Just ten days after Steve Austin and Vince McMahon verbally agreed that they’d be doing business together in some form for life, and agreed on doing two projects even if he didn’t come back as a full-time television character, negotiations between the two broke down, and all projects are off.
On 4/16, the wwe.com web site posted a short note that Austin was no longer with the company and that they wish him the best in all future endeavors. That signaled the end of a more than eight year contractual relationship, which included two major television breaks. One was when Austin underwent neck surgery in late 1999 and again when he walked out of the company in 2002. It also included the late 1997 through late 1999 period when, led by Austin, the company turned its economic fortunes around. It went from being well behind to having an insurmountable lead in one of the biggest wrestling wars in history, and where Austin drew more money than any wrestler in history.
Adam Copeland suffered a torn triceps on June 7 when filming his match with Randy Orton that will take place on tonight’s Backlash show.
The injury, like the result of the match, was kept quiet throughout WWE but Fightful.com reported it today and others in WWE have confirmed that as well.
The match itself reportedly was taped for 35 minutes, but it is not clear how the match will be edited.
The rest of tonight’s show other than Edge vs. Orton was to take place today in Orlando at the Performance Center.
A torn triceps is usually an injury that requires about eight months or so of recovery time and surgery. Obviously because WWE did not want out that the match was taped, that when Edge and Orton were doing media, they couldn’t talk about the injury. The injury, whether he will undergo surgery and the time frame of his return are likely to be talked about over the next few days after the match airs.
Tonight’s Backlash pay-per-view is being headlined by what WWE is billing as the “Greatest Match Ever.”
WWE has used that tagline for Edge vs. Randy Orton, which was announced last month after Orton challenged Edge to face him in a straight-up wrestling match. Edge defeated Orton in their last man standing match at WrestleMania, but Orton has tried to make Edge doubt himself by saying that Edge hasn’t actually had a traditional match since being forced to retire due to injury in 2011.
Six title matches have also been announced for tonight. Five of those will take place on the main card: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship, Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship, Braun Strowman vs. The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match for the Universal Championship, Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics for the Women’s Tag Team titles, and The Street Profits vs. The Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team titles.
Apollo Crews vs. Andrade for the United States title will also take place on tonight’s pre-show.
Plus, tonight’s PPV will feature a grudge match between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus.
Show Recap —
KICK-OFF SHOW
Charly Caruso interviewed Ric Flair and Christian early in the pre-show. Flair talked about how great Orton is. Christian said Orton was the most talented person he has ever stepped in the ring with but he still always looked for the path of least resistance. Christian said Edge wasn’t on vacation for nine years — he scratched and clawed to get back and had the grit to win.
Apollo Crews defeated Andrade (w/Zelina Vega & Angel Garza) to retain the US Championship (7:23)
Apollo Crews has new music. Kevin Owens came out to join commentary. He wore a tie with his sleeveless shirt. Byron Saxton complimented him on the tie and Owens thanked him for letting him borrow it. Owens was out there to make sure Garza didn’t screw things up for Crews.
Crews gave Andrade a back body drop onto the ramp early in the match. Later on, Crews gave him an overhead belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckles (Andrade’s legs hit the buckles, so it wasn’t like a buckle bomb). Crews followed with a spinebuster for two. Andrade followed later with a nice DDT for two.
Crews hit a press slam, standing moonsault and standing shooting star, but Garza got on the apron and this distracted the referee for some reason.
Owens gave Garza a stunner as Crews looked on. Andrade tried to attack from behind but Crews countered into a spinning sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall win. Crews retains. Good match for the time they got but nothing special.
Sheamus cut a promo backstage, speaking to the camera. Basically, he called Jeff Hardy a fraud who would show his true colours. Sheamus threatened to kick him back into obscurity.
BACKLASH MAIN SHOW
Triple threat tag team match: SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley & Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics to retain the Tag Team Championships (8:50)
Corey Graves and Michael Cole did commentary for this match. Cole said tonight’s winners would defend the titles on Wednesday’s NXT against Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox.
Kayla Braxton interviewed the champs backstage before the match. Bayley called them the greatest tag champs ever. Braxton asked if their friendship would be over if they lost the belts tonight. They were offended by the question and Banks said their friendship was unstoppable.
One of the big spots in the match was Peyton Royce doing a dive effectively onto everyone. Bliss gave Royce a Twisted Bliss but before she could go for a cover, Banks caught her in a rollup for the pinfall win. Banks and Bayley retain.
