Randy Orton will get another shot at the United States Championship.
Orton defeated Bobby Roode and Rusev in a triple threat match to become the new number one contender for the United States Championship tonight on SmackDown. He pinned Roode after hitting an RKO. This will pit him in a singles match with new United States Champion Jinder Mahal, who won the United States championship a few days ago at WrestleMania in a fatal four-way match featuring the participants in tonight’s triple threat.
It’s interesting to note that it was nearly one year ago at Backlash that Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton to win his first WWE Championship.
Backlash will be the first co-branded pay-per-view event after the single-brand events were dropped earlier this year. Already set for the event is The Miz vs. Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental title and Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns in a singles bout. It will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on May 6.
In discussing the situation on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported he was told that an announcement was forthcoming. When contacted for official comment, WWE said they have nothing to announce at this time.
Dave and Bryan Alvarez discussed some of the logistics of a potential move on WOR including whether the shows would need to be extended due to the amount of championships.
WWE currently has four dual branded PPVs: WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and SummerSlam. Additionally, this year’s Money In The Bank event was also to include both brands.
The company relaunched their split brand approach in the summer of 2016, moving to the split brand PPVs soon after.
Mark Coleman was the big winner but Kazushi Sakuraba came out as the big hero in the highest profile MMA show in history on 5/1 at the Tokyo Dome.
Coleman defeated Akira Shoji, got what amounted to a forfeit win over New Japan’s Kazuyuki Fujita and became the first man in nearly five years to tap out Igor Vovchanchin, who went into the tournament as the top rated heavyweight in the world, before 38,000 fans (ticket prices ranged from $950 for ringside down to $57 for the upper deck so the gate was several million dollars). In doing so, Coleman became the only man who can truly have a legitimate claim to being the toughest all-around fighter on the planet and the first Pride world heavyweight champion, scoring a rare double since he was also a former UFC champion.
Sakuraba, a Japanese pro wrestler who started with the old UWFI promotion, went into the martial arts history books, gaining an untainted victory over Royce Gracie, who had never lost in MMA fighting and captured three of the first four UFC tournaments in 1993 and 1994 establishing himself as the pioneer and first legend of the sport.
The two WWE weekend shows in Chicago’s All-State Arena were almost amazing that they came from the same company.
The NXT Takeover show on 5/20 was one of the company’s best shows in years before one of the hottest crowds in a long time. One would have thought the competitive nature of having to follow such a great show would lead to the Backlash PPV stepping it up as well. But instead, they had a lackluster show which felt more like a boring elongated episode of Smackdown. Still, it was the latter show that generated far more talk with the decision to make Jinder Mahal, 30-year-old Yuvraj Singh Desi, into the WWE world champion.
The same decision making that led to Mahal headlining the show made it clear to accomplish the goals based on this move, that he should win the title. Going from a prelim jobber type to holding the historical biggest championship title in the world in a short period of time was unusual, but this was a unique situation.
Not all-time awful PPV, but such a flat and boring show compared to what was offered 24-hours before. Mahal winning is the nail in the coffin about wins and losses mattering.
– Eric Bonin
**********
Thumbs down
Best: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens
Worst: Usos vs. Breezango
A totally forgettable show. It speaks volumes to how boring I find Randy Orton when I’m actually happy that the guy who was a jobber his entire career up to last month is WWE champion. How can this be the same company that put on the amazing NXT show last night?
– Nick Randall
**********
I would have to give the show a thumbs in the middle, nothing super exciting except for the main event title win. The best match of the night would have to be Owens / Styles, and worst match of the night probably the women’s match due to a whole bunch of nothing going on. The NXT show Saturday night was the way better show with the crowd popping for everything, especially the NXT title matches, the UK title match was off the charts! Backlash had its moments and the Chicago crowd was there but nothing spectacular.
