Tag: Backlash

WWE Backlash 2021: Every Match Ranked

Our first post-Wrestlemania PPV is in the books, and it was pretty good. It suffered from a lack of stakes, as every show around this time of year does, but there were plenty of good-to-great matches on offer and only one baffling creative decision, which is pretty good for WWE.

7 – Damian Priest def. The Miz
(Lumberjack Match)

I’d love to comment about how well these two men matched up in the ring, but I cannot remember a single beat of in-ring action because of…well…the zombies.

I get it was just a giant advert, but the whole thing makes absolutely no sense to me. In kayfabe, were these supposed to be real zombies? Or people dressed as zombies? Because neither makes any sense. If they’re real zombies, why are they observing the rules of the lumberjack match, and why does no one else on the show care? If they’re just actors, The Miz shouldn’t give a shit because he could easily beat them all up at a moment’s notice.

I mean, it was certainly more interesting than the match I was envisioning, so I guess well done? It was still crap.

6 – Sheamus def. Ricochet
(Kickoff Show)

Not much to say here, a quick match with good action but a weird finish. I assume Sheamus just didn’t have enough room to get his foot up for the Brogue Kick. Don’t get me wrong, it was a brutal-looking knee-strike, just made for a very abrupt finish to the match.

5 – Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio def. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode(c)
(Smackdown Tag Team Championships)

They really did their damndest to stack the odds, didn’t they?

I joke, but I think it made for a much more dramatic match, with more compelling stakes. Rey’s always been great at taking a beating and then fighting back from underneath, so he got to show his full arsenal in this match. Ziggler & Roode pulled out their fair share of innovative tag offence too. It’s nice to see them gel as a team just in time to lose the titles.

I thought the pacing was good for the most part, but each section dragged on just a bit too long. This match ended up being the second-longest on the show, and it really didn’t need to be. We knew Dominik would show up eventually, but they dragged it out for a bit too long. Then, even once he did show up, the dynamic of the match didn’t change; the Mysterios were still fighting from underneath the whole way.

That said, the action was still really good, and the story was compelling. On top of that, we got a nice moment with Rey & Dominik winning the tag titles, in what will hopefully inject a bit more life into the tag division on Smackdown.

4 – Rhea Ripley(c) def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
(Raw Women’s Championship)

This was definitely an improvement on the Wrestlemania match. I still enjoyed the Wrestlemania match between Rhea & Asuka, but it was clear their chemistry wasn’t the best. Thankfully, adding Charlotte into the mix made up for that deposit, and her presence brought the best out of Rhea & Asuka. Rhea felt like the Rhea we saw in NXT for the first time since coming to Raw, while Asuka got to show more of the edge she’d been lacking since last summer.

The action was fast-paced and fun to watch from start to finish, which is exactly what I was hoping for. It didn’t fire off at the incredible pace of the triple threat for Takeover: In Your House last year, but they still pulled a lot of tricks out of the bag to bring up the energy. Towards the finish, they really put their foot on the accelerator, and it ramped up the excitement perfectly.

My only complaint was the awkwardness of the finish. After Charlotte kicked Asuka, it seemed like she was in a prime position to break up the pin, but the camera later showed she’d fallen to the floor for…no reason? It seems like this was more on production than anything else. Either the cameraman wasn’t in the correct position, or the director didn’t cut to the shot, but it made for a bit of confusion on the finish. Rhea winning was the right call, though, and hopefully, Charlotte will get sidelined with Alexa Bliss sooner rather than later, so we can stop worrying about WWE screwed Ripley out of the title.

3 – Bianca Belair(c) def. Bayley
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

I said in my predictions that I thought Bayley was the perfect first opponent for Belair, and I think this match proved my statement to be entirely accurate.

Bayley’s slightly more deranged attitude came through perfectly in this match and is yet another testament to how incredible she is at character work. It gave this match an extra layer of intensity and made Bianca’s ability to overcome it feel more earned. I thought the story of the hair being a key factor in the match was well done. They set it up like a Chekov’s Gun towards the start of the match, and it paid off in a great way that presented Bianca in an intelligent light.

