Share. Welcome to so much Backlash'ing! Welcome to so much Backlash'ing!
It's been a hella busy month in the world o' WWE!
We had WrestleMania 34, then the RAW and SmackDown after Mania, then the Superstar Shakeup, and most recently The Greatest Royal Rumble - the latter being more of a glorified house show than the loaded PPV-style event many thought it might be.
Now we've made it to Backlash - a dual-branded PPV (as they'll all be going forward). Will this event - despite not having Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Brock, or a giant Rumble match - move the needle at all? Well, in the very least it'll have three women's matches, right?
WWE Champ AJ Styles once again takes on Shinsuke Nakamura - this time in a "No DQ" match (signifying that both dudes are just going to kick each other in the groin over and over). Plus, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe clash in a grudge match, The Miz attempts to topple IC Champ Seth Rollins and both Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss will try to win back their respective Women's Championships.
Keep it locked in here for all the WWE Backlash action! Let us know what you think of the results down below as they roll in over the next four hours. I'll also be live-tweeting over at @TheMattFowler, so feel free to follow me over there.
The Greatest WrestleMania Surprises 10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 14 HULK HOGAN SLAMS ANDRE THE GIANT
Looking back at what wrestling was during the height of the '80s boom, you'd of course expect Hulk Hogan to bodyslam Andre the Giant during their WrestleMania III match. But for those who lived through it, this was a miracle from up on high. And still one of the most impressively surprising moments in wrestling history. 01 14 HULK HOGAN SLAMS ANDRE THE GIANT
Looking back at what wrestling was during the height of the '80s boom, you'd of course expect Hulk Hogan to bodyslam Andre the Giant during their WrestleMania III match. But for those who lived through it, this was a miracle from up on high. And still one of the most impressively surprising moments in wrestling history. The Greatest WrestleMania Surprises Download Image Captions ESC
Bayley vs. Ruby Riott (Backlash Kickoff Match)
Now that Absolution is no more, the Riott Squad can stand a bit taller as a much more formidable female heel stable on TV. We won't have to watch the "numbers game" play out on both shows as much - though the Iconics and Carmella are forming their own little clique that might prove problematic for Charlotte.
Bayley was able to swat away a few cheats but eventually she fell to fell to outside interference. I'm not sure what any of this has to do with anything unless Ruby eventually challenges for Nia's title, or if this all works, for whatever reason, to unite Bayley and Sasha - but it was a decent opener. Bayley's top rope Macho Man Elbow is still awesome, by the way.
Winner: Ruby Riott
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Miz
Side Quest: I've never understood the "Miz Can't Wrestle" hate. Especially over the past two or three years. Dude's freakin' solid in the ring. Purposefully, his move-set isn't dazzling or dynamic because he's an old school heel who doesn't want to get too over in the ring based on cool maneuvers. Anyhow, this was a really hot one-on-one bout with an alive crowd and some really nerve-wracking near falls.
Every time it seemed like Rollins' hurt leg was going to cost him the title (he kicked out of two Skull-Crushing Finales), he preservered and powered out. They really need to set Seth against Brock next. He's way over right now, and certainly more over than Roman (Miz is more adored than Roman). The best part of this one was that we all knew Seth was winning because the IC title had to stay on RAW, but the match was so good that it created these moments of doubt and disbelief.
Winner, and still Intercontinental Champion: Seth Rollins
Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss
To be fair, given the size discrepancy between these two, their matches will never be a clinic or a showcase. But also, to their credit, between WrestleMania and this Backlash bout they've now given us two pretty fun encounters that have creatively played up that size difference. I don't know that it could go for much longer though so it's best to kill it here, with Alexa's second loss.
Nia catching Alexa mid-Twisted Bliss, and turning it into a Samoan Drop, was a cool way to cap off the match. The after-match PSA chat, about bullying and such? Not so much. Good message, but someone over-salted the stew. It felt like someone was loudly answering a question no one had asked.
