What’s the story?
With no less than seven Horsewomen present at this past week’s Mae Young Classic tapings, WWE took full advantage of teasing a possible Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen match. The following footage shows the moment that Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke came face-to-face with Bayley, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch.
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Rousey, Shafir, and Duke were at ringside to support their buddy Baszler, who herself is a participant in the Mae Young Classic. Bayley, Charlotte, and Lynch were also in attendance because – well, as WWE employees, presumably they’re allowed to turn up to shows as and when they please.
Especially when there are seeds for a potential angle to be sown. The only absentee was Sasha Banks, who’s currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand, though she did get in on the act via FaceTime at one point.
Going in depth
Baszler was the catalyst for this particular showdown. After her second-round match with Mia Yim, she turned to the WWE’s Horsewomen to give a taunting four finger salute. That then prompted some histrionics between the two sides, suggesting some kind of faction warfare angle could well be on the company’s agenda.
It’s also worth noting that since the showdown, WWE.com has released one of its trademark polls to stir the pot, asking fans who they’d like to see Ronda Rousey face if she were ever to return to a WWE ring. For what it’s worth, Charlotte was the prime choice at the time of writing, following closely by Stephanie McMahon.
Next steps
For Baszler in particular, her most immediate concern will obviously be her performance in the Mae Young Classic. But this whole tease suggests that regardless of how far she progresses in the tournament, the company may well have big plans for her and her Horsewomen buddies in the coming weeks and months.
With the Mae Young Classic airing after SummerSlam, don’t expect any kind of payoff just yet. Realistically, if some kind of Horsewomen match is indeed in the pipeline, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, or even WrestleMania would be the most likely stages for such a meeting.
Author’s take
While it may seem like nothing more than a tease at this point, WWE rarely suggests a match that it can’t ultimately deliver on. So perhaps they remain hopeful of convincing Rousey and co. to follow Baszler’s footsteps and make the transition to a WWE ring.
That being said, on the other side of the coin, it could easily be argued that this Horsewomen malarkey is detracting from the Mae Young Classic itself. Perhaps the company should have stalled on this segment until after the tournament was over, so as to avoid the whole thing becoming something of a footnote in this budding horsewoman vs. Horsewomen angle.