The action throughout the match was really enjoyable and kept me engaged from start to finish. Bayley dominated the majority of the match, but her intermittent use of dirty tactics made it feel believable and didn’t cast anything bad on Bianca. Bianca’s flurries of offence were a lot more enjoyable because of it, and she was great at making me feel the effort she was going to in order to get back on top.

As I’ve said, the finish showcased Bianca’s intelligence and ‘veteran instincts’ but has also left the door open for a rematch if that’s the direction they want to go in. Personally, I think a Triple Threat between Bianca, Sasha & Bayley would be the best move going forward, but we’ll see.

2 – Roman Reigns(c) def. Cesaro
(Universal Championship)

I was amazed that this match got almost half an hour, but it was definitely worth it.

If you don’t think Cesaro is a main eventer after watching this match, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you because he knocked it out of the park. The match took a slower pace, but it was filled with powerful moves and technical back-and-forth action. Cesaro getting the upper hand early on and forcing Reigns to reset himself was a simple and effective way to establish Cesaro as someone who could hang with Reigns.

As things moved towards the middle, it dragged a little, but the action picked up and eased off at a good pace that kept pulling me back into it. Reigns established his dominance well, never drowning Cesaro out. Then, Cesaro got close with Reigns a few times towards the finish, although it never felt like he genuinely had Reigns beat. At least not in the same way Kevin Owens or Daniel Bryan did. Cesaro showed plenty of heart and resiliency by powering out of the Guillotine a couple of times but eventually succumbing to it in a strong performance that benefitted both men.

The stuff after the match is interesting. I think Cesaro vs Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell is the direction they’re going with this one, which is not what I would’ve done, but it’s alright. I suppose they could put Seth in with Roman & Cesaro for a triple threat, but it looks more to me like Reigns will be facing Jimmy Uso at the next PPV instead.

1 – Bobby Lashley(c) def. Drew McIntyre & Braun Strowman
(WWE Championship)

Three big beefy boys doing big beefy boy things.

This match was a hoss-fest full of chaos, and it was absolutely brilliant. Despite the fact that everyone knew he was never going to win, Strowman worked his ass off in this match and felt like the biggest threat of the thing. The moment where Lashley & Drew decide to team up take him output over his threat level more than anything did in the build. Drew & Bobby pulled their weight, too, and it created this brilliant feeling of all three men going all-out for the title.

Drew hitting Braun with the Claymore to send him over the barricade was great, and Bobby going through the LED board was a brilliant climactic spot to send us into the final act of the match. Momentum never stayed with one wrestler for very long, and that kept the pace going for an extremely brisk-feeling 16 minutes.

The finish gave Bobby a strong title retention but left the door open for both Drew & Braun to get a rematch if they wanted. Based on Raw last night, it looks like Bobby vs Drew is most likely for Hell in a Cell, which should hopefully be a killer end to their feud.

WWE Backlash 2021: Predictions & Analysis

There’s a Pay Per View this weekend? Oh, ok, I’ll do predictions then.

Wrestlemania already feels like it was aeons ago, but this show still managed to sneak up on me. It’s not been a particularly active month creatively for WWE, and even this show is still trying to cling to the Wrestlemania name. There’s some cool stuff lined up for this show, though, so it could end up being one of the more underrated ones of the year.

Damian Priest vs The Miz
(Lumberjack Match)

For a man who was WWE Champion just three months ago, The Miz is still being booked like a complete chump.

I really have no idea why this feud is still ongoing. Well, I do, it’s because they don’t have any other ideas for Damian Priest, but that’s beside the point. At least if Bad Bunny was still involved, I’d understand having the celebrity appeal, but we’re done with that now; Priest isn’t going to gain anything by beating The Miz again.

This match should be alright, but the Lumberjack stipulation could overbear on it a little. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of shenanigans involving said Lumberjacks. I just hope this isn’t some lame excuse to give The Miz a cheap win. Just let Priest get the win here and wash his hands of The Miz. I’m pretty sure John Morrison’s going to turn on The Miz soon too, so hopefully, that goes somewhere.

It might be a stupid heel win, but I’m going with Damian Priest to get the win on this one. He’s still a fresh face, this is the first PPV singles match, so he has to win.

Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode(c) vs Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio
(Smackdown Tag Team Championships)

Smackdown has tag titles? Who knew.

As much as I mock, Smackdown does have the makings of a great tag scene right now. Ziggler & Roode are pretty good heels, even if they don’t have the best chemistry. The Street Profits are extraordinary, Otis & Gable have good chemistry, the Mysterios are tremendous, and The Usos are back in action now.

Speaking of The Usos, word on the dirt sheets is that they’re going to get together and beat a face tag team for the titles, so I don’t fancy Ziggler & Roode’s chances in this one. Even without that, I doubt they’d hold onto the titles here anyway. Their heel run has been fine, but I think it’s run its course. The Mysteries have a more fresh and exciting feel to them, and I’d like to see Dominik start to get some credible accolades under his belt.

Even if they are only going to hold the titles briefly, I think Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio are coming out of this one as the champions, in a feel-good family moment.

Bianca Belair(c) vs Bayley
(Smackdown Women’s Championship)

Simply put, Bayley is the perfect first opponent for Bianca.

Even putting how incredible she’s been since turning heel aside, Bayley’s character is so perfectly opposed to Bianca in every way, it feels like they’re destined to be eternal rivals. Everything that went on between them in the build-up to the Royal Rumble was pure gold, and now they’re back at it again, and it’s a joy to watch.

Bianca’s match with Sasha at Mania was one of the best of the year so far, and I’m expecting a similar level of performance from these two, provided it’s not poorly booked. The matches they’ve had here and there on Smackdown were great, so giving it 15-20 minutes on PPV is all you need to satisfy me here.

Bianca Belair will win because she absolutely should. Her crowning as champion was the emotional high-point of Wrestlemania, and it would be a travesty to see it snatched away so suddenly. Sasha may get involved to screw with this match, but I’m hoping any such shenanigans happen after the match, not during.

Bobby Lashley(c) vs Drew McIntyre vs Braun Strowman
(WWE Championship)

I’ve had pretty mixed feelings about this whole feud.

I think Lashley has been a fantastic champion so far. He’s got a presence and intensity like something we haven’t see in a long time, and MVP as his mouthpiece makes him this brilliant total package. Drew’s been ok as a challenger, but I feel like he’s lacked a lot of fire since losing at Wrestlemania, the intense spark that he had while chasing Lesnar for the title isn’t there this time. Admittedly, creative isn’t giving him much to grab onto, but what can you do?

Strowman’s presence is fine. I didn’t want to see Drew & Lashley go one on one again anyway, so why not throw in a third hoss to this contest of big beefy boys. As much as the build hasn’t been super interesting, I think this could be a killer match if all three men are allowed to go wild. They could really try to destroy each other, and it’d be tonnes of fun to watch.

Picking a winner is tricky. Some people have said Strowman’s just there so Drew doesn’t have to pass out again, while others have said it’s so Lashley can lose the title without being pinned. I think one of them is correct, but I don’t know which one. I expected Drew to win the title back at Mania, and when he didn’t, it signified to me that WWE was choosing to run with Lashley for the time being. As such, I don’t see why they’d back down on that plan now. So I’m going with Bobby Lashley to retain the title.

Rhea Ripley(c) vs Asuka vs Charlotte Flair
(Raw Women’s Championship)

The weird circumstances surrounding Charlotte’s lack of participation at Mania seems to have brought the best out of the situation. I couldn’t be more thrilled at Rhea getting to hold the title. I know people are upset that Asuka’s not being treated so great, but she was champion for almost a year, she can go on the back burner for a bit, and it won’t hurt.

Charlotte, meanwhile, has reverted back to her heel persona, which is where she should always be. She was a face so briefly, but even in that short time, it was clear that it wasn’t working. People just aren’t willing to cheer her, and she performs so well as a heel that her face work comes off as disingenuous. Regardless, this is a triple threat match between three of the best women’s wrestlers active in WWE right now, so I’m excited to see what’s they can do when all put together.