Dillinger / English — Ok for a pre show match, English need’s a new gimmick, the singing gimmick is annoying. Tye is really over with the crowd, hopefully the find something for him soon.
Nakamura / Ziggler — Seemed liked they rushed the entrance for Nakamura for some reason, they should have had a stronger entrance for him since the match seemed to be slow for some reason. Surprised they opened with this, would have worked better near the top of the card and faster paced match since I know both are capable of having a better match. But if they are running a program with these two, which they appear to be doing, then a series of matches will be could with different styles of matches.
Usos / Breeze & Fandango — Strange match with the goofy gimmicks. It was ok but playing for comedy usually is a gimmick killer when trying to get over. I think Jim Cornette phrased it as “Funny don’t draw money” lol. But seems like Breeze & Fandango need a boost too in the gimmick dept.
Zayn / Corbin — Was surprised to see Zayn get the win since Corbin was getting the monster heel push. Good to see Zayn get the win since he seems to be another one getting lost in the SmackDown shuffle. Hopefully the loss doesn’t hurt Corbin’s push
Flair, Naomi, Becky / Nattie, Carmella, Tamina — Was not sure what to think of this match, seemed like a whole bunch of nothing going on here with the whole women’s division on SmackDown. Seem’s like SmackDown is not sure what to do with their women’s division. Pretty bad when the most entertaining thing of the match is James Ellsworth. And not really a fan of Naomi’s ring entrance. She is really talented, but the entrance, to me anyway is rather annoying.
Owens / Styles — By far the best match of the night. Cant go wrong with these two, they never have bad matches. Hopefully the keep the program going, a flat ending though with AJ getting counted out and stuck in the announcers table. The creative team can do better than this.
Harper / Rowan — These two are much more effective as a tag team then on their own as singles. They really need to team them up again and have them go after the tag titles since the tag division is rather weak. Another pair of wrestlers that SmackDown creative seems unsure of what to do with. They have great talent on SmackDown, they just need to execute better with the direction of a lot of their talent.
Orton / Jinder — Absolutely the right call to go with Jinder as champion. I think this is heel gold, great gimmick on their hands with Jinder as champion doing a million dollar man type gimmick and his heritage. They really turned things around with making Jinder as champion and I think it’s a hot program right now. Orton as champion is very stale, been there and seen that enough already with Orton. But Jinder as champion is very different and unique, hopefully they run with it for awhile and he is not just a transitional champion. But the right call to make him champ. Gave a big boost to an otherwise lackluster show.
– Jon Southerland
**********
I give this Backlash a thumbs in the middle.
First off this show had the unfortunate task of going after a great NXT TakeOver show
1) Nakamura as the opener was questionable considering they hyped him up so much…the match itself wasn’t an NXT type of Nakamura..but it was a good match it introduced casual fans more to Nakamura and strong style he’s headed for more but the question now is what is next for Ziggler??? The match gets a C+
2) The tag match for me gets a C rating only because I get the whole changing of disguise was a little over the top especially since after that whole stick was over the match got interesting…the finish hints to me that the feud will continue, I just hope that Breezango stays relative there is potential there
3) The Sami Zayn v Corbin match was good I felt it was just lacking like one big physical spot that showed off Corbin’s strength if he is going to be a main eventer….Sami winning is fine but I was betting that Corbin would win since he is supposed to get a push or at least if he takes the loss he should’ve destroyed Corbin and maybe even “put him on the shelf”
4) The women’s match gets a D+ because to me they didn’t choreograph the match right and with the Welcoming Committee going over I guess it legitimizes them as a good stable but this pay per view was better off having a singles match or some sort of triple threat to show case the strength of this division. Ending should’ve had Lynch close to the ropes and looking to break the hold only to have Ellsworth pull the ropes back making it impossible to break the hold and force the tap….which could lead to the intergender match she wants