This match was fine and a bit shorter than I would’ve expected. They also must have set a record for the highest number of camera cuts ever in a match.
Braun Strowman was shown arriving in his Plymouth Grand National.
Sheamus defeated Jeff Hardy (16:48)
Hardy teased using the steel steps but thought better of it. Sheamus dropped him over the top turnbuckle which caused Hardy’s leg to slam against the top of the ring post. Sheamus had control for a while until Hardy hit a Whisper in the Wind.
Hardy ducked a Brogue Kick and hit a slingblade. He was on the top rope but Sheamus tripped him off and they sort of fell on top of each other. Sheamus followed with White Noise for two. Sheamus applied a Texas Cloverleaf but Hardy got a rope break.
After what felt like a long time, Hardy tossed Sheamus shoulder-first into the post, hit a Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb, but Sheamus got his foot on the rope. Sheamus rolled outside, so Hardy ran around the barricade and tried a dive but Sheamus gave him a Brogue Kick. Sheamus followed with another Brogue Kick for the pinfall win. Graves said Hardy let everyone down.
This match was going along well for the first few minutes but it went way too long and got clumsier the longer it went.
Braxton interviewed The Miz and John Morrison. Miz said they didn’t have time for her. Braxton had news for them: if one of them pinned Strowman, that person would become the champion (as opposed to co-champions). They seemed surprised but acted like they were fine with this development. Otis and Mandy Rose appeared. Otis teased cashing in on them if they won.
Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Nia Jax ended in a double countout (8:27)
Asuka applied an octopus hold but Jax got out of it and took over. Asuka applied a guillotine but Jax countered into what looked like a jackhammer. Jax talked trash about Kairi Sane so Asuka came back with strikes and a shining wizard for two. Asuka followed with a dropkick and a running hip attack for two.
Asuka used Yes kicks but Jax caught one (late) and hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Jax ran into the post so Asuka went to the top. Jax went after her but Asuka applied an armbar. This led to Jax falling out of the ring, which didn’t look good.
Asuka applied an armbar on the outside but Jax sort of slung her into the barricade. Asuka kicked her in the head but the referee counted to ten before she could get back in the ring. The match ended in a double countout. Asuka retained. Asuka was stunned. She gave Jax a running hip attack on the outside before leaving.
This match was a massive struggle and the finish obviously sucked.
MVP was on the phone ordering champagne. Lana interrupted him and talked about her importance to Bobby Lashley’s success. MVP informed her that he wasn’t the one telling Lashley to keep Lana backstage for his matches. MVP left to get ready for his championship celebration.
2-on-1 handicap match: Braun Strowman defeated The Miz & John Morrison to retain the Universal Championship (7:20)
Miz and Morrison made their entrance and showed their dumb music video until Strowman interrupted it. Cole explained that Miz and Morrison have to tag in and out of the match.
Morrison was kicking away at Strowman but Strowman ducked the last one. However, he still sold being down and Morrison seemed confused. He tagged Miz but they missed each others’ hands. Miz entered the ring anyway.
Miz and Morrison hit a double team Skull Crushing Finale/double foot stomp combo. Morrison went for the cover but Miz yanked him off. Morrison looked surprised and Miz acted upset, like he made a mistake. Miz put Morrison back on top of Strowman but he kicked out easily.
Strowman gave Miz a chokeslam and gave Morrison a powerslam for the pinfall win.
They recapped AJ Styles beating Daniel Bryan to win the Intercontinental title on Smackdown. Cole called the match an instant classic. Braxton interviewed Styles who said there would be a big championship celebration on Smackdown. Everyone was invited including Bryan because he had the most to learn. Styles called Bryan one of the best ever but he wasn’t phenomenal.
Drew McIntyre defeated Bobby Lashley (w/MVP) to retain the WWE Championship (13:14)
McIntyre got in MVP’s face during his entrance then Lashley applied the full nelson and wouldn’t let go. Referees ran down to try to break it up. Lashley eventually let go after a while. McIntyre was down but gave the okay to the referee to start the match.
Lashley attacked McIntyre and gave him a suplex. McIntyre still had his sleeveless jacket on until Lashley ripped it off. McIntyre clotheslined Lashley over the top and drove him into the barricade. McIntyre got distracted by MVP so Lashley picked him up and just sorta dropped him. Another clumsy spot tonight. Lashley then drove him into the ring post.
