Bengaluru, January 17: There was a change of schedule in last night’s recording of WWE TV. Usually, 205 Live show is shown live after Smackdown Live with some dark segments.
Last night, the 205 Live show was pre-taped and broadcasted in non-live format and it was replaced by the first-ever matchup from the Mixed Match Challenge contest.
As announced earlier, January 16th marked the beginning of the series in which the winner will be rewarded with $100000 that will be donated to charity. The show created history as it streamed exclusively via Facebook Live and eventually this was the first promotion to air a show live on Facebook.
In the first match we witnessed a team from Raw going up against a team from Smackdown. Sasha Banks teamed up with Finn Balor to take on the team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Natalya. This was a dream lineup as two of the veteran names from Japan (Balor & Nakamura) went head to head in the match.
EXCLUSIVE: Take it from @FinnBalor and @SashaBanksWWE... You can BANK on the BOSS CLUB! #WWEMMC pic.twitter.com/e2pw0TbTLJ
— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2018
Sasha Banks and Natalya started off the match by exchanging punches before bringing Balor and Nakamura into the contest that earned huge reception from the crowd. After more rounds of tags, Finn Balor took the upper hand by delivering the Sling Blade and setting Nakamura up for the Coup De Grace.
Who emerged victorious in the first match of the @WWE Mixed Match Challenge: @FinnBalor & @SashaBanksWWE or @ShinsukeN & @NatbyNature? #WWEMMC RESULTS... https://t.co/H53v2K94tg
— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2018
However, Natalya showed her heel antics and pushed Balor off the top rope. As a result, Sasha and Natalya became the legal contestants in the ring, and finished off the contest with the following altercations: (courtesy WWE.com)
“In the height of the action, Bálor and Banks displayed superior teamwork, which proved to be the difference in neutralizing their opponents. The surging Banks dropped The Queen of Harts with the backstabber, then quickly locked her in The Bank Statement to force the tap out!”
EXCLUSIVE: Does #TeamNakaMEOWa deserve another chance in the @WWE Mixed Match Challenge? #WWEMMC @NatbyNature @ShinsukeN pic.twitter.com/YBIIcsP7U9
— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2018
Sasha Banks and Finn Balor advanced to the second round of the tournament. They will take on the team that will win next week’s matchup. On January 23rd, The Miz-Asuka will compete against Carmella-Big E. On the fallout show, Banks and Balor expressed their excitement for the win whereas Natalya and Nakamura wanted a second chance in this contest.