The best and worst of the Mae Young Classic episode 7

Episode seven of the Mae Young Classic concluded the quarterfinal round and we now know who all of our semifinalists are going to be. Next week's episode will be the last one of the tournament to take place at Full Sail before the finals at Evolution the following Sunday.

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Last night's episode was disappointing, considering who took part in it and what the matches were. Let's just say that I was expecting much more than we got, especially this late in the game.

Nevertheless, let's look over the best and worst and discover who truly shined from the stage at Full Sail on the penultimate episode.

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Best: Legend vs. rookie

For once, I actually liked what the commentary did to this match. They set it up in a way that all the pressure was on Meiko Satomura, rather than Lacey Lane.

Meiko, they explained, had everything to lose because her reputation preceded her so far and wide.

A loss to a rookie like Lacey Lane would be embarrassing. Lacey, meanwhile, had nothing to lose and had the ability to make her career with a victory. It was a nice touch for once.

Lacey Lane tried her best to live up to it, showing some surprising bursts of offence in counter to Meiko Satomura's famously quick strikes. Lacey Lane hung in there, taking some stiff kicks and using her advantage in speed to deliver some of her own.

Eventually, however, she succumbed to Meiko Satomura's death valley bomb and lost. It was a worthwhile effort that won Satomura's respect.

That Lacey Lane advanced this far into the tournament might be the big surprise of this year's contest, but she's shown a lot of potential behind the rough edges. With a year of improvement, she could be one of the big players in the division.

Worst: Tegan's injury

We all knew this was coming, but it was still nasty to watch nevertheless, even after all this time. It was somewhat surprising the company decided to air it all on the Network.

Tegan Nox broke her leg after hitting the ramp in seemingly innocuous fashion after a dive. It was so innocuous that it looked like a work at first, especially with Tegan fighting through the pain for far longer than I expected her to.

Nevertheless, the referees decided to stop the match, with Rhea Ripley being declared the winner by default.

Tegan Nox might not have impressed during her actual matches, but she did here, and probably won a lot of fans in the process. Her injuries seem to be severe, so it's still an open question when or if she'll return, but I'm sure many people will be happy when the day finally arrives.

Best: Io vs. Deonna

This was the match of the night, though it still felt like something was missing, particularly in the middle when the crowd was prone to long bursts of silence. Nevertheless, this was a contest that was wrestled with both technical finesse and high speed, devastating looking strikes.

We also got to see Io Shirai in a vulnerable position, being put in Deonna's armbar in the center of the ring. Deonna Purazzo tried to go for the double armbar that she used on Xia Li the week before, but was unable to get it, and Io Shirai broke the hold with rollup pins several times.

Io eventually delivered a moonsault (that she really does need to work on), for the three count and the victory. Nevertheless, Deonna Purrazzo showed a lot in this tournament, as she wanted to. It's a shame she's already taken a few losses in NXT.

Worst: Storm, Yim disappoint

This was basically a worse version of the Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto match from round two. It basically consisted of nothing except Toni Storm getting beaten up for 90% of the match and then coming back and winning with a couple of anticlimactic moves.

It's baffling why WWE decides to book all its babyfaces in this same way. Toni Storm really doesn't serve as a convincing underdog, but the company insists on it anyway. Mia Yim's injured hand only came into play at the very end of the match and it was baffling why, after having gone through the war with Kaitlyn, that her hand wasn't a lot more vulnerable.

This was a mess, psychologically, even if the work itself in the match was good because of the caliber of the performers within it. Hopefully, Toni Storm's subsequent matches aren't like this because she can do more.