As WWE continues the build toward Evolution on October 28, the Mae Young Classic enters the quarterfinal stage with four interesting matchups.

Wednesday's episode featured Toni Storm vs. Mia Yim, Meiko Satomura vs. Lacey Lane, Rhea Ripley vs. Tegan Nox and Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purrazzo.

All eight of these competitors have impressed during their first two matches, and many who don't already have an NXT contract seem destined to get one after this tournament.

205 Live saw Akira Tozawa take on Drew Gulak and a five-man match featuring Tony Nese, TJP, Gran Metalik, Lio Rush and Cedric Alexander.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's episodes of 205 Live and the Mae Young Classic.

Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak

Tozawa and Gulak spent the better part of 2017 feuding on 205 Live, so they know each other as well as anyone in the cruiserweight division.

Their styles may appear different on the surface, but the common bond they share is technical ability. Both men are precise in everything they do, so they almost never make mistakes with each other.

Jack Gallagher was at ringside to support Gulak, but he was by himself after The Brian Kendrick was booted from their group.

While this match was entertaining enough, it felt like they were stuck in second gear for a long time. We know they are capable of more because we have seen them do better before.

The Japanese Superstar was about to finish off the Savior of 205 Live when Gallagher tripped him on the top rope to cause a disqualification.

Thankfully, Kendrick ran down to make the save. He and Tozawa seemed to bury the hatchet in order to pursue common enemies in Gallagher and Gulak.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• It's still weird to see Drake Maverick be a fair boss on 205 Live and a heel manager on Raw. WWE doesn't care about continuity at all with his character.
• It's always nice to see an octopus stretch performed well. Tozawa applied the hold perfectly.
• Gulak's in-ring technique isn't much different from Daniel Bryan's. Those two would put on a clinic together.
• Gulak pulled a Mike Tyson and bit Tozawa's ear during a headlock.
• Watching a Superstar perform a spot where the back of their head hits a turnbuckle is always cringe-worthy because they are taking a bigger risk than they would be during a standard bump. Not being able to see when you are going to make contact is what makes it so dangerous.

Tony Nese vs. TJP vs. Gran Metalik vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Lio Rush

The bell rang and all five men stood around waiting for someone to make the first move. TJP chose to drag Metalik out of the ring while Alexander and Nese went after each other.

Rush chose to wait until he could get Alexander all by himself. The two high-flyers had a nice exchange to wake up the crowd. Everyone worked together to perform some impressive multi-man spots throughout the match. They didn't all look perfect, but the fans in attendance were eating it up.

Other than a few minor botches, this was a fun contest. Everyone had plenty of opportunities to show off, and we saw a few different storylines addressed all at once. This was filmed the same night as SmackDown 1000, and frankly, it blew out of the water most of what we saw on that show.

TJP kept going after Metalik's mask, and the distraction may have prevented him from winning. Nese ended up getting the upset by rolling up Alexander for the pin. The Premier Athlete will likely earn a title shot in the near future, putting him up against his best friend, Buddy Murphy.

Grade: A

Notes and Highlights

• Mike and Maria Kanellis gave a promo before the match talking about their plan to win the cruiserweight title.
• Hideo Itami delivered a standard promo directed at Mustafa Ali, but Ali gave his response promo in the rain for some reason.
• TJP carrying the masks he stole from Lince Dorado and Kalisto like trophies was a nice way to get him some heat.
• It would be cool if Bobby Lashley showed up to support Rush the way Rush supports him on Raw.
• I have to admit, Rush refusing to give the kid at ringside a high-five was a nice heel move.
• The way Nese threw Rush over the top rope onto everyone else looked dangerous. Rush almost landed on his head.
• There were too many highlights to list each one individually. Just go watch the match.

Lacey Lane vs. Meiko Satomura

The first match of the quarterfinals featured Japan's Satomura taking on the high-energy Lane. These two couldn't be more different in terms of in-ring style.

