| WWE Mixed Match Challenge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon |
| Opening theme | "One Chance [Rock Version]" by CFO$[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 20-25 minutes (first season) 30 minutes (second season) |
| Production company | WWE |
| Original release | |
| Network | Facebook Watch WWE Network |
| Release | January 16 – December 16, 2018 |
WWE Mixed Match Challenge,[2] also known simply as Mixed Match Challenge, is a seasonal professional wrestling series and tournament that was produced by WWE, where all matches are mixed tag team matches. Like all professional wrestling events, it is based on scripted storylines and its outcomes are predetermined.[3][4] The 12-episode first season premiered on January 16, 2018 on Facebook Watch.[5] Each episode was 20–25 minutes in length[6] and featured one match.[7] The show filled WWE's 10:00pm ET timeslot previously held by 205 Live. Following the show's premiere, 205 Live began to air at 10:20pm ET.[8] On September 4, 2018, WWE announced a second season of Mixed Match Challenge, with the season premiering on September 18 immediately following SmackDown Live. Season 2 consisted of 13 30-minute episodes, with each featuring two matches.[9] Episodes of season 2 aired at 10:00pm ET, with a weekly pre-show that started at 9:50pm ET.[9]
Season 1
[edit]The teams, which were made up of both male and female wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brands, were picked by their respective general managers, Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan.[10] Each team wrestled for the chance to give $100,000 to a charity of the winner's choice,[11] while all other charities received $10,000 each. During the second episode, Angle and Bryan announced that the first week of Mixed Match Challenge received 35 million total engagements.[12] The Miz and Asuka won the inaugural Mixed Match Challenge tournament, earning the $100,000 for the Rescue Dogs Rock charity.[13] Enzo Amore was originally supposed to take part, but was replaced with Apollo Crews after catching the flu.[14] Samoa Joe was originally Bayley's tag team partner after winning a fan vote, but was injured and replaced by Elias, who finished second in the fan vote.[15] Alicia Fox suffered a broken tailbone[16] and was replaced by Mandy Rose.[17] Big E became the partner for Carmella after winning a fan vote between all three members of The New Day.
Teams
[edit]
|
|
Bracket
[edit]The full tournament bracket was revealed on January 11, 2018 on WWE.com.[7] In one of the semifinal matches, fans were able to vote on a Facebook poll, for an eliminated team to be given a second chance in the tournament.[30]
| 1st Round Weeks 1-6 | Quarterfinals Weeks 7-9 | Semifinals Weeks 10-11 | Final Week 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Boss Club (Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks) | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya | 12:48 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Boss Club | 12:45 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska (The Miz and Asuka) | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Big E and Carmella | 9:49 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big | 11:20 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big (Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | The Ginger Snaps (Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch) | 11:15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Glowing Since DAY ONE ISH | 10:35 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Rose Gold (Goldust and Mandy Rose) | 10:14[a] | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Glowing Since DAY ONE ISH (Jimmy Uso and Naomi) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair) | 20:00 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Elias and Bayley | 9:38 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Ravishing Rusev Day (Rusev and Lana) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Ravishing Rusev Day | 11:02 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Apollo and Nia Jax | 10:39 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode and Becky Lynch[b]) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Boss Club[c] | 13:03 | |||||||||||||||||
- ^ Daniel Bryan was the special guest referee for this match after winning a fan vote.
- ^ Becky Lynch replaced Charlotte Flair in the semifinals after Flair had dental surgery.[31][32][33]
- ^ Boss Club (Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks) won a Second Chance poll, earning 40% of the votes to re-enter the tournament.[34]
Broadcast team
[edit]| Ring name | Role |
|---|---|
| Renee Young[35] | Co-host |
| Byron Saxton[35] | Co-host |
| Greg Hamilton | Ring announcer |
| Michael Cole[36] | Lead commentator |
| Corey Graves[36] | Color commentator |
| Beth Phoenix[36] | Color commentator Hall of Famer |
Season 2
[edit]The second season premiered on September 18, 2018 on Facebook Watch. In the second season, teams competed in a round robin-style tournament throughout the fourteen 30-minute, two match episodes, in order to qualify for the playoffs.[9] The final of season two took place at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 16, where the winning team would enter the Royal Rumble at number 30 for their respective Royal Rumble matches and an all-expense-paid trip to anywhere in the world.[37][38]
During the tournament, several wrestlers were replaced due to injuries or storyline related reasons. Alexa Bliss was originally supposed to take part in the tournament again alongside her partner, Braun Strowman, however, due to an arm injury, Ember Moon replaced Bliss. Mickie James replaced Sasha Banks as Lashley's partner.[39] Kevin Owens was also originally partnered with Natalya, but he was replaced by Bobby Roode after a surgery in both knees.[40][41] On November 13, 2018, SmackDown General Manager Paige announced that AJ Styles was not going to compete on that night's episode of Mixed Match Challenge following his controversial WWE Championship loss to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown Live, being substituted by Jeff Hardy.[42][43] It was announced that Strowman was unable to compete in the Mixed Match Challenge playoffs after an elbow injury and was replaced by Curt Hawkins.[44] On December 10, 2018, it was announced that Bálor was unable to compete in the Mixed Match Challenge semi-finals, being substituted by Apollo Crews.[45]
Teams
[edit]| Replacement member |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- ^ Curt Hawkins replaced Braun Strowman in the playoffs after Strowman suffered an elbow injury.
