This is a delightfully weird and interesting concept.

www.wwe.com/shows/wwe-mixed-match-challenge/article/mixed-match-challenge-to-launch-facebook-watch

The TLDR version.

- 12 episode series
- Single elimination mixed-tag team tournament (not sure how they're going to have a single elimination tournament with 12 teams)
- Airs on Facebook on Tuesday nights at 10pm beginning January 16. (205 Live will be pushed back to 10:30 while the series airs)
- Winner gets $100,000 for a charity of their choice (seems odd for a worked tournament, but whatever)

The participants are:
Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox, Bobby Roode, Asuka, Carmella, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Braun Strowman, Jimmy Uso, Enzo Amore, Lana, Finn Bálor, Naomi, Goldust, Natalya, Nia Jax, Rusev, Sasha Banks, Sami Zayn, The Miz, Shinsuke Nakamura

Also, a Raw roster member will be picked via fan vote, as well as one member of the New Day.

I have no idea if this will be good or not, but I'm certainly intrigued. Watching Braun wrestle mixed tag matches will be incredible. My entire kingdom for a Braun/Asuka superteam. Or Braun and Bayley. Or Braun and Alexa, with Braun just using Alexa as a weapon. Basically I'm here for Braun.

Interesting and original concept, but to be honest I doubt I'll watch any of it unless a match is heavily praised.

The choice of male participants is a bit odd. You have a top guy in Strowman, a tag team wrestler in Uso, various guys high and low on the totem pole, young and old. It's like the entire male roster drew lots to take part in this thing. I guess they're going for a mixture of workrate and star power. At least they've got all the top women wrestlers. And Lana.

I find it very interesting that the matches are being aired on Facebook. A social media website is an odd choice to air original content, but I guess they can do it for free and avoid the hassles of TV or something like Hulu. Still strikes me as odd.

Airs on Facebook? Wish they had a network for this stuff.

I'd like to see Finn and Becky as a team.

Dec 13, 2017 21:17:33 GMT @ness said:

Airs on Facebook? Wish they had a network for this stuff.

:lol:

I didn't even think of the Network when I typed my paragraph about Facebook. I guess they are trying to appeal to a wider audience? Grab some new fans.

Holy shit, imagine The Miz and Alexa Bliss as a power couple. The promos would be godlike. Maryse might have something to say about that, though. It will probably never happen.

but its a scripted sport...might as well just send the check direct to the charity and avoid possible injuries

Dec 13, 2017 21:22:47 GMT Emperor said:

Holy shit, imagine The Miz and Alexa Bliss as a power couple. The promos would be godlike. Maryse might have something to say about that, though. It will probably never happen.

God yes, Alexa Bliss and The Miz as a team, would be awesome as fuck... which means, it probably won't happen.

Or maybe even The Miz and Becky, since they both co-star in the newest Marine movie.

Two teams I would love and think they should do are Nia/Strowman and Alexa/Lesnar.

Dec 14, 2017 1:38:04 GMT Dukezilla said:

Two teams I would love and think they should do are Nia/Strowman and Alexa/Lesnar.

No way Lesnar participates in this thing. 

Once they stopped all instances on man/woman voilence mixed tag just became pointless. I'm not expecting men to fight the women or whatever, but the way they make the one gender tag out as soon as the other gender tags in, what's the point of the tag team if you can only inerteract with one of the other two. 

Dec 13, 2017 21:17:33 GMT @ness said:

Airs on Facebook? Wish they had a network for this stuff.

Facebook's paying them a rights fee. On the Network, they would need it to drive subscriptions.

The first pair of teams were announced this week.

For RAW: Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss
For SmackDown Live: Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode

Also, Enzo Amore is ruled out of the tournament due to illness.

So what do you think of these pairings?

If Braun doesn't put Alexa in his pocket I am disappoint.

They should make the losers of each round do forefits on FB Live, like the One Chip Challenge, or sing a silly song or something. Nothing serious, just the sort of good old fashioned Social Media palava that ends up going viral. Ya' never know, a TRUE WWE MEGAStar/Fifteen minute wonder could be born out of this thing.

