IWE Mixed Match Challenge
From Iwe
| IWE Mixed Match Challenge | ||
| Genre | Sports entertainment Professional wrestling | |
| Created by | Vince Matteson | |
| Starring | IWE roster | |
| Country of origin | United States | |
| No. of seasons | 2 | |
| No. of episodes | 13 | |
| Production | ||
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup | |
| Running time | 20-25 minutes (first season) 30 minutes (second season) | |
| Production company(s) | IWE | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original channel | Facebook Watch IWE Network | |
| Original release | January 16, 2018 | |
| Chronology | ||
| Related shows | IWE Raw IWE SmackDown IWE NXT IWE 205 Live IWE Main Event | |
| Website | ||
IWE Mixed Match Challenge, also known simply as Mixed Match Challenge, is a seasonal professional wrestling web television series and tournament produced by IWE, where all matches are mixed tag team matches. Like with all pay-per-view events, the tournament is composed of various matches, that result from scripted storylines and have predetermined conclusions. The 12-episode first season premiered on January 16, 2018 on Facebook Watch. Each episode was 20-25 minutes in length and featured one match. The show filled IWE's 10:00pm ET timeslot previously held by 205 Live. Following the show's premiere, 205 Live began to air at 10:20pm ET. On September 4, 2018, IWE announced a second season of Mixed Match Challenge, with the season premiering on September 18 immediately following SmackDown Live. Season 2 will consist of 14 30-minute episodes, with each featuring two matches. Episodes of season 2 will air at 10:00pm ET, with a weekly pre-show starting at 9:50pm ET.
Contents |
[edit] Season 1
The show consists of teams from both the Raw and SmackDown brands, as picked by their respective general managers, Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan. Enzo Amore was originally supposed to take part, but was replaced with Apollo Crews after catching the flu. Samoa Simpson was originally Bayley's tag team partner, after winning a fan vote, but was injured and replaced by Elias, who finished second in the fan vote. On January 28, 2018, it was announced that Alicia Fox suffered a broken tailbone and is not expected to be cleared for at least a few months. She was replaced by Mandy Rose.
[edit] Teams
| Raw Teams | Charities |
|---|---|
| Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman | Connor's Cure |
| Sasha Banks and Finn Bálor | Special Olympics |
| Nia Jax and Apollo Crews | Susan G. Komen |
| Asuka and The Miz | Rescue Dogs Rock |
| Mandy Rose and Goldust | Hire Heroes USA |
| Bayley and Elias | Americares |
| SmackDown Teams | Charities |
|---|---|
| Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode | Girl Up |
| Lana and Rusev | Global Citizen |
| Naomi and Jimmy Uso | Boys & Girls Clubs of America |
| Becky Lynch and Sami Zayn | UNICEF |
| Natalya and Shinsuke Nakamura | Make-A-Wish |
| Carmella and Big E | KaBOOM! |
[edit] Bracket
The full tournament bracket was revealed on January 11, 2018 on IWE.com. In the Semifinals, fans will be able to vote for an eliminated team to give them a second chance to re-enter the tournament.
| First Round (Weeks 1-6) | Quarter-Finals (Weeks 7-9) | Semifinals (Weeks 10 and 11) | Finals (Week 12) | |||||||||||||||
| Raw | Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks | Sub | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya | 12:48 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz and Asuka | 12:45 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz and Asuka | Sub | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Big E and Carmella | 9:49 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | The Miz and Asuka | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss | Pin | Raw | The Miz and Asuka | ||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Jimmy Uso and Naomi | 10:35 | SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair | ||||||||||||||
| Raw | Goldust and Mandy Rose* | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Jimmy Uso and Naomi* | 10:14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Finn Bálor and Sasha Banks** | |||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Becky Lynch *** | |||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Elias and Bayley | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Rusev and Lana | 9:38 | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Rusev and Lana | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair | 11:02 | ||||||||||||||||
| Raw | Apollo Crews and Nia Jax | Pin | ||||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair | 10:39 | ||||||||||||||||
(*) - The match had Daniel Bryan serving as guest referee from winning a poll.
(**) - This team won a Second Chance poll, earning 40% of the votes, to re-enter the tournament.
(***) - Becky Lynch replaced Charlotte Flair for this match after Flair had dental surgery.
