Mixed Match Chambers – Jake’s MMC Review – Week 10

Who doesn’t want to go on vacation?

On this week’s Mixed Match Challenge episode, the (kayfabe) announcement that the winning time of Season 2 will receive an all expense paid vacation to anywhere in the world was really being pushed. I think it’s now safe to assume this means we’re getting a joke-y winner this season (possibly one of the teams moving on from this week), so the WWE can lovingly produce some dopey vignettes.

Well, I was just on “vacation” too, actually, and thus why I’m getting around to this review a bit late. Gotta admit, it felt good to be away from everything: the wrestling gossip, the speculations, the constant barrage of content. When I finally sat down to watch Takeover and Survivor Series, with no spoilers and completely out of context from the wrestling calendar, it was a calm and pleasant experience. Maybe it was because the content was great, or maybe it just seemed great because of my clear heart; but it was the best time I’ve had watching WWE wrestling in years.

And then the dredge of the grind set back in: RAW… Smackdown… and, of course, Mixed Match Challenge. I need another vacation already! The perpetual narrative of the WWE, much like this season of Mixed Match Challenge, is glut of theoretical story and character beats that are not satisfying in the moment. They produce content to be content; and even when there is a good MMC match, or a great weekend of events like Takeover and Survivor Series, the weekly turnover of shadow movements inside hollow box matches is ultimately pointless.

That’s why the MMC felt so fresh in the first season: like a vacation. The wrestlers we are so used to seeing spin their wheels in meaningless moments every week, were released into a small but unique oasis of fun competition. We all knew it was going to be just for a short while, but that’s why I think it was so satisfying despite not being anything revolutionary. The show was a light, casual escape from that heavy churn of weekly lethargy. But this season of MMC now is like when someone loves their vacation so much they call back home, quit their job and decide to stay. Except, when you stay on vacation then that vacation becomes your regular, dire life; and again you find yourself longing for a vacation from the paradise you once coveted.

As always, 411mania is the home to the greatest show/match reviewer alive, Larry Csonka, and his weekly review of Mixed Match Challenge will breakdown the matches and expertly rate them in relation to his extensive knowledge of the pro-wrestling canon. On the other hand, I created this alternative “star ratings” rubric to try and create a database for Mixed Match ratings only; naively assuming this would be a show the stuck with the vacation feel, and didn’t turn into the monotonous repetition of meaningless matches we see from WWE on the reg.

MMC Match Rating Rubric

5 Stars – a transcendent match that truly evens the playing field for the male and female wrestlers involved at a main event level.

For example = Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: enraptured a Wrestlemania audience with action, drama and moments of believable inter-gender combat. It is unlikely any match from MMC 2 will be able to reach this rating level.

4 Stars – near-flawless and exciting wrestling action, where characters are out of the element and realistically trying to win the match in dramatic fashion; elements of inter-gender wrestling will be a strong bonus.

For example = MMC S2 – Week 1 – AJ Styles & Charlotte vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi: house-show level competitive back-and-forth between Charlotte and Naomi, fun verbal interactions between Styles and Uso, and inter-gender elements that resulted directly in the finish.

3 Stars – solid, clean wrestling where you don’t notice any continued errors or lethargic sequences; if lacking in drama or action, superior exterior features such as macro or micro storylining and/or character flourishes are taken into account.

For example = MMC S2 – Week 2 – Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal vs. Mickie James & Bobby Lashley: Well-timed sequences that fit together like dominoes, giving four wrestlers with often little opportunity on the main roster a chance to put on a compelling and satisfying match.

2 Stars – even if the wrestling performed is average or the outcome predictable, a match at this level should feature a solid pace that stops it from being boring or pointless.

For example = MMC S2 – Week 6 – Finn Balor & Bayley vs. Bobby Roode & Natalya: dull wrestlers being instructed to “have fun” in between moments of chain wrestling with the energy of a backstage run-through.

1 Star – basically a match that goes through the motions, relies heavily on rest holds, or features a lop-sided effort from competitors of one gender; mistakes and botches stand out significantly.

For example = MMC S2 – Week 5 – Asuka & The Miz vs. Lana & Rusev: a lifeless match of unnecessary comedy and dancing anchored by Lana’s poor wrestling.

MMC2 – Week 10 Review

Match #1: Mahalicia vs. Natalya & Bobby Roode

What a breath of fresh air to actually have a match on this show that feels like a real wrestling match again. Unsurprisingly, it took the threat of elimination to put some urgency into the wrestling and cut out all the goofing around. If only they’d had a format for the season that made every match count in an accumulation of points to determine the winner… oh right, they did have that.

Gotta say, the better team clearly won. Natalya and Roode are a horrible mix, two boring-ass characters and wrestlers who need to be paired up with much more dynamic teammates. While Mahalicia have been one of the few bright spots on this season, if only because they got to do something new as a duo rather than just being two stars forced to work together and pretend to be friends (like the lame duck Roode and Natalya).

The match wasn’t as good as the other 3-star Mahalicia outing, against Country Dominance, but I think it was better than the mainly 1 and 2-star matches that have embedded themselves into this show for the last month or so.

Match Rating: ***

Match #2: Rusev Day vs. Fabulous Truth

Not much of a match, but the Los Angeles crowd was way into both teams. Sad that the WWE couldn’t have capitalized on the popularity of these teams; however, it is hard ice skating up the hill that is Lana in-ring.

The better team won again, I guess. R-Truth and Carmella are more fun than Rusev and Lana, but if they continue to win at this point (and the promised rewards feels very suited to them) then I worry for the what the upcoming “playoffs” will be like.

Match Rating: *

I said it last week, and I’ll say it again, having an 8-team single elimination tournament based on the “seeds” determined in a round robin tournament – for pro-wrestling – is pretty dopey. What you end up with is just a bunch of matches in the block round that meant nothing, since there is no real advantage to the seeding in pre-determined “competition” where there is no home arena advantage.

As well, by sticking with the RAW vs. Smackdown format for the finals, they playoffs now become just repeats of the matches we saw in the pointless round robin weeks. They could have least mixed the seeds to give us some fresh matches for the tournament.

And, in “No Shit MMC” News, Braun Strowman was taken out of the tournament that is to conclude at the TLC PPV; yet another name pulled from a season that once also included Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens, Alexa Bliss, and AJ Styles. The predictable morph of this show into the next Main Event is coming along nicely.

This all just adds more back-up to my idea from a few weeks ago that they could make the MMC a self-contained universe like 205 Live or NXT with teams exclusive to this show. That way you’re not teasing these main event-ers for finals you know they won’t be able to compete in, and give more C-level stars something they can actually sink their teeth into.

So I think we can all agree, the WWE’s first foray into a round robin tournament was a complete failure. Let’s hope they can get some of that Season 1 momentum back now that they’re basically repeating that tournament format from this point forward… after what was an unnecessary attempt to live their vacation.

4.0

The final score: review Poor

The 411

In order to get some good wrestling from the MMC again, all they had to do was make the matches have consequence. Funny how that works. When I watch a football game, don't give me two minutes of trying to score and 48 minutes of halftime song and dance. This is what Season 2 of the MMC has been, and here's hoping we get more real matches before this thing ends.