WWE Backlash General Discussion & Reviews

[Jack-Hammer]

Backlash is the first SmackDown brand ppv in the post WrestleMania season. Thus far, the official matches for the card include Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal and the Usos vs. Breezango for the WWE and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Based on Talking Smack last night and what looks to be happening as a result of the Payback ppv this Sunday, the first half of the card will probably look like this:

WWE Championship - Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal
WWE United States Championship - Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos vs. Breezango
Singles Match - Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin

As by the title, keep all general discussion for Backlash here and observe the no spam rules please.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Yeah. Seems like a SmackDown exclusive PPV on par with such classics as Judgement Day 2004 and Great American Bash 2004.

Don't believe me? Go back and look at the cards for those events. Let's just say that depth never seems to be strongest asset of the SmackDown brand.

But yeah, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens is the real main event. It's going on last. And if it doesn't go last, god fucking help the guys that have to follow it. Especially Jinder Mahal. They can't be dumb enough to have Jinder vs. Randy follow Owens vs. Styles...

Then again, they were dumb enough to book Jinder vs. Randy as a WWE Title match in the first place so who fucking knows with this company.

 

[JoeMallard]

Nakamura's in ring debut will be held off until Backlash against Ziggler. I feel a large part of the show will be booked around that.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Yeah. Seems like a SmackDown exclusive PPV on par with such classics as Judgement Day 2004 and Great American Bash 2004.

Don't believe me? Go back and look at the cards for those events. Let's just say that depth never seems to be strongest asset of the SmackDown brand.

I'm with you in your anti-brand split views and yeah those PPVs were unspeakably atrocious. Every single one of them, both Raw and Smackdown, with the possible exception of Judgement Day 2006.

Even back then, they only really had 3-4 matches that were PPV-worthy so essentially, half the card was filler, which is no different now.

But yeah, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens is the real main event. It's going on last. And if it doesn't go last, god fucking help the guys that have to follow it. Especially Jinder Mahal. They can't be dumb enough to have Jinder vs. Randy follow Owens vs. Styles...

Then again, they were dumb enough to book Jinder vs. Randy as a WWE Title match in the first place so who fucking knows with this company.

They're having three fresh matches in Ziggler-Nakamura, Styles-Owens and Orton-jinder and if they're going with a Jinder win or some huge controversy, it'll likely be the mainevent and not Styles-Owens because that match will be just the usual ending- either a DQ, Owens cheats, or Styles wins cleanly which I don't think he will.

It's understandable you're pissed off because you dislike Jinder, or believe it's absurd that a jobber should suddenly be pushed to mainevents(all because of the thing called brand split).

But it's not that bad. Jinder's actually generated a lot of interest. Good worker, good persona, reasonably eloquent on the mic. He's no CM Punk, but he's quite a change from the Daniel Bryans, Dolph Zigglers, and Rey Mysterio type underdogs.

The match itself could be entertaining, if you wanna give it a chance, and who knows, I'm rooting for a Jinder win and a 4-month long reign, in the very least.

I'm still not enjoying the brand split, WWE seems almost dead, and I'm hoping the brand split may have to be ended soon, due to injuries and unforeseen circumstances, may be people just stop watching?

Raw is atrocious with an absent Lesnar, there just aren't enough stars to go about as maineventers on two shows.

But one can enjoy certain things.

So I'm looking forward to Backlash and these three matches. To be honest, I have no interest or a must-watch feeling in Payback whatsoever, and I'm looking forward to Backlash. It shows how despite all those matches, Raw storylines just don't generate interest.

Bray win or loss doesn't matter to me, he never impressed me as a character and his booking makes him a joke.
If Reigns wins, it'd be predictable, if Braun beats him, it'd almost become an exemplar of 50-50 booking where both trade wins.
Jericho's clearly not winning and even if he does, it wouldn't matter.
I'm just not invested in either Seth or Joe so I view this match as having no implications.

Which is why I say Jinder-Orton storyline has got people hooked. This will be the first time in Years that you can't predict what's going to happen.

 

[thebarber]

With Rusev already in line for a WWE title match at the following Smackdown PPV, I see Orton retaining in some fashion. I see plenty of 6 men tags with Mahal and the Singh Bros vs Orton and Alpha...AJ vs Owens isnt a guarantee just yet, Jericho regaining the belt makes that scenario interesting. i PERSONALY SEE THE TITLE BEING VACATED after Smackdown, where a Kevin Owens beatdown writes Jericho off tv for a few months. He can return and cost Owens a Title match vs Orton down the track and they can kick back off their awesome feud

 

[Cub McCallister]

This has potential to be a good ppv with some high profile matches.

