| WWE Mixed Match Challenge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon |
| Starring | WWE roster |
| 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) |
| Related | |
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.
| Raw Teams | Charities[18] |
|---|---|
| Team Little Big (Braun Strowman &Alexa Bliss)[19] | Connor's Cure |
| Boss Club (Finn Balor &Sasha Banks)[20] | Special Olympics |
| Apollo &Nia Jax[21] | Susan G. Komen |
| Awe-ska (The Miz andAsuka)[22] | Rescue Dogs Rock |
| Rose Gold (Mandy Rose &Goldust)[17] | Hire Heroes USA |
| Elias &Bayley[23] | Americares |
| SmackDown Teams | Charities[18] |
|---|---|
| Robe Warriors (Bobby Roode &Charlotte Flair)[24] | Girl Up |
| Ravishing Rusev Day (Rusev &Lana)[25] | Global Citizen |
| Glowing Since DAY ONE ISH (Jimmy Uso &Naomi)[26] | Boys & Girls Clubs of America |
| Shinsuke Nakamura &Natalya[27] | Make-A-Wish |
| The Ginger Snaps (Sami Zayn &Becky Lynch)[28] | UNICEF |
| Big E &Carmella[29] | KaBOOM! |
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 andSasha Banks | Sub | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Shinsuke Nakamura andNatalya | 12:48 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks | 12:45 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz and Asuka | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz andAsuka | Sub | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Big E andCarmella | 9:49 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz and Asuka | Sub | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss | 11:20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Braun Strowman andAlexa Bliss | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Sami Zayn andBecky Lynch | 11:15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 andMandy Rose | 10:14[a] | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Jimmy Uso andNaomi | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks[b] | 13:03 | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Becky Lynch[c] | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Elias andBayley | 9:38 | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Rusev andLana | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Rusev and Lana | 11:02 | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Apollo andNia Jax | 10:39 | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode andCharlotte Flair | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
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]
| Raw teams | SmackDown teams |
|---|---|
| The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon andBraun Strowman/Curt Hawkins[a])[46][9] | Awe-ska (Asuka andThe Miz)[46][9] |
| Country Dominance (Mickie James andBobby Lashley)[46][9] | Day One Glow (Naomi andJimmy Uso)[46][9] |
| B'N'B (Bayley andFinn Bálor/Apollo Crews[b])[46][9] | Ravishing Rusev Day (Lana andRusev)[46][9] |
| Mahalicia (Alicia Fox andJinder Mahal)[46][9] | Phenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair andA.J. Styles/Jeff Hardy)[46][9] |
| Team Pawz (Natalya andKevin Owens/Bobby Roode[c])[46][9] | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella andR-Truth)[46][9] |
| Raw | Moon Strowman | James Lashley | Bayley Bálor | Fox Mahal | Natalya Owens/Roode | SmackDown | Asuka Miz | Naomi Uso | Lana Rusev | Flair A.J. Styles | 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 Styles 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 A.J. Styles | Flair Styles 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] | — |
| Raw | SmackDown | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Moon/Strowman | 4-0 | Flair/A.J. Styles | 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 |
| 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 andEmber Moon | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Jinder Mahal andAlicia Fox | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox | Pin | ||||||||||||
| Raw | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Apollo Crews and Bayley | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Bobby Lashley andMickie James | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Finn Bálor andBayley | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox | 5:50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | R-Truth and Carmella | Sub | ||||||||||||
| 1 | AJ Styles andCharlotte Flair | |||||||||||||
| 4 | R-Truth andCarmella | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 4 | R-Truth and Carmella | Pin | ||||||||||||
| SmackDown | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | The Miz and Asuka | |||||||||||||
| 2 | The Miz andAsuka | Sub | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Jimmy Uso andNaomi | |||||||||||||
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.[55]
| 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 |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8th Streamy Awards | Subject – Sports | WWE Mixed Match Challenge | Nominated | [56][57] |
| 2018 | 6th Cynopsis Model D Awards | Best Sports-Related Live Series or Event | WWE Mixed Match Challenge | Won | [58] |