10 Mae Young Classic Superstars WWE needs to sign

WWE's latest tournament special is reaching its conclusion tonight as Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane will face-off in the finals of the Mae Young Classic following SmackDown Live.

To warm up for the finals, a six-woman tag team match aired last night, followed by a message from Triple H about the pride he has in the women who competed in the tournament.

Addressing the fans chanting "please sign Jazzy", he joked that WWE has budgets and he can't sign all of the women, which of course invites the question: which ones should they sign?

The Cruiserweight Classic saw nearly all of the competitors brought into the company at some point over the course of the next year and we've seen some of the men from the United Kingdom Championship tournament signed as well.

Since that is the trend, we should expect at least a remotely similar hiring spree to take place with the women who impressed WWE the most and who folks like Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H see a lot of potential in going forward.

In fact, over a dozen women out of the field of 32 are actually already on the NXT roster in some capacity, such as Dakota Kai, Bianca Belair, Taynara Conti and Abbey Laith.

However, that still leaves just shy of two-thirds of the participants not in WWE, but there are plenty of women who had to have shown off exactly the type of talent WWE should be scouting for.

In the interest of fairness, let's limit ourselves to just another one-third of the list by showcasing 10 picks WWE should be giving out contracts to in the coming weeks, in no particular order.

#1 Shayna Baszler

Baszler can't be in the finals and not be someone they prioritize. That makes zero sense.

Lots of buzz in the Cruiserweight Classic surrounded Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr, who were two of the biggest stars and made it very close to the end, but didn't sign with WWE.

Here's the kicker, though: neither of them was in the actual final, which was contested by Gran Metalik and TJ Perkins — both of whom can be seen on 205 Live.

Kairi Sane is already signed to WWE, so there's no determining factor of which one of the two winning the tournament being able to secure that final contract or anything in that regard, which wouldn't make sense anyway since people who were eliminated in the first round have had positions in the company for months.

There's also the promise of a Four Horsewomen of NXT vs. Four Horsewomen of MMA match, possibly at WrestleMania, which could be the absolute biggest thing the company can put together as far as women's division attractions.

WWE can't let that opportunity pass them up and signing Baszler to a contract to secure her in the family would be a major step in solidifying those plans.

Baszler is a popular name who brings some legitimacy to the ring, so unless some kind of contractual problems get in the way, she's a definite to sign.

#2 Toni Storm

By far one of the biggest standouts of the bunch — even more so than most of the talent signed to NXT like Sarah Logan, Xia Li, Reina Gonzalez and Zeda — was Toni Storm.

This woman oozed likability and showed that she is extremely comfortable in her own skin and showing off her style in a way that could easily make her the favourite for many viewers.

Image is big in WWE and a key importance along with being able to project that air of confidence that it isn't just an act and that you truly enjoy doing what you're doing, which is something Storm exudes.

You get the sense that she loves wrestling and that being in WWE is her dream, but she's had a blast learning the ropes in all the organizations she's worked for.

She had one of the biggest reactions from the crowd and went extremely far into the tournament for a reason, which means she must be someone WWE sees money in, and if that isn't the case, WWE is blind.

#3 Jazzy Gabert

One look at Jazzy Gabert and the thought that should have been running through everyone's minds had to be "if she can work, she can be a big star."

Unlike anybody in the entire tournament and frankly, on the entire NXT and main roster in WWE, Jazzy Gabert immediately looks intimidating due to her size and her muscles.

Without falling into the trap of being booked as strong just because she's bigger like Kharma, Nia Jax and someone else on this list, Jazzy actually looks like a physical threat in a pure strength type of way that can actually move around the ring better than those men and women who are simply larger than their opponents.

Just on her appearance, Jazzy stood out, but she was able to actually turn some heads by not being solely a brute, and since there aren't any women like that on the roster today, she could be our next Beth Phoenix or Chyna.

#4 Kavita Devi

While she certainly did not show the same in-ring talent as some of the other women on this list or the ones who already do have spots in NXT, Kavita Devi has several factors going for her which make her a guarantee that WWE shouldn't ignore.

The first Indian-born woman to compete in a WWE ring came in at a time where the Indian market is very important to WWE as evidenced by Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship reign and some efforts to expand into those territories.

What should please WWE officials is that Devi's single solitary first-round match against Dakota Kai quickly soared to the top of the view list on YouTube by a colossal margin.

Most videos of the matches received several to tens of thousands of views while Devi vs. Kai has soared past 4.5 million views, easily making it the most watched video of the tournament.

It surpassed even the parade of champions itself, which is the closest to match its view count and still only one-fourth the views, meaning there's a massive interest in Devi out there.

She has a great look to her and an imposing figure who could be moulded into an absolutely fantastic star in the future with the right guidance.

