WWE Mixed Match Challenge

WWE Mixed Match Challenge,[2] also known simply as Mixed Match Challenge, is a seasonal professional wrestling web television series and tournament 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]

WWE Mixed Match Challenge
Genre
Created byVince McMahon
StarringWWE roster
Opening theme"One Chance [Rock Version]" by CFO$[1]
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes25 (as of December 11, 2018)
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time20-25 minutes (first season)
30 minutes (second season)
Production companyWWE
Release
Original networkFacebook Watch
WWE Network
Original releaseJanuary 16 (2018-01-16) –
December 16, 2018 (2018-12-16)
Chronology
Related shows
External links
Website

Season 1

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
Raw Teams Charities[18]
Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman[19] Connor's Cure
Sasha Banks and Finn Bálor[20] Special Olympics
Nia Jax and Apollo[21] Susan G. Komen
Asuka and The Miz[22] Rescue Dogs Rock
Mandy Rose and Goldust[17] Hire Heroes USA
Bayley and Elias[23] Americares
SmackDown Teams Charities[18]
Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode[24] Girl Up
Lana and Rusev[25] Global Citizen
Naomi and Jimmy Uso[26] Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Natalya and Shinsuke Nakamura[27] Make-A-Wish
Becky Lynch and Sami Zayn[28] UNICEF
Carmella and Big E[29] KaBOOM!

Bracket

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]

  First Round
(Weeks 1-6)		 Quarterfinals
(Weeks 7-9)		 Semifinals
(Weeks 10-11)		 Final
(Week 12)
                                     
Raw Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks Sub  
SmackDown Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya 12:48  
  Raw Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks Pin  
 
  Raw The Miz and Asuka 12:45  
Raw The Miz and Asuka Sub
SmackDown Big E and Carmella 9:49  
  Raw The Miz and Asuka Sub  
  Raw Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss 11:20  
Raw Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss 11:15  
SmackDown Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch Pin  
  Raw Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss Pin     Raw The Miz and Asuka Pin
 
  SmackDown Jimmy Uso and Naomi 10:35       SmackDown Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair 20:00  
Raw Goldust and Mandy Rose Pin
SmackDown Jimmy Uso and Naomi 10:14  
  Raw Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks Pin  
  SmackDown Bobby Roode and Becky Lynch 13:03  
Raw Elias and Bayley Pin  
SmackDown Rusev and Lana 9:38  
  SmackDown Rusev and Lana Pin  
 
  SmackDown Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair 11:02  
Raw Apollo and Nia Jax Pin
SmackDown Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair 10:39  
^1 Daniel Bryan was the special guest referee for this match after winning a fan vote.
^2 This team won a Second Chance poll, earning 40% of the votes to re-enter the tournament.[31]
^3 Becky Lynch replaced Charlotte Flair for this match after Flair had dental surgery.[32][33][34]

Broadcast team
Ring name Notes
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

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 finals 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
Raw teams SmackDown teams
The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon and Braun Strowman/Curt Hawkins[lower-alpha 1])[46][9] Awe-ska (Asuka and The Miz)[46][9]
Country Dominance (Mickie James and Bobby Lashley)[46][9] Day One Glow (Naomi and Jimmy Uso)[46][9]
B'N'B (Bayley and Finn Bálor/Apollo Crews[lower-alpha 2])[46][9] Ravishing Rusev Day (Lana and Rusev)[46][9]
Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal)[46][9] Fenomenal/Extreme Flair (Charlotte Flair and AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy[lower-alpha 3])[46][9]
Team Pawz (Natalya and Kevin Owens/Bobby Roode[lower-alpha 4])[46][9] The Fabulous Truth (Carmella and R-Truth)[46][9]
  1. Curt Hawkins replaced Braun Strowman in the playoffs after Strowman suffered an elbow injury.
  2. Apollo Crews replaced Finn Bálor in the playoffs after Bálor suffered an injury.
  3. Jeff Hardy replaced AJ Styles after Styles was unable to compete.
  4. Bobby Roode replaced Kevin Owens after Owens suffered a knee injury.

