Despite a majority of fans feeling rather underwhelmed coming into the first Smackdown-exclusive PPV since the brand split this July, Backlash delivered a number of high-quality wrestling matches and storylines. From the crowning of three new champions (two of those being inaugural) to the continued evolution of another into one of the company's most consistent performers, if this PPV is any sort of indicator, Smackdown Live has a bright future ahead. Let's get into it:
Firstly, I'm sorry, but if you want to expose more fans to quality performers like Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews, you can't put them on the pre-show every single PPV. There's already an absolute ton of good programming WWE puts on every week, and sometimes a pre-show just feels like overkill. I understand the concept, producing more programming for those dedicated enough/able to watch it, but if you keep putting the same superstars on it over and over, a majority of the audience won't ever get to see them wrestle in a high-stakes situation. Just my two cents.
Now, the first match on the official card: the Elimination Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Smackdown Women's Championship. Again, this may be largely a result of a lack of hype going in to the show, but I was pleasantly surprised with this match. Especially considering how, in the past,WWE has simply thrown a bunch of marginally talented women in the ring with essentially no storyline and just told them to go at it, this match seemed very well-thought-out, with some pretty solid wrestling thrown in as well. Of course, it also helps that the right woman won. Someone like Nikki Bella or Natalya could probably have pulled a title reign off successfully, but frankly, Becky Lynch is the most talented woman on the Smackdown roster, and she's simply most deserving of the title. Kudos to WWE for not overbooking this match, and giving multiple women a chance to shine. Carmella looked to be settling in to her new heel role and subsequent feud with Bella quite nicely, and despite being eliminated first, Alexa Bliss put in a strong showing.On to the first tag team matchup of the night, the "Second Chance" semifinal between the newly-heel Usos and the Hype Bros. As much as the whole "GET HYPED" gimmick can be kind of annoying, you've got to give credit to Mojo Rawley for staying dedicated, as well as pulling it off rather decently. Even though I hate that this is what they've relegated Zack Ryder to, at least it keeps him on TV. The Usos, on the other hand, were instantly injected with a breath of fresh air the moment they turned on American Alpha to attack them a few weeks back, and they compounded that newfound interest with a strong showing in this match. They did well to tinker with their rather babyface-like high-flying offense in order to make it more heelish, and the new outfits did a good job of accomplishing that too. Overall, solid match, even if the result seemed pretty obvious. It seemed as if the Usos were saving some for the upcoming title match later on in the night.
Continuing with the theme of surprisingly good matches, this is probably my match of the night. On the same night that AJ Styles won his very first championship within WWE, that's definitely saying something. After a rather lackluster Summerslam showing, Dolph Ziggler showed us why so many people have long touted him as one of the company's best overall performers, while the Miz continued his absolutely red-hot streak right now. Frankly, this is what the Intercontinental Championship should be about. Good workers putting in a great match (by the way, thoughts on the opening of the match being a nod to CM Punk's UFC loss?) with high-quality storytelling. This match got all the little things absolutely spot-on, from Ziggler's predictably amazing selling to Miz's mocking of Daniel Bryan's old moveset.
Even the brief pre-match interaction between the IC Champ and the GM was great, further establishing the Miz as a cocky, unlikable egomaniac. The ending to the match was excellent too, a great way to grab even more heat for Miz and Maryse. Overall, this was an excellent match that did a phenomenal job of getting the viewer emotionally invested, which, at its core, is what WWE is all about. I'm very interested to see where Miz's reign as champion goes, because his performances have been ridiculously good as of late, and he's done a great job of making the Intercontinental Title feel important again. Is it perhaps time for another fantasy booking scenario soon?*Sigh* WWE was doing so well...and then we got to Bray Wyatt versus Kane. Man. It's not the fact that Kane was chosen for the match, mind you. I suppose now that's why they've been giving hima mini-push over the past few weeks, having him appear on Smackdown to chokeslam a jobber here and there, just in case Randy ended up not being ready to wrestle (which he wasn't). Kane is a bona fide legend who was established as a Hall of Famer years ago, and he's still a decent enough performer today. Moreover, a win over an established veteran like Kane could have done wonders for the Eater of World's confidence, as well as his perception among fans. Not only that, but a win seemed like a sure thing! It's not like Kane needed the victory, after all. Therefore, I don't even care about the interference, having Bray lose here was a bad move. It was just absolutely unnecessary. I know Randy hit him with an RKO, and I know they've been heavily pushing that move as of late, but there are simply many other ways they could've chosen to do this. Why not have Randy simply distract Bray, then have Wyatt still manage to come out on top? Or simply have Randy hit an RKO while Kane was incapacitated, allowing Wyatt the chance to recover and still manage to win the match? Or even have him take Wyatt out after the match was already over?? Simply put, Bray Wyatt has the potential to be one of WWE's standard-bearers for years to come, sporting one of the most unique gimmicks in the history of the company, and if bad booking prevents him from reaching that level, WWE should feel absolutely ashamed. I don't think we've quite reached that point yet, but with every stupid loss and threat that's not followed up on, we teeter dangerously close.
On that unfortunately condemning note, let's move on to something much more positive: Heath Slater got a contract! While Bray Wyatt is something WWE got absolutely wrong at Backlash, the whole storyline arc with Heath Slater is something they got absolutely right. Despite being used as the company's go-to jobber for years, Slater managed to get himself over simply using his charisma, taking this storyline that easily could've gone nowhere and running with it. A lesser man could've easily quit and gone home with the big fat paycheck he's surely obtained over the years after being humiliated so many times. However, Slater stuck with it, and this tag team title reign is definitely his just reward. The fact that Heath Slater has been quite possibly the most entertaining aspect of the brand split is undoubtedly a huge surprise, but it's also a very welcome one. Rhyno, of course, has done well in his role as the veteran muscle of the team—and let's face it, who doesn't love yelling, "GORE" whenever he crushed the ribs of an unsuspecting opponent?
Finally, we get to the main event of the night. I have to admit, the whole dichotomy going into this match was very interesting. About three months ago, when Dean Ambrose first won the WWE World Championship on the night when all three former member of the Shield held the belt at one point, fans rejoiced. He was far and away the most popular member of the former Hounds of Justice at that point, popular with casual and hardcore fans alike. However, during the title match this past Sunday, fans seemed to be very much pulling for his opponent AJ Styles to win the belt. Whether this is a result of the former's slightly heelish tendencies during his reign, or the fact that something simply felt as if it was missing throughout, we can't truly say. However, what we can say is that the man who left Richmond carrying the biggest prize in the industry Sunday night is more than deserving of that honor. AJ Styles has a legitimate argument to be the best professional wrestler in the world right now, and the belt he currently holds backs that claim up. Their match itself didn't necessarily tear the house down in Match of the Year-type fashion, but then again, very few do, and it was still an extremely solid matchup. Both guys are extremely good at what they do, and this match confirmed that. Ambrose showed us what he's capable of after a slightly disappointing matchup at Summerslam, and Styles continued what would have to be called an MVP-caliber year for the squared circle veteran with another "phenomenal" showing. This match had all the drama a world title match should have, and although some may be disappointed with the way it ended, here are the facts:
1)AJ Styles is a heel.
2)Heels cheat to win. It's one of the most basic elements of being a villain.
3)Regardless of the outcome, the two best wrestlers in the company as of right now hold its top two championships. I'm not going to complain.
That's what we thought of Backlash! Feel free to leave any comments or responses down below, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @WWEreview2
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