Winner, and still RAW Women's Champion: Nia Jax
United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
One of the rumors heading into this match was that Orton could turn heel. Which...doesn't seem like it would mean too much. He's already an aloof a-hole who RKOs everyone. I guess, maybe after this clean Swantan Bomb loss to Jeff, he could snap and become...more unpleasant somehow.
The Greatest WrestleMania Feuds 10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 14 HULK HOGAN and ANDRE THE GIANT
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan managed to convince the beloved "8th Wonder of the World," Andre the Giant, that he'd never received a title shot, despite being undefeated, because world champ Hulk Hogan was selfish and scared. This led to what's arguably considered the greatest WrestleMania showdown of all time - and the "bodyslam heard 'round the world." 01 14 HULK HOGAN and ANDRE THE GIANT
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan managed to convince the beloved "8th Wonder of the World," Andre the Giant, that he'd never received a title shot, despite being undefeated, because world champ Hulk Hogan was selfish and scared. This led to what's arguably considered the greatest WrestleMania showdown of all time - and the "bodyslam heard 'round the world." The Greatest WrestleMania Feuds Download Image Captions ESC
As much as I got a kick out of them sticking with Jeff here (I mean, it's a boring either/or scenario between two Ruthless Aggro Era singles stars) I'm wondering...will we see any big title changes on this PPV? I'd hate for this to be a zero-sum three plus hours.
Winner, and still United States Champion: Jeff Hardy
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass
Haha, I loved that Daniel Bryan just basically muscled Big Cass down to the mat for the Yes-Lock and made him tap. He didn't catch him with a quick move or a reversal, he just grabbed the dude's arm and pressure pointed him down and then mashed him to a pulp.
The mystery/question here, heading into Daniel Bryan's first PPV singles match since his big return, was: Will Bryan be used as a stepping stone for newer guys or would he get rocketed back into the main event? Well, we went halfsies. Bryan definitely won with a submission. It wasn't a roll up or something that protected Cass. But then Cass attacked Bryan after the bell to, assumedly, keep the feud going. In the end, we need Bryan to feud with Miz so maybe Cass eventually gets a "W" over Bryan thanks to Miz-terference...down the line.
Side Quest: Whenever a heel decimates an opponent after the bell, after a loss, I always wonder “Why didn't they do this type of attack during the match? It clearly works.”
Winner: Daniel Bryan
SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair
Well, that was sort of a barf-o finish. Carmella needed to cheat more to retrain that gold, against the woman who freakin' ended Asuka's streak. For Charlotte to just jam up her knee a little bit after a moonsault and then get kicked in the leg? And that leads to a pin?
Bulls***.
Seth Rollins worked with a "hurt" knee for most of his Miz match and still kicked out of multiple predicaments AND finishers. This was a really wonky win. AGAINST!
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Welp, WWE made us all hang on the edges of our seats for a low blow/nut shot. That was the entire point of this "No DQ" match. Not that a chair wasn't brought out - a chair that AJ threw into Shinsuke's knee, that then came flying back into his face, drawing blood! (aka literal Backlash) - but mostly everyone was waiting for the groin-apalooza. Oh, and it happened. Shinsuke got one in, then AJ got one in. AND THEN THEY BOTH ROCKY II'D EACH OTHER IN THE BALLS! What a world.
Listen, these two are still fighting. Nothing was solved here. I feel like nothing will get solved either until Nakamura either wins the belt or AJ smartens up and wears a cup to protect himself. The funny thing is, technically, they've only been wrestling a month. Sure, the lead up to 'Mania lasted longer, but they've only been physical for 30 days-ish. They've just faced each other on three big PPV deals in a short span so it feels longer. It's clear WWE either doesn't want it to end just yet or...they don't know how to end it.
Winner: No Contest, because balls.
Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
So...Sami was legal but Kevin got pinned and...WWE doesn't know what to do with Bobby Lashley and...this was weird. At least Sami managed to take off Bobby's dumb headband. It just makes him look like he's got a detachable skull cap that you can pull off to expose the brain underneath.
Okay, so Sami and Kevin are big heels and they lost pretty cleanly to Braun and Bobby a few weeks back. Now they were facing them again and no one expected them to fare much better. But why bury them twice? As an asterisk here, Sami wanted to leave and Kevin wanted to keep fighting and then Sami betrayed Kevin so, in the end, they were undone by infighting but...are we going to have them feud now? Or is this just another Sami/Kevin feud tease? Also, are Braun and Bobby in the mix to actually go after the tag belts? Mehhhh.
Winners: Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
So, obviously, this match had no business going last. No title was on the line. No one was fighting Undertaker. This was literally WWE just saying "Roman's bigger than everyone and every title." Naturally, as usual, the crowd audibly disagreed. Honestly, he didn't NEED to go on last tonight, except that the WWE title match had a non-finish and the Charlotte/Carmella match had a s*** ending.
Part of me is happy that Joe got to be in the main event, even though the PPV, overall, could have been a tight 3 hours and not run over. Anyhow, the best part off this match was Joe catching Roman mid-Drive By in the Coquina Clutch. Other than that, this was pretty standard. As was the show in general. It was a lot of non-happenings.
Also, Roman more or less put Joe to bed last winter when Joe challenged him for the IC title and eventually got beat clean. This really served nothing because both guys are on different shows now. All it did was give Roman a big win after he lost in the final matches of 'Mania and GRR. It's just another chapter in the Roman Reigns book that WWE keeps assigning as homework - but none of us want, or do, the reading.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
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WWE Backlash 2018 Results: Live Updates, Results and Reaction
Newark, New Jersey
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE Backlash 2018. This event will feature Superstars from both Raw and SmackDown, so a few titles were left off the card. We will see AJ Styles defend the WWE title against Shinsuke Nakamura in a No Disqualification match headline a show filled with mostly singles matches. The only tag team bout on the card will have Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman facing Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Keep it locked right here for live updates of all the action.
Newark, New Jersey was the site of WWE’s first co-branded PPV and this show needed more of the Kingslayer.
God of Wrestling
Perhaps I’ve been playing too much God of War lately, but the comparison seems so apt to me. Ever since the start of Rollins’ most recent singles run, he’s been absolutely spectacular. He may as well be taking his Kingslaying talents to go and curb stomp the likes of Thor and Odin.
And let’s be fair here – Rollins has gotten to work with the best of the best. His Gauntlet Match effort would not have been the same if he hadn’t defeated John Cena and Roman Reigns and his run would have stopped there if not for Finn Balor and The Miz.
But my god, man! Can you even have a bad match anymore?
The ovations that Rollins is getting right now are so damn ridiculous and he and Miz used that energy to deliver another burner. The story really began once Rollins injured his knee by slamming it into a ring post; Miz was quick to capitalize with a Figure Four Leglock. Rollins had wormed his way out of a multiple Skull Crushing Finale attempts, but after the knee injury he finally got hit. Twice.
He kicked out both times. That was an awesome decision, by the way. I think we all expected the outcome here, but that second finisher had me convinced that Rollins was going to lose.
The ending had some similarities to many of Rollins’ recent bouts: A barrage of counters and roll up attempts that eventually led to a Blackout. Clutching his knee in agony, Rollins was still able to make the cover attempt and pick up the win.
We may hate all gods, boy, but that Rollins one is pretty great.
A Whimpering Puppy of a Main Event
Samoa Joe called Roman Reigns a “whimpering puppy” in a backstage interview early in the night. He also claimed that Reigns would “lament on his failures.”
Well…about that.
This interbrand match main evented the show. Reigns was booed again, which I doubt I even need to point out at this point. Joe backed up his talk early on by being super aggressive and throwing Reigns through and over tables left and right.