I like the concept of the FB Live thing, but will hold judgement on the actual tournament. At the very least it should be fun, if nothing else.it's also a great way to grab some new female fans.. I can just imagine Vinnie Mac sliding all up nicely in a random chicks inbox like

"Soooo, you watch WWE?"

"Uhhh i herd ov it"

"Yeah, course you do, pal. That's me anyway. I own that shit"

"Pal???"

"Send nudes".

Just announced, Finn Balor & Sasha Banks will be pairing up as a team.

And Rusev is officially teaming with Lana.

Jan 4, 2018 19:14:42 GMT Krysys said:

And Rusev is officially teaming with Lana.

Winners or wrestling is fake.

Only if it's Rusev Day.

Every day...

Braun/Alexa and Rusev/Lana would make for some pretty amazing dynamics. I honestly want to see Braun and Alexa make it to the finals and win just to see how they would celebrate.

Not really excited for Finn/Sasha, though.

Another husband & wife has entered into the tournament. This time it's Naomi & Jimmy Uso

Jan 5, 2018 17:57:15 GMT CM Punk'd said:

Another husband & wife has entered into the tournament. This time it's Naomi & Jimmy Uso

Hope they lose their first match

With Enzo out for the tournament, Nia Jax will have to settle for someone else to be her partner. That partner now being Apollo Crews.

I have zero interest in this. This is the WWE, there isn't a women on this show that we will take direct offence from a male competitor. Not that I condone bashing women.. it will be a series of tags in and out, and those awkward moments where a man stares down the girl for a second, before tagging out.

I can see a whole lot of confusion, clusterfuckery and general weirdness to these matches.

Finn and Sasha will make beautiful big forehead babies with limited personality.

Just glad it wasn't that cringey Bayley/Finn shit they were doing on the houseshow loop a while back. Then again they've kinda given up on Bayley...

Jan 7, 2018 21:44:12 GMT @ness said:

Just glad it wasn't that cringey Bayley/Finn shit they were doing on the houseshow loop a while back. Then again they've kinda given up on Bayley...

After they buried her they really had no choice.  She was buried to an extent where even the fans kind of gave up on her.  And I hate to even use the word "buried" because it's thrown out a lot anytime anybody's favorite loses but in her case it was a true burial.  I had no issues at all with Bliss winning the belt from her, it was the right move to make but to pile so much shit on her at once, it was down right cruel and i get to the point where I hated Bayley and wanted Bliss to crack her with that Kendo stick time and time again.  She loses the belt in front of hometown fans and from there we go straight away to the awful "this is your life" segment which made Bayley look like a total loser even after she came out to cut off Bliss.  Then of course not being able to use the Kendo stick on Bliss and then getting beat down with it in what was basically a squash match. To then toss her out there the next night and hug Corey in that stupid interview like the loss didn't really matter.  Actually you can trace her fall back even further, even further than her mediocre title run.  Her horrible stint on Raw Talk where both Lita and Booker T. just took a gigantic shit on her.  I mean this wasn't Steve Austin calling out Ambrose for being a lazy wrestler bad but it was close.  This was when I sensed it was all going to go horribly wrong for Bayley.



Just so awkward.  It was hilarious but sad to. 

WWE has announced that Smackdown Live stars Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya will team up for the WWE Mixed Match Challenge show.

Nakamura and Natalya join the following teams previously announced for the tournament:

-Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss
-Finn Balor and Sasha Banks
-Nia Jax and Apollo Crews
-Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair
-Lana and Rusev
-Jimmy Uso and Naomi
-Goldust and Alicia Fox
-Asuka and The Miz

And more:

As noted, Elias will team up with Bayley in the WWE Mixed Match Challenge after Samoa Joe was pulled from the show due to injury, and Elias posted the following to his partner ahead of the tournament. Additionally, the above video was released by WWE prior to the announcement that Elias would be teaming up with Bayley:@itsbayleywwe Let me guide you. We’ll be what destiny has and what our souls should be.@wwe#WWEMMC #MMC

Elias should win but I was hoping he got a different partner...

-Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss
-Finn Balor and Sasha Banks
-Nia Jax and Apollo Crews
-Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair
-Lana and Rusev
-Jimmy Uso and Naomi
-Goldust and Alicia Fox
-Asuka and The Miz

-Nakamura and Natalya
-Elias Samson and Bayley