Toni Storm Beats Io Shirai to Win 2018 Mae Young Classic at WWE Evolution

Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai at WWE Evolution on Sunday night to win the second annual Mae Young Classic tournament.

Shirai is known for her aerial style, and those are called high-risk moves for a reason. She looked to land a moonsault off the top rope, but Storm got her knees up to block the move. That stunned Shirai and allowed Storm to hit Storm Zero for the victory.

The final was given a proper stage, as it was contested at the first all-women's pay-per-view in WWE history.

Both Shirai and Storm ran through an impressive list of competitors throughout the Mae Young Classic en route to clashing in the final.

Shirai defeated Xia Brookside, Zeuxis, Deonna Purrazzo and Rhea Ripley, while Storm took down Jinny, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Mia Yim and Meiko Satomura.

Shirai is considered one of the best all-around competitors in the world after dominating the women's wrestling scene in Japan.

The 28-year-old won numerous championships in the Stardom promotion, and she initially agreed to leave Japan for WWE last year, but according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t What Culture), a neck injury led to the company rescinding its offer.

She has since signed a new deal with WWE.

Storm was born in New Zealand but has primarily made a name for herself in the British wrestling scene.

The 23-year-old was part of the inaugural Mae Young Classic, which saw her reach the semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winner Kairi Sane.

Storm is part of the NXT UK brand, which recently began airing a weekly show on WWE Network.

Both Shirai and Storm have the makings of becoming cornerstones in the WWE women's division for years to come, and they offered a glimpse of why they are viewed so highly at Evolution.

Much like Sane and Shayna Baszler after last year's Mae Young Classic, it seems likely Shirai and Storm will get some run in NXT as top stars before transitioning to the main roster.

Storm is seemingly in position for a massive push on the heels of Sunday's win, but there is little doubt WWE has big things in store for Shirai as well.

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