WWE On Samoa Joe's Injury (Video), Sami Zayn - Becky Lynch Announcement, Shinsuke Nakamura - Natalya
- Cathy Kelley looks at Samoa Joe suffering a right foot injury and being pulled from the WWE Mixed Match Challenge in this new WWE Now video.
- As noted, Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch are the latest SmackDown team to be confirmed for the Mixed Match Challenge. Below is WWE's official announcement on the team:
Sami Zayn to team with Becky Lynch in WWE Mixed Match Challenge
At the innovative Mixed Match Challenge tournament, Sami Zayn will join forces with Becky Lynch to represent SmackDown LIVE, exclusively on Facebook Watch beginning next Tuesday, Jan. 16.
The playful manner in which Zayn revealed himself to his new partner shows that he is truly excited about the idea of being paired with The Irish Lass Kicker. Although the skills of Lynch and Zayn are undeniable, their attitudes on the brand they will be representing couldn't be more different.
Lynch was the very first SmackDown Women's Champion and truly seems to take pride in representing Team Blue week in and week out. Zayn's loyalties, in contrast, does not seem to extend past himself and his best friend Kevin Owens. At Survivor Series, the pair even attacked Commissioner Shane McMahon and contributed to Team SmackDown's loss to Team Raw.
However, if Zayn seriously intends to move beyond such animosity and dedicate himself to working with Lynch in the Mixed Match Challenge, their intensity and will to win could result in a true tour-de-force against any tandem they face.
Upon learning that she had been paired with Zayn, an ecstatic Lynch expressed that she would "bring back the old Sami, the good Sami." In response, Zayn promised to "bring out the best in Becky Lynch."
Regardless of whose intentions win out, Zayn & Lynch are slated to go to war in the ground-breaking tournament on Facebook Watch, where unlikely male-female WWE Superstar pairings will attempt to win $100,000 for a charity of their choice. Each showdown in the competition will follow traditional Mixed Tag Team Match rules: When tagged, male Superstars face off against the opposing team's male competitor, and female Superstars battle fellow female competitors.
Check back with WWE.com to learn other #WWEMMC combinations as they become available. Follow WWE Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook for updates, and find out how you can impact the show's matchups, stipulations and more along the way. WWE Mixed Match Challenge begins next Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 10 ET/7 PT, exclusively on Facebook Watch.
- Speaking of WWE's MMC, below are new tweets from Natalya and partner Shinsuke Nakamura plus Asuka and partner The Miz:
Show me how to do that thing you do @ShinsukeN! ?????? There's no one in the ring that I respect as much as you, Naka! #meeeeoooow! #wwemmc pic.twitter.com/PPIpOjluir
? Nattie (@NatbyNature) January 9, 2018
Awesome ??
My best buddy @mikethemiz #WWEMMC #EmpressOfTomorrow #?? #WWE pic.twitter.com/iRK29xwMUI? ASUKA / ??? (@WWEAsuka) January 9, 2018