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Mixed Match Chambers: Jake’s MMC Review – Week 2
Loading...The Mixed Match Challenge is a wrestling show that demands attention. There is currently nothing else like it among WWE’s odd slate of alternative programming: 205 Live, NXT and the Mae Young Classic are all great outlets for wrestlers on the WWE periphery to exhibit their skills in niche programming and the indie-style matches. The fact that the WWE actually regularly produces these shows is cool, but we all begrudgingly recognize that when those performers “graduate” to the main roster they’ll be instantly put through a transformation that is often confusing and irrational. On the other hand, the Mixed Match Challenge features exclusively main roster competitors, a collection of main event-ers, mid-carders and jobbers, getting the freedom to do something closer to those periphery shows than what is presented on cable TV: have fun and wrestle smart.
How can I go from the violently frustrated WWE critic as seen in last week’s Fact or Fiction, to this unashamed cheerleader for the MMC as seen in last week’s review of the first episode of Season 2? The answer is simple: I love the WWE. And love is complicated. Ask anyone who has been in love with someone for multiple decades; a lot of the time you’re going to hate each other too. There’s growing pains that come with the changes people go through, but the loyalty to your love will never fade if the feeling is true. And you’ll always have the moments that remind you of how the qualities of the person you fell in love with are right there beneath the surface. That is the Mixed Match Challenge for me, the bubbling up of the core elements of the WWE that made me fall in love over 30 years ago.
Wrestlers from across the roster, with a variety of gimmicks, mixing together to put on fun matches. And while there are a lot of wacky antics in these matches (especially this week), the actual in-ring action is logical: forward momentum where the outcomes matter. There’s no angry aggression or juvenile stupidity, there’s no plodding matches that we know we’re just going to see again next week, and there’s none of the ego that perpetuated Triple H’s career and subsequent booking style. The MMC feels like classic McMahon WWF, where you had jerky heels and happy babyfaces co-existing in this pseudo-sporting universe trying to gamely get one up on each other. So I implore wrestling fans of all generation to jump on the Mixed Match Challenge bandwagon with me!
Now, of course, 411mania is the home to the greatest show/match reviewer alive, Larry Csonka, and his weekly reviews of this show will breakdown the matches and expertly rate them in relation to his extensive knowledge of the pro-wrestling canon. However, I will be giving alternative “star ratings” specifically for the self-contained MMC universe. Presented below is a rubric of what I’m looking for in comparison to the other mixed gender matches WWE has put on this year, and my star ratings will be measured against this, NOT matches you’d see on a weekly Smackdown or something like Misawa vs. Kawada from the ’90s.
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: this marquee match enraptured a Wrestlemania audience with action and moments of believable inter-gender combat, and featured a star defining debut performance for mainstream celebrity Ronda Rousey. 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: featured a 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 (including a flying butt-butt from Naomi to WWE Champion Styles that knocked him out of the ring… doesn’t get much better than that!)
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. Generally most matches from Season 1 would fall into this rating, and I’m guessing Season 2 should be no different.
For example = MMC S2 – Week 1 – Ember Moon & Braun Strowman vs. Natalya & Kevin Owens: Ember Moon shined here, powering out of an extended Sharpshooter and as a taskmaster for Braun that set up a Total Eclipse off his shoulders. Jaw-jacking between Braun and Owens, based on both their history and size-discrepancy, played into the effective sequences between them mid-match that highlighted Owens’ smarts and teased a legit count-out on Braun.
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 = Hell in a Cell – Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse: Bryan and The Miz were able to entertain, but were mostly going through the motions with recycled sequences from past encounters, while highlighting the less interesting involvement of their one-dimensional spouses.
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 that stand out significantly more than any of the actual action in the match.
For example = SummerSlam KickOff ShowLana & Rusev vs. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas & Zelina Vega: simple, dull, featured mostly the men, and the finish was cheesy.
Match #1: Country Dominance (Bobby Lashely & Mickie James) vs. Mahalicia (Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox)
If there was ever a perfect example of why the WWE needs Mixed Match Challenge, aside from the pure gender equality of it all, look no further than this match: 6 wrestlers treated like jokes or afterthoughts or mid-carders on the main roster these days, getting a chance here to show their personality and compete in longer matches with important consequences.
