WWE Backlash Review
🏝 I review all of the matches and moments from WWE's first PLE after Wrestlemania, Backlash! 🏝
📝 Introduction
Here we are, 3 weeks post WrestleMania, and the first WWE PLE afterwards is already here, and there are some big matches taking place on this Backlash card. We have a very heated feud between Breakker and Rollins, where the winner will likely be in line for a title shot down the line with Roman Reigns. There is also a US Title rematch in the feud between the recently crowd-hated Sami Zayn and the recently crowd-loved Trick Williams. Of course, one of the most beloved and funny characters in WWE right now, Danhausen, along with a mystery partner, takes on The Miz and Kit Wilson in a tag team bout. The sole women’s match is one that has been brewing for many months now, with Iyo Sky looking to defeat the woman who helped to open the door for her to enter WWE, Asuka. John Cena is set to make a major announcement tonight, as Backlash is in his place of residence, Tampa, Florida. Lastly, the World Heavyweight Title is on the line as Roman Reigns defends against Jacob Fatu in a family war that should be good. Who will win their respective matches?
🔥Let’s get it!🔥
🐶 Match 1: Singles Match: Seth Rollins Vs Bron Breakker
This was the right way to start Backlash! As a match that was likely going to take place at WrestleMania if both men were not injured, this was a steal of a match for a PLE like Backlash, and in my opinion, it did not disappoint at all. Both men entered the arena focused and ready to tear their opponent limb from limb. And in all honesty, from my perspective, I thought this match was better than a lot of matches at WrestleMania 42 a few weeks ago.
The match itself was a hard-hitting affair, with both Rollins and Breakker bringing out the best wrestler out of each other, as no stone was left unturned. Rollins hit Pedigrees, Stomps, Buckle Bombs, Superkicks, and Breakker hit Gorilla-Press Gutbuster, Heavy Clotheslines, Spears, and The Frankensteiner, or as in Breakker’s case, The Breakkensteiner. It is safe to say that this match was hard-hitting.
As an objective viewer, I do have to say that there was one minor mistake made during the match where it looked like Rollins was going to flip over Breakker and hit a nice transition Pedigree, but the move was not executed as it should have been. The good news is that even though he is young, Breakker recovered immediately, hitting a standing moonsault to keep the match going and the pace at its best.
As the match went on, Rollins would hit a stomp on Breakker, signifying the ned, but Breakker kicked out somehow. And to reverse the roles, Bron hit Seth with his first spear, but Seth kicked out of it as well.
You could clearly tell that there was a serious war of attrition happening, as both men kept going back and forth, not only to entertain the audience, but also to prove who the “big dog” is between the two of them. Finally, to end the match, Bron Breakker hit a Torpedo Spear, a spear where Bron bounces off the ropes multiple times, gaining momentum before executing his finisher on Rollins. This led to the 1,2,3 count and the massive win for Breakker.
There is no doubt that this was one of the best, if not the best, matches of the PLE, as it was very exciting and had me on the edge of my seat.
Result: Bron Breakker Wins Via Pinfall
Match Rating: 8.9/10
🪄 Match 2: Singles Match For The U.S. Title: Sami Zayn (Challenger) Vs Trick Williams (Champion)
I can honestly say this match was a better match than the one they had at WrestleMania. It felt more crisp than their first match since there were no mishaps or missed/botched spots, showed Sami Zayn’s heel tendencies a lot more, enabling the audience to happily boo him a lot more, and it really helped Williams to shine brighter as a future star.
Before the match even started, these two, who are sick of each other, had some words to say exchange along with some shoves, proving their disdain towards one another. As the match got started, there was a bit of a higher pace, with no man really gaining an upper edge at first. However, that would change as the match progressed, and some “certain underhanded tactics” used by Sami Zayn helped him to gain an edge.
It has been clear over the last few months, ever since Sami lost to Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship in January, that he has been on a downward mental decline with his interactions with other superstars, and the way he carries himself inside and outside of the ring.
