Season two of Mixed Match Challenge came to an end at TLC tonight.
Carmella & R-Truth vs. Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal in the Mixed Match Challenge finals opened the TLC main card and also streamed live on Facebook Watch. Carmella submitted Fox to win the tournament.
By winning Mixed Match Challenge, Carmella and R-Truth will enter their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30 next month. WWE had also been hyping that the winning team would receive “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world,” and that storyline culminated after tonight’s finals. It was revealed that R-Truth had selected WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut for their vacation.
While this season of Mixed Match Challenge was plagued by injuries and replacement partners, Carmella & R-Truth and Mahal & Fox stayed intact throughout. They were winless during the round-robin portion of the tournament before each team won a match to make the playoffs.
Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal vs. Carmella & R-Truth will be the finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two.
Fox & Mahal and Carmella & R-Truth both won semifinal matches on tonight’s Mixed Match Challenge episode to advance to the finals, which are being held at TLC in San Jose, California this Sunday. Both of their wins were pushed as being major upsets.
Fox & Mahal defeated Bayley & Apollo Crews in Raw’s semifinal match, with Fox pinning Bayley after hitting a big boot. The Singh Brothers had broken up a pin after Bayley hit a Bayley-to-Belly on Fox, but it didn’t cause a disqualification.
Crews was replacing Finn Balor as Bayley’s partner.
Carmella & R-Truth defeated Asuka & The Miz in SmackDown’s semifinal. There has been a storyline of dissension between Asuka and Miz since they lost to Charlotte Flair & Jeff Hardy in the round-robin portion of the tournament. After Miz pulled Asuka in his way so that she would take a superkick from Carmella instead of him, Asuka turned against Miz, hit him with strikes, and walked out on him. R-Truth then hit an Unprettier on Miz for the win.
The team that wins Mixed Match Challenge season two will receive the number 30 spots in their respective Royal Rumble matches and “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
Here’s the updated card for TLC
WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defending against AJ Styles
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against Dean Ambrose
If Braun Strowman is able to wrestle at the PPV: Strowman vs. Baron Corbin in a tables, ladders, and chairs match (Strowman will challenge for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble if he defeats Corbin. If Corbin wins, he’ll become the permanent general manager of Raw. Corbin will lose all of his GM power if Strowman wins)
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defending against Nia Jax
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a triple threat tables, ladders, and chairs match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The Usos and The New Day in a triple threat match
Natalya vs. Ruby Riott in a tables match
Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre
Elias vs. Bobby Lashley in a ladder match (the first person to reach the guitar suspended above the ring will be able to use it during the match)
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton in a chairs match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy defending against Cedric Alexander
Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal vs. Carmella & R-Truth in the finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two
Though the finals are less than a week away, replacement partners continue to shake up Mixed Match Challenge season two.
It was announced on Raw tonight that Apollo Crews will be replacing Finn Balor as Bayley’s partner on tomorrow’s episode of Mixed Match Challenge. Bayley & Crews will be facing Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal in a semifinal match on the show. Asuka & The Miz vs. Carmella & R-Truth is SmackDown’s semifinal match. That will also be taking place on tomorrow’s episode.
Bayley defeated Fox on Raw tonight, with Crews and Sasha Banks helping to even the odds against Mahal and the Singh Brothers.
Balor wrestled at WWE’s house show in Santiago, Chile last Wednesday but went home before WWE’s pair of house shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On Twitter, Balor apologized for not being able to perform in Argentina.
Drew McIntyre attacked Balor in an angle on last Monday’s Raw. Balor vs. McIntyre is set for TLC on Sunday.
The finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two are also being held at TLC. The winning team will enter their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30 and receive “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
Alexa Bliss, Banks, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, and AJ Styles (as part of a storyline where he was attacked by Daniel Bryan after the match where Bryan won the WWE Championship from Styles) are the other wrestlers who have been replaced over the course of Mixed Match Challenge season two.
The semifinals are set for season two of WWE Mixed Match Challenge.
Asuka & The Miz defeated Naomi & Jimmy Uso and R-Truth & Carmella defeated Jeff Hardy & Charlotte Flair in quarterfinal matches on tonight’s Mixed Match Challenge. It will be Asuka & Miz vs. Carmella & R-Truth in SmackDown’s half of the semifinals on next Tuesday’s episode.