Lashley tried a spear on the outside but McIntyre launched him into the barricade and followed with a vertical suplex. McIntyre came back with clotheslines, a flying clothesline and spinebuster for two. Lashley followed with a spinebuster of his own for two. Lashley used an ugly-looking flatliner for a one count.
Lashley tried the full nelson but McIntyre managed to fight it off and hit an impressive-looking reverse Alabama Slam. McIntyre came off the top but Lashley blocked and applied a crossface. McIntyre fought out and attempted a piledriver but Lashley countered into an ankle lock. Lashley went for a spear but McIntyre countered into a kimura until Lashley got the rope.
McIntyre hit a superplex and went for a Claymore Kick but Lashley hit a spear instead for a nearfall. Lana chose this moment to saunter out. McIntyre pushed Lashley into Lana who fell into MVP. McIntyre then hit a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.
The finish was bad but the bulk of this match was pretty good.
The Street Profits / Viking Raiders segment
The announcers were about to introduce the Raw tag team title match but they cut to the parking lot where the Street Profits brawled with the Viking Raiders. I thought they were friendly? Montez Ford chucked Erik on top of Strowman’s car. They all freaked out and ran away.
The brawl continued in the back where they teased using instruments from their previous segments (golf clubs and bowling balls). They stopped fighting when Ford noted how crazy this all was.
They all dropped their weapons. Ford used a reference from the Chappelle Show and asked Angelo Dawkins, “what did the five fingers say to the face?” They each slapped Erik and Ivar, who didn’t get the reference.
Dawkins and Erik fought off-screen. Ivar saw his bowling ball and had a flashback to bowling — which we, the audience, could see. Ivar then bowled the ball into Ford’s nuts. As Ivar checked on Erik, Dawkins speared him through a glass window. Ivar had another flashback that we, the audience, could see.
Each team argued and Dawkins said this escalated too quickly. Ivar said they should take this outside. Everyone else noted that they were already outside.
They readied for another brawl when seven people on motorcycles appeared. One of them took off his helmet to reveal it was Akira Tozawa. He offered a challenge in Japanese.
The Raiders and Profits huddled up. Dawkins noted that they were up against Ninjas, so they agreed to fight together. A graphic popped on the screen dubbing them the Viking Profits. They teamed up to beat up the Ninjas together, which looked about as good as the fight scene in Dolemite is My Name.
Tozawa then called upon a big, tall masked friend of his. Ivar called for a turkey leg the way Thor calls for his hammer. The big guy pulled out a sword. Erik was about to fight him but the Profits held him back and they all ran away.
They argued again, this time on top of a transport truck. Dawkins gave Erik a bulldog off the truck into a dumpster. Ivar pushed Ford into the dumpster, then dove into it. Ivar had another flashback that we, the audience, could see. Referee Jessika Carr appeared and asked them what the heck they were doing. She then said Ivar was cute but Erik wasn’t.
A strange noise started and some sort of tail (like a Godzilla tail) could be seen. They scrambled to get out of the dumpster.
Tom Phillips said the match isn’t happening tonight.
Phillips said it wouldn’t be fair for Orton and Edge to perform without a live audience. Saxton said the match would be an event like we haven’t seen before — WWE would enhance the viewing experience using a variety of production devices including “unique camera angles” and “amplified audio.”
Randy Orton defeated Edge (44:47)
Charles Robinson was the referee and wore an old referee’s outfit — a powder blue shirt and bowtie. Edge’s entrance appeared to have fake crowd noise added — or they turned up the existing noise from the live audience. Whatever the technique was, they used it throughout the match.
They used old audio of Howard Finkel introducing each guy with an old MSG mic hanging above the ring, which was cool.
As the opening bell rang, Phillips yelled, “this is the greatest wrestling match ever!”
About ten minutes into the match, Edge headbutted Orton off the ropes to the apron and Orton was busted open. The audience chanted, “this is awesome.” Edge used a Russian leg sweep and applied a crossface but Orton got a rope break. Edge avoided an RKO and tried for the head-and-arm choke but Orton again got to the ropes.
Orton used a neckbreaker, which Edge sold big, to take over. Orton repeatedly ran Edge into the plexiglass, barricade and steel steps. Orton also gave Edge a back suplex onto the announce table and covered him in the ring for two.
Edge fought out of a chinlock but Orton pushed him neck-first into the buckle. Orton went for the three amigos suplexes but only landed two before Edge countered and hit the three vertical suplexes. The announcers acknowledged Eddie Guerrero.
