[Official] Backlash Discussion

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Anybody else think that this is severely missing like, 3 more matches? All we have right now is Cena/Edge, the six man tag (which, ugh), Hardy/Hardy, and Christian/Swagger (which is a solid "meh"). No Jericho? Big Show? Punk? Taker? Morrison? Miz? Mysterio? MVP? Divas (yay lol)?

Four matches isn't enough to sell Backlash. Especially when none of them are big matches.

They should really fill it out with 3 more. A women's match for a bathroom break, and maybe like, an IC and US title defense to start a new feud for those two? Otherwise, this show is going to have really, REALLY low buy rates. You'd be expecting people to spend 40 bucks to watch 4 matches in a 3 hour span. Not worth it in the slightest bit. Especially when one of those matches is so befuddled and bombing like the HHH/Batista/Shane vs. Orton/Rhodes/DiBiase match.

 

[jchristopher512]

Something to think about! Has anyone realized that Shane O Mac is a "third generation superstar?" He wasn't very happy when Steph decided that Raw was "her show." Not to mention the little "incidents" that WWE has thrown in w/ Batista.

 

[psykohurricane]

Look everybody, BAcklash always was a nothing PPV and always will be, this year'S card prove it. LEt'S look at the card as it'S stands right now

First you got Kane vs C.M. Punk: this was a last minute matches that pretty much means nothing. With that said it should be a decent match but unless they want to continue the feud between these 2, i doubt that c.m. punk will lose.

Secondly we go Ricky Steamboat vs Chris JEricho, I know that Steamboat still got it but why do you need to continue this feud between Jericho and the legends. Again another nothing match that Jericho probably will win.

Next: Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy: This will not top there wrestlemania match but will probably be as good, having said that even with the rumor of Jeff Leaving after his contract expires in a couple of month, i still see him win this match since he pretty much need to be keep strong for a little while longer.

JAck Swagger vs christian for the ECW Championship, this match is only on the card because they have to put a ECW title match on the card, having said that, It's 90% sure that Christian will win this match since the Jack Swagger exriment pretty much fail, so another predictable match on the card.

John Cena vs Edge for the world title, This is were the feud end between this 2 and edge should win this, having said that it should be a good matchs but that about it.

Legacy vs HHH/batista/shane for the wwe championship: Let'S face it, this storyline is one of the most rediculous storyline ever writen in WWE history. It's actually makes TNA look like great t.v., having said that, a lot of people are expecting somebody from HHH's team to turn on him, i don't see it that way, the way i see it is that Batista will win for his team probably beating Dibiasie or Rhodes which should probably be the end of the legacy faction then on Raw, BAtista and Orton challenge HHH for the title. Thos match was a stupid idea in WCW, it was a stupid idea in TNA a couple of month back and it'S a stupid idea now, if they decided to have a title change in this match, they pretty much ruin the reputation of the wwe title and randy Orton.

So the fact is, Backlash look like a really weak ppv and probably will end up being one. On a side note, i completly forgot to talk about the waste of time that the Khali/Santina kiss cam segment will be. That'S how bad the ppv will be.

 

[The Palace of Wisdom]

On paper, this card doesn't look terrible, just a little brief. I would love for an IC title match or Morrison/Miz showdown to sneak onto the card (since both were criminally devalued at Mania).

Actually, the least interesting match on the card is the WWE title match. The 6-man tag, where one side has been made to pretty much look like bitches the whole angle, and another side where a heel turn is completely expected (and thus, not overly interesting). If Orton wins the title, but with shenanigans, it cheapens it. If he wins it without pinning HHH, it cheapens it. If HHH defends it by pinning one of Priceless, it cheapens it. For the match to end up fresh, there has to be some type of original outcome, and that's where the problem lies. If they put some more juice into this feud, it lasts longer, and I know I'm extremely bored with it already. They have pushed Orton for about 2 consecutive years, and we're still nowhere new.

 

[supersayian]

this paperview will be better then mania but i wonder how they will play out Edge and Cena. it could be really good or awful. last man standing sucks but these two had a really good TLC match in 2006. so they can pull this off im sure. the main event sucks because it is easy to see someone will screw HHH out tittle. Legacy will not be over yet. they just moved the tag champs to Raw so they can give them to Legacy and a 4th member will come to be as well. Kane and Punk could go either way depends on the time of the match. what pisses me off this is just to make punk look stronger and i can't stand the guy. Kane deserves better. now Y2J and Steamboat could be a sneak match great story told and both can still go. this might win match on the card. the rest sucks with Khali and Divas.

 

[poppers566]

Talk Is Edge Is Going To Win The Title From Cena Which I Do Agree With But Watch Right After Edge Wins Cm Punk Cashes In And There Is A Fued For Most Opportunistic Wresler Between Edge Vs Cm Punk....further Making Smackdown The B-brand To Raw

 

[bioshock]

Or how about Orton wins the title, then Punk comes out and gets his revenge for Unforgiven when Orton cost him the title. lol course WWE isn't that bright. IMO Edge wins and we get nothing new from WWE.

Crappy PPV BTW not even worth watching free at this point.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Crappy PPV BTW not even worth watching free at this point.

You know, I'm starting to think that myself, too, that I might not even waste my time watching it on a stream lol. This card, uh....well, to put it mildly, blows ass lol.