Asuka & Miz were the winners of Mixed Match Challenge season one. Asuka submitted Naomi in tonight’s match after dissension between Miz and Asuka had been teased in storyline, with Miz blaming Asuka for their loss against Charlotte & Hardy last month. In tonight’s other quarterfinal, R-Truth rolled up Hardy for the pin after moving out of the way of the Swanton Bomb.
On the Raw side of the bracket, it will be Bayley & Finn Balor vs. Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal in the semifinals. That match is also taking place on next Tuesday’s episode.
The finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two will be held at WWE’s TLC pay-per-view in San Jose, California on December 16. The winning team will enter their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30. They’ll also receive “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending her title against Charlotte and Asuka in a triple threat tables, ladders, and chairs match is set for TLC, and Balor also has a match against Drew McIntyre at the PPV.
With Braun Strowman out of action, Ember Moon will be teaming with Curt Hawkins in the Mixed Match Challenge season two playoffs.
Hawkins replacing Strowman in the tournament was announced during tonight’s episode of Raw. The Mixed Match Challenge playoffs will begin on this Tuesday’s episode, with Moon & Hawkins facing Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal and Mickie James & Bobby Lashley vs. Bayley & Finn Balor.
Ember Moon defeated Fox on Raw tonight and was accompanied by Hawkins for the match. Mahal defeated No Way Jose.
On commentary, Michael Cole pushed the storyline that Baron Corbin is punishing Moon for having teamed with Strowman. Hawkins has lost 236 straight matches.
Alexa Bliss, who was Strowman’s Mixed Match Challenge season one partner, was supposed to team with him again before being forced out of the tournament due to injury before it began. Moon was her replacement.
Charlotte Flair & Jeff Hardy vs. Carmella & R-Truth and Asuka & The Miz vs. Naomi & Jimmy Uso are SmackDown’s quarterfinal matches in Mixed Match Challenge. The finals of the tournament will take place at TLC on December 16, with the winning team entering their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30 and receiving “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
With the round-robin portion of the tournament over, WWE has revealed the playoff bracket for Mixed Match Challenge season two.
Ember Moon and her new partner (with Braun Strowman out of the tournament) vs. Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal and Bayley & Finn Balor vs. Mickie James & Bobby Lashley are set for the quarterfinals on the Raw side of the bracket. Those matches will take place on next Tuesday’s Mixed Match Challenge episode, with the winners advancing to the semifinals.
Charlotte Flair & Jeff Hardy vs. Carmella & R-Truth and Asuka & The Miz vs. Naomi & Jimmy Uso are the quarterfinal matches on the SmackDown side of the bracket.
Fox & Mahal defeated Natalya & Bobby Roode and Carmella & R-Truth defeated Lana & Rusev on tonight’s episode to advance to the playoffs.
The finals of Mixed Match Challenge season two will take place at WWE’s TLC pay-per-view in San Jose, California on December 16. The team that wins the tournament will enter their respective Royal Rumble matches at number 30. WWE is also promoting that the winners will receive “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
More changes have been made to the second season of the Mixed Match Challenge.
It was announced during tonight’s show that the team of Jeff Hardy and Charlotte Flair would continue teaming as the tournament starts to wind down, effectively putting AJ Styles out of the tournament for reasons that were not made clear. Hardy replaced Styles last week after he lost the WWE title to Daniel Bryan.
Braun Strowman is also out of the tournament, as he’s getting elbow surgery and will be out for a while, perhaps up to the Royal Rumble. Ember Moon’s new partner will be revealed next week as her team will take on Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox.
These two changes add to the other changes that have taken place since the tournament first started on 9/18. Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks were all in the tournament at one point, but were taken out of action due to injury.
The finals of the Mixed Match Challenge will take place at WWE TLC on December 16. The winners of the match will win the #30 spot in their respective Royal Rumble bouts.
Jeff Hardy filled in for AJ Styles in one of two matchups featuring undefeated teams on an episode of Mixed Match Challenge from St. Louis. The late replacement and some other changes gave the show a different dynamic in some ways.
In the aftermath of losing the WWE Championship on SmackDown, Styles was pulled from his scheduled match later that night teaming Charlotte Flair in the tournament. Hardy instead teamed with Flair to give Asuka & The Miz their first loss in Mixed Match Challenge.
Losing on this episode snapped a winning streak that began when Asuka & Miz won the inaugural season of Mixed Match Challenge earlier this year.