They traded chops which Edge got the better of but Orton came right back with a dropkick. Orton shoved Edge into the post and followed later with a superplex for two. Orton used uppercuts until each guy collided with crossbody attempts.
Orton tried a draping DDT off the top buckle but Edge countered into the Edgecution DDT for two. The audience chanted, “this is awesome” again. Edge followed with running knees and a running elbow strike for two. Edge then hit a flying high cross for two.
Orton used a schoolboy for two before Edge applied a crossface. Orton countered into a cover for two, then followed with an Angle Slam for two. Orton went for a dropkick but Edge countered into a powerbomb for two.
Orton sent Edge to the outside then hit a draping DDT in the ring. Edge avoided an RKO and went for an Unprettier but Orton slipped out and Edge used an Edge-O-Matic for a nearfall. Orton avoided a spear but Edge hit an Unprettier for two. The audience chanted, “this is awesome” again.
Orton dropped Edge over the top rope and hit a Pedigree for a nearfall. Orton and Saxton were stunned. Edge followed with a Rock Bottom for a nearfall. Another “this is awesome” chant. Edge went for a Sharpshooter but Orton kicked him off. Edge used a backslide for two, then Orton hit an uppercut. Edge came back with a series of rollups for two.
Orton then nailed an RKO for a nearfall. Orton set up for the punt but Edge hit a spear. Edge hit another spear but Orton kicked out. Edge tried something off the ropes but Orton countered into an RKO for a nearfall.
Edge applied the head-and-arm choke (which they’re calling the “anti-venom”) but Orton kicked out of it. The announcers said Orton might have kicked him low but you couldn’t tell. Edge was dazed so Orton punted him for the pinfall win.
After the match, Orton got in Edge’s face and told him to go home. A stretcher was brought out for Edge but he brushed them off. Orton looked on as the show ended.
Some notes:
This was an excellent match. I was skeptical they would come close to the Bryan-Styles match from Smackdown but they did.
Hat tip to Edge for being able to pull this off after being off for so long.
I didn’t notice where Edge might have injured himself. He landed awkwardly less than half-way through the match when they collided with crossbody attempts, but I doubt that was it. Just a random observation.
The “amplified” crowd noise sounded good when the crowd was cheering but didn’t sound good when they were booing. I’m guessing they turn up the noise when the live audience cheers, but since they rarely boo within the match, they need to add the fake booing.
This was a bad show outside of the main event.
They ditched the big in-ring introductions for title matches on this show.
We’ve got yet another double issue of the Observer out this week covering both the creative changes in WWE and a long bio on Johnny “Mr. Wrestling II” Walker, as well as a number of other features.
The move to Bruce Prichard as creative head of Raw and Smackdown and the steps leading to this process change. We look at who appears to be safe and who isn’t. We look at what was tried on Raw and what wasn’t working, and notable key recent moves. We also look at the problems of comparing Raw with Smackdown.
We have a long look at the life and career of Mr. Wrestling II, Johnny Walker. We look at his heyday, his connection with President Jimmy Carter, the birth of cable and his role in popularizing pro wrestling on cable, how babyfaces changed in the 70s, his 1980 feud with Harley Race, his checkered past, his wrestling debut, his coming mainland, interactions with the toughest guys of his era, his first good run in Tennessee, how his life was notable in both pro wrestling and country music, his first masked gimmick and his planned retirement. Having the right gimmick in the right place at the right time made him one of the biggest stars in the country. We look at the Georgia wrestling war and the creation of Mr. Wrestling II. We look at the Mr. Wrestling vs. Mr. Wrestling II feud and all of II’s biggest feuds over the next decade. We look at II’s meetings with the president’s mother, his biggest matches at the Omni, his runs in Mid South, feud with Magnum T.A., his WWF tenure, and his life after wrestling in Hawaii.
We also cover:
New Japan Pro Wrestling returning to business this week, scouting out the New Japan Cup, directions for fans attending the Osaka shows and why the matches won’t have traditional heat, and the complete schedule.
Economics of Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Jon Jones and Henry Cejudo and how the ESPN deal has removed fighter leverage. We look at comments by the fighters, response from Dana white and realities of he situation.