Now, I’m not going to pretend I know what it’s like to wrestle a match or plan out how to wrestle a match, nor do I know the advantages of “calling it in the ring” versus rehearsing the spot sequences in advance. That would be like trying to say I know exactly how Jackson Pollack achieved his luscious, fascinating artwork just because it appears to be paint randomly thrown against a canvas. The most seasoned of art critics can’t re-create this kind of inventive art, but that doesn’t exclude them from appreciating and/or analyzing the final piece.
In watching pro-wrestling, I like how things look. I can’t know the magic behind how they accomplish doing it all, but there are a variety of looks that I’ve seasoned myself to appreciate. I can like the grappling of a Drew Gulak vs. Biff Busik in Evolve Wrestling’s indie style of impromptu-looking fights. I also like the choreographed high-wire sequences you’d see in an overseas match between Will Ospreay and Ricochet. And I even love something as off-beat as Eugene vs. Coach from Bad Blood 2004. What I don’t appreciate is boring. I don’t want to see these match-ups and moments repeated or imitated. If it looks dumbly-fake or super-real, that’s secondary analysis to me, and one that only hinders my appreciation of the initial watch.
I’m saying all this to explain why I really liked this match, even though it appeared like some very well-timed, super-produced, planned-out sequences fitting together like dominoes. From the initial power match up between Jinder and Bobby, Alicia Fox breaking up the pin with a flurry of body rake-scratches, the push-up challenge “side-quest”, the timing of the rest hold with Mickie and Alicia to fit in two entertaining backstage clips of other teams, the awesome criss-cross sequence of missed/hit moves near the end that led to the cruiserweight seconds getting involved, and a distraction for Mahal before taking all of Lashely’s strangely devestating vertical suplex finisher. It was all almost too polished, where even some of the sloppy execution worked as part of the rush to try and get the win.
So while watching this match, very little of the technical artistry behind how it’s being accomplished, or the “business” of it all, pops into my head. I just liked the wacky characters who I don’t normally see in this position using a fast-paced layering of wrestling moves and interactions to keep me on my toes and constantly entertained.
Match Rating:***
Match #2: Awe-ska (Asuka & The Miz) vs. The Fabulous Truth (Carmella & R-Truth)
Can a wrestling match with no wrestling still be a great match?
If you’d have told me in the 1980s that I’d appreciate Bruno Sammartino and Hacksaw Jim Duggan matches as much as I do today, I’d have called you a hoser or a dweeb. As a kid I wanted to see the move-heavy wrestlers like Macho Man, Tito Santana and the Hart Foundation, and hated anything that was mostly a bunch of punching (yes, like Hogan!). However, as the WWE’s modern in-ring wrestling style has become safe, repetitive and dull, I’ve learned to appreciate the classic way some wrestlers mastered basic elements and built story around simple escalations (such as putting more gusto and desperation into punches as the match goes deeper). MMC matches like this one harken back to that tradition.
Miz and Truth tease and stall so well that their offensive arsenals are able to be deceivingly limited in scope. Carmella and Asuka are awkwardly two sides of a coin: charismatic Carmella clearly not a seasoned veteran but has been asked to wrestle as one this year, while Asuka the ring general has been pushed to talk and show more “personality” on the main roster this year. This forced confusion by bookers resulted in mixed results post-Wrestlemania, but this was probably their most relaxed performances against each other since both were allowed to play to their initial strengths, and lean on the goofiness of their male counterparts to motivate their characters’ decisions in the match.
Generally what I liked is how this match featured very few wrestling “moves”, and instead relied mostly striking and chasing. The most innovative wrestling maneuver was probably R-Truth throwing early “Japanese arm-drags” like Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach ’97 (and that’s NOT an insult). Also, Asuka hit a notable butt bump at one point, making this 2 weeks in a row for this always awesome move (and things are looking good to continue with another Naomi match next week!). Carmella eventually tapped to the one submission hold of the match, the Asuka-Lock.
Match Rating:***
Season 1 champions, Asuka and The Miz, maintain their effectively-awkward teaming, hinting at dissension based on errors in the ring (mostly by Miz). This contrasted well with the erratic R-Truth and this Carmella-lite who tags along to steer him towards others as a way to deflect his weird obsession with defeating her in a match. To accomplish their goal of making a through-line to an important victory in this tournament they didn’t need a bevy of wrestling moves, but rather distractions, strikes, running and – yes – even dancing. And it was never boring.
