Mixed Match Challenge: Couples Only

   I can't take full credit for this idea.  This is the brainchild of everyone involved on the podcast I am a part of, as you may know if you've read my other blogs.  We all enjoyed the Mixed Match Challenge at the beginning of the year and think the concept should be brought back.  However, our idea for the next one would involve real WWE couples only, as there are several, some of which have been brought into kayfabe.  I'm going to break down each couple.  Fans already know about a majority of these couples but there may be some that fans didn't know.

Rusev & Lana

   We'll start with one of the teams from this year, the real life couple of Rusev and Lana.  Together, they competed in the tournament and did fairly well.  They are always quite entertaining together, as we've seen in both Total Divas and on WWE television.  I'd love to see Rusev Day continue and see them try to go the distance.

Jimmy Uso & Naomi

   Here is another real life couple that competed in this year's event.  For a long time, fans have known about this couple and were often seen together on Total Divas.  At times, Naomi has accompanied both her husband Jimmy Uso and brother-in-law Jey Uso to the ring.  I'd like to see them enter the tournament again and perhaps they can go further next year.  

Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella

 Brie is pretty much retired but she did show up in the Royal Rumble this year.  She may even participate in the all women's PPV Evolution on October 28th.  At the time of the Mixed Match challenge, Daniel Bryan was still retired but very close to being cleared to return.  Now that he is healthy and back in ring action, it would be nice to see him team up with his wife, where she can return to Brie Mode.  The heat between this husband and wife team and another in The Miz and Maryse would make for very entertaining television.  I'd even like to see them finally pull the trigger on Daniel and Brie and John Cena and Nikki.

John Cena & Nikki Bella

   Since I mentioned Brie Bella, it makes sense to mention the other Bella Twin, Nikki.  Nikki and John Cena have had an interesting relationship, in which its authenticity has been questioned on Total Bellas, as well as real life.  These two are really working the fans and it's pretty funny.  Whether they are still actually together or not is not quite known, as theories for both are around.  For WWE storyline-wise, let's assume they are a couple.  They did team before at WrestleMania and were victorious over The Miz and Maryse.

The Miz & Maryse

   That brings us to the "It Couple!"  With the success of their new show Miz and Mrs., they should be primed to compete.  Maryse was still pregnant during the initial Mixed Match Challenge but I could definitely see them playing a part next year.  Despite their WrestleMania loss to John Cena and Nikki Bella, I don't see why they can't be successful here.  The Miz actually won this year's tournament with teammate Asuka.  I wonder how he would do with his own wife!

Mike Kanellis & Maria Kanellis

   It's been an interesting time for this real life married couple.  Maria returned to WWE, this time with her husband Mike.  Mike did very well in both Ring of Honor and Impact.  Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan in their WWE career.  Maria became pregnant, which took her out of action, while Mike was dealing with some personal matters in rehab.  Now that the baby has been born and Mike is back in action, they can win the Mixed Match Challenge with the power of love.

Buddy Murphy & Alexa Bliss

 This is a couple that WWE doesn't present on television, but does exist.  Also, this is not a couple that a majority of wrestling fans may know about.  Alexa competed in this year's event with a great partner in Braun Strowman and the chemistry was actually pretty great.  Buddy Murphy and his former partner Wesley Blake were managed by Alexa a few years back.  Buddy is now competing on 205 Live while Little Miss Bliss reigns as the Raw Women's Champion.  How would Alexa and Buddy do together?  Even though Buddy doesn't quite have the star power Alexa does, the team might actually surprise people.

Rowe & Sarah Logan

   This is a couple that I only just recently learned about.  Looking at them, I can see the connection.  Rowe is a destructive force, along with partner Hansen as part of the War Raiders.  Together, they dominated competition all over the wrestling world and are now in WWE, residing in NXT.  Logan is a rough and tumble female competitor and is currently part of the Riot Squad.  She's also been around the Indies a while before NXT with another character.  I'd love to see them compete together in their quest to be the Viking King and Queen.  As you can see, they seem to have fun together.  If they were to team up in the Mixed Match challenge, I'd look out for the pillaging powerhouse and the backwoods brawler. 

Johnny Gargano & Candice LaRea

 In NXT, Johnny Wrestling is one of the best competitors there and his underdog spirit gives his character life.  Currently, he's in a blood feud with former partner Tomassio Ciampa.  In a similar vein to Gargano, his wife Candice LaRea is starting to make a name for herself in NXT's Women's Division.  Last year, she participated in the Mae Young Classic, which got her signed to NXT.  They did team together to defeat Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega so I could see them doing well in the Mixed Match Challenge.

Montez Ford & Bianca Belair

   This is another NXT couple that recently got married.  Both are doing their own thing right now but placement in this tournament is a possibility.   Ford currently tags with partner Angelo Dawkins in NXT as the Street Prophets.  Meanwhile, Belair is carving out a name for herself in the Women's Division.  She caught everyone's attention in last year's Mae Young Classic and considers herself the EST of NXT.  Could these two be a force in the Mixed Match Challenge?

Roderick Strong & Marina Shafir

    There is definitely no shortage of wrestling couples in the current WWE landscape.  NXT Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir have been together a long time, as you can tell by the sight of the Ring of Honor Championship.  Shafir is one of the MMA Four Horsewomen and she is now a part of the NXT Women's Division.  She has been seen on NXT TV before when Strong was a babyface in a personal feud with Bobby Roode.  There's a very good chance we could see these two team up as well.