- ^ Apollo Crews replaced Finn Bálor in the playoffs after Bálor suffered an injury.
- ^ Bobby Roode replaced Kevin Owens after Owens suffered a knee injury.
- ^ Jeff Hardy replaced AJ Styles after SmackDown General Manager Paige announced that Styles will not compete in the Mixed Match Challenge after losing the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan earlier that night.
Results
[edit]| Advanced to next round | |
| Won match | |
| Lost match |
| Teams | Opponents[47] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Monster Eclipse | Country Dominance | B'N'B | Mahalicia | Team Pawz | |
| The Monster Eclipse | — | November 13, 2018 | October 9, 2018 | October 30, 2018 | September 18, 2018 |
| Country Dominance | November 13, 2018 | — | November 6, 2018 | September 25, 2018 | October 16, 2018 |
| B'N'B | October 9, 2018 | November 6, 2018 | — | October 2, 2018 | October 23, 2018 |
| Mahalicia | October 30, 2018 | September 25, 2018 | October 2, 2018 | — | November 20, 2018 |
| Team Pawz | September 18, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | October 23, 2018 | November 20, 2018 | — |
| Teams | Opponents[47] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awe-ska | Day One Glow | Ravishing Rusev Day | Phenomenal Flair | The Fabulous Truth | |
| Awe-ska | — | October 23, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | November 13, 2018 | September 25, 2018 |
| Day One Glow | October 23, 2018 | — | October 2, 2018 | September 18, 2018 | November 6, 2018 |
| Ravishing Rusev Day | October 16, 2018 | October 2, 2018 | — | October 30, 2018 | November 20, 2018 |
| Phenomenal Flair | November 13, 2018 | September 18, 2018 | October 30, 2018 | — | October 9, 2018 |
| The Fabulous Truth | September 25, 2018 | November 6, 2018 | November 20, 2018 | October 9, 2018 | — |
| Raw | SmackDown | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon and Braun Strowman) |
4-0 | Phenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair and AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy) |
4-0 |
| Country Dominance (Mickie James and Bobby Lashley) |
3-1 | Awe-ska (Asuka and The Miz) |
3-1 |
| B'N'B (Bayley and Finn Bálor) |
2-2 | Day One Glow (Naomi and Jimmy Uso) |
2-2 |
| Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal) |
1-3 | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella and R-Truth) |
1-3 |
| Team Pawz (Natalya and Kevin Owens/Bobby Roode) |
0-4 | Ravishing Rusev Day (Lana and Rusev) |
0-4 |
Playoffs
[edit]| Quarterfinals[48] Mixed Match Challenge November 27 – December 4, 2018 | Semifinals Mixed Match Challenge December 11, 2018 | Final TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs December 16, 2018 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon and Curt Hawkins) | 8:15 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| Raw | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | B'N'B (Bayley and Apollo Crews) | 9:45 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Country Dominance (Mickie James and Bobby Lashley) | 9:45 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | B'N'B (Bayley and Finn Bálor) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia | 5:50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth | Submission | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair and Jeff Hardy) | 6:50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella and R-Truth) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| SmackDown | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Awe-ska | 11:35 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Awe-ska (Asuka and The Miz) | Submission | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Day One Glow (Naomi and Jimmy Uso) | 8:47 | ||||||||||||
Aftermath
[edit]R-Truth and Carmella won the final of Mixed Match Challenge Season 2, earning themselves the #30 spots in the 2019 Royal Rumble matches and an all-expenses-paid vacation, which R-Truth chose to be the WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. At the Royal Rumble event, Carmella (along with Bayley) eliminated Alexa Bliss from the Women's Rumble match before getting eliminated by eventual runner up Charlotte Flair. R-Truth however did not participate in the Men's Royal Rumble match, as he was attacked by Nia Jax (who took the #30 spot) during his entrance. As a consolation prize for having his spot stolen, he was awarded a WWE United States Championship match against new champion Shinsuke Nakamura on the January 29, 2019 episode of SmackDown, which he won becoming a two-time champion.[49]
Broadcast team
[edit]| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Kayla Braxton | Pre-show co-host |
| Vic Joseph | Pre-show co-host Color commentator[50] |
| Mike Rome | Ring announcer |
| Renee Young | Color commentator[50] |
| Michael Cole[50] | Lead commentator |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8th Streamy Awards | Subject – Sports | WWE Mixed Match Challenge | Nominated | [51][52] |
| 2018 | 6th Cynopsis Model D Awards | Best Sports-Related Live Series or Event | WWE Mixed Match Challenge | Won | [53] |
References
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- ^ WWE.com Staff. "Facebook and WWE to launch LIVE in-ring series, Mixed Match Challenge, exclusively on Facebook Watch". WWE.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
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