It’s been a whirlwind of a week for the first Mae Young Classic winner. After being crowned the inaugural tourney winner, Kairi Sane is entering a high stakes match for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Houston in November. NBC Sports interviewed the Pirate Princess about her MYC win, her message for women, her diving elbow, and more.
On what went through her mind after winning the MYC: “I was very proud of myself to be there as one of the finalists. It was surprising that I made it so far. I felt nervous, but it was such a happy day for me.”
On how her fans have impacted her on her journey to become a wrestler: “To help become a professional athlete, what’s been very important for me is my audience. They are there for me, watching me perform and I want to give them courage, challenge and then my vitality if possible, especially in this tournament. My female fans, they touch my heart all of the time and I want to give them the message that women are strong.”
On how special her diving elbow is: “I’ve been doing this for about six years now and at first the diving elbow drop did not work. I got injured and it wasn’t my finisher at first, but the move was important to me. I wanted to win using my elbow, so now it has become my form. It’s my favorite thing to do when I perform.”
She also talked about the differences between Japanese and American audiences and how she uses her body language to communicate in the ring.
Are you happy Kairi won the MYC? Are you excited to see her perform on upcoming episodes of NXT? How do you think she will be booked? Sound off in the comments below.
