On Thursday, former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks was less than thrilled when she thought her Mixed Match Challenge partner showed up to say hello. After a bit of shock and disappointment, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief when she found out who her real partner was. With Kurt Angle speaking of a “dream team” sort of pairing, it has brought another interesting mixed gender tag team to the tournament.
WWE Raw general manager Kurt Angle introduced Alexa Bliss to her monstrous partner on Wednesday, as Braun Strowman showed up to “scare” the women’s champion. A bit later on, SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan introduced the “Glorious” pairing of Bobby Roode and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Now, as reported by WWE.com , another dream pairing has been created for Raw . Before Sasha learned of her real tag team partner, WWE teased a funny entrance (video clip below) by Curt Hawkins as Sasha’s partner before Finn Balor was officially introduced as Sasha’s partner for the Challenge . It made for a bit of hilarity as Hawkins walked into the room and brought a look of utter disappointment to Sasha’s face before Angle asked him what he was doing there.
The Balor Club just got more Legit! @FinnBalor #LegitBoss #DemonBoss #WWEMMC pic.twitter.com/qm6OWBy9PK
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) January 4, 2018
That now gives the upcoming tournament at least three teams, with more to be announced in the coming days. There are already “backstage rumors” about Nia Jax being disappointed that her tag partner isn’t Braun Strowman. However, in a newer video clip, Strowman assured Renee and Alexa that they don’t care about Nia Jax. Instead, “The Monster Among Men” said the only friend Alexa needs will be him to win the tournament.
As far as Sasha Banks and Finn Balor go, if they are put into a matchup with Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode, it could make for one of the more interesting matches in the tournament. Balor is a former WWE Universal Champion, albeit for just a day, while Sasha has held the WWE Raw Women’s Championship multiple times.
Are you ready for the team of @FinnBalor and @SashaBanksWWE?! @RealKurtAngle has revealed #RAW ‘s next dynamic duo for @WWE Mixed Match Challenge! #WWEMMC pic.twitter.com/jrdAOkiVG2
— WWE (@WWE) January 4, 2018
One would have to think that all three teams that have been introduced so far have a good shot at winning the tournament. However, with upcoming Royal Rumble matches or ongoing storylines, it will be interesting to see if there are other superstars interfering in these Mixed Match Challenge matches.