Kobe’s oar jammed mid-stroke on an open lake, WWE had taken the lead, and Dude Perfect’s rowing campaign looked finished before it had truly started. That moment captures everything about a head-to-head competition that should never have been this close, between five entertainers who throw trick shots for a living and a group of professional athletes whose job description involves bodyslamming strangers for 20,000 screaming fans. The first squad to win four sports would take the whole thing, and with 14 disciplines loaded into a randomizer, neither side had any idea what was coming next.
From the lake to the fairway, where things got complicated fast
Game one sent both teams to the water for a rowing race. WWE brought Charlotte Flair, a 14-time women’s champion, and The Miz, who introduced himself as the first-ever two-time Grand Slam champion in WWE history. The dudes recovered from Kobe’s stuck oar, pulled into a rhythm, and pulled away late to take the first point.
Game two was speed golf, and it was not kind to everyone. Javon Evans from Dexeration X Academy took a series of practice swings that prompted one dude to mutter, quietly but clearly, that golf might not be Javon’s sport. Alexa Bliss, billed as five feet of fury and a multi-time champion, worked with a putter and made it count. WWE finished in 3 minutes and 21 seconds, a time one of the dudes compared to the length of two hot pockets in the microwave. Dude Perfect ran the same course in 2 minutes and 30 seconds and won by a margin that left the WWE squad visibly stunned.
Game three was a longest-dunk contest with distance multipliers. Cody Jones launched from the 22-foot mark and collected 44 points on a 2x multiplier. Corey Cotton went for redemption on a move that had failed him before and missed again, a moment the dudes graciously described as ‘no redemption.’ Alexa Bliss then stepped up and scored 60 points in a single attempt, swinging the lead back to WWE. The Miz, needing six or more to hold the lead, nailed nine. Tyler Toney, needing four to win but constitutionally unable to play it safe, went for something bigger, made it, and gave the dudes a 3-0 series lead.
Axe throwing, a broom, and a final showdown in the woods
Game four was axe throwing, and Trick Willy arrived at the line carrying a broom instead of an axe. What followed was, in the words of one dude, ‘one of the more impressive things I’ve ever seen,’ and it briefly handed WWE a 16-to-10 lead. Tyler Toney closed it out with a throw that locked up a 3-1 series lead.
Game five was archery tag, a best-of-three format the WWE side had never heard of before being asked to play it. WWE needed to win to force a game six. Instead, Dude Perfect took round one without a single elimination on their own side. The Miz captured the moment plainly: ‘Welcome to the show.’ Round two went the same way. Trick shots, corner angles, and one accidental self-hit during the post-round celebration later, it was over. Dude Perfect swept game five and closed the series 4-1.
The Miz, still dangerous at something
After the axe-throwing round, The Miz landed a throw from a spot that required genuine courage, and the dudes acknowledged they had not expected it. He may have preferred an axe spray, as one dude noted, but the man stepped up when the series pressure was highest.
Back at the lake where Kobe’s oar once locked up mid-race, the trophy was already in Dude Perfect’s hands. The lake had been the first test of the day, the simplest one, and the moment that proved the dudes were actually going to make this interesting. They did more than that.