Pre-Show.
1) Tye Dillinger Vs Aiden English.
Singles Match. This is a rematch from Smackdown Live with Dillinger getting another win over English, it's something for the pre-show.

Main Card.
2) Kevin Owens (C) Vs AJ Styles.
United States Title Match. This kicks off the show with it being an instant classic, I believe it should kick off the show rather than it be in the middle of the card as the World Title should be the main event, that's my opinion but Owens retains the title in a show stealing match.

3) American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) Vs The Colons (Primo & Epico).
WWE Tag Team Titles Number One Contenders Match. This one goes to to the Colons who get a future shot at the straps on the following Smackdown.

4) Baron Corbin Vs Sami Zayn.
WWE United States Title Number One Contenders Match. Add this one to the card with Corbin getting the win.

5) Naomi, Charlotte & Becky Lynch Vs Natalya, Tamina & Carmella (with James Ellsworth).
Six Womens Tag Team Match. This one goes to the heels due to miscommunication between Charlotte and Becky Lynch and Natalya picking up the win and Charlotte and Lynch get into a pushing argument afterwards.

6) The Uso (Jimmy & Jey) (C) Vs The Fashion Police (Fandango & Tyler Breeze).
WWE Tag Team Titles Match. If its given time it could be a decent match and it gives Breezedango something to do with Jimmy & Jey retaining the titles.

7) Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Dolph Ziggler.
Singles Match. I was hoping Nakamura's first feud would be against Miz but this is just as good with a lot of near falls Nakamura obviously gets the win.

8) Randy Orton (C) Vs Jinder Mahal (with the The Singh Brothers).
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match. This could be a decent one but I doubt Mahal will get the win if Rusev and Corbin are in line to get a title shot, Orton retains with several RKO's and moves onto another challenger.

This is my card which I think could deliver afterwards I wouldn't mind seeing either Kevin Owens OR Styles win MITB and challenge for the title during the Summer. I think Smackdown Live are doing pretty decent compared to Raw but that is my opinion I could be wrong.

 

[ISkye]

Owens vs Styles has been built for a long time. I really am looking forward to that. I feel like Styles is going to go over in the long run, but I definitely am looking forward to the match(es) these two will have. Styles has never disappointed in the last 2 or so years. Also weird seeing Owens be a 2x U.s + IC Champ, 1x universal, and NXT champ. Wouldn't surprise me if he ended up dropping this and snagging the briefcase at Mitb.

Besides that I'm also looking forward to Breezango vs Usos. Usos are great, and I'd love to finally see them in full heel mode re-do their feud with New Day. Happy that Breeze and Fandango are at least getting a shot as gold as well.

Mahal is more entertaining than Orton, and is actually a young talent who's paid his dues. Would be cool to see, and wouldn't be surprised if he had 2 or 3 decent defenses. Fine with either outcome, but have seen this coming with Mahal for months and welcome it.

Nakamura. I'm excited. Bias, but still you'd have to be brain dead to not comprehend how good he is in a ring. Hope they keep him working dark matches, and debut here.

Lots of potential, and I'm pretty sure they'll deliver more than Raw did with way less effort and time. Thank god for the brand split, I actually enjoy watching WWE and Smackdown gives me reason.

 

[ShinChan]

Looks better than Payback at least on paper.

I have huge interest in three matches. Nakamura's debut against Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn Vs. Baron Corbin & obviously AJ Styles Vs. Kevin Owens. Not much interested in Randy Orton Vs. Jinder Mahal as of now. The women tag match is fine for its purpose. I expect a couple of filler matches to be added as I doubt that Smackdown would go with just 5 matches for a time period of 3 hours. Also, I expect some appearance by Rusev.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

One thing is for sure.. The same people that say that the world titles have lost credibility are the same ones that want Jinder Mahal to win. Please. Mahal is there just for now. Maybe for a possible feud with Cena as well down the line, until WWE finishes the job in India. But that's it.

In no way should Jinder win. Then he does what? Goes on gaining victories over AJ Styles? Wake up. With Orton as champion, we are in for interesting feuds with Owens, Corbin and Styles in the next 6 months.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Tonight the blue brand had the very difficult task of following last night's NXT Takeover Chicago event. Going into the event I didn't expect Smackdown to put on as good of a show and sadly enough that ended up being what happened. Let's get to it.

Pre-show: Aiden English VS Tye Dillinger
I like Tye and can't stand Aiden so I certainly agreed with the result. I spent most of the match ordering pizza and didn't want to hear Aiden sing so it would seem I didn't miss much. That and I'm glad that Tye won.

Dolph Ziggler VS Shinsuke Nakamura
I'm a little surprised that this went on first. With how much this match was hyped I would have expected it to go towards the end. It was alright. Not at the level expected, although I don't think it would have been possible for it to live up to the hype. This match got hyped up like crazy. It was a fun opener and Shinsuke won, which is what mattered.