And then, the aggressiveness puttered out. And this has always been my issue with Samoa Joe: he talks such amazing game that his matches almost never match the intensity of his words. His rest holds left a lot to be desired as the crowd chanted numerous less-than-attentive chants.
Joe locked in several Coquina Clutches, but of course, none of it mattered. Reigns overcame the odds in the end.
And I wish I could say good things. I really wish I could. I think both men are talented as hell. But how does WWE think Reigns will look good from the way they’ve booked him? Lesnar’s punked him twice now, Joe’s crushed him on the microphone for weeks, and then he suddenly overcomes the odds in a plodding match?
The crowd trashed it and deservedly so. They need to get creative here and change things up. Fast.
Black and Blue Balls
The crowd chanted “Main event!” at the start of this match, and my immediate feeling was to agree. How the hell is a major championship match not closing the show? Especially when it involves AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura?!
…oh.
Let’s start at the beginning; I really appreciated how Styles wore his Wrestle Kingdom colorway for this one. It made it feel as if something monumental was about to happen. And it should have, right? Especially after the bitter ending we got at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Nakamura was delightfully evil and in control of this one for the majority of the match. He took time to disrespect Styles and pepper him with dirty shots. I really enjoyed the moment where he brushed off his chest after Styles hit him with a chop and followed it up with a kick to the face.
It was a good portion of time before a weapon was introduced in the form of a steel chair. There was a spot where Nakamura went for a Kinshasa and Styles threw the chair at his knee; the chair rebounded and cut Styles’ face open.
In the end, the match ended with a double crotch kick. Call it an unhappy ending, if you will.
Best of the Rest
Ruby Riott def. Bayley – After a tense argument with Sasha Banks backstage, Bayley too came up short against the Riott Squad. This was a fun match, but it feels like this storyline has become stagnant. Nothing that happened at Backlash furthered their story. Grade B-
Nia Jax def. Alexa Bliss – These two had a tough time keeping the momentum going after the fantastic opening match, but it had its moments. Jax catching Bliss on a Twisted Bliss attempt was stellar and I enjoyed a bit of schadenfreude at Bliss’ expense when she couldn’t lift Jax into the ring. Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t too great for this one – bluntly, the story was finished at WrestleMania.
Jax got some boos in her post-match interview, so that’s not great. I can’t blame the crowd either; preaching from a soapbox always feels a bit slimy. I mean, come on! She actually said “Be a star!”
Jeff Hardy def. Randy Orton – “This is America! Don’t catch you slippin’ up…”
(Anyone else had that song stuck in their head?)
Anyway, this match bored me to tears. Hardy tried his best to pick up the pace, but it’s amazing to see the discrepancy in match quality between the United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship.
Everyone Trolls Elias – The best part of these co-branded PPVs will clearly be these interbrand segments. I don’t know what was better – Big E’s drum straps not fitting his traps, Rusev calling the New Day the “Booty Boys,” or Fandango’s spastic dancing as the caboose of No Way Jose’s conga line.
The man who trolled last was Bobby Roode with a Glorious DDT to the Bob Dylan-wannabe. This segment was something you would have seen on an ordinary episode of Raw, but it was still really fun.
Daniel Bryan def. Big Cass – I get Jason Jordan vibes when I watch Cass. He’s a miserable little runt, isn’t he? He’s got the dumbest gear, the dumbest music, and thinks his size is a golden ticket to superstardom.
For all his bluster, Cass tapped immediately to Bryan. This match was much better than it had any business being. I worry what sort of sustainability Cass has once he moves away from Bryan, but he got a lot of heat during this one.
Carmella def. Charlotte Flair – I wanted to make this match a featured segment of the review, but there wasn’t enough to it to really comment. Carmella shouted and screamed a lot, but it didn’t translate to a good match.
