Mixed Match Challenge – October 2, 2018: Required Dancing Continues
IMG Credit: WWE
Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 2, 2018
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, Renee Young
We’re three episodes in now and that means…well not much actually as things are about the same as they are every week. We’re also having some teams that we’ve seen before now, which unfortunately means more Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal. I’m not sure what to expect here but comedy is likely. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Raw Division: Bayley/Finn Balor (0-0) vs. Alicia Fox/Jinder Mahal (0-1)
Bayley and Balor have each others’ jackets in a nice touch. The women start things off but Fox wants Balor instead. That’s just a ruse though as they trade rollups for two each until it’s off to the men. Mahal takes him down into a quick chinlock so Balor grabs an armdrag into an armbar. A basement dropkick keeps Mahal in trouble as Natalya and Kevin Owens are in the comments section.
The women come back in with Bayley being knocked off the apron and landing in Sunil Singh’s arms. That’s not cool with Fox, who pulls Bayley down and sends her into the post. That means another chinlock for a long while until Bayley backdrops her way to freedom. Balor comes back in to clean house until Mahal superkicks him out of the corner. A shotgun dropkick looks to set up the Coup de Grace but Fox crotches Balor on top instead.
Bayley tackles Fox down as the guys fall to the floor. A high crossbody gets two on Fox so Singh helps her up outside. Ever the gentleman, Singh bails so Fox takes a baseball slide. The chase is on and Singh charges into the Bayley to Belly, leaving Balor to dive onto the guys. The Bayley to Belly finishes Fox at 9:27.
Rating: D+. The lack of drama really killed this one as there’s only so much you can do in a match where you know how it’s going to end. Mahal and Fox are fine for a bickering team but their levels of interest stop as soon as the bell rings. Bayley and Balor are a good combination but they need something better to work with than this.
Braun Strowman and Ember Moon are ready for Balor and Bayley next week.
Bayley and Balor are ready for Strowman and Moon next week.
Smackdown Division: Jimmy Uso/Naomi (0-1) vs. Rusev/Lana (0-1)
The fans chant MILWAUKEE to mess with Rusev and Lana. Naomi and Lana hit the mat to start and Naomi dances at her a bit. A kick to the head and a bulldog allow Lana to break dance up and dance some of her own, so of course we stop for the dance off. This goes on for a good while with Renee having way too much fun when Naomi does a reverse Worm. The guys get in an argument over who won so we hear about Aiden English posting about Milwaukee in the comments.
And now, Jimmy and Rusev have a dance off of their own. Jimmy even busts out some Rikishi glasses so Rusev can….kick him in the head for two. Another kick to Rusev allows the tag to Naomi as everything breaks down. Lana X Factors Naomi and loads up the Accolade but Jimmy asks about Milwaukee. That’s enough of a distraction for Naomi to grab a rollup for the pin at 8:54.
Rating: D. Yeah I’m not sure what to say about this and that’s never a good sign. Like I’ve said with a lot of the matches on this show, it’s not like they have any stories to go with here (save for Milwaukee) so going with the dancing was the best idea they had. Naomi and Jimmy winning is fine as you can have Rusev and Lana get a win back later on. Pretty nothing match, but the dancing was fun.
Charlotte and AJ Styles are ready to win next week.
R-Truth and Carmella aren’t sure if they’re facing Ric or Charlotte next week.
Overall Rating: D+. This is a show where you have to consider it on a very sliding scale. The wrestling wasn’t great but that’s not the point of something like this series. They can get into the serious stuff later but at the moment, we’re just stuck with the nothing matches. That being said, it’s not like these shows are hard to sit through or completely horrible or anything. Instead they’re usually a nice, laid back version of WWE and I’ll take that over the ultra serious and often bad regular stuff any day.
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