NOFATE'S FINAL BACKLASH PREDICTIONS

WWE Championship: HHH, Batista, & Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase
--Not looking forward to it in the slightest bit. I've been fast-forwarding through the matches that they've had amongst themselves after the first few sucked. This storyline was awesome until the match Orton had with Shane at No Way Out. Then, it took even more of a nosedive when HHH got involved. It took an even greater plunge with their horrible WrestleMania match. And now we've had to sit through the cavalry of promos and commentary telling us how epic this is and how personal and blah blah blah. I sincerely hope that HHH retains here, because if he doesn't, then I'm just going to shoot someone if they start arguing that "by having HHH not get pinned, it puts Orton over, and HHH looks strong, so its ok", because as I've said before, Orton should be pinning HHH by himself, clean, no questions asked. Anything else...no matter if its interference, cheating, or some bullshit stipulation that they ganked from TNA...anything else, and it cheapens Orton's win, and it makes me hate HHH even more.

World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Edge
--Even though I think this will be a pretty decent match, two things are killing me about it. One, first off, is that its a Last Man Standing match. That means half of the match will consist of Cena and Edge doing something, then waiting 9 seconds, and the commentators going apeshit and expecting us to care. If this were on a better card, it would be acceptable, but when this looks like the best match out of the bunch, and its still a resounding "meh", that's bad. If Edge doesn't win here, then its obvious that Punk will be the champion by the time Judgment Day is over with, whether or not that means he cashes it in on TV or he just challenges Cena to a match at the ppv ahead of time. Its one or the other. Punk or Edge being the top guy on Smackdown, with Cena dropping his title and having nobody to feud or anything to do, because Raw for some reason only has Orton and Big Show as their heels.

I Quit Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
--Don't care about this anymore either, really. Jeff wins, as he's lost all the others. I'll go out on an extreme limb here (yeah right) and say Jeff doesn't even win with a submission or anything, he just hits Matt with a chair a bunch of times or something and then Matt quits. Looks like WWE Creative is having writer's block, so they sure as hell aren't going to think of a cool way to book the end of this match.

ECW Championship: Christian vs. Jack Swagger
--Don't care. Swagger retains if they want him to have a match against Dreamer at Extreme Rules. Otherwise, Christian wins the title.

Not For The MITB Case But it Should Be Match: CM Punk vs. Kane
--Good lord. Why? What the hell is going on in their minds? What is the purpose of this? For God's sake, they aren't even making it a match where Kane challenged Punk for the briefcase! Its just a singles match between the two, for the hell of it? They're not in a feud or anything. Baffles my mind as to why they decided to throw this match on there for filler, but yet, at the same time, we don't have the US title, IC title, or tag team titles anywhere near the ppv. I'd have rather seen MVP vs Ziggler. I'd have rather seen Evan Bourne versus Zack Ryder. Stupid of them to do this match, after a "massive build up" of Punk getting a roll-up on Kane in a 2 minute match on Raw, the brand that neither of them are on anymore. ******ed. Punk wins.

I Thought This Feud Was Over Match: Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat
--Don't care anymore. Steamboat should've quit while he was ahead and did a great performance at WrestleMania. This feud kind of ended already, didn't it? Another case of WWE not knowing what to do, or, if they did plan this, they did a horrendous job with the build, as they didn't bother to do anything with these two recently to build it up, outside of one generic "I'm gonna beat you" / "I accept your challenge" promo. Steamboat wins.


Not very optimistic about this ppv in the slightest bit. As I said before, I might not even watch it. Absolutely nothing is catching my attention about it in the slightest bit.

 

[nthomas504]

Wrestlemania has truely messed up my Wresting year. Backlash seems to be kinda better than WM25 because we get a few of tha matches we wanted at Mania.

Streamboat Vs Jericho-waz gold in tha match at Mania and if Steamboat can pull together one more match, this could be a memorable performance

John Cena Vs Edge-Both amazing workers, both recent World Champs, so there waz no point in putting Big Show in tha contest UNLESS he was going to win it. Now we get tha "last" Edge Vs Cena match. We will see bout tht

ECW Championship Match-Wrestlemania totally left tha title and two ECW main eventers out of mania(Bourne, and Swagger). Now we will get a soild 15 minute match.

Vince has sure f**ked up tha storylines. The original plan waz for Taker to get tha title, and for HBK to lose at No Way Out. JBL then waz suppose to make a deal that allowed him his freedom if he can get tha title from Undertaker. But Vince made tha plans different, and allowed our main event for this event. If they had stuck with tha original plan, 1. Cena, Big Show, and Edge wouldnt have happen because it wouldnt compare. 2. Triple H and Randy Orton would be in tha Undertaker and Michaels spot. But now we have tha monstrosity of watchin........BACKLASH. Good thing I have connections to watch it

 

[Y 2 Jake]

World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. Edge (Last Man Standing Match)

I hate Last Man Standing matches. Despise them. They're ok until they start to do the ten counts. For the final half of the match you're just waiting around for somebody to get counted out.

I don't know who will win. I don't think Punk will be cashing in the Money In The Bank. But I don't see Cena losing so Smackdown has a world title.

ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Christian

I'd be very surprised if Christian didn't win. I don't know who Swagger would feud with after this match. But I do think Christian will feud with Kozlov. There just seems to be more options for Christian as champion.

Actually I think Swagger could win and Christian get's the best next month.

WWE Champion Triple H, Batista & Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton & The Legacy

Should be intresting. I'm never complimentary about matches with silly stipulations like this. But they're always enjoyable. I'm expecting a Batista heel turn.

Triple H will drop the title but it won't be by putting somebody over. It's a shame. We'll then see Batista vs. Triple H again and Orton in a new feud. I say New, I think it'll be Cena again.

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy ("I Quit" Match)

Rey Mysterio looked like a pussy when he said I Quit in his match with Chavo. It's one thing to tap out but a babyface should never say I quit. Jeff wins.

Chris Jericho vs. WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

I think they should've left this one alone. There's nothing wrong with a nostalgia match at WrestleMania. But soon Steamboat will be just another guy again. If it carries on they'll be using him to get squashed by their next monster heel.

It stands to reason that if Jericho can beat Steamboat, Piper & Snuka he should be able to win this singles match.

CM Punk vs. Kane

The build for this makes me wish there was no longer a brand split. They needed a match to fill the card, over the past 10 days they've been on both Raw & Smackdown feuding and building it up. If this happened over a month then it could be a lot more intresting than it looks now.

It should be for the briefcase just to add a little importance to it. Punk wins.

Santina on Khali Kiss Cam

''Santina'' takes off the wig to prove he's Santino. Squash match. The End.

Not much on the card. I always predict an extra match that never happens. I'm going with Ziggler vs. MVP. It should happen considering the Draft moves are official as of Monday.

Overall it's a good card. Certainly for somebody like myself who didn't watch Mania.

 

[tehblogger]

Final predictions:

Punk to go over Kane. He would just look weak otherwise. Although why the MITB case isn't on the line, I don't know. Kane has been booked so weakly, though, going over him doesn't really help bunk. As Mr MITB he is the 3rd top man in the company, and as such - assuming they plan to have him cash it in, and not somebody else - he should be going over midcard champions. Not an old and washed-up Kane. Meh, a face as MITB sucks.

Jericho to beat Steamboat. Otherwise the Mania match was just fucked up. My god, I hope this is a great match and that Steamboat can rescue the old magic one last time. He truly deserves our final memory of him to be a wonderful one. If this match sucks, though, our remembrance will be tarnished, which would be terrible after he did such a great job at Mania.

Swagger drops the belt to Christian. As others have said, Christian as champion has more options. I'm still expecting Dreamer to get to his match at ONS, and then retire putting the champion over. That scenario would work better with Swagger as champ, but it works just as well with Christian too.

Matt Hardy to go over Jeff. Meh, they seem serious about pushing Matt, and if they are he should win here. A loss would just kill his push. I don't think it will really hurt Jeff, not if booked right. IMO Jeff should have won every time, but since they've used this feud to push Matt, who IMO sucks, they might as well push him properly.

Triple H to pin Rhodes or some such bull. Doesn't matter. I'm expecting him now to drop the belt to Orton at ONS.

Edge. Goddamnit, he needs this one. Rusty is absolutely right above. If he doesn't win here, what the hell does he do next? Dropping the belt at Mania did him no harm. A win here would really help. Either way both Edge and Cena have done a tremendous job here. They've taken a thrown-together match that should, by all rights, have been worthless, and have somehow made it mean everything by sheer force of promo brilliance. You have to have so much respect for both these two. I love the way they've both pushed the line of "LAST man standing" as the LAST match in their great epic feud. Tremendous promo work from the two of them over the last few weeks, verging on worked shoot at times. They have shown yet again why they are the two top men in the WWE: why Edge deserves to be remembered as perhaps the finest heel ever, and why Cena is a worthy inheritor to the grand tradition of truly heroic faces, the tradition of great men, the tradition of Hogan, Hart, Austin, and Rock.

 

[zags]

I fully expect Cena to go over Edge, then have Punk cash in mitb and win setting up an Edge Punk feud on smackdown. At least I hoping for that as the shocker moment that we didn't get at Mania unless you count Batista at Raw. Other than that I'll watch cause I always do, but I don't see or expect very much to happen.

 

[Age of Orton]

Talk Is Edge Is Going To Win The Title From Cena Which I Do Agree With But Watch Right After Edge Wins Cm Punk Cashes In And There Is A Fued For Most Opportunistic Wresler Between Edge Vs Cm Punk....further Making Smackdown The B-brand To Raw

I could see Punk cashing in but he stated that this time he wants to cash in ahead of time, which looks to be Judgment Day, that said I could see him cashing in on Cena winning the title and defending it against Edge at Judgment Day, there is already a feud in the waiting from last year when Punk cashed in, so I could definitely see Punk/Edge playing out over the summer.

 

[Black Snow]

I'm befuddled that people have been routinely crapping on this PPV. I grant you, it hasn't had the best build up. But it's also only had three weeks along with the fact that every single match is a 'Mania rematch of some kind.

But can anyone honestly say they fully expect any of those matches to be actively horrible? If you can, then I think you're a little crazy. Mind you, I don't really think anything on this card will light the world on fire but it should all be enjoyable to some degree. We've have tons of worse cards than this with less poopooing beforehand.

