Mae Young Classic’s Piper Niven Talks Tournament And More

Mae Young Classic tournament participant Piper Niven, also known as Viper, spoke with Metro about the tournament, how she views things, and what does she do with her time off, here are some highlights:
Hi, Piper, you’re in Japan at the moment – what do you like to do to relax when you’re not wrestling there?
My favorite thing to do over here is to go to Disneyland, it’s the best! I’m a massive Disney fan so to have it around the corner is great!

How did you get approached to be involved in the Mae Young Classic?
I was part of the World of Sport revival they were doing with ITV, and when that was all coming about I’d heard rumors that there was going to be a women’s tournament in WWE and that it was going to feature a lot of girls from the independent scene. Nobody had any idea when it would be, so I went ahead with World of Sport. Not too long after that, I heard about the Mae Young Classic and I thought I’d missed my chance.I was devastated after World of Sport didn’t happen at that time because I wasn’t getting to do that, and I also thought I’d missed my chance to be part of the Mae Young Classic. It was a real low, but luckily WWE got in touch and asked if I’d interested in doing it. That was delightful when that happened.
Did the tournament live up to expectation?
Oh, and more! It’s been a labor of love for so many people, and the standard has been so high. It’s going to blow everyone away. There was a few moments when I had to take a couple of seconds and look around and realize where I was and everything I’d done to get to that moment. But then at the same time this was where the real work started.

How great was it that you got to experience the Mae Young Classic with your friend Kay Lee Ray?
It was really fantastic, we’ve done so much together and we always said throughout the entire journey that it was great to share it. Some people can think there is a lot of rivalry in wrestling, but I don’t feel anything like that at all. We just feel a sense of pride for each other when we’re doing well, and it spurs us on to help each other.
Was there anybody in the tournament you really enjoyed watching?

All of the women were amazing, they were all so good at what they do. One of my absolute favorites is Toni Storm. She’s an absolute rock star. She’s just the coolest, and has the personality where she does what she wants and looks so cool doing it. And she has all the skills to back it up at the same time. She’s a complete bad-ass.

The Interview can be seen on Metro