An enormous donation made by John Cena, Paul Levesque talks a signature match, WWE canceling over shows due to the pandemic, weekly sports ratings, Edge movie, DVR viewership, Canadian ratings, twitter feuds, Arn Anderson on Sami Zayn, funny story on the first time Adam Cole heard from WWE, what happened to Chris DeJoseph, plus upcoming TV bouts.
Fight Island and the next UFC PPV show
UFC 250, with business notes, popularity notes, poll results and match-by-match coverage.
NXT Takeover In Your House with a rundown, booking notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Backlash and story behind Edge vs; Randy Orton.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Backlash and all the latest news with Wrestling Observer Radio. We had a weekend show with Garrett Gonzalez where he went heavily into Paul Heyman being replaced on creative as well as other subjects. There are also shows on the site with Les Thatcher talking Mr. Wrestling II, who he knew well, and Fumi Saito and Jim Valley talking about the death of Hana Kimura, who Saito has known from childhood.
Kris Statlander suffered a full high grade ACL tear on Wednesday when she did a tope on Kip Sabian in the tag team match on Dynamite. It will require surgery and usually that is reconstructive surgery and a long recuperation time.
Backlash is tonight at 7 p.m. on the WWE Network. We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]:
Edge vs. Randy Orton. I think the more interesting odds are star ratings odds given the build up. This match was already taped but obviously the results has been kept secret because one would think even a little bit of knowledge would lead to widespread betting. Orton is a -160 favorite but I think this is more the expectation of 50/50 booking than any knowledge. I was told the match was very good. Greatest match of all-time, we’ll see.
Braun Strowman vs.The Miz & John Morrison for the Universal title. Basically this match shows Smackdown really had no idea for this show. Strowman is listed as a -1250 favorite. This is a match that probably benefits by not having a crowd, because even with the two-on-one, I don’t sense a real crowd would believe Miz & Morrison could win.
Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the Raw women’s title. It’s a test for Asuka regarding the match, if it will be good or not. Asuka is among the best workers, male or female, in the company so it has a chance to be good. Asuka is a -1250 favorite since I think people already sense Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair is next. Of course all plans that were the case on Monday when Raw was taped could be out the window now.
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus – It doesn’t really matter in the big picture about this match because one would think the program continues after this and thus you wouldn’t do a clean finish. Sheamus was listed as a -170 favorite.
Bayley & Sasha Banks defend the women’s tag titles against The Iiconics and Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss. I think this match may also benefit from the programmed audience. The winners defend against Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart on NXT. Bayley & Banks were -300 favorites to retain.
Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders for the Raw tag titles – They spent months building this up and gave them more time than all but a few but they were not added to the card until today. Whatever the build has been, the direction likely has changed. In that sense this is a pick-em match.
Apollo Crews vs. Andrade for the U.S. title – Crews is a -600 favorite to retain the title. This is one of those bouts where with a live crowd we’d say it depends on the crowd because the work will be good. They may actually benefit with the captive crowd because you know they’ll have noise and the work should be good. This will be on the pre-show so probably around 6:30 p.m. Eastern tonight.
Even though there was a lot of huge news in pro wrestling this week, none of it broke through into the real world interest level. It is something that the death of Hana Kimura was the No. 1 searched topic on the Internet on the day it happened while a genuine Hall of Fame candidate and the actual top star of Georgia Championship Wrestling during its first few years on national cable, Mr. Wrestling II, got no attention at all. The only combat sports related topic this entire week that trended was UFC, where last night’s show was No. 4 with 200,000 searches. Tonight’s WWE show based on usual numbers for that type of show should do 200,000 today. More would be a good sign and speak to the Edge-Orton advertising. Less than would a bad sign.
A major fight announced for the 8/15 PPV show is Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik. That’s on the same show as the planned Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier heavyweight title fight. The key is both would be ready to headline for the title in the event of an injury.
New Japan Pro Wrestling ran its first show actually last night at its Los Angeles Dojo in Carson, CA. We don’t know if it was taped for New Japan World or not. Regarding Tom Lawlor on the show, that was a deal set up between MLW and New Japan and was the teased interpromotional match MLW had talked about earlier in the week. Others listed as appearing by PWInsider were Jeff Cobb, TJP, Rocky Romero, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredericks and Misterioso.
Randy Orton told CBS Sports that he doesn’t know about the best match ever, but that the Edge match is good.
The new Undertaker Last Ride episode is up on the WWE Network today. I’m told this is a very good episode.
