Young had been hospitalized. The Charleston Post & Courier erroneously reported that she had died on January 9, 2014. Young's death was announced by the WWE on the morning of January 14 after having died at her home in Columbia, South Carolina. Young was entombed at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, South Carolina, the same cemetery where her longtime friend The Fabulous Moolah also rests. Legacy Mae Young Classic On April 1st, 2017, WWE announced that a women's tournament would be taking place in the summer of 2017 at a press conference during the WrestleMania 33 weekend and that there were going to be a total of 32 wrestlers competing. The tournament was named after Young as an honor to her and it was exclusively for women from both NXT and the independent circuit, it took place on July 13th and 14th, 2017, which aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals), and the final match aired live on September 12, also on the WWE Network. The finalists of the inaugural tournament were Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane, with the winner being Sane on September 12. In 2018, the tournament turned annual as it was announced a second event for the Mae Young Classic. The winner of the 2018 tournament was Toni Storm on October 28, and she was crowned at the first ever all women's pay–per–view WWE Evolution. Posthumous honors On January 14, 2014, the exact day of Mae's death, WWE pay tribute to her with a posthumous video which included highlights of her career, and another one six days later on January 20. On January 16, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling dedicated their live Genesis episode of Impact Wrestling to the memory of Young. On January 17, SmackDown was also dedicated to her memory. Two weeks later, Shine 16 dedicated to her a ten-bell salute. On March 20th, 2017, WWE honored Young during their Women's History Month, a video was released where she was credited as the women pioneer of professional wrestling. WWE praised for her contributions to the wrestling business by Stephanie McMahon, the late Fabulous Moolah, Ivory, Beth Phoenix and Pat Patterson. On July 30, multiple superstars from the Mae Young Classic recognized and honored Mae's legacy and life, among them Lita, Jim Ross, Lacey Evans, Mercedes Martinez, Bianca Belair, Marti Belle and Vanessa Borne. Filmography Film