WWE Evolution 2018 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

Mae Young Classic Finals

Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai

What we learned: We learned here that the future of the WWE women’s division is in good hands. What a showing from Toni Storm and Io Shirai here.

I’ve really gotta hand it to the live crowd at the Nassau Coliseum. If this were a normal pay-per-view, a match like this may have easily gotten ignored and the performers may have likely had to go on in front of a semi-silent audience … you know, kinda like what happens during a cruiserweight match. Toni Storm and Io Shirai aren’t household names. Not everybody has been watching the Mae Young Classic, even if it started with 32 of the best women’s wrestlers in the world. But this crowd appreciated every single second of the show these two put on and it really was amazing to watch.

On the biggest stage of both of their lives, Storm and Shirai went back and forth in and out of the ring in a fantastic match that featured physicality, aerial attacks and everything in between. Shirai was on fire here and really lived up to her “Genius in the Sky” moniker, but in the end, it was Storm who got the 1-2-3 to win the annual tournament. Excellent bout.

What’s next: Toni Storm is likely going to be one of the early faces of NXT UK. She was in the finals of the Women’s Championship tournament a couple of months back but lost to Rhea Ripley. Expect that rematch soon. As for Shirai, she certainly won’t be going away. NXT is going to need some new blood soon as well and she’ll be perfect there for a while.