 

[FraserY2J]

Im going for the outside bet!! Rhodes and Dibiase, tired of being in Ortons shadow, turn on there leader handing HHH the victory!! They then form a group (eventually turning heel) with HHH,Batista and the McMahon's(corporation version 2.0, if you will). Orton then goes on to have a face turn, which is inevitable and long overdue

But like i said .....its an outside bet lol

 

[zags]

I think people are bashing this event 1- because there are only 6 matches on the card (which makes me think that a mitb cash in could happen tonight) and 2- There hasn't been build up for most of these matches as I think they're using WrestleMania as the buildup. I think having the draft between WrestleMania and Backlash really hurt.

 

[Tastycles]

Tastycles' Backlash Review

ECW Championship Match

I thought this was a very solid opener, but it wasn't given much time. Swagger really impressed me tonight, and proved that he can wrestle live on PPV, which is good. Swagger showed that he has the complete package, and Christian showed how over he is with the crowd. The ending was clever as it showed what Christian had built up previously. I only wish it had a little longer. Man of the match: Swagger, Chump of the match: nobody. 7.8/10

Jericho vs. Steamboat

Another good match here. Steamboat showed that he still had it, but he made two botches - when skinning the cat and when applying the figure 4, or forgetting how to as it were. The match slowed down in the middle but picked up well afterwards, and the various pin attempts at the end leading into the finish were good. Man of the Match: Steamboat, Chump of the match: nobody.8.3/10

CM Punk vs. Kane

Another solid match, but nothing too great. Kane has literally the same match every time he's in the ring, but CM Punk managed to make this a bit better. I can't really see the point of the ending unless they are going to have Kane feud with Punk post cash-in for the title on the basis that he beat him here. Man/Chump of the match: Neither. 6.8/10

Hardy vs. Hardy

Another good match, that was a lot more even than the spot fest we were expecting. There were still some cool spots, like Jeff doing poetry in motion of the ring steps.Problem was, the early part ofthe match was quite slow with all the submission moves and the referee wanted to be the star of the show for some reason, and it was starting to get boring until Jeff got the table. What followed was one of the weirdest things ever, with Matt Hardy being tied to the table, for what seemed like an age, then they did a promo, and then Jeff did the same spot he always does with a ladder. This match wasn't that bad as I watched it, but in hindsight, maybe it was... I don't even know. Man of the Match: Matt Hardy, for bringing up their dead mother, classy, and good submission move ideas. Chump of the match: The referee 4.1/10

Khali kiss cam

This was weird. Firstly, you have JR getting delibrately pissed off in a segment I don't think he knew anything about, and then having Beth get completely buried after being beaten up by Khali. The segment was based on cheap laughs, and woman beating, so this segment definitely goes down as being weak in my eyes. I suppose it will brought some closure to glamarella, and Ranjin Singh can deliver his lines with enough wit to make the whole thing seem better and Beth Phoenix managed to be obnoxious enough to make the whole woman beating thing less horrendous. Man of the match: Ranjin Singh, chump of the match: Khali, for beating a woman. 4.4/10

HHH, Shane and Batista vs. Legacy

This match started as a 2 on 3 and the interesting element of the match was removed, then Orton came back and beat on Batista with the rest of legacy, while HHH and Shane did nothing. Rhodes and DiBiase were just buried the whole way through the match and that is shit for them and WWE's general development of talent. Shane is out of his league here, and the match was much slower and more measured than it should be, these people are supposed to hate each other. The last 2 minutes were quite clever and could set up a nice Batista vs. HHH feud. HHH wasn't in the ring long, but itwas him who took the pin. Looks like he might be out for a while with the way they sold it. Man of the match: HHH, for finally doing the job Chump of the match: Probably DiBiase, as he did the least and was absent from the finish. 6.4/10

Edge vs. Cena

This match started off at a really good pace, with Edge having Cena's number whenever he tried to do anything, and was very entertaining, as proved by the crowd, who were cheering as loudly as possible at this stage. Edge then slowed it down with a few holds, but it was still good when the counts started thanks to the steps. Last man Standing Matches tend to lose momentum when this happens, and this match was no different, but they kept the interest in it, with the fake Attitude Adjusters etc. The AA off the top rope was great, and Edge getting up from it made him look fantastic as did the midair spear, but the AA into the crowd was superb. If the marks need convincing of how good Edge is, watch this match. If smarks need convincing as to how good Cena is, watch this match. However, the final 30 seconds involved the Big Show appearing for absolutely no reason and meaning that Edge looks weak yet again against Cena. Why Edge couldn't have speared Cena into it, I'll never know, nobody is going to care about a Cena Big Show feud anyway, the end hurt that match, but not by enough for me to mark it down by a lot. Men of the match: Edge/Cena Chump of the match: The Big Show.9.1/10

Production and general notes

It was nice to see the three man commentary team make a return. These are the three most experienced commentators and it worked well with JR as the analyst, this can only improve Cole's work. The Edge and Christian segment was good, but the precalance of ads was quite annoying. The constant recraps are getting beyond ridiculous these days, and tonight was no exception. The EMTs were busy, and maybe that was overdone a bit. 7.3/10

Overall - 54.2/80 (67.75%)

This PPV started off strongly, but seriously faded away in the middle section. That being said, the first two matches were very good, so I have to say it was better than WrestleMania overall, but really betrayed the inconsistencies in WWE once again. Legacy and team HHH picked it up a bit, and the main event was excellent. I think what we have here was a solid PPV let down by a shitty I Quit match and a goofy segment, but it was still significantly better than WrestleMania.

