Kacy Catanzaro vs. Reina Gonzalez
Very classy show of respect from @ReinaGWWE to @KacyCatanzaro! pic.twitter.com/rpBRJXRUoM
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) September 13, 2018
Up next was returning Mae Young Classic competitor Reina Gonzalez taking on the debuting Kacy Catanzaro. This match was a classic example of David vs. Goliath. Reina dominated the majority of the match with her size and strength advantages over Catanzaro. Kacy however was able to rely on a lot of acrobatic moves in order to take the fight to Gonzalez. In what some may consider an upset victory, Kacy was able to get the W by surprising Reina with a roll up pin. Once the match was over, Gonzalez showed Catanzaro a sign of respect by raising her on her shoulders, allowing Kacy to have her moment in the spotlight.
In an interview with Cathy Kelley, Kacy expressed that although people may consider her to be an underdog, she won’t let anyone’s opinion stop her from succeeding. Catanzaro went to state that although she thought her background would be a disadvantage, she now realizes she can use her past experience in American Ninja Warrior to show the audience things they’ve never seen before. Kacy ended the interview by telling Kelley how honored she was to win her debut match in the Mae Young Classic.
Thoughts: This was personally my favorite match of the night. Not because it had the most solid in ring work. To me, the most solid in ring work of the night took place in the next match. But the reason I loved this match is because I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot from these two. And both Reina and Kacy totally proved me wrong and put on a solid contest.
I am unfortunately the worst and don’t necessarily know of Reina’s performance from last year’s tournament. However, I thought her presence in this match was great. She looked confident and did a great job on offense. I also had no clue of what to expect from Kacy. But some of the moves that she pulled off were absolutely incredible. Going forward, I would like to see other things from Kacy other than the flashy acrobatic maneuvers. But for a debut match I believe Catanzaro did a really great job of both selling and delivering moves.