5) The Styles vs Owens match gets a B for me…easily match of the night great story telling took just a real slow pace out of the gate and didn’t work the leg till later in the match besides that it was a great contest I can see that they will have greater feuds in the future…the finish did keep both men looking strong but I felt like it left me and the fans like we missed out on something it deserved some sort of finish even if it was controversial….the US title though is set to be prestige again with bouts like this
6) The Harper and Rowan match gets a C- no hype or interest really made it feel like a filler or SmackDown episode match….Harper is really talented he could at least be an upper mid carder I just think he needs a new finisher and for Rowan he’s decent just needs more experience and he could at most be a mid career
7) the main event gets a C+
JINDER MAHAL IS CHAMPION…never thought I’d say that in 2017…..now the match itself seemed pretty old school main event ish considered Mahal targeted a body part and kept working on it very old school the last 5-10 minutes of the match got intense because me and the audience didn’t know how the ending would be and if Mahal was going to win this was the perfect way to have him win by having the Singh brothers take Randy’s eyes off him and get the W now we’ll see if he’s a credible champion, how long will he hold it for and once he loses will he go back to jobbing
Overall decent show I expected more…maybe that’s because of how much more interested and invested I am in SmackDown live….let’s hope they fix their mistakes and keep the momentum going into the next ppv and coming weeks
(Side note) a little disappointed this weekend because of no signing or sighting of Adam Cole
– Vicente Vitela
**********
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Styles vs. Owens
Worst Match: Six Women Tag
Overall a pretty good show, but nothing compared to NXT as I figured. Hard to follow NXT it seems no matter what.
Opener was fine with Dillinger over English. Shinsuke beats Ziggler which of course had to be the outcome. They maybe gave Dolph too much offense. I’m pretty tired of Dolph even though he can work.
Uso’s retain over Breezango which I also expected. Better than I thought it would be even with the comedy stuff. I assume New Day will be challenging Uso’s shortly.
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin had a good match. Zayn really sold his back well. Surprising finish and I hope Zayn gets to advance to something more in the future.
Six women tag was average and something that seemed more suited for Tuesday. Nothing special here with the heels going over. Becky’s hairdo should get zero stars. Maybe they thought she was Sheamus.
Owens vs. AJ was very good despite the count out finish. Obviously they will meet again and nothing wrong with seeing them have another good match.
Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan was okay, but nothing that anybody seemed to care about. Funny how Rowan was mad since Harper left the family, but remember when Rowan had already left the family once before and then he got hurt and just pretended he was still a Wyatt?
Main event was better than I expected. Solid match and surprising outcome with Jinder picking up the title. Those poor Singh Brothers really got drilled on the tables and Orton’s reaction was fitting of that Summer Slam when Taker and Lesnar had those crazy looks on their faces.
Overall a decent show, but if you have to choose go back and watch NXT Takeover because that was a great show.
– Robb Block
**********
Thumbs Down. Woof/DUD.
Hated the booking of Nak/Ziggler OMG. Nak gets the rockstar reaction only to do a competitive 50/50 match with a guy who nobody believes has a shot in hell of winning, hasn’t been pushed or protected in years and doesn’t work a strong heel style to get heat. Either have Nakamura eat him up and merc him, or book Nak’s debut against somebody of consequence.
Best Match: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens
Worst Match: Six Women Tag. Too clunky. Could find an argument for any of the other matches on the card for this spot outside of Owens/AJ, the men’s tag and Sami/Corbin.
– Jeff
**********
Thumbs up show
Best Match: AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens
Worst Match: Six Womens Tag Match
Well they gave Mahal the WWE Championship. Guess they’ll rematch next month at Money in the Bank but it’s in St. Louis so that means Orton has to lose. But look on the bright side, someone will win the brief case and eventually cash in on him down the line.
At least we get they’ll continue the Owens/Styles angle but with next month at MITB, Will these 2 even be in the ladder match. Ziggler/Corbin/Zayn, who else will even be added?