UFC
Cynthia Calvillo, who beat Jessica Eye in the main event last night, said she thought Eye must have cheated to weigh in at 126.25, which was still missing weight. Calvillo said that she held onto the towel when she got on the scale and that they got a text message from her coach saying she was missing weight by 3.5 pounds. It was noted that Eye was covered up while weighing in naked so her hands weren’t visible. Calvillo noted she moved up from lightweight and beat the top contender at flyweight who was really a bantamweight.
Dana White didn’t say much at the press conference but he did say he was tired of the throat swab and wished they could go back to the nasal version. The belief is the throat swab is more accurate. White did make fun of the bad ratings Top Rank did on Tuesday on ESPN. The Top rank show averaged 397,000 fans prime time on Tuesday.
Jared Gordon vs Chris Fishgold has been added to the 7/15 show.
Nathaniel Wood vs Umar Nurmagomedov has been added to the 7/25 show. Nurmagomedov is the cousin of Khabib.
Justin Tafa vs. Raphael Pessoa has been added to the 7/25 show in a heavyweight bout.
MISCELLANEOUS
New Japan’s first show in Japan will be at 6 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning live on New Japan World. The lineup is a secret and will be announced at the start of the show. The New Japan Cup will start at 6 a.m. Eastern with a full card that includes first round matches with Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Desperado, Toru Yano vs. Jado and Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiromu Takahashi. There will also be another show on Tuesday at 6 a.m. with first round matches.
There have been several social media teases of Taynara Conti and Impact Wrestling.
Former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate gave birth to her second child, a boy, Daxter Wylder Nunez, over the weekend. The father is Johnny Nunez, a Las Vegas fighter who most recently fought for ONE. From what name, you’d think the parents are fans of FTR, but it’s probably a coincidence.
WWE has announced which match will be part of tonight’s Backlash pre-show.
It was revealed ahead of tonight’s pay-per-view that Apollo Crews vs. Andrade for the United States Championship will take place on the pre-show. Andrade became the number one contender to Crews’ title by defeating Kevin Owens and Angel Garza in a triple threat match on Raw last Monday.
Stablemates Andrade and Garza worked together against Owens in that number one contender’s match until Andrade went for a pin after they hit a double-team move. After Owens hit a stunner on Garza near the end of the match, Andrade hit a dropkick to break up the cover. Andrade then pinned Garza to get the win.
Zelina Vega accidentally got knocked down while she tried to break up Andrade and Garza fighting outside of the ring during the number one contender’s match. Andrade and Garza argued backstage after the match until an angry Vega came up to them and gestured for them to walk with her.
Crews won the US title from Andrade on the May 25 episode of Raw.
The Backlash pre-show will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time tonight, with the main card starting an hour later. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks defending against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics in a triple threat match
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against The Viking Raiders
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against Andrade (pre-show)
The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders are finally set to face off with the Raw Tag Team titles on the line.
Ahead of tonight’s Backlash pay-per-view, WWE announced that The Street Profits defending their Raw Tag Team titles against The Viking Raiders has been added to the show’s card. The teams have recently been featured in an “anything you can do, we can do better” series of non-wrestling competitions.
The Street Profits and Viking Raiders faced each other in basketball, axe throwing, golf, and bowling. They were tied at the end of those events, leading into a decathlon on last Monday’s episode of Raw. But that also ended in a 5-5 tie.
The program between the teams began when The Viking Raiders cut a promo in April saying that The Street Profits are a great team, but they’ve only risen to the top when The Viking Raiders aren’t around. The Viking Raiders also defeated The Street Profits in a non-title match on the May 4 episode of Raw.
The Street Profits have been Raw Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Seth Rollins & Murphy in March.
Here’s the updated card for Backlash:
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks defending against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics in a triple threat match
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against The Viking Raiders
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against Andrade
Former United States Champion Andrade is getting another shot at the title.
United States Champion Apollo Crews will defend his title against Andrade at Sunday’s Backlash pay-per-view. Andrade became the number one contender to Crews’ title by defeating Angel Garza and Kevin Owens in a triple threat number one contender’s match on Raw tonight.
Andrade pinned his stablemate Garza to win the number one contender’s match. It began with Owens attacking Andrade and Garza as they were making their entrance. Andrade and Garza then teamed up until hitting a double suplex on Owens. Andrade went for a cover, but Garza broke it up. Andrade and Garza argued and shoved each other, then Zelina Vega accidentally got knocked down as she tried to break up them fighting outside the ring.
