Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 16, 2018
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, Renee Young
Things are starting to get a little dull around here and I’m not sure how to fix that. The best thing about the series is that it’s not going to last very long. We’re on week five here and the whole thing is only fourteen weeks long. The best you can hope for is to have one good week at a time so let’s get to it.
Raw Division: Natalya/Bobby Roode (0-1) vs. Bobby Lashley/Mickie James (1-0)
Lio Rush handles Lashley’s hype. The men get things started and seem to argue over who is the better Bobby. Natalya puts her cat headband on Lashley’s head so he stomps on it. Roode gets smart by trying some rollups for two each but Lashley throws him into the corner. It’s off to the women with Mickie headscissoring her down to little effect. Mickie gets in a running forearm and let’s cut to Miz and Asuka warming up in the back.
Natalya is right back up and takes her down for the stepover basement dropkick but Mickie forearms her in the face to take over. A kick to the back sets up a chinlock for a bit until stereo crossbodies puts them both down. It’s off to the men again with rather unnecessary double tags.
Roode hits the Blockbuster for two and breaks up a superplex attempt as a bonus. Lashley knocks him down again but misses the spear, sending himself into the post. Mickie comes in to break up the Glorious DDT and it’s double Sharpshooters from the Canadians. Rush offers a distraction though and Lashley hits a spear for the pin at 9:52.
Result: Bobby Lashley/Mickie James b. Bobby Roode/Natalya – Spear to Roode (9:52)
Finn Balor and Bayley are ready to face Roode and Natalya next week.
Roode and Natalya aren’t worried. It’s almost like they have no hope and therefore no reason to hope. Asuka interrupts to say they’ll win.
Smackdown Division: The Miz/Asuka (1-0) vs. Rusev/Lana (0-1)
The women start things off with Asuka stopping to dance. Not really her forte but I’ve heard of worse ideas. Like feeding Lana her own foot. Of course Lana does the same, and then gets kicked in the ribs. Lana kicks her in the head and dances some more so the fans sing her song. That means it’s time for a pose off over who is really the best. Everyone but Miz gets cheered and Rusev kisses Lana for even louder cheers.
Miz and Asuka would rather throw kicks and get sent to the floor for their efforts. Asuka hits a running dropkick and grabs an armbar. A knee to the face gives Asuka two and it’s off to the men, meaning Rusev gets to run Miz over. The Machka Kick gets two but Miz kicks him in the leg. The Figure Four is blocked though and Miz is kicked into the corner for a tag from Asuka.
Everything breaks down and double Accolades are broken up. Lana loads up a solo version but Miz grabs a mic and impersonates Aiden English for the save. Rusev kicks Miz in the head and Lana slaps on the Accolade. A big kick misses Lana and she hits the faceplant on Asuka with Miz having to make a save. The ensuing argument lets Asuka grab the Asuka Lock to make Lana tap at 7:55.
Result: The Miz/Asuka b. Rusev/Lana – Asuka Lock to Lana (7:55)
Jimmy Uso and Naomi are ready to beat Miz and Asuka next week.
It was a big week with some awesome stuff.
Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the the Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews.
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