I don’t know where the result is going through. Rhea should win, that much is obvious. She’s only had the title for a month, and it would totally undercut her Wrestlemania moment. That said, the momentum is 100% in Charlotte’s corner. She has been the driving force of this story, and it would almost seem weird for WWE to go so hard on this angle and not put the title on Charlotte. On the flip side, there is the looming spectre of a Becky Lynch return, which could be a straightforward device to sideline Charlotte for a while without giving her the title.

At the end of the day, I’m going with Rhea Ripley because it would be a disaster for her title reign to end so soon, and I’m putting a little faith in WWE to do the right thing.

Roman Reigns(c) vs Cesaro
(Universal Championship)

FINALLY.

It felt like we’d never see the day, but here we are; Cesaro is getting a one on one shot for a world title in WWE. Even though there’s no way he’s winning, it feels good to see. He’s been a force of nature since Wrestlemania too. His association with Daniel Bryan kept him in the backseat while boiling up for a while, and finishing out his feud with Seth Rollins was enjoyable to watch. Since he’s had his sights set fully on Roman, it feels like the Cesaro we’ve known was there this whole time can finally shine.

I have pretty high expectations of this match. I know there will be some Uso-based interferences (there always are), but there’s a lot these two guys can work with. Reigns always wrestles a powerful style, and Cesaro can absolutely match that while bringing in an extra dose of technicality. Cesaro should really be able to take Reigns to his limits, and that’s what will do him good in the long run.

As I’ve said, Roman Reigns is absolutely going to retain, but that’s ok. If Cesaro puts on the killer performance he’s capable of, he’ll have the momentum that’ll stop him from falling back into obscurity once this is all over.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Let me know what your predictions are, either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here early next week for my review!

WWE Backlash 2020: Predictions & Analysis

It turns out, the wrestling world’s response to a pandemic was just to do even more wrestling! This is the third major show in only four weeks, and earlier this week, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced they’re going to start to run shows again. There’s just a hell of a lot going on right now. Still, I’m glad we can cap this madness off with what WWE had promised us will be The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever™. More on that later.

In reality, I see very little to get excited about on this show. The build to every match has been generic and boring across both shows. Being realistic, I only see one match here that has any real potential to be amazing…

Jeff Hardy vs Sheamus

…and this isn’t it.

Admittedly, I think if any match is going to surpass my expectations and turn out to be good, it’s this one, but my hopes aren’t very high.

The build to this one has been peculiar. It’s always uncomfortable when WWE plays off of a wrestler’s real-life issues with substance abuse, especially making light of Hardy’s constant relapses. The bit that annoyed most people was Hardy potentially driving under the influence and running Elias down with a car. Ironically, this is the only part I’m okay with because it’s so evident this is a frame-job. All of the witnesses said they just saw “someone wearing all-black” and the rental car papers just happened to be lying out in the open with Hardy’s name on them. To me, it’s incredibly obvious that someone knocked Hardy loopy and poured a bunch of alcohol on him to incriminate him.

What baffles me is why they haven’t been playing this up more. It’s a perfectly packaged whodunit story where half the Smackdown roster had some sort of motivation to do it. Speaking of, I don’t think it was Sheamus that did it. While it would be the most obvious person, it would seem like an odd choice to have this happen just a few weeks out from the match. Not much stands to be gained from it.

This whole situation plays into my prediction for the match. As I think Sheamus will win after the real culprit gets involved and costs Hardy the match. As to who that will be, probably either Corbin or Styles, but who knows? Maybe it’ll be someone weird and interesting. Maybe the Smackdown hacker will get involved, that’d be fun. I also think giving Sheamus the win is fine. It’s not like Hardy needs it, he’s at the point where he’s such a legendary name that no amount of losses will hurt him. Meanwhile, Sheamus has done nothing but lose since his big return at the start of the year, and I think he could really do with a win.

Apollo Crews(c) vs Andrade
(United States Championship)

Despite having a good-length reign with the US title, Andrade managed to do absolutely nothing with it during his time as champion.