Hardy was only a one-time replacement, so Flair & Styles now remain the only undefeated team in the SmackDown block. Over on the Raw block, Ember Moon & Braun Strowman defeated Mickie James & Bobby Lashley in another clash of undefeated teams.
Adding a new prize in the tournament, the Mixed Match Challenge winners will enter as number 30 in their respective Royal Rumble matches. They will also receive an all-expenses paid vacation. This is getting more grand than Wheel of Fortune.
A notable change in the presentation of the show was no references to the wacky team names previously used throughout the tournament. No remarks were made relating to the team names they spent eight weeks trying to get over. Graphics for the standings even listed the names of team members instead of the amalgamated names used in prior weeks.
Kayla Braxton and Vic Joseph hosted a pre-show that ran approximately 10 minutes — which was mostly pre-taped promos and wrap-around segments. The interviews on the pre-show for some reason reminded me of Randy Hales interviewing wrestlers on Memphis TV to plug cards for the Evansville loop.
Much of the pre-show was lame duck anyway. The live stream opened with the aftermath of Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Championship on SmackDown. AJ Styles was still down selling in the ring. Production personnel were also changing the ring skirting to represent the change in programming. Bryan smirked and sneered at the crowd as he walked up the ramp with the WWE title belt draped over his shoulder.
Michael Cole returned for commentary alongside Renee Young and Vic Joseph.
Ember Moon & Braun Strowman defeated Mickie James & Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush)
Moon pinned James after The Eclipse. Moon & Strowman improve their undefeated streak to four wins. James & Lashley drop to the second spot in the Raw block standings with three wins and one loss. During the match, a cutaway showed Paige informing Charlotte Flair that an unnamed person would replace AJ Styles later in the show.
Strowman and Lashley looked horns in the match for what Gorilla Monsoon might have called “the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.” Strowman was positioned as a monster. Neither would go down until Strowman finally knocked Lashley off his feet with a kick. Lio Rush caused a distraction that allowed for Lashley to spear Strowman. Easily reversing a suplex, Strowman gave Lashley a gourdbuster.
Moon chased Rush around the ring and James cut her off by leaping off the apron with a flying knee. Back in the ring, Moon superkicked James as she leapt off the top rope. Moon then climbed the turnbuckles to deliver The Eclipse for a pinfall.
Charlotte Flair & Jeff Hardy defeated Asuka & The Miz
Flair submitted Asuka with the Figure Eight. The men started the match with some basic spots. The women tagged in to trade holds and chain wrestle. Flair went up-and-over the turnbuckles where she proceeded to boot Miz off the apron. Asuka hit Flair with a hip attack that in turn knocked her off the apron.
Charlotte made a comeback leading to a hot tag. Hardy ran wild on Miz even as Miz tried to counter. Hardy used Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Miz cut him off as they traded near falls. Miz gave Hardy a DDT, but Flair jumped in to break up the count on a lateral press. Asuka hit Flair with a series of kicks that sent her out of the ring. Asuka hit Hardy with a backfist of fury that allowed Miz to schoolboy for a two count.
Asuka and Miz throw stereo Yes Kicks. Miz told Asuka to “watch and learn.” Hardy then proceeded to duck a kick and execute a Twist of Fate on Miz. Flair then speared Asuka and applied the Figure-Eight for a submission.
Next week on Mixed Match Challenge, the four teams with the worst records face off in their respective blocks. Natalya & Bobby Roode meet Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal in a battle of winless teams within the Raw block. Likewise, Lana & Rusev face Carmella & R-Truth in the SmackDown block.
Whichever teams lose next week, those teams are apparently eliminated from the tournament. That is an unexplained new development in the rules. There is still supposedly a playoff of sort. Maybe that will also be explained in due time — at least until plans change again.
WWE has added a stipulation to this season of Mixed Match Challenge.
It was announced today that the winners of the mixed tag team tournament will be the 30th entrants in their respective Royal Rumble matches in January 2019. WWE is also promoting that the winners will receive “an all-expenses paid vacation to anywhere in the world.”
The four teams who are undefeated in the tournament are set to face each other on this week’s episode. Ember Moon & Braun Strowman will wrestle Mickie James & Bobby Lashley in the Raw match and Asuka & The Miz will face Charlotte Flair & WWE Champion AJ Styles in the SmackDown match. Asuka & The Miz were the winners of Mixed Match Challenge season one.
Mixed Match Challenge airs on Facebook Watch after SmackDown on Tuesdays. When the tournament was announced, it was noted that it would conclude at TLC on December 16.