After coming to a stalemate early on, Satomura offered a handshake out of respect. Lane brushed it off, so Satomura took her apart with a series of kicks. Lane responded with some footwork of her own.

They traded control back and forth as they built toward the end with an exciting exchange of offense. In the end, the veteran Satomura was too much for the young upstart, Lane.

With a few more minutes, this could have been the Match of the Night. Lane and Satomura embraced after the match in a show of mutual respect.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• This show is only an hour, but WWE gave all four matches a 25-minute time limit. They didn't all go that long, but it still seems like an oversight. Why even announce time limits unless two Superstars will go to a draw?
• Lane's attire looked like something out of an X-Men movie or Mortal Kombat game. That's not necessarily a bad thing in pro wrestling.
• It's rare to see a referee dwarf both competitors in the ring, even in the cruiserweight division. Jessika Carr towered over Lane and Satomura.

Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purrazzo

It's a little surprising WWE wouldn't wait until at least the semifinals to have this match since both women have been heavy favorites since they were announced for the tournament.

Shirai and Purrazzo started a little slow so they could feel each other out, but it didn't take long before The Virtuoso began showing off her agility.

Not one to be outdone, Shirai responded with her own series of quick offensive maneuvers. They kept going back and forth as they traded near-falls and submissions.

The crowd was a little quieter than it was during the previous bout, but it eventually perked up when Shirai started hitting some high-flying moves.

It looked like Purrazzo had the match in the bag with the Fujiwara armbar, but The Genius of the Sky managed to counter the hold before hitting a moonsault for the win. She almost missed her finisher, but everything else in the match looked good.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Shirai's suicide dive looked and sounded painful. Thankfully, both women were fine.
• Her feet slipped off Purrazzo's side when she went for a double stomp. It had to hurt.
• A backflip before a dropkick is so pointless. I am all for theatrics as long as they serve a small purpose.
• Expect big things from Purrazzo in the future. She has everything it takes to be a top star in WWE.

Rhea Ripley vs. Tegan Nox

Nox offered a handshake before the bell, but the Aussie with an Attitude slapped her hand away. The Shiniest Wizard took her out with a suicide dive right away and appeared to hurt the opposite knee from the one that kept her out of last year's tournament.

After one more maneuver, the referee threw up the X symbol and called for a trainer to come to the ring. He checked on her, and she could be heard telling him she could continue.

Ripley did what any good heel would do and immediately started beating down her injured opponent. After a few more exchanges, Nox went down, and the ref called for the bell.

Nox wept in the ring as officials came down to check on her. The crowd was silent as all this happened. This is a real injury, and WWE chose to show it in its entirety, complete with crowd reactions, rather than edit around it.

As she was escorted to the back, everyone in the crowd chanted "Thank you, Tegan." It was a heartbreaking end to her journey in this tournament, but hopefully, not to her WWE career as a whole.

Due to the circumstances, this match will not receive a standard grade. All we can say is get well soon, Tegan.

Notes and Highlights

• Nox's gimmick is similar to Bayley's in many ways. She may have to alter a few things if she hopes to make it to the WWE main roster.
• When Ripley eventually gets called up, it's going to be great when she gets in the ring with Charlotte Flair.
• Hearing Nox cry as the crowd looked on in silence was heartwrenching.

Toni Storm vs. Mia Yim

As two of the more popular and accomplished women in this tournament, it was no surprise to see WWE put Storm and Yim in the final match of the night.

These two have similar styles, so they were able to establish chemistry right away. They were given more time than anyone else, and they used every minute to its fullest.

The Blasian Baddie focused most of her offense on Storm's back, but the Australian Superstar kept finding ways to hurt Yim's hand.

After a great match, Storm scored the win with a tiger bomb to advance to the semifinals.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Yim having her hand wrapped up was a nice bit of continuity from her previous match. Storm targeted it at different times.
• Storm was also featured on the debut episode of NXT UK earlier in the day, so she had more screen time this week than most Superstars on the main roster.
• In a few years, this will be a WWE women's title match. I am calling it now.