This was in-part thanks to poorly timed short-term injuries and suspensions, but I can’t help but feel like even if those things hadn’t happened, the booking never would’ve come around to help him do anything of interest. He barely defended to defend the title at Wrestlemania, remember, even before he got injured. So instead Apollo Crews won the title on a random episode of Raw after losing to Andrade & Garza for a good month, or so…and WWE wonders why no-one gives a shit about their secondary titles anymore. Mind you, at least the United States Championship is being defended on Sunday…

Provided this match gets the time of day, I think we could be in for an unexpected treat. It’s been easy to forget given his booking for the past 3-4 years, but Apollo Crews is a great wrestler, and Andrade is more than capable of putting on exciting matches. My main worry is this match not going longer than 10 minutes. I shall choose to remain optimistic (I’ve got to be excited about SOMETHING about this show) but who knows?

As for a winner, it would seem ill-advised to start hot-shotting the title, thus decreasing interest in it even further. Admittedly, WWE is very close to the “every champion is a face champion” problem that I spoke about with AEW a few weeks ago, but if Apollo Crews doesn’t retain, then it would be a foolish decision.

Bayley & Sasha Banks(c) vs The IIconics vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
(Women’s Tag Team Championships)

No HERE’S a match I can get excited thinking about. It’s a multi-team tag match featuring six of the best women’s wrestlers WWE has to offer right now, what’s not to love?

Between this match and the previous one, it seems like WWE has decided that doing a title change has now become a way to start a feud, instead of end it…which seems backwards. I’ve got no problem with Bayley & Banks winning the tag titles; I think they’ll be good for the belts’ credibility. That said, couldn’t they have saved the title change for the PPV, instead of switching the belts on Smackdown and making the PPV match supremely predictable?

May as well cut to the chase here, I think Bayley & Sasha Banks will retain their titles. The whole ‘dual champion’ thing is perfect for Bayley’s arrogant persona and having to divide her attention between defending both of her titles will be a good pitfall for her to fall into in the coming months. Hopefully, that fact will also help grow the tension between Bayley & Banks, so we can finally get that match we’ve been hoping for all year. I think The IIconics could pick the titles back up, but given how they were treated as a total afterthought last time they held the titles, I doubt it.

The match should be good, though. There’s plenty of opportunity for chaos and shenanigans that make for an enjoyable time.

Braun Strowman(c) vs The Miz & John Morrison
(Universal Championship)
(2 on 1 Handicap)

Oh…yay…more handicap matches for titles…who thinks they’re entertaining? Seriously, who?

I honestly couldn’t give less of a shit about this match if I tried. The build to this has been ridiculous in the worst way possible. Miz & Morrison started with some decent promos, but since then they’ve just become nuisances, doing stupid things like…watching Braun on a monitor and giggling at him like they’re 14-year-old schoolgirls? If that doesn’t get you hype for a world title match then, I don’t know what will. It doesn’t help that Braun has been presented as the world’s most boring and generic champion ever, despite looking like he does. You would think Braun as champion would be the easiest thing to book in the world, but no, he’s just like everyone else. It’s almost like WWE never intended for Braun to win the title…

The match will likely be boring as well. Remember the Braun vs Artist’s Collective handicap match from earlier in the year? I imagine this match will more or less be a copy/paste of that. Miz & Morrison will try some sneaky stuff and beat Braun down early on until Braun eventually makes a comeback and destroys them both. Speaking of, Braun Strowman is going to win, because of course he is. There is absolutely no way either The Miz or John Morrison is going to win a world title, let alone on the most minor show of the whole year.

Asuka (c) vs Nia Jax
(Raw Women’s Championship)

The booking surrounding the Raw Women’s title this month has been bizarre. Despite being the NXT Women’s Champion, Charlotte has seemingly made a point of continuing to show up on Raw every week just to continually remind everyone that she’s better than everyone else on Raw. It sounds like it’s good heel work, but in reality, it’s undercut Asuka’s reign as champion.

Luckily, Asuka was able to avoid looking weak from just being handed the championship, since she did have to win Money in the Bank to get it, but I can’t help but feel like always being in Charlotte’s shadow and losing to her all the time can’t help. All I can say is that I hope this goes somewhere and they play up how Asuka can’t be beat Charlotte. At least then it’ll be a worthwhile story.