Here are the current standings for Mixed Match Challenge season two:
Undefeated teams are set to face off on next week’s episode of Mixed Match Challenge.
Not only undefeated during this season, the winning streak of Asuka & The Miz began when they won the inaugural edition of Mixed Match Challenge by going unbeaten in four matches. Last April in the finals, Asuka and Charlotte Flair were on opposing sides days before their title match at WrestleMania.
Next week, Asuka & Miz face Flair & WWE Champion AJ Styles — who are also undefeated in the second season. Flair had a different tag team partner in season one as she teamed with Bobby Roode and lost to Asuka & Miz in the finals.
Two more undefeated teams meet in the Raw block when Mickie James & Bobby Lashley face Ember Moon & Braun Strowman next week. Both teams were hastily put together when injuries reshaped the tournament.
Alexa Bliss was supposed to re-form her team with Braun Strowman, but Ember Moon instead teamed with Strowman when Bliss had to be replaced in the tournament. Replacing Sasha Banks in the tournament, Mickie James partnered with Bobby Lashley.
On last night’s episode from the United Kingdom, James & Lashley extended their winning streak as they defeated Bayley & Finn Balor. Also on the episode streamed live from Manchester, England, Naomi & Jimmy Uso defeated Carmella & R-Truth in a match that involved a rap battle and dance breaks.
Though further details weren’t provided, WWE uploaded a post-show video where they noted that Bayley & Balor had advanced to the Mixed Match Challenge playoffs despite their loss.
Here are the updated standings for Mixed Match Challenge season two:
Mixed Match Challenge went overseas during the eighth week of the round-robin tournament. Streamed on Facebook Watch hours earlier than usual, the show from Manchester, England was arguably one of the best episodes of the second season in the mixed tag team tournament.
The show from England featured a rap battle and dance breaks much like other gaga in Mixed Match Challenge. However, a hot crowd helped to create a much better atmosphere than previous weeks.
Kayla Braxton and Vic Joseph hosted a 10-minute pre-show before the live stream began. Joseph was also on commentary at ringside with Renee Young calling the matches. No Michael Cole on the show this week.
Highlights from the pre-show included promos from The Fabulous Truth and Day One Glow. Carmella vowed that Naomi would be “snatched bald” in their tag match. Naomi clapped back saying the only person that will be snatched bald is Carmella.
The Fabulous Truth also interrupted a segment on the pre-show to issue a challenge. They wanted a rap battle against Day One Glow during their match later on. Carmella and R-Truth then had a dance break with Braxton and Joseph.
Before taking part in the dance break, Braxton and Joseph did a breakdown of the recent backstory between Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley on Raw. They would once again be on opposing sides — only this time in a mixed tag team match when Country Dominance faced B’N’B in the opening bout this week.
Mickie James & Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush) defeated Bayley & Finn Balor
James pinned Bayley in the aftermath of interference by Lio Rush. Country Dominance continues their undefeated streak — improving to three wins in the tournament. B’N’B dropped to an even record of two wins and two losses. The crowd chanted and sang for Bayley before the match started.
Bayley cradled James for near falls in the opening minutes. Lashley tagged in and wanted to have a pose down with Balor. The WBF lives on in Mixed Match Challenge. When Balor was posing, Lashley jumped him. Lashley clubbed Balor, then he paused to pose and flex.
Lashley continued fighting dirty until Balor struck back by cutting him off with a dropkick. Balor sent Lashley outside. Rush jumped into the ring and Balor threw him outside. Rush still managed to cause a distraction that shifted Balor’s attention. Lashley capitalized before applying the dreaded nerve hold.
A hot tag led to Bayley running wild. James cut her off with a superkick. Balor rushed into the ring to break up a pinning attempt. Balor then ran into a brick wall — but he fought back to drop Lashley with a slingblade. Lashley posted himself when missing a charge into a corner. With Lashley down selling, Rush was left one-on-one with Balor after weeks of interference and trash talk in matches on Raw.
Rush begged off and ran around the ring playing cat-and-mouse. Balor caught up to Rush, and Balor climbed to the top rope looking to pounce on his prey. Lashley shoved Balor off the top rope to save Rush from a Coup de Grace. That still could not save Rush from a Bayley-to-Belly.