Bracket
Raw Moon
Strowman		 James
Lashley		 Bayley
Bálor		 Fox
Mahal		 Natalya
Owens/Roode		 SmackDown Asuka
Miz		 Naomi
Uso		 Lana
Rusev		 Flair
Styles/Hardy		 Carmella
R-Truth
Moon
Strowman		 — Moon
Strowman
11/13[47]		 Moon
Strowman
10/9[47]		 Moon
Strowman
10/30[48]		 Moon
Strowman
9/18[49]		 Asuka
Miz		 — Asuka
Miz
10/23[50]		 Asuka
Miz
10/16[50]		 Flair
Hardy
11/13		 Asuka
Miz
9/25[51]
James
Lashley		 Moon
Strowman
11/13[47]		 — James
Lashley
11/6[48]		 James
Lashley
9/25[51]		 James
Lashley
10/16[50]		 Naomi
Uso		 Asuka
Miz
10/23[52]		 — Naomi
Uso
10/2[53]		 Flair
Styles
9/18[49]		 Naomi
Uso
11/6[48]
Bayley
Bálor		 Moon
Strowman
10/9[47]		 James
Lashley
11/6[48]		 — Bayley
Bálor
10/2[53]		 Bayley
Bálor
10/23[52]		 Lana
Rusev		 Asuka
Miz
10/16[50]		 Naomi
Uso
10/2[53]		— Flair
Styles
10/30[48]		 Carmella
R-Truth
11/20
Fox
Mahal		 Moon
Strowman
10/30[48]		 James
Lashley
9/25[51]		 Bayley
Bálor
10/2[53]		— Fox
Mahal
11/20		 Flair
Styles/Hardy		 Flair
Hardy
11/13		 Flair
Styles
9/18[49]		 Flair
Styles
10/30[48]		 — Flair
Styles
10/9[47]
Natalya
Owens/Roode		 Moon
Strowman
9/18[49]		 James
Lashley
10/16[50]		 Bayley
Bálor
10/23[50]		 Fox
Mahal
11/20		— Carmella
R-Truth		 Asuka
Miz
9/25[51]		 Naomi
Uso
11/6[48]		 Carmella
R-Truth
11/20		 Flair
Styles
10/9[47]		—
Overall standings
Raw SmackDown
Moon/Strowman 4-0 Flair/Styles/Hardy 4-0
James/Lashley 3-1 Asuka/Miz 3-1
Bayley/Bálor 2-2 Naomi/Uso 2-2
Fox/Mahal 1-3 Carmella/R-Truth 1-3
Natalya/Owens/Roode 0-4 Lana/Rusev 0-4

Playoffs
  Quarterfinals[54]
Mixed Match Challenge
November 27 and December 4		 Semifinals
Mixed Match Challenge
December 11		 Final
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
December 16
                           
  1 Curt Hawkins and Ember Moon  
4 Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox Pin  
  4 Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox Pin  
Raw
    3 Apollo Crews and Bayley  
2 Bobby Lashley and Mickie James
  3 Finn Bálor and Bayley Pin  
    4 Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox 5:50
  4 R-Truth and Carmella* Sub
  1 Jeff Hardy and Charlotte Flair  
4 R-Truth and Carmella Pin  
4 R-Truth and Carmella Pin
SmackDown
    2 The Miz and Asuka  
2 The Miz and Asuka Sub
  3 Jimmy Uso and Naomi  
  • R-Truth and Carmella won the finals 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. However, R-Truth 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.

Broadcast team
Ring name Notes
Kayla Braxton Pre-show co-host
Vic Joseph Pre-show co-host
Color commentator[49]
Mike Rome Ring announcer
Renee Young Color commentator[49]
Michael Cole[49] Lead commentator

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2018 8th Streamy Awards Subject – Sports WWE Mixed Match Challenge Nominated [55][56]
2018 6th Cynopsis Model D Awards Best Sports-Related Live Series or Event WWE Mixed Match Challenge Won [57]

References
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  2. Staff, WWE.com. "Facebook and WWE to launch LIVE in-ring series, Mixed Match Challenge, exclusively on Facebook Watch". WWE.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  3. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
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