#5 Mercedes Martinez

There weren't very many heels in this tournament, but Mercedes Martinez surely was one of the few who excelled and really made a name for herself.

Out of the 32 women, Martinez had perhaps the best aura of being a veteran who had been in the game long enough to feel supremely confident in her abilities rather than someone new who was still learning the ropes but had promise.

Martinez carried herself so well that I think she could go straight to the main roster, bypassing NXT entirely, although seeing her run roughshod over the developmental brand and being one of the more tenured stars who can help the younger folk could be extremely beneficial.

If she doesn't get signed, it will be a travesty, as she's clearly worked hard enough to get herself to a level of talent that justifies her being in the elite.

#6 Santana Garrett

Let's get one thing out of the way really fast: before this tournament started, there were rumblings that producers in WWE felt it was problematic because there weren't enough attractive women in the mix.

They must not have been looking at Santana Garrett when they made that assessment as she is—at least in my opinion—perhaps the most fetching of the entire bunch.

That alone isn't a reason to be signed to WWE since we've seen more than our fair share of models who can't wrestle to save their lives, but thankfully, Garrett actually can go in the ring, too.

She has experience elsewhere in Global Force Wrestling and other organizations which have gotten her to a point where she just knows how to be a sports entertainment star, performing in front of the crowds.

Garrett must have been on WWE's radar for quite some time and it's shocking she hasn't crossed the T's and dotted the I's to get a true spot on the roster yet, but it's just a matter of time.

#7 Piper Niven

Following the quick discussion with Santana Garrett's looks, we have to address the Piper Niven situation, as she is probably the go-to example of what most critics would have had a problem with, due to her size.

As stated before, though, conventional standards for beauty are applicable to a certain extent in the entertainment industry, but in professional wrestling, they shouldn't be the determining factor above all else—nor does anybody have any right to say someone like Piper Niven wouldn't have her followers just the same.

Yes, she's the largest athlete of the bunch, but she's also much agiler than expected, so you can't judge a book by its cover.

Plus, her appearance helps differentiate her from the rest save for Nia Jax, whose presence in WWE is a perfect example of how Piper Niven shouldn't be discriminated against by any means.

If you're on the fence, ask yourself if WWE could get more mileage out of a Piper Niven, who put on some good matches, or a Marti Belle who stunk up the joint, sadly (and by all accounts was better than the level she performed at).

If I'm a talent scout, I'm signing Niven for sure because her performance was up to snuff and the crowd was digging her, so what more can you want?

#8 Candice LeRae

Candice LeRae is an absolute shoo-in to be signed to WWE unless something crazy happens to get in the way.

First things first, we can't ignore the obvious connection in that her husband is NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano and even though nobody should get a job purely based on their connections like that, LeRae happens to have the skills to earn a position even if that wasn't the case.

It's never a bad thing to have a high-flyer in the ranks, least of all someone who is personable, has a connection with the fans and is attractive in the typical WWE sensibility.

LeRae can be brought into NXT and immediately considered one of the favourites to hold the championship soon enough since she would be a top babyface on the brand, far surpassing women like Aliyah who have tried, but not succeeded.

Candice is another one of those names that I was shocked to see wasn't already signed by WWE, as it seems like that should have happened months ago.

#9 Tessa Blanchard

I see no reason at all why Tessa Blanchard shouldn't have a contract with WWE.

She has all the tools to go far in the business, so what's the hold-up?

In one match, Tessa proved that she has the look, she has the charisma, the fans are interested in seeing her, and she has the in-ring talent to hang with Kairi Sane and convince the fans that her loss was somewhat of an upset despite the two of them being somewhat on par with each other.

That is an impressive feat and it's a shame to see Blanchard eliminated so quickly in the tournament, rather than being one of the women who were able to progress further along like Serena Deeb, who had an okay comeback story but already had her shot.

Here's hoping this wasn't Blanchard's only opportunity to take part in the company she should have been training under several years ago.

#10 Mia Yim

Like many of the other names in this group, you can pretty much write up a checklist of what you'd look for in a wrestler for WWE and Mia Yim would get a plus sign next to all of them.

She has a good look to her, where she's at a pretty perfect body size to work matches with everybody on the roster since she's not too big or too small and could convincingly pair up against all her fellow women's wrestlers.

Yim is technically sound, having wrestled enough years to learn more than the basics and was even the top of the Knockouts division in TNA for a stint as Jade.

Having a woman of Korean-American descent is a bonus, as diversity is another thing WWE has been well aware of over the past few years, seeking talent from all across the globe so there are representatives of as many facets as possible.

Yim may not be the most sensational choice among the list, but what's wrong with someone who is perhaps one of the least risky signings?

Instead of gambling big on a long shot, it's smart to bet on experience and talent, so Yim is someone who could be trusted to make good use out of her contract, for sure.

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