Bayley suplexed Rush, and the crowd popped. With Bayley distracted with Rush, James swooped in to deliver a swinging DDT for the deciding pinfall.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Country Dominance in a post-match promo backstage. James cut a promo saying they are greater than Monster Eclipse. Lio Rush added that they would dominate, win, and collect — which he said was their formula for success.
Both Country Dominance and Monster Eclipse are undefeated heading into their match next week. Jimmy Uso suddenly burst onto the scene getting hyped before his entrance for the SmackDown block match in the mixed tag tournament.
Naomi & Jimmy Uso defeated Carmella & R-Truth
Naomi pinned Carmella in a match that included a rap battle and a dance break. The Fabulous Truth remain winless in the tournament, while Day One Glow improve to an even record of two wins and two losses.
Carmella made a blind tag as Uso and Truth were walking and talking. Carmella and Truth started dancing together. Uso called them out asking what is up with the rap battle. Uso shoved Truth as he gave him a microphone.
Day One Glow then slayed in the rap battle. The freestyling turned into a dance break where the lights dimmed and everybody danced. Breaking up the dance party, Carmella superkicked Naomi with a cheap shot for a two count.
Naomi fought out of a headlock only to get trapped in an airplane spin combined with a headscissors takeover by Carmella. The finish came out of nowhere when Naomi springboarded into an enzuigiri to score a pinfall on Carmella.
No hard feelings afterwards as the show closed with Fabulous Truth and Day One Glow dancing on the stage.
Next week undefeated teams from each block face off in the round-robin tournament. Team Awe-ska meet Fenomenal Flair in the SmackDown block match, and Country Dominance face Monster Eclipse in the Raw block.
The mixed match tag team tournament continued from Atlanta with two more round-robin matches. Two teams improve their undefeated records in the tournament with three wins each in their respective blocks. Two other teams drop to three losses as their winless streaks continue.
Ember Moon & Braun Strowman defeated Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers)
Strowman pinned Mahal after delivering a powerslam. Monster Eclipse remain undefeated, and Mahalicia are still winless in the tournament.
Strowman was overpowering Mahal at every turn when the women tagged in. For some reason, Fox began running the ropes with Moon just watching her do so. Fox gassed out and drank water. The Singhs then caused a distraction that allowed Fox to give Moon a neckbreaker.
The next few minutes were the heat spot, a hope spot, and the babyface comeback. Strowman cleaned house on Mahal. Moon wiped out the Singhs with a tope to the outside. Meanwhile, Strowman was mauling Mahal when Fox confronted him in the ring.
Fox was wearing a hat when she rhetorically asked Strowman, “Who do you think you are?” Fox started chest bumping Strowman while also proclaiming herself as captain. Strowman stole her hat, put it on his head, and proclaimed himself captain. This spot would have been much funnier if it took place on the Jericho cruise — or at least somewhere on water. Here it was just wacky and nonsensical.
Leading into the finish, Moon swooped in to hit Fox with the Eclipse. Strowman then powerslammed Mahal to score the pinfall.
On the next episode in the Raw block, Country Dominance (Mickie James & Bobby Lashley) meet B’N’B (Bayley & Finn Balor) in the tournament.
Raw block standings —
Ember Moon & Braun Strowman (3-0)
Mickie James & Bobby Lashley (2-0)
Bayley & Finn Balor (2-1)
Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal (0-3)
Natalya & Bobby Roode (0-3)
Charlotte Flair & AJ Styles defeated Lana & Rusev
Flair submitted Lana with the Figure Eight leglock. Fenomenal Flair improves to three wins, and Ravishing Rusev Day dropped to three losses.
The match began with Rusev and Styles grabbing signs from fans at ringside. They held up the signs in a “yay/boo” spot. A chop-off developed next in the match. Rusev earlier in the week had challenged Styles to a chop-off. They all traded chops. Charlotte then challenged Rusev to a chop-off.
Charlotte was chopping Rusev when Lana attacked her from behind for a cheapshot. Lana hit an X-factor for a two count. Lana was mocking Charlotte when she fired up on Lana. Styles was a house of fire when he tagged in. He executed an ushigoroshi on Rusev, but Rusev kicked out at two on a subsequent lateral press.
Lana jumped in at one point for a Russian leg sweep on Styles. Charlotte cut off Lana and climbed the turnbuckles. Rusev sacrificed himself to save his wife by stepping in to take the moonsault from Charlotte. Lana tried for a schoolboy, but Charlotte kicked out. For the finish, Charlotte applied the Figure Eight, and Lana then tapped out.
