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What's the story?
Mercedes Martinez is set to compete in her second Mae Young Classic tournament next month and ahead of the show, the current NXT star has shared all about the pressure that the women are under as part of the tournament.
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In case you didn't know...
Mercedes Martinez competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic last summer and made it all the way to the semi-finals before she lost to current NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. Kairi Sane was later crowned the winner of the tournament when she was able to hand The Queen of Spades her first loss, but Martinez was impressive throughout the tournament and has since made numerous appearances as part of the NXT Women's Division.
The heart of the matter
Martinez has already been announced as one of the women who will retain her place in the second Mae Young Classic next month and ahead of the tournament she spoke to Newsweek about the pressure of the Classic.
"It's now time to win it all. I came close last year, I lost to a good friend of mine. This is the year to take it home, there's no stopping me. I have a lot to prove, and I'm still proving myself no matter how many years I'm in this business. ... There's a lot of pressure, there's always pressure. I think the pressure now is making sure I'm ready and whatever I did last year, I bring 100 percent more. Me going to the semifinals with Shayna, it pretty much solidified that Mercedes can go. There's a lot of pressure for me to go to the finals and win it this year. So I'm not taking this very lightly. It doesn't matter who is in front of me, I'm ready to go in there and step up my game 10 times more than last year. I proved last year I could go the distance, and this is the year I have to take it home, no matter what. I'm ready."
Martinez also went into detail about who she was most looking forward to facing as part of the tournament.
"I'm very excited for Jinny, who I've been watching for the last two years. Her hard-hitting style and her aggressiveness, we'll match very well. For Kaitlyn, I know she's been training in Miami so I'm excited to see her come back and see what she can do. Even Io Shirai, who I was hoping to have a chance to wrestle before she got picked up when Stardom came down to the U.S. It's a very talented core of women, but there's new faces, new talents. I have to work ten times harder than the young bucks."
What's next?
The second annual Mae Young Classic takes place on August 8th and 9th live from Full Sail University in Florida.
Are you looking forward to the second Mae Young Classic? Have your say in the comments section below
