Done Round One. Let me split this up into a few different categories. Obviously there are spoilers below.
People who were shit on hard in Spoilers before I saw their matches:Vanessa Borne: She was NOT as bad as I thought she was going to be. Like I was expecting some bad shit considering how bad she was put down. She wasnt the best but she was I dunno, fine? A Year In she has plenty of room to improve
Reina Gonzalez: Again, wasnt as bad as I thought. But Im gonna assume they're worried about her selling, because Nicole Savoy was touted as the Queen of Suplexes in the match a lot and didn't throw ONE Suplex. This was really a showing by Gonzalez more than anything. I thought she did ok.
Taynara Conti- Actually I liked her. Nice bratty "Better than you" attitude, and deceptive strength for a tiny woman. I think she could get better with seasoning.
Marti Belle- The worst competitor in the Tourney. A Nine Year Veteran that I think under the lights just choked. From flopping around like a fish in ring to needing to be reminded to PUT YOUR HANDS UP by the ref when her opponents was wailing on her. She had her personality down, that's about it. The match was plodding, and her movements during moves were all extremely sloppy. I expect this from someone a year in, not NINE YEARS in. You're Tamina Levels at that point. No excuse.
Women Who Lost Round One not counting the above who all lost Round One:Tessa Blanchard- GREAT Match, I'd love to see her signed and paired with Charlotte honestly. Good look, good set, and delivered one of the best round one matches of the tourney.
Xia Li- THAT was her first match ever?? She absolutely killed it in defeat. Crisp Kicks, good character work with the dancing and fan. Got the crowd super into it with her clapping. She had a solid all around debut. She has impressed me the most of any China Prospect WWE has presented me.
Sage Beckett- I would like to see more of this "Shaman" gimmick explored if they sign her, because overall it interested me more than she herself did match wise. She wasn't bad though. Kind of an Anticlimactic Loss I'd say. Big Girl Power, and I'd say if they expand on her whole Shaman thing she could be a good get.
Kay Lee Ray- WHY ROUND ONE? WHYYYYYY?? Probably the one I hated to see go the most, she has so much to give and see. Maybe she'll be on an extra match during this thing? I would hope so, because god damn she is one of the BEST out there right now, she was a Semifinalist easy in any other situation.
Zeda- Good story, good way with words. I can't really say much about her wrestling ability because she kind of got murdered in her match. But what I saw wasn't bad. I'd say the China Girls have impressed me more than the guys so far.
Kavita Devi- JINDER, SIGN THIS GIRL TO BE YOUR BODYGUARD. What a performance. Basically dominated the whole match in another instance of Dakota Kai kind of being used to get her over first round in defeat. I assume WWE already has this girl signed especially since they wanna tap into the India Market. She impressed big time, throwing Dakota around like a toy basically until the end of the match.
Sarah Logan- Easily her best match in WWE so far. Hard Hitting, Brawling sorta style, really love it, and love her. Her accent is also adorable, and we'll see more of her in NXT.
Renee Michelle- Good showing. Very graceful in ring I'd say. A tad shaky at points but she had a good match and I'd say turned some heads backstage.
Jazzy Gabert- SIGN. SIGN. SIGN. SIGN. SIGN. What a perfect presence for the WWE. She looks like a movie villain, and wrestles like one too, all while being an awesome lady in real life. She could easily be the WWE's Female Braun Strowman if allowed to be. I can't see WWE letting her go after this. She's too good, her look will sell alone.
Miranda Salinas- Didn't look bad, but boy was she just outclassed in the ring by her opponent who I'll get to soon. She wasn't bad, but boy it felt like a mismatch for her.
Ayesha Raymond- Another girl who seemed to be put over in defeat Round One. I noticed this A LOT in the tourney, where some girls seemed to be putting over the losers and Round 2 may be where things bust out. Ayesha is no different. The amount she can deadlift is amazing. She had some really nice looking moments against one of the favorites of the tourney, and I would like to see more of her. She reminds me of Jazz, but like twice the size of Jazz... which is a terrifying prospect.
Santana Garrett- Another one I'm sad to see go round one. I imagine WWE will be looking at signing her as well. Great presence, great look, and one of the better matches of the opening round.
Now for the people who won round one!: Racheal Evers- I have to say despite her bloodline I think she is the Hoho Lun of the winners. Maybe that's because she had a shit opponent in Marti Belle, but she did not impress in the first round. Again, Belle was a shit opponent, so I dont wanna blame it all on her, but the weakest win, especially since she won via small package.
Bianca Belair- She is the coming out party of this tournament. A PC Stash that is now unleashed. she just gets it, from her look, to even how she uses her own Ponytail as a weapon. I think her personality along with the fact she's already a good worker is gonna take this girl far. She's only just begun.