Next week in the SmackDown block, Fabulous Truth (Carmella & R-Truth) face Day One Glow (Naomi & Jimmy Uso).
Charlotte Flair & AJ Styles vs. Lana & Rusev and Ember Moon & Braun Strowman vs. Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal are set for next Tuesday’s Mixed Match Challenge episode.
Charlotte & Styles and Moon & Strowman are both undefeated in the tournament, while Lana & Rusev and Fox & Mahal are winless.
On last night’s show, Asuka & The Miz defeated Jimmy Uso & Naomi to bring their record to 3-0. They’ve been positioned with Charlotte & Styles at the top of the SmackDown block. Bayley & Finn Balor also got a win against Natalya & Bobby Roode last night to improve to 2-1.
Here are the updated standings for the tournament, which will conclude at TLC on December 16:
WWE’s mixed tag team tournament continued with two teams improving their unbeaten records. Two other teams remained winless with their losses.
Bobby Roode became the new member of Team Pawz after an injury to Kevin Owens left Natalya without a partner. Team Pawz had already lost their first match in the tournament — and they would remain winless in spite of the change in tag team partners.
Mickie James & Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush) defeated Natalya & Bobby Roode
Lashley pinned Roode after hitting a spear. Country Dominance has a much better dynamic with both being heels. Nonetheless, this was a meeting of odd couple teammates. A member of each team was a substitute tag partner.
The match began with a lot of walking and talking. Natalya and James tried to lead “Bobby” chants. The joke was both of their teammates were named Bobby. Natalya took off her cat ears headband and placed it on Lashley. He flexed while wearing the cat ears. Lashley then heeled on Natalya by throwing the headband down and stomping on it. Roode jumped in to defend the honor of cat ears.
As Natalya and James locked up, a random shot showed The Miz & Asuka warming up for their match. Meanwhile, Natalya and James were having a match in the ring. They collided with each other on a double crossbody. That led to a hot tag.
Lashley was dominant until he posted himself. An argument began in the middle of the match. That led to Natalya and Roode applying stereo sharpshooters. Lio Rush jumped on the apron to cause a distraction. Roode and Lashley countered each other’s finisher. Lashley then gored Roode with a spear to score the pinfall.
In a backstage interview after the match, Natalya urged Roode to stay positive. Roode did so. Asuka interrupted as she ranted in Japanese. Asuka then said “we will win” before she walked out for her entrance.
Asuka & The Miz defeated Lana & Rusev
Asuka submitted Lana with the Asuka Lock. This match had plenty of gaga. Rusev was hilarious as he talked trash and narrated his own offense. The crowd cheered everyone in the match except Miz. They did a “yay/boo” spot based on that. Lana and Rusev kissed. They dared Asuka and Miz to kiss each other. They chose to fight instead.
Lana jumped off the apron with a flying crossbody at one point. Asuka got heat on Lana until Asuka missed a splash off the top. Rusev ran wild while he narrated his house cleaning. Both Lana and Rusev got near falls. Miz mimicked Aiden English in a ploy to cause a distraction. That led to a series of cartoonish spots. Asuka made the save when Lana tried to apply the Accolade on Miz. A moment later, Miz saved Asuka on a pinning attempt by Lana.
More gaga ensued as Miz began provoking Lana to slap him. The distraction by Miz allowed Asuka to catch Lana in the Asuka Lock. Lana tapped out for the submission.
Awe-ska remain undefeated since the inaugural mixed tag team tournament. They improve to two wins for this season. Next week in the SmackDown block, Asuka & Miz in their third match this season face Day One Glow (Naomi & Jimmy Uso).
Also next week, Team Pawz (Natalya & Bobby Roode) take on B’N’B (Bayley & Finn Balor) in the Raw block match
Asuka & The Miz vs. Lana & Rusev will also take place on Tuesday’s Mixed Match Challenge.
Natalya & Owens lost to Ember Moon & Braun Strowman on the season two premiere of Mixed Match Challenge. With Owens needing knee surgery, it was announced this week that he would have to be replaced in the round-robin tournament. The severity of the damage to Owens’ knee won’t be known until he undergoes surgery. Dave Meltzer reported that the expected timetable is that Owens will miss about four months if it’s minor surgery and eight months if it’s major surgery.
This is the third time that a wrestler has had to be replaced in Mixed Match Challenge season two. Moon replaced Alexa Bliss in the tournament, and James replaced Sasha Banks.
