Mia Yim will return for this year’s edition of the Mae Young Classic. Last year Yim defeated current Riott Squad member Sarah Logan in the first round of the tournament. She was eliminated by eventual finalist and current NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler in the second round.
She recently did an interview with TV Insider to discuss her involvement in this year’s Mae Young Classic. Here’s some highlights:
Hoping people underestimate her this year: “I feel like the game has been upped,” Yim said. “There was a lot of good women last year, but now this year they are bringing in girls like Meiko Satomura.”
“There are a lot of good girls in this year’s competition. I’m actually happy for that people may think they know what to expect, considering what I did last year. I learned so much new stuff… I don’t want to be specific with it. I’m hoping people underestimate me and have an expectation of me from last year, so I can surprise them that much more.”
Rooming with the Four Horsewomen of MMA in Orlando: “Thank God I had Shayna [Baszler] and Jess (Duke) helping me around,” she said. “Taking me to the gym, making sure I was on top of my PT and being around me when I felt like I was alone. Having them here, making me laugh… Both of them made sure all my business was handled. Even helping me take care of my dog. It really made us a family.”
Wanting to face Io Shirai in the tournament: “I’d love to go to the finals of the Mae Young Classic facing Io Shirai,” she revealed. “We wrestled each other in California, and it was awesome. When I started wrestling I looked up to the Shirai sisters. I finally got to meet Mio earlier this year… I wrestled Io two, three years ago. I feel like both of us have improved our game greatly. So wrestling her again this time around would be good.”