– Eric Poon
**********
Compared to Takeover, Backlash sucked. Most matches were average-at-best and the two most anticipated bouts, Nakamura vs. Ziggler and Owens vs. Styles under-delivered. The Styles match was still the best one, though. Worst was Rowan vs. Harper by a mile. Main event was what it was. Might as well go all in so the Mahal build wasn’t a total waste. Overall, thumbs down, especially after NXT Takeover.
– Andrew Burnes
**********
Thumbs WAY up!
I did not have any expectations for this weekend but might have been the best 1-2 WWE punch of the year.
Two incredible ending finally made me want to tune back in after a couple weeks off to see where everything is going.
Best Takeover match was the UK match.
Best Backlash was surprisingly Zayn vs Corbin. Totally over looked on the card but best story telling. Zayn reminded us all of his talent. The only lackluster match on the card was the opener.
– Ryan
**********
Thumbs down
Best: Nakamura-Ziggler (which was only decent)
Worst: Rowan-Harper
Tonight felt like a slight argument against the brand split (or balance) in that the star power was limited. I felt like the crowd and viewers were less interested in AJ-Owens as a result of what came before it
– Neal Brockett
**********
Thumbs UP
Best Match: AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens
Worst Match: Luke Harper vs Erick Rowan
Hell hasn’t frozen over but it’s pretty damn close. Fans are genuinely stunned that Mahal won.
Zayn got a nice surprise babyface win — possibly since Owens was retaining, Mahal was winning the title, and Natalya was booked to go over in the ladies match. But he will “pay” as far as the rest of this feud goes, unless they want to segue to him vs Nakamura for the next PPV and build Shinsuke for a match against Mahal at SummerSlam.
SmackDown’s first post-WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view takes place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago tonight.
Most of the advertising for the show has been built around it featuring Shinsuke Nakamura’s televised main roster in-ring debut. Nakamura will face Dolph Ziggler in his first match on TV since debuting on the SmackDown after WrestleMania.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for this show as well as last night’s NXT show, to [email protected].
Randy Orton will defend his WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal on the PPV. Their unlikely matchup was set up after Mahal won a six-pack challenge on SmackDown last month to become the new number one contender.
Elsewhere on the show, Kevin Owens defends his United States title against AJ Styles, The Usos put their tag titles on the line against Breezango, Naomi teams with Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch against Natalya, Carmella & Tamina, Sami Zayn takes on Baron Corbin, and Luke Harper and Erick Rowan square off.
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English is also scheduled for the Backlash pre-show. Our coverage begins with that match before the main card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET.
**********
By Dave Meltzer
TYE DILLINGER VS. AIDEN ENGLISH
Decent match ending when English missed a senton off the toip and Dillinger hit the Tye-breaker for the pin. They were playing up that Dillinger was having an emotional breakdown.
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER
Slow match. There was nothing wrong with it. It accomplished its purpose but it was mainly Ziggler doing most of the office, getting a near fall with the Zig Zag until Nakamura used an elbow, the reverse powerslam and the Kinshasa for the clean win.
USOS VS. TYLER BREEZE & FANDANGO FOR TAG TITLES
First two-thirds were comedy. Tyler Breeze was dressed up like a janitor early, and then like a grandma. The Usos took Breeze’s dress off and threw it and it hit JBL in the face. The crowd was with it. Nothing like last night. The last few minutes they got serious. Breeze did a flip off the apron but the Usos caught him and threw him over the barricade. Fandango did a running flip dive. The end saw Fandango on the top rope and Jey superkicked him off the top rope and pinned him.
SAMI ZAYN VS. BARON CORBIN
They did an upset here as Zayn won with the Helluva kick. Corbin dominated the match with Zayn doing his usual good job of selling. It was a basic pattern match. Zayn kicked out of the Deep Six but Corbin doesn’t win with that move ever. Corbin would block many of Zayn’s trademark spots. The crowd popped for the finish but this crowd overall is nothing compared to last night.