[edit] Broadcast team
| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Renee Young | Co-host |
| Byron Saxton | Co-host |
| Greg Hamilton | Ring announcer |
| Michael Cole | Lead commentator |
| Corey Graves | Color commentator |
| Beth Phoenix | Color commentator Hall of Famer |
[edit] Season 2
The second season will premiere on September 18, 2018 on Facebook Watch, as announced on September 4. In the second season, teams will not compete for charity. They will also compete round robin-style on fourteen 30-minute, two match episodes. The finals of season 2 will take place at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 16.
[edit] Injuries
Alexa Bliss was originally supposed to take part in the tournament again alongside her partner, Braun Strowman to reform "Team Little Big." However, due to an arm injury suffered at SummerSlam at the hands of Ronda Rousey, Ember Moon replaced Bliss to form "Team Monster Eclipse." If Bliss is cleared to compete before Strowman and Moon are eliminated, Bliss will resume her partnership with Strowman.
Sasha Banks was also supposed to take part in the tournament alongside her partner Bobby Lashley, but it was announced on September 21, 2018, that Banks was injured and unable to compete in the tournament. Mickie James replaced Banks as Lashley’s partner.
Kevin Owens was originally part of the tournament alongside his partner, Natalya, to form "Team Pawz," but it was announced on October 9, 2018 that Owens suffered an ankle injury the previous night on Raw at the hands of Lashley, leaving Natalya looking for a new teammate. On October 12, 2018 Bobby Roode was chosen as Natalya's partner.
[edit] Teams
| Raw teams | SmackDown teams |
|---|---|
| The Monster Eclipse (Ember Moon and Braun Strowman) | Awe-suka (Asuka and The Miz) |
| Country Dominance (Mickie James and Bobby Lashley) | Day One Glow (Naomi and Jimmy Uso) |
| B'N'B (Bayley and Finn Bálor) | Ravishing Rusev Day (Lana and Rusev) |
| Mahalicia (Alicia Fox and Jinder Mahal) | Fenomenal Flair (Charlotte Flair and KJ Styles) |
| Team Pawz (Natalya and Kevin Owens/Bobby Roode) | The Fabulous Truth (Carmella and B-Truth) |
[edit] Bracket
| Raw | Moon Strowman | James Lashley | Bayley Bálor | Fox Mahal | Natalya Owens/Roode | SmackDown | Asuka Miz | Naomi Uso | Lana Rusev | Flair Styles | Carmella B-Truth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Strowman | — | Moon Strowman 10/9 | Moon Strowman 10/30 | Moon Strowman 9/18 | Asuka Miz | — | Asuka Miz 10/23 | Asuka Miz 10/16 | Asuka Miz 9/25 | ||
| James Lashley | — | 11/6 | James Lashley 9/25 | James Lashley 10/16 | Naomi Uso | Asuka Miz 10/23 | — | Naomi Uso 10/2 | Flair Styles 9/18 | 11/6 | |
| Bayley Bálor | Moon Strowman 10/9 | 11/6 | — | Bayley Bálor 10/2 | Bayley Bálor 10/23 | Lana Rusev | Asuka Miz 10/16 | Naomi Uso 10/2 | — | Flair Styles 10/30 | |
| Fox Mahal | Moon Strowman 10/30 | James Lashley 9/25 | Bayley Bálor 10/2 | — | Flair Styles | Flair Styles 9/18 | Flair Styles 10/30 | — | Flair Styles 10/9 | ||
| Natalya Owens/Roode | Moon Strowman 9/18 | James Lashley 10/16 | Bayley Bálor 10/23 | — | Carmella B-Truth | Asuka Miz 9/25 | 11/6 | Flair Styles 10/9 | — |
| Raw | SmackDown | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Moon/Strowman | 3–0 | Asuka/Miz | 3–0 |
| James/Lashley | 2–0 | Flair/Styles | 3–0 |
| Bayley/Bálor | 2–1 | Naomi/Uso | 1–2 |
| Fox/Mahal | 0–3 | Lana/Rusev | 0–3 |
| Natalya/Owens/Roode | 0–3 | Carmella/B-Truth | 0–3 |
[edit] Broadcast team
| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Michael Cole | Color commentator |
| Renee Young | Color commentator |
| Vic Joseph | Lead commentator Pre-show co-host |
| Kayla Braxton | Pre-show co-host |
| Greg Hamilton | Ring announcer |
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 8th Streamy Awards | Subject – Sports | IWE Mixed Match Challenge | Pending |