 

[powerade]

nice write up tastcyles...

i loved the cena/edge match....but they really dropped the ball...
CM Punk was right there helping put Cena on the stretcher....he should have cashed in the money in the bank, i was literally screaming at the TV for it to happen...

 

[TheTruNoLimit]

I didn't even see the show, but it sounded ok. I am absolutely shocked that all 3 titles changed hands. I honestly didn't see that coming.

Mostly, I didn't think Swagger would lose the gold, but the stage is admittedly set for Christian to have a LONG ECW title run. Heck, he has Swagger, Henry, Kozlov, and potentially E. Jackson, and Tyson Kid to work against. That's totally ignoring Finlay, Dreamer, and Bourne because there's been plenty of face/face title matches in ECW too. Heck, aside from Natalya, no one is really off limits for this guy depending on who's pushed at any given time, so he should maybe have that long reign that finally gives the ECW gold the credibility it needs.

 

[Legacy01]

Good PPV. Very glad to see Orton as champ finally but I hate Edge. Not happy with that result but besides that. Good PPV.

The Last Man Standing was the best match of the show.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

NOFATE'S BACKLASH REVIEW

ECW Championship: Christian vs. Jack Swagger
--Didn't see this match. Streams weren't loading. Although, I did finally get the stream to work at the very moment that they said "Killswitch!", the 3-count, and Christian winning the title. So, I can't critique the match itself, and I hope for the people that watched it that it was a good one. ECW has a plague right now in that their heels are really...well...shitty. Having Henry, Ezekiel, and Kozlov, and the only other heel being Swagger, it really dampers their feud options. Christian/Henry would be boring, and it would be virtually the same exact match as Christian/Kozov, or Christian/Ezekiel, and we've already seen enough of Christian/Swagger, as well as Finlay/Swagger, so I'm really hoping they think of something, cause I'm not looking forward to any of that, really. But, to be fair, that was the same as before Christian won the title, so I'm not saying that this match's outcome really led to it. I'm just curious what they'll do now. Swagger/Dreamer seemed like a gimme for Extreme Rules, and if they do Christian/Dreamer, it'll be a little odd, as people won't be cheering Dreamer as much as they would've if he was facing a heel. Now, I hope that this doesn't mean Christian drops the title to Kozlov or something real soon, as I think Kozlov should just be released since he sucks so horribly. We'll see.

I Thought This Feud Was Over Match: Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat
--Didn't catch this match either. Busy talking to someone. My dad told me it wasn't anything special, but idk, can't criticize it if I haven't seen it. I didn't see the point in this match in the first place, so I didn't care that I missed it.

Not For The MITB Case But it Should Be Match: CM Punk vs. Kane
--These two don't mesh well together. They've had about 5 singles matches now, and a few tag team matches against each other, and none of them have really been interesting. I have no clue why they bothered putting this on the card, especially if it wasn't for the MITB case. And I don't know why Kane won. Looks like Punk is falling into the same situation he did last year. He wins the MITB, and then is booked weak. Beats Kane with a quick roll, then loses on the ppv. If WWE wants Punk to be one of the two top faces on Smackdown, they really need to start booking him as a competitive guy against people that he can have a good match against. And he's not good against the "monsters", so Punk/Umaga would suck too. We really need Punk/Jericho, Punk/Shelton, or Punk/Morrison.

I Quit Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
--Big heaping pile of "meh". What a lame way to end the match, too, am I right? Jeff spends 20 minutes tying up Matt, and Matt cuts a crappy promo on a table, then quits.

Khali/Santina Segment
--WOW. WOW. This was TERRIBLE. How does WWE not fire the people that write this stuff? The entire thing would've been terrible even on an episode of Raw or Smackdown, let alone on a ppv that they expect you to pay for. You can tell they didn't bother letting JR in on his part, and he didn't play along with it in the slightest, so that was awkward and not funny. Beth comes out, can't get the slightest bit of heat, even with a derogatory remark (lame way to get heat in the first place, and it still failed), and then Khali starts pushing her around in a way that seemed a bit...idk...I don't want to say "sexist", but do you know what I mean? Biggest guy in the WWE smacks around one of the women, and he's a face? Seemed like a poor choice of booking. And this is around Beth challenging "Santina" for the Ms. WrestleMania notification, which, by now, does anybody really give a shit? They've been "teasing" that for a while, and it just seems like they're dragging this out for no reason other than that they have no clue what the fuck to do. Nobody was into this, from what I could tell. Didn't hear virtually any laughs or anything.