The Singh Brothers and Jinder Mahal showed up. Mahal did the foreign menace promo. The crowd reacted to him like he was a star at first and then did all the “what” stuff but since he was taped he didn’t have to detail with it. Some CM Punk chants. Said he would turn the universe of doubters and discriminators into believers. Definitely played up being a babyface in India. Crowd booed him when it was over.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR & NAOMI & BECKY LYNCH VS. NATALYA & CARMELLA & TAMINA
Just a match. A few rough spots but generally okay. Most of the match was Naomi being worked over until Lynch made the hot tag. Lynch was doing well. Tamina played powerhouse some. The finish was Natalya putting the sharpshooter on Lynch in the middle. Nobody saved her and she tapped.
KEVIN OWENS VS. A.J. STYLES FOR THE U.S. TITLE
Very good match. The finish saw Styles hit the forearm off the barricade on the floor. He went for the Styles Clash on the announces table but Styles leg fell into the opening where a monitor would be. Styles was haning from the table with the idea that his right knee was hurt and he was counted out. Owens kicked him after the match. Styles had his knee worked over much of the match. He went for the phenomenal forearm and lost his balance on the ropes and was selling. Very good match. The crowd was into this more than anything so far, but nothing like last night.
LUKE HARPER VS. ERICK ROWAN
Harper got the win back. Both guys worked real hard but the crowd was dead for them in this position. Harper did a tope knocking Rowan in between the announcing tables. Harper turned a power bomb into a huracanrana and hit two superkicks and a spinning elbow.
RANDY ORTON VS. JINDER MAHAL FOR WWE TITLE
They put Mahal over for the title when Randy Orton gave both Singh Brothers the draping DDT and then Mahal came form behind him with a cobra clutch slam for the pin. The crowd was very into the match early, then seemed to lose interest but picked up at the end. It wasn’t a great match but it served its purpose and got a main event reaciton. Most of the match was him working over Orton’s shoulder. Orton hit the RKO but the Singh Brothers pulled Mahal out of ther ring. Orton gave back suplexes on both Singh Brothers on their heads on a table. That was sick. There was a somewhat babyface pop for the title change and there were people doing dueling chants for Mahal early.
WWE rounded out the card for Backlash by announcing two more matches for the show on Tuesday night.
It was first confirmed that Sami Zayn would be facing Baron Corbin at the pay-per-view. Zayn announced that he had requested and been granted the match during a backstage interview segment on SmackDown before being ambushed by Corbin. The feud against Corbin is Zayn’s first since joining SmackDown in the roster shakeup.
Another match was then revealed on Talking Smack, with Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper set for Backlash.
The Allstate Arena in Chicago will host Backlash on Sunday. The updated lineup for the show is:
WWE Champion Randy Orton defending against Jinder Mahal
United States Champion Kevin Owens defending against AJ Styles
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, Carmella & Tamina
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defending against Breezango
With the Allstate Arena set to host NXT TakeOver: Chicago on Saturday and Backlash on Sunday, this weekend may be one of WWE’s biggest of the year that doesn’t include one of their four signature pay-per-views.
There are things to look forward to on both cards. All four title matches at TakeOver should deliver on some level, with Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne boosting a show that probably would have still been fine without it.
A lot of the discussion about Backlash has focused on Jinder Mahal getting a shot at the WWE Championship, but Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles and the televised main roster in-ring debut of Shinsuke Nakamura will probably make it more interesting than most brand-exclusive PPVs regardless of what’s at the top of the card.
Another title match has been added to the card for SmackDown’s Backlash pay-per-view.
Tyler Breeze & Fandango will get a tag title shot as they face The Usos at the PPV. That was announced on Tuesday night’s SmackDown, with Breezango winning a Beat the Clock challenge to become the new number one contenders.