Strowman/Lashley def. Owens/Zayn – Literally no one cares about Bobby Lashley. I had more fun hearing Michael Cole make fun of Jonathan Coachman’s Periscope show than watching Lashley play babyface-in-peril.
Anyway, this match sucked other than Strowman running over Owens once again. Yikes.
There were some surprises on this show. I was pleasantly surprised by Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass and the Elias segment. However, this show needed the top of the card to knock it out of the park to ever be a good show.
They didn’t. That main event was absolutely putrid, too.
Grade: D+
More Rollins, man. Give us more Rollins. What say you, Cageside?
WWE Backlash 2018 is an oddly timed pay-per-view featuring inter-brand matches such as Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns and The Miz vs. Seth Rollins, which presents WWE with an interesting scenario.
Credit: WWE.com
Because there are so many matches that, quite frankly, seem random or thrown together, there is little intrigue and excitement heading into the event. In fact, SmackDown is fresh off its worst viewership of the year while Raw viewership has dropped by more than 800,000 viewers over the last month, meaning that WWE clearly needs to do something big to put a jolt of excitement into its programming. The good news for fans is that this could set the stage for a number of big shockers at Backlash as a way to reengage fans.
Despite the lackluster build for the PPV, there are plenty of matches, including Reigns vs. Joe and Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton, that are well positioned to result in some shocking creative developments. Will there be a heel turn or two? What about an astonishing upset, a surprise return or a debut that leaves fans dumbfounded? Here are five potentially huge surprises we could see at Backlash.
Randy Orton Turns Heel
SmackDown is loaded with top babyfaces, including AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton, so it's interesting that two of them, Orton and Hardy, are actually in the midst of a feud right now.
Perhaps it's telling that Orton, who has made it clear he wants to be a heel, is feuding with Hardy to set the stage for a potential heel turn at Backlash. With Orton working a reduced schedule in 2018 that includes more dates than your standard part-timer but fewer than most full-timers, WWE doesn't figure to push him above the likes of Styles, Bryan or Hardy on the babyface side, which is fine because Orton is well known to be a fantastic heel. Plus, with Bryan recently demonstrating his drawing power and Styles perhaps surpassing Roman Reigns as a top merchandise seller, that leaves some room for Orton to move over to the dark side.
We've seen Orton and Hardy engage in a game of one-upsmanship in recent weeks, and that's often indicative of an impending heel turn. Given that Hardy has a history of being an elite level merchandise mover nearly on the same level as John Cena and the fact that he's a much better babyface than he is a heel, he's not going to be the one to turn heel at Backlash. Perhaps Orton won't either, but with "The Viper" working fewer dates now that he's an established veteran, he's less needed as a babyface and could potentially thrive as a heel who feuds with SmackDown's top faces.
Alexa Bliss Recaptures The Raw Women's Championship
If Nia Jax retains the Raw Women's Championship at Backlash, there won't be a whole lot of intriguing feuds lined up for her. Jax is penciled in as a babyface, and most of Raw's other top female superstars are as well, including Bayley, Sasha Banks, Natalya and Ronda Rousey.
Although Nia Jax is the heavy betting favorite at Backlash, WWE has made it clear that it views her opponent, Alexa Bliss, as perhaps the biggest star in the women's division not named Charlotte Flair. Bliss has been knocking it out of the park with her mock "Moment of Bliss" anti-bullying promos, and she's a rare breed who is technically a heel on TV but is also one of WWE's most popular performers and one who appears to have very strong merchandise sales.
Bliss is indeed positioned among names like Styles and Rousey on WWEShop.com, suggesting she's indeed a merchandise moving machine, and as someone who's both a fantastic heel and a rapidly improving in-ring performer, WWE may be able to get better long-term storytelling out of putting the title back on her. That would leave her as a cowardly heel champion to be chased by Banks, Bayley and potentially Rousey, while creating a better heel/face dynamic for the women's title picture than there would be if the babyface Jax were to feud with other babyfaces during her reign.
