Mixed Match Challenge
Date: October 9, 2018
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Vic Joseph, Renee Young
We’re starting to get somewhere with this series as the teams are becoming more established and you can see which ones are going somewhere and which aren’t. This week will see some more teams who we’ve seen before, which is likely going to be the case on every show going forward. Let’s get to it.
Raw Division: Bayley/Finn Balor (1-0) vs. Braun Strowman/Ember Moon (1-0)
The women start things off with Ember shouldering her down. Bayley does the exact same thing but adds in a sliding clothesline, allowing her to hit some Too Sweet poses. It’s off to the men with Strowman missing a charge and getting caught with an enziguri. That’s about it for Strowman getting beaten up so he takes Balor down and works on a neck crank.
Balor fights up but gets run over with another clothesline. The heating continues with forearms and headbutts but Balor slips out of the running powerslam. A missed charge is finally enough for the hot tag to Bayley, who is taken down with a quick gutbuster. Bayley kicks her in the head for two, which Cole says would be a major upset.
It’s Bayley over Ember Moon, which isn’t an upset of any kind. The Bayley to Belly gets two with Strowman making a save. A running charge sends Strowman shoulder first into the post and Balor hits a double stomp to the back. The Coup de Grace is countered into the running powerslam to give Strowman the pin at 9:07.
Result: Braun Strowman/Ember Moon b. Bayley/Finn Balor – Running powerslam to Balor (9:07)
As we see the standings, Kevin Owens’ picture is blacked out, meaning he’ll need a replacement due to being laid out by Bobby Lashley.
Natalya isn’t sure who she should have as a replacement partner.
Lio Rush hypes up Bobby Lashley and Mickie James against Natalya and whomever she picks.
Smackdown Division: Carmella/R-Truth (0-1) vs. Charlotte/AJ Styles (1-0)
Charlotte is very banged up from her Smackdown match, sporting bad ribs and an arm injury. We start with a WHAT’S UP vs. WOO showdown, which eats up nearly the first minute and a half. The guys wins up starting things off and it’s already time for a dance off, with AJ more than holding his own.
The women come in and do the splits, along with Truth, leaving AJ to look rather scared. Styles tries it himself and seems to pull some muscles, which is enough for things to settle down. Charlotte loads up a chop so Carmella bails to the floor for a chase. After three laps, Carmella finally gets caught but is still able to block the Figure Eight.
Carmella breaks it again and switches into the Code of Silence. That’s broken up as well so let’s hear from Jimmy Uso and Naomi. The guys come in with Styles cleaning house with Carmella breaking up a cover. AJ: “Carmella you’re not supposed to be in here!” Carmella superkicks Charlotte to the floor, leaving Carmella to hold Truth’s hand to block a sunset flip. Charlotte breaks that up and AJ pins Truth at 8:28.
Result: AJ Styles/Charlotte b. R-Truth/Carmella – Sunset flip to R-Truth (8:28)
Miz and Asuka are ready for next week.
Rusev and Lana are ready for next week.
AJ struts and breakdances to end the show.
Ouch indeed.
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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