Other teams involved were The Ascension, American Alpha, and The Colons. American Alpha beat The Colons in 5:17 before Breezango went over The Ascension in 2:41.
The Usos vs. Breezango is the third title match set for Backlash. Randy Orton will defend his WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal on the show, and AJ Styles will challenge for the United States title. Backlash is scheduled for May 21st in Chicago.
There was also an angle on this week’s SmackDown that concerned the brand’s June PPV. A video was shown where Rusev said that he wouldn’t come to SmackDown unless he got a championship match at Money in the Bank. Rusev underwent shoulder surgery in March but could be back in time for that show.
Jinder Mahal is getting a shot at the WWE Championship.
Mahal won a number one contender’s match on tonight’s SmackDown to advance to Backlash, where he’ll challenge for the title. He got an assist from The Bollywood Boyz before pinning Sami Zayn to win the six-pack challenge, which also included Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Mojo Rawley, and Dolph Ziggler.
Mahal moved over from Raw in last week’s Superstar Shakeup. Before Backlash, current WWE Champion Randy Orton will take on Bray Wyatt in a House of Horrors match at Raw’s Payback pay-per-view on April 30th.
Another future title match was also announced on tonight’s show. Charlotte Flair will challenge for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship next week after beating her in a non-title match.
Orton vs. Mahal is the first bout officially announced for Backlash. The show is SmackDown’s first post-WrestleMania 33 PPV, though it won’t take place until May 21st. The Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois will host the PPV.
Nearly nine months after making his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, AJ Styles holds one of the two biggest singles titles in the company as he beat Dean Ambrose Sunday at Backlash to become WWE World Champion.
After a brawl through the crowd that eventually found its way back into the ring, the 39-year-old hit a low blow on Ambrose while the referee wasn’t looking, leading to a Styles Clash and pin for the new champion.
It’s the first WWE title for Styles, a former IWGP, TNA, and NWA World Champion.
Styles signed with WWE earlier this year after a multi-year run in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and the indies. A longtime TNA star, Styles left that company in December 2013 after a memorable and successful 11 year run.
Styles’ NJPW run was one of legend with fantastic matches against the promotion’s top stars like Okada, Tanahashi, and Nakamura.
Since coming to WWE, Styles has been involved in several world title matches and big programs including a recent run with John Cena that saw Styles pin Cena at SummerSlam in one of the night’s best matches.
Styles joins Smackdown women’s champion Becky Lynch, and Smackdown tag team champions Heath Slater/Rhyno as those leaving Richmond, VA, with titles.
Get a full recap of all the Backlash action on Wrestling Observer Radio late Sunday night.
They set up a pre-show match between Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin backstage. This promo in general was really bad between Corbin sounding as wooden as ever and Crews, after Corbin said something about a spelling bee, said he’d kick his A-S-S.
Orton/Wyatt is still being promoted in the pre-show.
Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews
Typical WWE style match, a bit quicker than usual. Not bad. Corbin got the heat, but Crews cut him off and started building towards a comeback but Corbin laid him out with an STO. Corbin missed a splash and Crews countered with an Angle slam. Crews kicked out of the deep six. Corbin missed a charge on the outside and hit the steps.
Crews hit a Samoan drop on the outside, rolled him in but when going to the top rope for a move Corbin rolled out of the way. Crews was going for punches on the top rope when Corbin struck him with a knee, and while Crews was recoiling walked right into the End of Days and was pinned.
They started off the PPV with a nice 9/11 tribute.
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan came down to the ring to open the PPV. Shane thanked the fans and says it’s all about the WWE Superstars on SmackDown getting an opportunity. They run down the big title matches for tonight, then said the women’s title match would start now.
