‘WWE Mixed Match Challenge 2×01’ Review
Welcome to the season premiere review of WWE Mixed Match Challenge: Season 2, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have men and women in mixed tag action to set up a division… wait… no we don’t.
Match #1: Monster Eclipse def. Team Pawz
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Due to Alexa Bliss harboring an arm injury, the return of Team Little Big had to wait, and instead, Ember Moon teamed up with Braun Strowman to form Team Monster Eclipse, as named by the WWE Universe in a vote. Their opponents? The ferocious pairing of Kevin Owens & Natalya as Team Pawz. Strowman and Moon displayed impressive chemistry, using their respective power and athleticism advantages to form a dynamic combo. Natalya and Moon kicked off the bout by matching each other move for move (and even flip for flip). Natalya looked to have the match in hand when she locked Ember in the Sharpshooter, but the game changed when Strowman helped The Shenom escape, prompting her to tag in The Gift of Destruction.
The Monster Among Men was relentless, going in on Owens with a brutal flurry of offense. KO attempted to slow Strowman down by chucking him into the post and over the announce table, but Braun battled back with some devastating strikes before Owens made a dashing tag to Natalya. With the women back in the contest, Ember took down Natty, Strowman launched Owens out of the ring and Moon propped herself up on Strowman’s shoulders and wrecked Natalya with an awe-inspiring Total Eclipse for an incredible win to start the competition 1-0.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a nice little match that had some excellent chain wrestling, but may not have been the most exciting bout in wrestling today. The women were the stars of this match and they were able to bring the foundation to the match. Overall, I can’t have any complaints about a decent match, so I won’t say any more.
Match #2: Main Event – Fenomenal Flair def. Day One Glow
The following is courtesy of WWE.com:
Mixed Match Challenge veterans (and happily married couple) Jimmy Uso & Naomi took on Fenomenal Flair — WWE Champion AJ Styles & Charlotte Flair — a pairing that the WWE Universe could not wait to see team up together. And, well, Styles & Flair proved to be, un-shockingly, phenomenal in their debut as a tag team, even though each was the victim of blindside attacks earlier in the night on SmackDown LIVE. Styles and Jimmy kicked off the bout, and Uso attempted to muscle AJ down. AJ and Jimmy then found themselves deciding on a few gentleman’s agreements, including relinquishing each other’s legs at the same time and tagging in their partners simultaneously.
Two of the most athletic Superstars in WWE then clashed with Naomi and Charlotte going at it in a battle that saw everything from The Queen impersonating some of The Glow’s dance moves to Naomi trying to hit Styles with a dive. AJ caught Naomi, which immediately drew the ire of Jimmy. However, this disagreement gave Flair the opportunity to take out Jimmy and Naomi with a crossbody to the outside of the ring. In a lightning-quick sequence, Naomi dropped AJ with a hurricanrana, Charlotte applied a Figure-Eight Leglock to Jimmy, and Naomi hit Styles with the Rearview. However, that Rearview proved costly, as it allowed Charlotte the opportunity to down The Glow and trap her in the Figure-Eight to give Fenomenal Flair a tapout victory and a 1-0 start in the round robin competition.
My Take: 2 out of 5 – This was okay, I suppose. There was far too much comedy for my taste, but it was performed well, I think. I get that AJ had just worked his match on Smackdown, so he needed to take it easy, but why not set up the schedule differently so AJ doesn’t have to wrestle twice in one night? Why not set this mixed tag tournament for one of the weekend house shows, which would give a set of those some extra zing? Overall, better booking would’ve given this match the license to actually have some wrestling worth remembering, rather than just surviving long enough to look official.
News Of The Night:
- Bobby Lashley & Sasha Banks fight Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox, next week.
- Asuka & The Miz fight Carmella & R-Truth, next week.
Final Verdict: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a decent card that didn’t make me very excited for the next one. This would be a lot better if it was actually leading to a new division, but it doesn’t seem to be what they’re going for here.