Zayn had no problems in this match, attacking Lil Yachty multiple times outside of the ring. One time it was with Yachty’s own kendo stick, and the other time it was a Heluva Kick right to the back of Yachty’s head when he wasn’t even looking. Another thing to note is how Zayn also used the kendo stick on Williams when Yachty was talking to the official, showing that he has no remorse for his misdoings, and he will do anything to recapture the US Title.
The match itself was very technically clean with no issues, and execution was spot-on as well. Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Williams, but he was not able to hit a Helluva kick during this match, as he attempted it a few times, but Williams kept reversing it. And the final time Trick reversed it, it proved to be a major mistake by Zayn, as Williams hit him with the Trick Shot Knee, pinning Sami for the 3 count and retaining his US Title.
Result: Trick Williams Wins Via Pinfall
Match Rating: 6.8/10
🧛🏻 Match 3: Tag Team Match: The Miz & Kit Wilson Vs Danhausen & A Mystery Partner
Going into this match, the fans had a small clue as to who Danhausen’s tag team partner would be, as on SmackDown, he had a cloning machine to clone himself to be his tag team partner. Well, it turns out he did have himself as a tag team partner, just mini. Enter Minihausen. It was Danhausen, just a smaller version of him, and that was his tag team partner for this bout.
Minihausen started this match for Danhausen and himself, and he actually did a very good job of taking control in the beginning of the match, and looked like he belonged in a professional wrestling ring. However, inevitably, The Miz and Kit Wilson took control because of the size difference, and once they had control, they had it for most of the matchup, really dominating for most of the match duration.
As the match progressed, Kit Wilson took Minihausen to the stage where he came out of the cloning machine, and Kit put him back into the cloning machine, effectively making the match a 2-on-1 fight with Danhausen being the lone wrestler for his team. But the clone machine switched back on again, and there were another 5 minihausens that broke out of the box, forcing Kit back to the ring.
This was the beginning of the end. As a result of that distraction, Danhausen was able to take control, hit a big kick, and pin The Miz for the less-than-likely win.
Since I rate honestly, this match was certainly the worst of the night when it came to actual in-ring wrestling, but as entertainment and comedy, it was by far the best, and since comedy and entertainment are what this match was meant for, it did its job.
Result: Danhausen Wins Via Pinfall
Match Rating: 5.0/10
🇯🇵 Match 4: Singles Match: Iyo Sky Vs Asuka
With this battle between the master and the student, Asuka and Iyo Sky, you could call this the best purely technical match of the night, and if you did say that, I would agree. The technical in-ring wrestling of these two women highlights just how good they both are, and really reminded me how good Asuka is. Seriously, this match was a technical masterpiece with no missed spots, seamless transitions, and moves executed to their fullest, which, to me, makes it the match of the night.
One interesting part of the match was when Asuka and Iyo were brawling on top of the announce table, and Asuka tried to poison mist Iyo in the face, but Iyo grabbed Wade Barrett’s notebook, shielding herself from the mist, which was a good added part to the match.
As the match progressed, after some great technical wrestling, Iyo finally got the upper hand and hit the Over The Moonsault on Asuka, pinning her for the 3 count, and ended their feud. What happened next was very different.
After the dust had settled and Iyo celebrated the victory, Asuka came up to her, hugged her, and embraced her, with what looked like tears in her eyes as she did. It was clear that Iyo had earned Asuka’s respect, and maybe even more than that, as this was a sign that Asuka may be retiring or stepping away from WWE for a while.
On Monday night RAW the next night, there was a segment of Asuka and Iyo, where Iyo was told that she was the future of WWE and that Asuka was proud of her, with Asuka walking out of the arena, and her future in the WWE uncertain.
Result: Iyo Sky Wins Via Pinfall
Match Rating: 8.7/10
👌🏻 John Cena’s Major Announcement
A lot of buzz was going around as to what John Cena would announce, and a lot of people thought it would be something to promote Club WWE, but thankfully, it was something much better.