Toni Storm- I love her, good showing, but it felt like she was sleepwalking round one. I feel that Round 2 she is going to have a much better match. She just felt like she was more putting Raymond over in loss than showing her skills first round, as I said a few cases of that in this thing. But she has all the tools, and she I imagine, will continue to bring it.
Kairi Sane- GIVE HER THE VACANT BELT. Like if they audible for the MYC Finals to get the Womens Title of NXT, I hope Kairi goes all the way and gets the strap and Asuka heals up, comes back, and challenges her for a Takeover. She is an Anime Character come to life, insanely likable, adorable, and she is so ferocious. Maybe the best Elbow Drop I've ever seen, she is immediately a top girl in WWE, and was already one of the most touted female wrestlers in the world, now we see why.
Mia Yim- Love her, seen her work for years, and what an easy story and person to attach to. I hate that Enzo Amore has the same finisher as her currently, but Mia Yim is an easy sign for me in this tourney if I'm WWE. And if I'm honest she has an amazing cause they should get behind in a heartbeat in signing her. Yim is talented, extremely lovable, and had a great first round match with Logan.
Rhea Ripley- This girl is a future star if she remains healthy. She has the look, the skill, and she's 20. That's absolutely insane to me. Her facial expressions, ability to get the crowd into it, and overall look just screams star power. WWE has to be super happy to have this girl stashed in the PC, and now everyones gonna know their secret. Rhea's got it.
Mercedes Martinez- She's been chokin' bitches for years, and now she's doin the same here. I want her to go far, I hope she does because my god she is great. And PLEASE sign her if you can, because she is an amazing badass brawler, and really helped Xi Lee have an amazing first match. Also that Submission though.
Candice LaRae- If she isn't signed by now it's a crime. She is one of the most over girls in womens wrestling and she is maybe the easiest person to ever get behind in a fight. A true underdog, a true indy great, and Joey Ryan would approve of her Wild Ride
Shayna Baszler- She basically destroyed Zeda. She will be the BORK of this tourney and rightfully so. She's been killing it on the Indies before here, even though she had a big name before this, she's shown she's damn good at this wrestling thing too. Girl looks like she could rip you apart, and trust me, she can. She will go far in this thing I imagine, while HHH stares at Rhonda at ringside like "Soon...".
Serena Deeb- The Brian Kendrick of the Tournament without the heel bastard undertones, maybe carried Vanessa Bourne to a good match, at least Id say. She's an easy story to get behind, and I hope she can get a second chance in WWE. If Kendrick friggen can, I could see Serena back easy...
Princesa Sugehit- I can't believe how long this lady has been wrestling, because she doesn't look it at all. Great style, great moves, great presence in ring. I hate that she ousted Kay Lee Ray but if anyone was gonna round one I'm glad it was the most experienced women in the darn thing. I dont know if she'll be signed or not, but I imagine they'd sell a shit ton of those masks...
Piper Niven- F*** everyone who mocked her online because of her weight. She killed it in her match, and had one of the best round one matches vs Garrett. Who cares what you look like in wrestling if you can do it? Shouldn't it be a great thing to show that no matter what size you are and what you look like, you too, can live your dreams? F***ing internet trolls can eat all the dicks, Piper's awesome, and she showed why she's in this tourney.
Nicole Savoy- Yeah no I need to see more of her. Her whole match was putting Reina over. So I imagine this next match will be her actually well... wrestling, and doing the thing that's in her nickname in Suplexes. But good energy and presence, I look forward to more.
Lacey Evans- Her best match of her career so far. She has such a look about her, it's amazing, and such an easy story to also get behind. More than that though, I can't believe they signed off on letting her use the friggen Jig'n'Tonic on WWE TV... that makes me love her a whole lot more!
Dakota Kai- THE BIG DOG looked very much like a Puppy Round One. Putting over the monster Devi until the very end where she was able to bust out a win. Like a few other girls, I imagine her next match will be where she breaks out. But if anything she showed she can sell well, because she was flying all over the place. Also Izzy likes her, no surprise there.
Abby Laith- I've loved Kimberlee since she first broke out, so seeing her here and in one of the best round one matches of the Tourney makes me SO HAPPY. I hope she has a break out run in the tourney because her not being on NXT yet consistently only serves to sadden me. She has a great look, she's a great wrestler, and the fact she uses the Alligator Clutch is super appropriate.
Overall? A solid round one, with a few matches I feel could have gone longer but I understand time constraints, I'm sure they'll get longer in Round 2. A lot of obvious putting over the losers in Raymond, Gabert, Gonzalez, Devi, and Beckett, but it's expected, those are a lot of big gals that went out in the first round so they should look imposing. I'd say overall this was a much more solid first round than the CWC as well as I can only think of one person, Marti Belle, that straight sucked ass, while the CWC I can name like... seven guys who probably shouldnt have been there. So a nice improvement!
Agree? Disagree? In any case, hope you liked the writeup! Can't wait for Round 2!!