Owens hit a stunner on Garza at the end of the match, but Andrade flew in with a dropkick and broke up the pin. Andrade then pinned Garza himself to get the win.
Andrade and Garza argued backstage after the match until an angry Vega came up to them and gestured for them to walk with her.
Crews won the United States title from Andrade on Raw two weeks ago. It’s the first championship that Crews has held in WWE.
WWE announced that Crews would defend the US title against an opponent of his choosing on Raw last week. Crews picked Owens, but that turned into Crews & Owens defeating Andrade & Garza in a tag match after Andrade and Garza interrupted their title match.
Here’s the updated card for Backlash:
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks defending against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics in a triple threat match
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against Andrade
Bayley & Sasha Banks’ first title defense as new Women’s Tag Team Champions will take place at Backlash.
WWE announced today that Bayley & Banks will defend their Women’s Tag Team titles against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics in a triple threat match at the pay-per-view. It’s taking place on Sunday (June 14).
The announcement comes in advance of Bayley & Banks appearing on tonight’s episode of Raw. In the main event of SmackDown this past Friday, they won the titles from Bliss & Cross.
This is Bayley & Banks’ second reign with the Women’s Tag Team titles. They were the inaugural champions after the titles were introduced in 2019 but lost them to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35.
Bayley is also the current SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Bliss & Cross have been feuding with The IIconics since prior to losing the Women’s Tag Team titles to Bayley & Banks.
Here’s the updated card for Backlash:
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks defending against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics in a triple threat match
On the post-NXT TakeOver Wrestlng Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the Edge vs. Randy Orton match scheduled for this Sunday’s WWE Backlash has already been taped.
In what WWE has been billing “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever”, Meltzer said he was told the match was “really, really good” and that it was “two very smart workers working very hard to have the smartest match they possibly could under the circumstances.”
Meltzer surmised the match was taped so post-match editing could help it try to achieve the lofty goal of the marketing tagline for the match. He also said the rest of the pay-per-view was not already filmed as was reported elsewhere.
In Edge’s first match back after retiring in 2011, he and Orton went head-to-head at this year’s WrestleMania in a last man standing match that didn’t meet expectations with many critics calling it too long.
The feud between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus will continue with a match at WWE’s next pay-per-view.
It was announced on tonight’s SmackDown that Hardy vs. Sheamus has been added to the card for Backlash. The PPV is taking place on Sunday, June 14.
Tonight’s SmackDown opened with Hardy giving his side of the story after last week’s hit-and-run angle where Elias was hit by a car outside of the Performance Center. Hardy said the last thing he could remember before being taken into custody was it feeling like someone hit him with an anvil. Hardy said he knew he didn’t slip up, and eye witnesses told police that the person who got out of his car and fled the scene had red hair and a red beard.
Sheamus came out to the stage and told Hardy not to point fingers at him. He said Hardy was doing what he’s done for his entire life — blame other people for his problems. He also claimed that the eye witnesses were fans who lied to the police on Hardy’s behalf and are enabling him.
Sheamus told Hardy to be a man for once in his life and admit to what he did. He said that Hardy isn’t a man, he’s just a junkie. Sheamus also said Hardy shouldn’t worry about the disappointment his wife and daughters will feel because they’re used to it.
Hardy then went to attack Sheamus but was beaten down by him.
Here’s the updated lineup for Backlash:
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Nia Jax is officially the next challenger for Asuka’s Raw Women’s Championship.
Jax became the number one contender to Asuka’s title by defeating Natalya and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match on tonight’s episode of Raw. Asuka will defend her title against Jax at Backlash on Sunday, June 14.
Charlotte attempted to put Natalya in the Figure Eight near the end of the match, but Jax broke it up by hitting a leg drop on Charlotte. She then gave Natalya a Samoan drop and pinned her to get the win.
It was revealed on Raw two weeks ago that, due to Becky Lynch’s pregnancy, Asuka was now Raw Women’s Champion after winning this year’s women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. Jax interrupted Asuka’s championship celebration on Raw last Monday.
Here’s the updated card for Backlash.
Edge vs. Randy Orton
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Nia Jax
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against The Miz & John Morrison in a handicap match
Braun Strowman’s next Universal Championship defense will be in a handicap match.
It was announced on SmackDown tonight that The Miz & John Morrison will challenge for Strowman’s Universal title in a two-on-one handicap match at Backlash. The pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, June 14.
