ORLANDO, Fla. — China’s Xia Li, a pupil of the WWE Performance Center, wasn’t just wrestling her very first match under the bright lights of the historic Mae Young Classic, but she was doing so against Mercedes Martinez, the battle-tested independent wrestling icon from Waterbury, Conn.
Despite the daunting circumstances, the champion martial artist from China showed tremendous poise, blocking Martinez’s attack and cracking her with graceful strikes. A spinebuster by Martinez, however, allowed the 16-year veteran to regroup and cinch in a back-wrenching modified dragon sleeper to make Li submit.
