Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The innovative 12-week series will consist of a single-elimination tournament featuring mixed tag teams (one male superstar and one female superstar) from both Raw and SmackDown, and the winners of the tournament will donate $100,000 to charity. WWE sent out a press release announcing that "each [losing] team's charitable organization will automatically receive $10,000," noting that the list of charities WWE stars will be competing for includes Make-A-Wish, the Special Olympics and Connor's Cure.
WWE has revealed the full bracket for the tournament, and among the pairings announced for the show are Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss as well as Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode and the duo of Sasha Banks and Finn Balor. At least on the surface, the Mixed Match Challenge may seem like just another WWE show in a world that's full of them, but in reality, the show is a very big deal for both WWE and its superstars.
The MMC will mark the first-time WWE has ever aired a full-blown wrestling show through a nontraditional means like Facebook, with most of its previous content airing on TV, through AVOD (YouTube, etc.) or the WWE Network. That is one of the many reasons why the MMC could alter the landscape of WWE forever, but it certainly isn't the only one as more changes could be on the way, depending upon the success of the series.
Here are five reasons why WWE's Mixed Match Challenge is a bigger deal than some may think.
The MMC Gives WWE's Female Performers Another Big Stage
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
WWE's female superstars have found themselves earning opportunities to be booked as equals to its male superstars, and they're knocking it out of the park.
It's no secret that WWE's audience is now 40% female, the highest it's ever been, and it's safe to assume we can contribute that to the women's revolution that has portrayed WWE's female stars as legitimate athletes, especially over the last few years. We've recently witnessed the first-ever women's Money in the Bank and Hell in a Cell matches as well as the great Mae Young Classic tournament, and we will soon see the inaugural women's Royal Rumble, with an all-female WrestleMania main event likely not too far away.
WWE has even upped the amount of matches its female superstars have been participating in, as the January 8th edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter showed some surprisingly high match totals for many of its female superstars in 2017: Charlotte Flair (173), Natalya (161), Nia Jax and Sasha Banks (154), Alexa Bliss (148), Carmella (139), Bayley (138) and Naomi (127). The role of WWE's women has changed from secondary act to featured performer, and it's been a success as evidenced by the fact that the Mae Young Classic did very strong viewership on the WWE Network.
Now, the Mixed Match Challenge is set to make WWE's women more than just role players, as the booking unfortunately often portrays them. It's an opportunity for WWE's female performers to take center stage in front of a potentially humongous Facebook audience, and it could pave the way for the women's division to be featured even more prominently on both Raw and SmackDown.
Fresh Matchups
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
One of the things that made Survivor Series 2017 such an anticipated event is that the show offered fresh never-before-seen matchups, including AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss.
That was a welcome change from what can typically seem like a merry-go-round of repetitive matches (we're looking at you, The Bar and The Shield) because the brand split has limited the number of fresh matches we can get on Raw and SmackDown. Of course, the Mixed Match Challenge will not feature highly anticipated one-on-one matches like Flair vs. Asuka or AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, but it will be a breath of fresh air for fans to see stars who are normally on different shows get to interact with one another for a change.
WWE's TV viewership increases substantially when stars from both brands appear, and it's likely that, especially if the booking sets up must-see matches for each round of the MMC tournament, viewership will trend higher than many expect. The MMC, after all, is set to feature a number of the biggest stars in both the men's and women's divisions, including Banks, Balor, Strowman and Flair, which should go a long way toward providing exciting possibilities for fans.
We know that one of the biggest complains among diehard fans is that both Raw and SmackDown can feel too repetitive, but given how rare mixed tag team matches are and how infrequently Raw and SmackDown superstars go head-to-head, it's hard to complain about the freshness the MMC undoubtedly brings.
">WWE will begin airing the historic Mixed Match Challenge on Tuesday, January 16th via Facebook Watch, and it could be a game-changer for the company.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The innovative 12-week series will consist of a single-elimination tournament featuring mixed tag teams (one male superstar and one female superstar) from both Raw and SmackDown, and the winners of the tournament will donate $100,000 to charity. WWE sent out a press release announcing that "each [losing] team's charitable organization will automatically receive $10,000," noting that the list of charities WWE stars will be competing for includes Make-A-Wish, the Special Olympics and Connor's Cure.
WWE has revealed the full bracket for the tournament, and among the pairings announced for the show are Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss as well as Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode and the duo of Sasha Banks and Finn Balor. At least on the surface, the Mixed Match Challenge may seem like just another WWE show in a world that's full of them, but in reality, the show is a very big deal for both WWE and its superstars.
The MMC will mark the first-time WWE has ever aired a full-blown wrestling show through a nontraditional means like Facebook, with most of its previous content airing on TV, through AVOD (YouTube, etc.) or the WWE Network. That is one of the many reasons why the MMC could alter the landscape of WWE forever, but it certainly isn't the only one as more changes could be on the way, depending upon the success of the series.
Here are five reasons why WWE's Mixed Match Challenge is a bigger deal than some may think.
The MMC Gives WWE's Female Performers Another Big Stage
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
WWE's female superstars have found themselves earning opportunities to be booked as equals to its male superstars, and they're knocking it out of the park.
It's no secret that WWE's audience is now 40% female, the highest it's ever been, and it's safe to assume we can contribute that to the women's revolution that has portrayed WWE's female stars as legitimate athletes, especially over the last few years. We've recently witnessed the first-ever women's Money in the Bank and Hell in a Cell matches as well as the great Mae Young Classic tournament, and we will soon see the inaugural women's Royal Rumble, with an all-female WrestleMania main event likely not too far away.
WWE has even upped the amount of matches its female superstars have been participating in, as the January 8th edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter showed some surprisingly high match totals for many of its female superstars in 2017: Charlotte Flair (173), Natalya (161), Nia Jax and Sasha Banks (154), Alexa Bliss (148), Carmella (139), Bayley (138) and Naomi (127). The role of WWE's women has changed from secondary act to featured performer, and it's been a success as evidenced by the fact that the Mae Young Classic did very strong viewership on the WWE Network.
Now, the Mixed Match Challenge is set to make WWE's women more than just role players, as the booking unfortunately often portrays them. It's an opportunity for WWE's female performers to take center stage in front of a potentially humongous Facebook audience, and it could pave the way for the women's division to be featured even more prominently on both Raw and SmackDown.
Fresh Matchups
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
One of the things that made Survivor Series 2017 such an anticipated event is that the show offered fresh never-before-seen matchups, including AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss.
That was a welcome change from what can typically seem like a merry-go-round of repetitive matches (we're looking at you, The Bar and The Shield) because the brand split has limited the number of fresh matches we can get on Raw and SmackDown. Of course, the Mixed Match Challenge will not feature highly anticipated one-on-one matches like Flair vs. Asuka or AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, but it will be a breath of fresh air for fans to see stars who are normally on different shows get to interact with one another for a change.
WWE's TV viewership increases substantially when stars from both brands appear, and it's likely that, especially if the booking sets up must-see matches for each round of the MMC tournament, viewership will trend higher than many expect. The MMC, after all, is set to feature a number of the biggest stars in both the men's and women's divisions, including Banks, Balor, Strowman and Flair, which should go a long way toward providing exciting possibilities for fans.
We know that one of the biggest complains among diehard fans is that both Raw and SmackDown can feel too repetitive, but given how rare mixed tag team matches are and how infrequently Raw and SmackDown superstars go head-to-head, it's hard to complain about the freshness the MMC undoubtedly brings.
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