WWE Championship: HHH, Batista, & Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase
--What was the point of Orton running away? That was pretty stupid. Glad he came back soon, though, as if he would've only shown up at the end, it would've ruined it. Decent match overall. Better than what I was expecting. But, to be fair, I was expecting it to be a total bomb. And I'm glad that Orton pinned HHH, as that helps his credibility a little bit more, but I still wish HHH wouldn't have kicked out of the RKO. Anyway, I hope the kick in the head doesn't mean that we get Orton/Batista, and then HHH comes back and beats Orton for the title in a month or so. I'd rather see Orton drop the title to someone else. Someone better. Like MVP, or Cena, or Kennedy. I really don't want to see HHH/Orton again. I'd much rather HHH come back in a month or so, turn heel, and have HHH/Batista.

World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Edge
--Well, after Christian and Orton won those titles, I figured for sure that Cena would retain. Surprised that he didn't. This was a typical Last Man Standing match, in that the worst part about it was that half of it was Charles Robinson counting to 6 or 7, followed by a spot, and then another 7 count. Second worst part of the match was that Edge STILL couldn't cleanly beat Cena. Shame. He was really looking solid throughout this match, like they could legitimately have him win on his own accord, without cheating, and I was looking forward to that. WWE seems to have this idea in their head that Edge shouldn't ever be able to win a match with his own skills unless its against someone like Funaki. I don't know why. And I'm not looking forward to more Cena/Show. At least the spotlight idea was something that I can't remember them really using, so that was nice. I have to agree with Tasty above in that having 2 of the top faces taken out on stretchers in a row was a little bland and unnecessary, especially if one (or both) come on Raw tomorrow night.

OVERALL
--Bland, uninspiring, and pretty boring. No real build up for most of the matches. Two of the matches that did have a build suffered in that their angle has already been old and tiresome, and I couldn't care less anymore (I Quit and WWE title). The matches that I saw didn't really deliver, and as always, they wasted way too much time by showing you the same fucking recaps that they show you three times a week for a month anyway. I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so tired of hearing Orton say "I kicked...the old man....in the SKULL..." And that whole segment with Santino was just pathetic and is one of the prime pieces of evidence when people ask why I don't just buy the ppvs and I watch them on streams instead lol.

 

[CJ The Pirate]

ECW Championship Match

I had just got back home from the store with a box full of Beer, Doritos and some chinese noodles when the noise from my lounge roared with cries of "CJ, It's Starting!" I almost didn't bother running in but when I heard Close Your Eyes hit I had to. God damn, I love that song. I love Christian. I haven't actually seen that much of Swagger to be fair. I'm for the most part a Raw fan. I watch highlights of Smackdown on my Virgin + box (a bit like TIVO fo you US guys) and fast forward it and I basically ignore ECw all together. He has impressed me and I have to agree with an above poster, he was excellent tonight. The kid deserves it on his own merit but Christian is just proving to everyone (But Vince) that he is worthy of the high status he achieved in TNA and should have gotten in the WWE before he left in the first place. Remember that Cena/Jericho feud he had? I love first matches shining like this. Very good action, letting the heel boss the match at first and then a controversial face win with an Eddie Guerrero finish. Lets hope he can carry the ECW title through to Summerslam and then get a move to Smackdown! to hopefully work with Edge in some capacity. I loved that scene afterwards. I'm a big mark for E&C... so wanted a five second pose!

Jericho vs. Steamboat

I understand that these days there has to be some kind of gimmick at Wrestlemania so that it gets a wider audience from the media. Free advertisement. So the whole The Wrestler thing was brought in and Mickey Rourke is gonna maybe possibly won't might could will if his advisors let him wrestle but only as a spectator and when he does get in the ring he breaks his hand (Or does he... someone tell me, what was the point in that story?) I get it anyway. Now that barely justified the two months of build it had. I'm completely on Jericho's side. I really hate legends getting involved. It goes beyond Wrestling as well. There just are times when a wrestler needs to hang up his tights, a singer needs to put away his microphone and an actor needs to learn to direct instead. It's boring. The fans today love Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio and, with all due respect offered, they get bored with hammerlocks, double axe handle smashes off the second turnbuckle and they rarely get excited anymore when someone takes a bump over the top rope. Routine is what wrestlng was based on in Snuka and Pipers day. Today, fans want a little surprise. Thank you for all you did. Go wrestle away from the spotlight, you're stopping the young talent from developing. So why oh why did this get continued to Backlash. Another 3 weeks of crap. Sure, you can argue several points... Jericho was to be drafted. In hindsight, why stick him in a 3 week feud with anyone? Or maybe you could say it wasn't planned, it was just the WWE taking full advantage of Steamboats clear intact ring ability. But couldn't Rey or MVP have used this spot for their respective mid card belts? Even against Jericho. He only needs to lose once and then they move on. Shame! Anyway, this match was OK... I wasn't shocked that the legend nearly won because that always happens. Sure he looks good but enough now. Go to TNA. They might make you Champion after Foley's had his fun.

CM Punk vs. Kane

Good match. I did enjoy it even though I had to drink penalty shots for predicting that Kane would lose. Ah well. I do love Southern Comfort. I didn't really see the point in this match either. It wasn't announced on TV but on WWE.com and didn't this match already happen on Raw? As far as I count it now then we need a rubber match to decide this and it should be for the briefcase. If not then like has been said, why didn't Punk cash it in tonight? Makes no sense. Just another filler storyline in my eyes because of the draft.


Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

I do like this story but it's been done badly. This is personal apparantly. These are brothers. And like the commentators said, brothers fight but this is beyond the norm. When me and my brother go at each other we hurt one another. All in good fun but the need to be able to inflict more pain upon the other seems to drive us. It's also great sport to witness the other retreat from the beating they've taken. Good fun. So why was it that The Rock Vs Mankind had a more personal I Quit match? This should have been amazingly good. Like two brothers really going at it. But instead, it began as a wrestling match (Brothers fight, they don't wrestle) and then it became an episode of The Jeff Hardy Show (Brothers fight, they don't jump onto each other.) This is no dq match by the way but there were no closed fists and pretty much no hardcore activity until the end. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this match. The right outcome but I felt that this rivalry, if handled differently, could have had a 6 month run. Now, with Matt being drafted to Raw, it seems to have ended. Jeff/Edge for the WWE title? Please!

Khali kiss cam

Maybe it's the English sense of humour but I don't understand why everyone so far has hated this segment. Santino is just a class act of comedy and the inclusion of 3 other non-comedy characters (Khali, Beth and JR) just makes it better. JR was the annoying part of this for just not playing along. All he had to do is just mockingly say things like "Darling" or "Sweetheart" or even use the whole "Slobber-Knocker" nickname after she beat Beth. Ranjin Singh is brilliant and the wardrobe malfunction ending was perfect, bettered simply by the embarrased Santin"a" reacting like a woman. Genius. What I don't get is people hating this and then they love Hornswoggle and Eugene! This is unpredictable comedy gold.

HHH, Shane and Batista vs. Legacy

Didn't really understand the whole Randy goes missing thing. It wasn't as though he came back as the fresh man to get the win... he was fresh for like a minute. Triple H's manner as he returned as though business was done and it wasn't like Randy had escaped. He didn't gesture that he couldn't find him and it made me feel like there should have been a cut to the back at some point showing him sledgehammer shot Orton before the bell had rung. But this didn't happen not even as a replay nor did Orton sell anything as he returned. Sure it could happen on Raw but Orton won so it's irrelevant. One thing I have to stress. When have Legacy done anything right? Orton hand picked his team saying that their potental together knows no bounds. That they are a well oiled machine. Royal Rumble. It worked up to the last four. Triple H was the last man eliminated after beating Rhodes and DiBiase. Orton did the work. On Raw 2 weeks ago, they needed to win to set up a 3 on 1 handicap match against Triple H. They failed at that so Orton fought Triple H alone. Legacy seem a hinderance rather than an aide to Orton. They should be Tag Champions and have a seperate storyline like Batista and Orton did with Evolution. That's the good thing about stables. They can appear more than once a night. It makes them seem better superficially. Legacy seem to just be the ones to take the bullet for Orton time and time again yet I've seen Orton sporting more Shiner makeup since he's had the stable than ever before. They're terrible bodyguards. I cannot remember a single spot that they had in this match. Neither of them have a regular finisher nor do they have any tandem moves. The two talents are brilliant. I've seen their development work and it's great and I can see them as future champions one day. But they need a push now more than they ever will again. Good match though, good outcome. I was kinda hoping for a Shane heel turn. It seemed to be leaning that way on Raw with him being the one talking about being on the same page and, of course, he's a 3rd generation superstar... it would have been better.

Edge vs. Cena

I'm bored of Cena and was so pleased to hear the crowd so Anti Cena and Pro Edge. Kindred Spirits! Edge just looked good and plays the desperate heel so well and to disagree with everyone else, I am glad he won the title without lifting a finger once again. It works really well for his character. Just like JBL went through his title reign by fluking most of his wins... it worked. Orton uses the "dispicable" punt to win most of his recent titles. It's not talent. It's just opportunistic and thats the theme with Orton and Edge. I'm not too thrilled at the prospect for Cena/Big Show but then again Cena/Anyone gets annoying now. For example, who wasn't annoyed when Cena's music hit on Raw last week getting involved with Jericho. Not required. Just go away and deal with your own life. You are not the voice of the people. You do not stand for justice. It's nothing to do with what I can't do... I don't want to see you. Please leave and only come out when you are necessary. Decent match, decent outcome. Lets hope Cena has a month long "injury" but I'm just dreaming.

Good PPV. Glad Sky Sports aired it for free. WWE seem to always give us the best PPV's free of charge and long may it continue. I'm looking forward to Raw tomorrow night

 

[Bad_News_Brown]

I was on the floor for this in Providence.. first off, I will NEVER.. EEEVER.. sit on the floor at a live wrestling event... awful awful view of the action. I'll take mid loge center all day, like I had at Suvivor series.

anyways.. yeah..kinda weak.

