Charlotte, N.C., may be new to the WWE Universe, but her last name isn’t. The daughter of WWE Hall of Famer and Four Horseman Tully Blanchard, granddaughter of wrestler-turned-promoter Joe Blanchard, and stepdaughter of NWA legend Magnum TA, Tessa decided to follow in the family trade after watching her father’s Hall of Fame induction in 2012. Since her 2014 debut, Blanchard has competed across the globe, including in the U.K., China, Japan and the Maritimes (where she once wrestled 23 nights in a row). She has even garnered praise from The Rock, whom she worked with on the set of the movie “Fighting with My Family.”

Abbey Laith

Abbey Laith grew up admiring revolutionaries like Lita, Chyna and Ivory, but the WWE Performance Center standout — renowned for her strikes and suplexes — will have a chance to break new ground of her own in this summer’s Classic. Coming to wrestling with an extensive background in dance, particularly ballet, Laith began training for the ring while working toward a bachelor’s degree in dance education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Laith, who counts WWE Cruiserweight Drew Gulak as one of her original coaches, developed into wrestling royalty on the independent scene. She captured titles in SHIMMER Women Athletes and Shine Wrestling and became the only woman to hold the Chikara Grand Championship before joining the Performance Center earlier this year.

Taynara Conti

A newcomer to sports-entertainment, 22-year-old judo master Taynara Conti might be one of the Classic’s least-seasoned wrestlers inside the ring. However, the Performance Center recruit isn’t lacking world-class combat-sport experience. Conti spent years honing her martial arts skills in her native Brazil, eventually being promoted to black belt in judo and blue belt in jiu-jitsu. She competed in the 2016 Olympic trials in judo, and though Conti narrowly missed the cut, her thunderous throws helped put her on the radar of WWE talent scouts. Having trained under WWE coaches since last October, Conti will get her first chance at The Mae Young Classic to show the world what happens when a decorated judoka enters the ring.

Jazzy Gabert

Representing Germany in the Classic is Jazzy Gabert, a muscle-packed, 6-foot-1 brawler who has wrestled internationally for more than 15 years. A strongwoman and professional MMA fighter outside the ring, the bruising Berliner has achieved her greatest success in Europe and Japan. Gabert is a multi-time champion in Japan’s Stardom organization, and she is currently a women’s champion for groups in Germany and Switzerland. In MMA, she has fought under the banners of the Rizin Fighting Federation and IFO Europe.

Kavita Devi

Kavita Devi is a powerhouse student of former World Champion The Great Khali. Hailing from Jind, Haryana, India, the 5-foot-9 Devi is a top competitor in Khali’s Punjab-based organization, Continental Wrestling Entertainment. She gained the attention of WWE talent scouts at a tryout this past April in Dubai. Devi was an accomplished kabaddi player in high school and is also a competitive powerlifter. In 2016, she won gold in the 75 kg weightlifting division at the South Asian Games. Inside the ring, Devi has racked up victories using a head-caving roundhouse kick.

Toni Storm

Twenty-one-year-old Toni Storm is the first and reigning PROGRESS Women’s Champion in the United Kingdom. Already an eight-year veteran, Storm has carved out a reputation worldwide: Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and based in the U.K., she wrestled in 13 countries before age 20, capturing championships along the way. With an aesthetic flair that finds inspiration in ‘80s rock, plus a ring style that is equal parts technical and hard-hitting, Storm looks to impress on her biggest stage yet in the Classic.

Lacey Evans

Lacey Evans, of Parris Island, S.C., is a familiar face to WWE Network subscribers. A newcomer inside the yellow ropes of NXT, Evans joined the WWE Performance Center in April 2016. Prior to pursuing sports-entertainment, she served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years, including time spent as military police and a member of the Special Reactions Team, which is the Marine equivalent of a SWAT Team. Nicknamed “The Lady of NXT,” Evans has said she hopes to use her platform in WWE to show women all over the world, including her 4-year-old daughter, that there are no limits on what you can achieve.

Sarah Logan

Hailing from Louisville, Ky., Sarah Logan is proud to have been “born in the woods and raised in the mud,” as she puts it. Like Evans, Logan is an NXT competitor and recruit at the Performance Center. She began her in-ring career on the U.S. independent scene in 2011, and quickly gained notoriety for her rough-and-tumble fights. She refined her skills in Japan under former WWE Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku before signing with WWE in October 2016. Logan, who has also won Olympic powerlifting competitions, made her NXT TV debut earlier this year.

Princesa Sugehit

One of the most esteemed grapplers in Mexico, the masked Princesa Sugehit, from Monterrey, brings 20 years’ experience to the Classic. Since turning professional in 1996, Sugehit has earned countless accolades while competing in her home country’s top organizations, CMLL and AAA. Not only that, but she has claimed the masks of numerous rivals over the year, which is considered the ultimate sign of triumph in lucha libre. She is also the current Mexican National Women’s Champion.