The main event of last week’s SmackDown saw Strowman & men’s Money in the Bank winner Otis defeat Miz & Morrison. On tonight’s SmackDown, Miz & Morrison kicked off the show with a Dirt Sheet segment. It led to a singles match where Strowman defeated Miz despite Interference from Morrison.
Strowman then accepted a challenge from Morrison for the Universal title handicap match at Backlash.
At Elimination Chamber in March, Strowman lost the Intercontinental title in a handicap match against Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro.
Strowman became Universal Champion by defeating Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 in April. Strowman retained the title against Bray Wyatt at Money in the Bank earlier this month, but WWE has made it clear that his rivalry with Wyatt isn’t over.
This is the third match to be confirmed for Backlash. Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship and Edge vs. Randy Orton are also set for the pay-per-view.
Bobby Lashley has officially been confirmed as the next challenger for the WWE Championship.
Following last night’s Raw, WWE has announced that WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will defend his title against Lashley at Backlash. The pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, June 14.
McIntyre defeated SmackDown’s Baron Corbin in a non-title match in the main event of last night’s Raw. Before that started, Lashley and MVP came out to the stage and cut a promo where MVP said they’ve taken a personal interest in the match. Lashley said he was putting McIntyre on notice and coming after the WWE Championship.
McIntyre then exchanged words with Lashley and MVP after the match was over. He yelled that he and the fans have waited a long time for Lashley to step up and be the killer that he is. McIntyre said this is the version of Lashley he wants to fight. MVP held Lashley back and gestured that McIntyre’s time as WWE Champion is running out.
McIntyre won the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36. Since then, he’s had title defenses against Big Show and Seth Rollins.
During their time in TNA, Lashley won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from McIntyre in the main event of Slammiversary 2016.
McIntyre vs. Lashley is the second match to be made official for Backlash. WWE has also announced Edge vs. Randy Orton for the PPV.
After last week’s Raw ended without Edge giving Randy Orton an answer, Edge vs. Orton is now official for Backlash.
The opening segment of tonight’s Raw featured Edge accepting Orton’s challenge for a traditional wrestling match at Backlash. The PPV is taking place on Sunday, June 14. Edge vs. Orton is the first match confirmed for the event.
Orton started tonight’s Raw by cutting a promo where he asked if a straight-up wrestling match is that hard for people to understand. He reiterated that Edge was the better man in their last man standing match at WrestleMania 36, but he knows Edge isn’t the superior wrestler. Orton said he doesn’t need tables, ladders, chairs, or to be the last man standing — all that he needs is this ring and a referee.
Orton said he knows why Edge didn’t accept his challenge last week. He saw doubt in Edge’s eyes. Orton said Edge’s grit and passion is now just doubt and fear.
That led to Edge making his way down to the ring. He said he knows Orton is playing a game of chess, so he couldn’t rush into his next move. Edge said Orton may be the most talented person he’s ever seen in a wrestling ring, but this isn’t the life Orton wanted — it’s the life that was handed to him. Edge said wrestling was Orton’s backup plan.
Edge said Orton never had a career-ending injury and didn’t have to fight back for nine years just to compete. He claimed that Orton doesn’t love the sport of pro wrestling like he does or like the rest of the locker room does.
After Orton cut him off and wanted an answer, Edge responded by accepting his challenge.
WWE continued to push tonight that Edge vs. Orton could potentially be the greatest wrestling match ever.
Edge and Randy Orton look to be headed to a match against each other at Backlash.
For the first time since their last man standing match at WrestleMania 36, Edge and Orton made their returns to Raw this week. Their segment ended with Orton challenging Edge to a traditional wrestling match at Backlash, but Edge didn’t give Orton an answer.
Orton acted like he was going to congratulate Edge on his win in their last man standing match at WrestleMania. But after saying the better man won, Orton said the better wrestler didn’t win. He pointed out that Edge has only competed in the Royal Rumble and a last man standing match since his return and said it’s been nine years since Edge actually wrestled. Orton said he doesn’t think Edge has it in him anymore.
Orton told Edge that he saw doubt in Edge’s eyes. He said Edge may have grit and passion, but his grit doesn’t come close to comparing to Orton’s natural ability. His passion isn’t going to do anything about his ring rust.
Orton said that — if Edge has the guts — they’ll face off in a straight-up wrestling match at Backlash. Edge didn’t respond and appeared to show some doubt. Charly Caruso said the match may just be the greatest wrestling match ever if it does happen.