Breezango VS The Usos (c) [Smackdown Tag Team Championship]
Disappointing. While I liked the Fashion Files segments going into this match, the disguise that Breeze used was really stupid and the only good thing that came out of that was when they threw the dress at JBL. It was cool that Breezango even got a title shot and I would have wanted to see them win. We're probably getting New Day VS The Usos next anyway so the result was as expected. I'd argue it was the worst match of the night. The whole disguise thing was an insult.

Baron Corbin VS Sami Zayn
Man, this was boring. I really like Sami Zayn but even he couldn't save this match. I have never been much of a Corbin fan. He's obviously not ready for matches this big yet.

Charlotte & Becky Lynch & Naomi VS Natalya & Carmella & Tamina (with James Ellsworth) [Six Woman Tag Team Match]
This more or less went as I expected it to. Now Charlotte will get mad that they lost, turn on Naomi, and resume their feud for the Smackdown Women's Championship. You know, the match we should actually have gotten at this show. Becky could then have faced Natalya or Carmella. Not entirely a waste of time, yet at the same time I don't see what the point of having this match was.

AJ Styles VS Kevin Owens (c) [United States Championship]
The match of the night. Primarily because nothing else even touched it in quality other than Shinsuke VS Dolph. Wished it could have gone on longer and that it could have ended on a better note. Styles getting stuck on the table like that sucked. I really hope this feud continues. I liked it and know they are capable of even better.

Erick Rowan VS Luke Harper
Somewhat boring and oddly enough, somehow less boring than Sami VS Corbin was. This could have been a whole lot worse. I personally have always preferred Rowan to Harper and wanted to see him win here. Not much else to say really. On a related note, I absolutely HATE Harper's entrance music. It's worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.

Randy Orton (c) VS Jinder Mahal [World Heavyweight Championship]
My goodness, they really did it. They actually made this guy the champion. I'm at a loss for words. Maybe they were tired of Smackdown being regarded as the better brand and purposefully made a guy who sucks the World Champion just to make Raw look better by comparison. Kinda hard to accomplish that when Raw doesn't even have a World Champion right now. That's a whole other topic though. The match was fine until the end. That ruined everything for me.

Overall Thoughts
The good news is, this show was still a step up from Payback. The bad news is, this show SUCKED. Easily Smackdown's worst show of this year so far and possibly their worst since the return of the brand split as well. Other than maybe Styles VS Owens there is literally nothing on here I would recommend anyone go out of their way to watch if they missed it. Even Shinsuke's match was ultimately skippable compared to his NXT stuff. Watch the main event for the sake of the shocking title change, I guess, if you really want to. Rather disappointed with this show as a whole. It's been a really bad PPV cycle all around for both brands. At least we have Money In The Bank to look forward to.

Dagger's 2017 WWE PPV Rankings
1. Wrestlemania 33
2. Elimination Chamber 2017
3. Royal Rumble 2017
4. Backlash 2017
5. Payback 2017
6. Fastlane 2017

 

[blueskyy]

The worst PPV ever this year. Just when you thought the Blue brand is rising, it tumbles and falls just like that. The only save grace is the AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens match. Say what you may, but if you follow a wrestler though his matches, identify the common denominator, you would be able to tell is he is the savior or really, just the black sheep.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I'm in the definite minority here but I had more fun watching this show than any other PPV this year. Now, that's not to say it was the best in terms of quality, the Rumble and Elimination Chamber both had higher highs and WrestleMania was WrestleMania but still, I had a blast watching the show, at no point did it feel like a chore.

I don't know why that is, admittedly I haven't watched much Smackdown or wrestling at all since the shake-up, I've only caught a little here and there and maybe that played into my enjoyment. I saw very little of the build-up which meant I cared very little about the payoff.

Shinsuke's debut was good, it didn't feel as special as it could or should have been but the match itself exceeded my expectations. I forget who said it but they talked about how even though you know he's not gonna win, Dolph for some reason has a lot of believable nearfalls, and I thought that was true last night. When he hit the Zig Zag I momentarily thought he had it.

Breezango was my favorite part of the show easily. It's pretty obvious that they're just filler opponents for the Uso's until New Day debuts but I really hope they don't fade back into obscurity, they're far too entertaining to not get at the very least 2-3 minutes of television a week.

And then... Jinder. Like I said at the start, I haven't seen much of the build-up so I didn't really care about the payoff so I really had no problem with it. It's one of the best crowd reactions to anything I've seen in a while, on TV it came across as just loud noise, not cheers, not boos, just loud, confused noise and I thought it was brilliant.