Christian needs a push outside ECW

The Hardy match was terrible.. how can you put the best extreme perofrmers in the ring, in an "I quit" match, and have ZERO spots.. soooo disapointing.

main event was one of the best matches I have seen in a long time.. real good.

other than that, pretty standard sub-par WWE product that we have seen for years now

 

[Rusty]

Rusty's Backlash Review

ECW Championship - Jack Swagger vs. Christian
I liked this match actually, it was one of my favourites on the night. It was a great way to open the show and it accomplished a lot. Christian winning the ECW Title surprised me a little to be honest, but I'm glad he finally won it. I'm basically sold on Swagger now. He will be a major player in the WWE within the next 4 or 5 years. I was really impressed with his performance and the guy has all the potential in the world right now. The ending was unique, but very well done. 7.5/10

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat
To be honest, I liked the previous match more than this one. Maybe it was because I knew who was going to win, or because I really didn't care who won. It was a good match though and it showcased that Ricky can still hang in the ring. His figure four leg lock was poorly executed, but the guy isn't very young so you have to give him some credit. Jericho played a good heel here, getting the fans involved and truly acting like an asshole. The lack of build up really hurt this match, and maybe there were a few restholds that weren't necessary. 7/10

CM Punk vs. Kane
This actually surprised me a little. I wasn't expecting anything good, but Punk and Kane delivered a decent 10 minute match. They actually worked well together and even the crowd seem more involved than what I thought they would be. The only major problem I have with it is that Punk lost, cleanly. Doesn't the WWE learn from their previous mistakes? Punk needed this win a lot more than what Kane did. Shame on you, WWE. 6.5/10

Santina/Beth Phoenix/Khali Segment
People will diss this segment. But, here's a newsflash: It's meant to be a chance for a toilet break. I personally, was amused. I thought Santina was going to say that she was in love with Jerry Lawler, but saying Jim Ross made me laugh even more. The whole thing was admittedly stupid, but that's what the WWE was going for here. It was only meant to be a light comedy act, and if you can't accept that, than get your head out of your ass because watching 6 or 7 matches non stop without any promos or anything is pretty damn hard to do. 6/10

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy (I Quit Match)
This match is very difficult to rate. I was expecting the Hardy's to use a shitload of weapons and make each other bleed to death. By that standard, I was a little disappointed as hardly any weapons were actually used. But their mat based work was good, and most importantly, the match told a great story and was a fitting end to their feud. Jeff doing some leg drops on Matt, Matt giving a promo that didn't sound like he was "talking from the heart", and the whole strapping of Matt to the table thing was very well done. At the end of the day, I was entertained. And that's all I care about. 8.5/10

Triple H, Batista, Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton & Legacy - WWE Championship
I was impressed. It was a much better option that another Orton vs Triple match. Randy Orton running away at the start was a nice twist, and it did give him some heel heat with this smarky crowd. I wasn't expecting much so I found the match itself to be good. Having Legacy work over Batista at the start, and Shane in the middle of the match was nicely done. Rhodes and DiBiase impressed me once again, and I'm certain they will both have bright futures. The match started off slow, but it was meant to be. As it made the ending look even better.

Orton winning the WWE Title by pinning Triple H was nicely done. The crowd honestly didn't care that Triple H was "injured" by Orton kicking him in the skull. This feud needs a break, and hopefully Orton and Batista settle their unsolved differences. A 6 man tag team match for a WWE World Championship sounded like something TNA would do, but unlike TNA, the WWE did it well. 8/10

John Cena vs. Edge - World Heavyweight Championship
Man, it wasn't what I expected. At all. This feud is not over, it almost CAN'T be over because of the ending. After seeing the lack of weapons in the Hardy match, I thought every chair, ladder, table, title belt, ring bell, steel steps would be used here. Some weapons were used, but not a real lot. But that's not to say this wasn't a good match, because I loved it. The crowd was epic here, and you could tell they were just excited to see this match and they did admire the efforts of both men here. The "Cena sucks" chants were annoying, but they died off later on in the match.

These two are amazing. They told an excellent story, had the crowd involved, and they entertained without the overuse of weapons. Last Man Standing matches are really hard to get the fans into it the entire time, as the referee counts an awful lot of times. It wasn't a huge factor here because there were believable near falls and nobody knew who was going to win until the very end. The finish was nicely done, but Cena went through glass without bleeding. Expect more "Superman" comments from the IWC for that one. I was throughly entertained, and the match lived up to the hype in a unique way. Possible match of the year candidate. 9.5/10

Overall, the pay per view was a success. None of the matches disappointed, and even though I was expecting two brutal weapon matches (Hardy'z and Cena/Edge), I still wasn't disappointed. Most of the matches told a good story and Backlash was once again better than Wrestlemania this year. Edge winning the World Title for the 9th time doesn't interest me personally, because Edge + Smackdown + World Title = Stale. How come you smarks haven't picked up on that yet? Anyway, every single match and segment had a purpose, and they delivered on that purpose. Not many complaints here and it's definately worth a watch so I'll give it a...8/10

 

[Gerald Brisco]

First match was very decent, solid opener, I thought that when Christian won he had stolen it, I thought Swagger controled it too much, still good

Jericho and Steamboat another solid hitout, Gee steamboat is looking fine for a 60 year old.

Punk/Kane, twas average, but passable

Jeff/Matt, For a i quit match, was boring as batsh*t, the ending saved it, but its something you would fast forward, Very tame

Shane/Batista/HHH Vs Legacy, Now i was very let down with the match, But good developing storyline, But a massive Letdown

Cena V Edge, I for one before this match was thinking "god, not another Edge Vs Cena" match, but was plesently suprised, Great ending, i thought Christian was definatly going to come and whack either cena/Edge with a chair, but bigshow was a decent suprise,

Give it overall 7/10, Crowd still loves Christian, Hopefully the WWE dont let him rot in ECW