After weeks of speculations and names revealed for this year’s Mae Young Classic, fans and participants alike are excited as we are set to kick-off the tournament this week!
In a preview interview with TV Insider, one of the MYC II participants Madison Rayne (who will wrestle as Ashley Rayne for the MYC II) discusses her first reaction on the news that she would compete in the Mae Young Classic, reveals who she’d like to compete against in the tournament and her future aspirations to earn a WWE contract. Highlights of the interview below.
Reaction that she would particpate in the MYC II: “I cried. I turned into such a crier the last couple of years. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a mother, but I cried and cried. It just feels really good after 13 years of really hard work and trying to find out who exactly I wanted to be in the ring and figure out exactly what I wanted my career to look like and what story I wanted to tell. I feel like, after everything I’ve done, not to say this is the ending point, but this is such an awesome later chapter in the story of my career.”
On previously considering in-ring retirement at the end of 2016: “I never wanted to be a competitor who was starting to decline in the ring before they started to realize maybe it’s time. I didn’t feel like I was that, but for the first time, I think I was in my professional career at a point where I was unsure. I think that those moments, maybe a lack of clarity and being unsure, can really propel you in one direction or another. That’s exactly what it did for me. It catapulted me the complete opposite way and motived me. I think there were a number of factors that contributed to that. I’ve always had a really strong support system. When I presented all this to my family, not one person for a half a second took a moment to think about their answer. They all said to me, ‘You’re at the peak of your career right now. You can’t give up now.’ If anything is going to motivate you to push yourself, it’s going to be that.”
Who she would like to face in the MYC II: “If Deonna Purrazzo was standing across the ring from me, not only would I be an emotional mess the whole time, but I know we would give the WWE Universe a match that they’ll be talking about for years to come. Deonna is talented far beyond her years. I’ve been in the ring with her before, and I feel like she and I have great chemistry and would really be able to do something special on such a special night for WWE.”
Aspiring to earn a WWE contract: “That’s 100 percent my hope. That’s 100 percent my goal. That’s what I’m training for and mentally preparing myself for because I think if you don’t go into something like this prepared to make it to the finals and to win the finals and watch your career take off in an entirely new direction, then you’re short-changing yourself.”
Rayne also discusses being in the wrestling business for 13 years, having a Plan B after wrestling and mentally preparing herself for the tournament.
You can read the full interview here.
What did you think of the interview? Who would you like to see Rayne compete against in the Mae Young Classic? Would you like to see Rayne in the WWE full-time? Let us know in the comments!
