WWE Mixed Match Challenge Final and 205 Live Winners and Grades for April 3

The WWE Mixed Match Challenge came to a close this week when Charlotte Flair and Bobby Roode faced The Miz and Asuka in the final round of the tournament.

The winners earned $100,000 for the charity of their choosing, but every team picked an organization to receive $10,000 before the tourney began.

While WWE failed to properly promote this show, the Superstars of WWE have done a good job making every match different and fun. It has been a nice change of pace from WWE's usual programming.

205 Live is technically the final in-ring show for the main roster before WrestleMania, but WWE barely acknowledged it during SmackDown.

Let's take a look at everything that happened in this week's Mixed Match Challenge and 205 Live.

The Miz and Asuka vs. Bobby Roode and Charlotte Flair

Even though WWE put together some great teams for this tournament, it was almost too obvious from the start that it would be Asuka, The Miz, Charlotte and Bobby Roode in the final match.

Roode controlled The Miz in the early moments, so The A-Lister tagged in Asuka to give him a break from the former U.S. champion.

If the exchanges between The Queen and The Empress of Tomorrow are anything to go by, their WrestleMania 34 match is going to be great.

They were physical, creative and showed real passion. Toward the end of the match, Charlotte speared The Miz and put him in the Figure-Four, but Asuka broke it up with a kick to the head.

The end came when The Miz dropped Roode with the Skull-Crushing Finale to win the prize for their chosen charity, Rescue Dogs Rock.

This was another in a long line of great performances during this tournament. It will be interesting to see if WWE brings the concept back or if this ends up being a one-time thing.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Roode might be incapable of getting his voice to sound anything but gravelly. It makes for a funny "Woo."
• The Miz mocking Charlotte by trying to use the Figure-Four, which her father passed to The Miz years ago, was a great moment.
• Asuka may have hit her most brutal running hip strike to date during this match.
• Charlotte almost landed on her feet instead of Asuka when she hit a moonsault.
• The Miz gave a great speech after the match talking about all of the charities the teams were fighting for and how the birth of his child and winning the tournament have made this the best week of his life. It was almost a babyface promo.

Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa vs. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado

Credit: WWE.com

Lince Dorado holds Hideo Itami in a headlock.

If WWE is planning on starting a cruiserweight tag team division, it has clearly settled on these two teams to kick things off.

Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa have completely different personalities, but their hard-hitting style of offense has allowed them to develop good chemistry quickly.

Lince Dorado and Metalik, on the other hand, have worked together on and off since the division first launched, so they already know each other well enough to be a solid tag team.

Despite the level of talent in this bout, it felt like everyone was going uphill stuck in second gear. Perhaps they were saving themselves for WrestleMania weekend by not risking any injuries.

However, Itami did show some of his heel characteristics when he attempted to rip the mask off Metalik. All four men started brawling, and the ref had no choice but to call the match.

Grade: C+

Notes and Highlights

• It's hard to decide if "Lucha House Party" is an awesome or awful name for a tag team.
• This feud is interesting because the competitors represent two of the most well-known styles of pro wrestling with lucha libre in Mexico and puroresu in Japan.
• Tozawa has the best suicide dive in the business. There is no comparison.
• Itami going back to playing a heel will only work if Tozawa starts showing some villainous tendencies moving forward.

Tony Nese vs. Jonathan Pierce

Credit: WWE.com

Tony Nese showing off his impressive physique

The second match of the night saw Tony Nese battle a man by the name of Jonathan Pierce, who was serving as a glorified jobber this week.

Squash matches are usually quick and pointless, but this one benefitted Nese because he was allowed to show off his full arsenal of moves for the first time in months.

The Premier Athlete didn't just focus on exhibiting his strength. He also showed off his agility, creativity and striking ability.

Once he had demonstrated his skills enough to be satisfied, Nese picked up the win with a stiff running knee in the corner.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights

• Pierce made the mistake of flexing at Nese at the beginning of the match. You don't flex at Tony Abs. You just don't.
• Pierce did have a decent physique. He was more built than the usual jobbers WWE uses for 205 Live.
• Nese needs new entrance music. His current song doesn't have any pop to it.

Kalisto vs. Buddy Murphy

The third match of the night saw the third member of Lucha House Party, Kalisto, take on Buddy Murphy in the main event.

Kalisto is known for his speed and agility, so it was a little surprising to see Murphy keep up the same pace with him during the opening exchange.

The former Team BAMF member eventually used his size advantage to control the former Lucha Dragon, but Kalisto never stayed on the defensive for too long.

This match not only showed off how good Kalisto is but also went a long way toward making Murphy a real threat to anyone holding the Cruiserweight Championship.

Every time it looked like one of them would win, the other would kick out at the last second. The crowd showed its appreciation with chants of "This is awesome" as they kept picking up the pace.

After several near-falls from both competitors, Murphy picked up a hard-fought win. The final main roster match before 'Mania delivered in every possible way and may end up being better than many of the bouts we see on Sunday.

General manager Drake Maverick ended the show with a speech from backstage about how much the past few months have meant to him and how impressed he has been with everyone on the 205 Live roster. He hyped WrestleMania and the title match between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali.

Grade: A

Notes and Highlights

• Something about Murphy reminds me of the tag team High Voltage from WCW.
• Murphy has improved so much in the past couple of years. His tag team with Wesley Blake was good, but he is going well as a singles star.
• Have you noticed how WWE never mentions how Kalisto once defeated Braun Strowman? Management probably hopes we forgot.
• Dorado and Metalik should have been at ringside to support their teammate, and Kalisto should have been there for them earlier.
• The spot when Murphy hit a suplex on the apron was scary. Both men looked like they could have hurt their spines in the fall.
• Murphy sending Kalisto onto the announce table with a monkey flip was awesome.