Cena announced what will be called the “John Cena Classic.” A few things to note about it are that the crowd will be able to vote on and choose the champion of this tournament, even if they lost a macth ot two, so it is basically a popularity contest amongst the fans. It will pit current main roster superstars against up-and-coming NXT superstars, so all of them can get some exposure to the larger WWE audience.
And the last thing to note is that there will be a new title belt introduced in John Cena’s name, meaning that the winner of the John Cena Classic will be the very first champion, making the winner likely to be either a world champion in the future or ensure their place in the company for years to come.
🏛️ Match 5: Singles Match For The World Heavyweight Championship: Jacob Fatu (Challenger) Vs Roman Reigns (Champion)
Jacob Fatu came into this match with one thing on his mind: winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title from Roman Reigns, and I will say, Fatu did fight hard. The start of the match saw Roman targeting Fatu’s right hand to help prevent Fatu from using the Tongan Death grip. There was some back and forth in the beginning, but Roman got the upper hand momentarily, connecting with a Superman Punch and covering Fatu, but Fatu kicked out at just a count of 1!
Fatu got up, and they started to brawl, spilling outside of the ring and to ringside. And as with a lot of good main event matches, someone had to go through the announce table, and this time it was Roman. However, Roman recovered relatively quickly, as he was able to hit a spear in the blink of an eye on Fatu, and he only earned a 2 count on Fatu, not quite able to put him away.
At this point, Roman was ready to put it away once and for all with one more spear, but Fatu countered with a pop-up Samoan Drop, shifting momentum into his favor. He then quickly followed that up with his finishing moonsault, but Roman persevered, kicking out just before 3.
Again, Jacob went to follow up on Roman smelling blood in the water, so he went for a swanton bomb from the top rope. Roman countered it. But before Roman could fully recover, Fatu locked in the Tongan Death Grip, but not good enough as Reigns was able to free himself from sure defeat.
This led to Roman countering the next moves of Fatu on a pop-up Superman Punch, immediately followed by a spear, but Fatu STILL kicked out just before the 3 count.
Now we are getting into the deep water and the end of the match, with both men exhausted and ready to put the other away to claim the title. Reigns, using his veteran brain, grabbed/distracted the ref while the Tongan Death Grip was locked in to get out of it, ripped the corner turnbuckle off, smacked Fatu off of the exposed steel corner, hit one final spear, and earned the 3 count for the win.
After the match, while Roman was still down, Fatu got up first, showing that Roman essentially escaped with the win, and Jacob was beyond furious. He put the Death Grip on a downed Reigns and did not let go, time after time. The show ended with Fatu holding up the title over a physically destroyed Roman.
Could we see a new world champ soon?
Result: Roman Reigns Wins Via Pinfall
Match Rating: 8.9/10
🤔 Final Comments & Overall PLE Rating
WWE has set itself up for some great rematches and feuds in the future, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the coming weeks leading up to Saturday Night’s Main Event on May 23rd. I would assume that either at SNME on the 23rd or more likely at Clash in Italy on the 31st, Roman will have to redefend against Fatu, and by the looks of it, he may lose that title. I also see Breakker headed for even bigger things now after that massive win. I found Backlash to be a very good show overall, with some good in-ring wrestling and storytelling.
Overall PLE Rating: 7.66/10
💬 What are your thoughts on WWE Backlash?
Backlash saw some great moments, such as Fatu really becoming a main-event attraction, the announcement of the John Cena Classic, and Breakker winning the biggest match of his life.
Here are some questions to think about!👇
Who did you want to win, Roman or Jacob?
Was Danhausen’s tag partner what you expected?
Where does Bron Breakker go from here after beating Seth Rollins?
Do you think Asuka is retiring or just taking time off?
Drop your comments below! I want to hear what The Rating Era community thinks!
Thanks for reading, and as always, if you enjoyed this post, consider liking, subscribing, and restacking. Thanks! 👍
- The Rating Era
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