Now, you might’ve noticed that I’m on my third paragraph of this section and I’m yet to mention Nia Jax’s name. That’s because she’s been quite the non-factor in this feud. As I’ve said, WWE has done a better job building Asuka vs Charlotte than Asuka vs Jax. To put it bluntly, I’m not a fan of Nia. It’s got nothing to do with the injuries she may or may not have caused (depending on who you ask) I just don’t think she’s even remotely interesting as a performer. Plus, she can’t cut a promo to save her life.

Will she win here? Maybe. The logic dictates that Asuka should win. This is her first major title defence, she got the nod from Becky Lynch, who has dominated the Raw women’s division for the past year and everyone seems to love her. On the other hand, given that it’s unlikely WWE ever actually intended to make Asuka champion before Becky announced her pregnancy, I think they might just want to take the title off of her. I honestly think that having Nia take the title from Becky might’ve been the original plan anyway. It just fits with how they’ve built Nia up as a total monster since she’s returned. I think Becky probably would’ve got the title back from Nia eventually, but Nia winning it in a shock victory sounds like something WWE would do.

I’ve gone back and forth on this a bunch now, and in the end, I’m settling with Asuka, mainly because I think they’ll want to pull the trigger on the Charlotte vs Asuka rematch over the bulk of the summer. Although this is undoubtedly the pick that I’m the least confident about.

Drew McIntyre(c) vs Bobby Lashley
(WWE Championship)

Again, I feel like this past month has done a better job of building Drew vs MVP than Drew vs Lashley.

To be fair, MVP has been absolutely killing it with his work building this match. It’s put Drew in a position where he doesn’t have to do much talking. He just has to react to what MVP is saying, and it works. Drew is a great talker anyway, but merely coming in with the odd counterpoint where he threatens violence has made him seem like quite the formidable champion. I’m not the biggest fan of him getting beaten down every week, but he keeps coming back with more and more fire, and it’s a good look for the top guy in the company.

That said, I’m not overly excited about the match. I’ve never bought into Lashley as a wrestler. He’s had a couple of good matches since his return, but nothing that surprised me or blew me away with how good it was. However, maybe Sunday will be the night. I can’t deny that Lashley has seemingly found a new lease of life since pairing with MVP and a big ‘clash of titans’ so to speak might be the perfect match for him to flourish.

While I’m confident that Drew McIntyre is going to retain the title, I’ll admit I think there’s a minuscule chance they could switch it to Lashley. I think it would be a terrible idea, and I hope they don’t do it, but I have this weird feeling in my gut that they might. I’m sticking with Drew because it’s the correct choice, but until the referee’s hand hits three, that tiny little worry is going to sit in the back of my mind.

Edge vs Randy Orton

Fuck this.

Honestly, I just don’t care. I hated their Wrestlemania match, and I don’t see how this is going to be any different. The fact that they’re billing it as ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’ is utterly ridiculous and turns me off to the match more than it does make me want to watch it. Seriously, who is going to see the marketing for this show and think to themselves: “Oh, well I wasn’t going to buy this unimportant, B-show Pay-Per-View, but if they’ve said this match is going to be the greatest ever…how can I refuse?” Do WWE think that low of their audience. Even Edge thought it was a joke when he first heard about it.

More importantly, there are so many better things Edge could be doing right now. I understand why Orton was chosen for his return. They have loads of history, Orton’s a safe worker, and I imagine the two of them are good friends in real life. Why do another one, though? The storyline justification Orton gave for it is flat-out dumb. They may as well have come out and said: “We think we can milk this feud for a little longer”.

Edge is going to win. Purely because if Orton wins, that means we have to do a tie-break and I just don’t want that to happen. I want Edge to be wrestling with the young guys, all of whom could put on fantastic matches with him. Not to mention, where has it even got to go following this? They’ve already done the hardcore match, and now they’re doing a standard match. Hell in a Cell? Three Stages of Hell? I sure as shit don’t want to see either of them. There is just no reason for Orton to win and I can only hope that Edge goes on to better things following this match.

So there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this post. What do you think will happen on Sunday? Please, let me know what you think either in the comments below or on Twitter @10ryawoo. Finally, make sure you come back here this time on Monday, where I’ll be reviewing the show by ranking every match!