Tye Dillinger & Peyton Royce

   The Perfect 10 and an Iconic!  That could be quite the pairing in the Mixed Match Challenge.  Dillinger and Royce's characters would probably mesh well together, even though many people might not realize they are together.

Kassius Ohno and Rachel Ellering

    This would be a team to be reckoned with for sure.  You've got NXT's resident knockout artist, Kassius Ohno.  He's been wrestling for a long time and fans might remember him as Chris Hero in Ring of Honor.  Then there's the second generation sensation in Rachel Ellering.  Of course, she is the daughter of the legendary manager Paul Ellering.  She's been killing it on the independent scene and is now going into her second appearance in the Mae Young Classic.  Between Ohno's devastating KO's and Rachel's power lifting background, they could easily make their way to the finals.

Triple H & Stephanie McMahon

   Although I doubt these two would compete on the Facebook platform due to their star power alone, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.  Though they lost at WrestleMania to Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle, Hunter and Steph have been together for close to 20 years and have the pedigree, pun extremely intended, to get it done.  Both have been running the company despite their busy schedules, but I don't necessarily rule it out.  This is the ultimate power couple for sure!

Wild Card - Matt Hardy & Reby Sky

    Though there are rumors about a possible retirement for the Woken Warrior, what are the chances of this team being a part of the Mixed Match Challenge?  Though Reby is Matt's wife, she's a little erratic and doesn't exactly have the best relationship with WWE management.  Despite this issue, how entertaining would it be to see Broken Matt team with Princess Rebecca and try to delete their opponents?  Picture Matt and Reby classifying their opponents as obsolete!  It would be...Wonderful!

Commentary - Edge & Beth Phoenix

   In this year's event, the Glamazon was part of the commentary team, along with Corey Graves and Michael Cole.  It would be great to see Beth return to commentary next year, only this time with husband Edge by her side.  The dynamic would be great and I'm sure the chemistry would be there.  Edge would be more than able to carry himself on commentary with his personality and beyond the Hall of Fame, I haven't seen much interaction between the two. 

Hosts - Dean Ambrose & Renee Young

   This year, Renee co-hosted the Mixed Match Challenge with Byron Saxton.  The hosting duties would go way up in entertainment if Dean Ambrose was there in Byron's place.  Many fans knew Dean and Renee were dating but they were able to see the relationship play out on Total Divas.  Between Renee's great abilities and Dean's crazy antics, this should make for a great team of hosts.

 Other activities - Natalya and Tyson Kidd

   Since Tyson's unfortunate retirement due to severe injury, he hasn't been seen on WWE television, minus a few cameos on Total Divas.  Since Tyson was such a committed wrestler, I think it might be hard with him to be involved in something like this.  Then again, I'm sure there's a multitude of things for the two of them to do.  Nattie and Tyson could be backstage interviewers or play any number of roles.  

   There are so many ways WWE can go with this.  I know this is mainly for people who work strictly for WWE but there may be some other possibilities.  Mickie James could team with her husband, Nick Aldis.  Currently, Aldis is the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and works occasionally for Ring of Honor.  Wrestling fans will remember Aldis as Magnus when he worked for TNA.  He may not wrestle for WWE, but an appearance in the Mixed Match Challenge isn't the most out-there idea.  I mentioned Buddy Murphy before but as it turns out, his former partner, NXT wrestler Wesley Blake, happens to be married to and have a child with former Tough Enough winner, Sara Lee.  She's no longer with the company but her competing with Blake isn't that far fetched.  The one that I definitely don't see happening is the Undertaker and Michelle McCool.  While it's more than possible to see Michelle come out of retirement for a match, which she did at the Royal Rumble, the Undertaker's kayfabe character is a lot more important than seeing this real life couple in action on Facebook, of all things.  

   There are several couples that wouldn't wrestle but could be mentioned in passing.  I just learned that Finn Balor is dating WWE interviewer Kathy Kelly.  Aiden English has married into the legendary Guerrero family.  He could potentially team with his wife, former WWE wrestler and daughter of Eddie, Shaul Guerrero.  Zack Ryder is currently dating wrestler Chelsea Green, who is a Tough Enough alum and has played Laurel Van Ness in Impact Wrestling.  No one is sure if this is official or not, but just after Liv Morgan stopped dating Enzo Amore, it was rumored that she started a relationship with UK competitor Tyler Bate.  

   As I continue to write this, I keep thinking of more couples.  Cesaro is dating NXT trainer Sarah Del Ray, who was a former wrestler in her own right and has been crucial for the growth of female wrestlers.  Adam Cole is dating Indie wrestler Brit Baker.  Though she has been competing for a few years, I remember first seeing her as a part of Chair Shot Reality.  Bray Wyatt actually left his now ex-wife for WWE announcer Jojo.  However, I can't see Wyatt's character involved in this kind of thing regarding couples.  Not to mention, Jojo didn't fare too well in the ring.  The latest NXT signing and Mae Young Classic competitor Deonna Perrozzo is dating Bullet Club member Marty Scurl.  He may not be in WWE but his talent is definitely on their radar.  It would certainly be quite the team!

   As you can see, there is a lot to work with here.  It might be possible to gather up to sixteen teams to compete in this thing.  After all, if they do this, it would likely be one time only, so they can go back to the original format of the Mixed Match Challenge.  Overall, I think this would be a fun concept for next year's version.

 If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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