| WWE Mixed Match Challenge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon |
| Opening theme | "One Chance [Rock Version]" byCFO$[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 (2018-01-16) – December 16, 2018 (2018-12-16) |
WWE Mixed Match Challenge,[2] also known simply asMixed Match Challenge, is aseasonalprofessional wrestling series and tournament that was produced byWWE, where all matches aremixed 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 onFacebook 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 by205 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 ofMixed Match Challenge, with the season premiering on September 18 immediately followingSmackDown 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]
The teams, which were made up of both male and female wrestlers from both theRaw andSmackDown brands, were picked by their respective general managers,Kurt Angle andDaniel 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 ofMixed Match Challenge received 35 million total engagements.[12]The Miz andAsuka 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 withApollo Crews after catching theflu.[14]Samoa Joe was originallyBayley's tag team partner after winning a fan vote, but was injured and replaced byElias, who finished second in the fan vote.[15]Alicia Fox suffered a broken tailbone[16] and was replaced byMandy Rose.[17]Big E became the partner forCarmella after winning a fan vote between all three members ofThe New Day.
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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 andSasha Banks) | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Shinsuke Nakamura andNatalya | 12:48 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Boss Club | 12:45 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska (The Miz andAsuka) | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Big E andCarmella | 9:49 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Submission | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big | 11:20 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big (Braun Strowman andAlexa Bliss) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | The Ginger Snaps (Sami Zayn andBecky Lynch) | 11:15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Team Little Big | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Glowing Since DAY ONE ISH | 10:35 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Rose Gold (Goldust andMandy Rose) | 10:14[a] | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Glowing Since DAY ONE ISH (Jimmy Uso andNaomi) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Awe-ska | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair) | 20:00 | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Elias andBayley | 9:38 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Ravishing Rusev Day (Rusev andLana) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Ravishing Rusev Day | 11:02 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Apollo andNia Jax | 10:39 | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode andCharlotte Flair) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode and Becky Lynch[b]) | Pinfall | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Boss Club[c] | 13:03 | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
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 theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairspay-per-view event on December 16, where the winning team would enter theRoyal Rumble at number 30 for their respectiveRoyal 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 replacedSasha Banks as Lashley's partner.[39]Kevin Owens was also originally partnered withNatalya, but he was replaced by Bobby Roode after a surgery in both knees.[40][41] On November 13, 2018, SmackDown General ManagerPaige announced thatAJ Styles was not going to compete on that night's episode ofMixed Match Challenge following his controversialWWE Championship loss toDaniel Bryan onSmackDown Live, being substituted byJeff Hardy.[42][43] It was announced that Strowman was unable to compete in theMixed Match Challenge playoffs after an elbow injury and was replaced byCurt Hawkins.[44] On December 10, 2018, it was announced that Bálor was unable to compete in theMixed Match Challenge semi-finals, being substituted byApollo Crews.[45]
| Replacement member |
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| 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 | N/a | November 13, 2018 | October 9, 2018 | October 30, 2018 | September 18, 2018 |
| Country Dominance | November 13, 2018 | N/a | November 6, 2018 | September 25, 2018 | October 16, 2018 |
| B'N'B | October 9, 2018 | November 6, 2018 | N/a | October 2, 2018 | October 23, 2018 |
| Mahalicia | October 30, 2018 | September 25, 2018 | October 2, 2018 | N/a | November 20, 2018 |
| Team Pawz | September 18, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | October 23, 2018 | November 20, 2018 | N/a |
| Teams | Opponents[47] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awe-ska | Day One Glow | Ravishing Rusev Day | Phenomenal Flair | The Fabulous Truth | |
| Awe-ska | N/a | October 23, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | November 13, 2018 | September 25, 2018 |
| Day One Glow | October 23, 2018 | N/a | October 2, 2018 | September 18, 2018 | November 6, 2018 |
| Ravishing Rusev Day | October 16, 2018 | October 2, 2018 | N/a | October 30, 2018 | November 20, 2018 |
| Phenomenal Flair | November 13, 2018 | September 18, 2018 | October 30, 2018 | N/a | October 9, 2018 |
| The Fabulous Truth | September 25, 2018 | November 6, 2018 | November 20, 2018 | October 9, 2018 | N/a |
| Raw | SmackDown | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon andBraun Strowman) | 4-0 | Phenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair andAJ Styles/Jeff Hardy) | 4-0 |
| Country Dominance (Mickie James andBobby Lashley) | 3-1 | Awe-ska (Asuka andThe Miz) | 3-1 |
| B'N'B (Bayley andFinn Bálor) | 2-2 | Day One Glow (Naomi andJimmy Uso) | 2-2 |
| Mahalicia (Alicia Fox andJinder Mahal) | 1-3 | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella andR-Truth) | 1-3 |
| Team Pawz (Natalya andKevin Owens/Bobby Roode) | 0-4 | Ravishing Rusev Day (Lana andRusev) | 0-4 |
| 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 andCurt Hawkins) | 8:15 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia (Alicia Fox andJinder Mahal) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| Raw | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | B'N'B (Bayley andApollo Crews) | 9:45 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Country Dominance (Mickie James andBobby Lashley) | 9:45 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | B'N'B (Bayley andFinn Bálor) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mahalicia | 5:50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth | Submission | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair andJeff Hardy) | 6:50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella andR-Truth) | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Fabulous Truth | Pinfall | ||||||||||||
| SmackDown | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Awe-ska | 11:35 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Awe-ska (Asuka andThe Miz) | Submission | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Day One Glow (Naomi andJimmy Uso) | 8:47 | ||||||||||||
R-Truth and Carmella won the final of Mixed Match Challenge Season 2, earning themselves the #30 spots in the2019 Royal Rumblematches and an all-expenses-paid vacation, which R-Truth chose to be theWWE headquarters inStamford, Connecticut. At the Royal Rumble event, Carmella (along withBayley) eliminatedAlexa Bliss from the Women's Rumble match before getting eliminated by eventual runner upCharlotte Flair. R-Truth however did not participate in the Men's Royal Rumble match, as he was attacked byNia Jax (who took the #30 spot) during his entrance. As a consolation prize for having his spot stolen, he was awarded aWWE United States Championship match against new championShinsuke Nakamura on the January 29, 2019 episode ofSmackDown, which he won becoming a two-time champion.[49]
| 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 |
| 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] |