SmackDown Women’s Championship, Six Pack Challenge: Becky Lynch defeated Carmella, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss and Naomi to become the first champion
Pretty good match. It was sloppy in parts, but everyone got to shine and looked good for what this match was. They pushed Nikki Bella and Carmella as the focal point of the match as they teased interactions with one another early on and reiterated Carmella’s heel turn in the last few weeks. Everyone was given a chance to hit some good looking spots. They did the tower of doom spot with Natalya powerbombing Nikki while suplexing Carmella. Naomi did a big springboard crossbody spot that wiped out everyone.
Assisted by Natalya, Naomi hit a blockbuster to eliminate Alexa Bliss. Not too long after that. Naomi went for a springboard but Nikki blasted her with a forearm and Natalya submitted her with the sharpshooter. Nikki hit Natalya with the forearm and pinned her, but right after she did Carmella did a sneaky roll up to eliminate her, leaving it between Carmella and Becky Lynch.
Carmella was aggressive, but Lynch trapped her in the disarmed her out of nowhere and Carmella submitted leaving Becky Lynch the winner and first SmackDown women’s champion.
Becky was interviewed after the match, with fans chanting “you deserve it”. You have believed in me in every step of the way, thank you. This is for every time there was a poster, or when you sang my song. She thanked the fans once more as her music played again.
Miz was backstage when he came across Nickelodeon star Jagger Eaton’s dressing room. The punchline was that he’d love to have Miz on his show, unless they can get John Cena. Miz got mad but had the door shut in his face before he could do anything.
Bray Wyatt was shown destroying Orton’s leg backstage, repeatedly slamming it on a door, then walked away. So there’s your storyline reason if the match doesn’t happen.
The Usos defeated The Hype Bros. to advance to the finals
This was fine, but not really much to talk about. As heels, Usos lose some of their hot moves and the Hype Bros. are just there. Usos have a brand new look, ditching the paint and colorful gear for black tights. Usos stalled a bit, but eventually got control after posting Zack shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Mojo hit the press slam as he and Ryder were going for their finish but one of the Usos took out Mojo. He got thrown into the barricade as Ryder hit the broski boot but the other Uso stopped his momentum as he leg was chopped. One of the Usos grapevined the arm and sunk in a Boston crab, the move that put Chad Gable out, and submitted Ryder.
Heath Slater and Rhyno were interviewed backstage. He said nothing will stop a Rhyno, that’s how good he was feeling. He then left, thinking that the interview was over, then came back. Heath said he had something going on in his stomach and asked if Rhyno was alright. Rhyno said we’re still live. Heath then joked, saying that he’s been swerved. Heath then acted like he pooped his pants. Always fun when the primary directive of your show is about humoring one person, leaving the rest to question why you do things like this when it almost never gets a reaction.
Miz is with Daniel Bryan backstage where we says he wants to renegotiate his contract. After he retains his championship tonight, it’ll make things more tougher so go back to your little cubby hole where I do what you can’t do anymore.
The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Intercontinental title
Lame finish to what was a good back and forth match. Miz looked way better here than he has in the past.
Miz catapulted Ziggler to the outside and worked on him for a lot of the match. Just to show you how volatile WWE’s thinking is, they’ve gone from completely separating Daniel Bryan and Miz to making it the focal point of the match between he and Ziggler, with Miz taunting Bryan and even doing a yes chant at one point. Ziggler started to make the comeback. Miz hit a cool springboard powerbomb for a near fall. Miz works on Ziggler’s leg but Ziggler fires back with a famouser.
Ziggler locks in a sleeper but Miz runs Ziggler’s head into the turnbuckle. Ziggler went for a superkick but Miz blocked hit, hit a standing DDT and locked in the figure four. Ziggler gets to the ropes but Miz hones in right back on the leg. Ziggler hit a superkick out of nowhere but Miz got his foot on the ropes.
Maryse distracted Ziggler as they did back and forth roll ups. Ziggler made it to the ropes where Maryse sprayed him with what I guess was perfume or something, which allowed Miz to hit a distracted Ziggler with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win. So that makes it the upteenth time Ziggler has lost the big one. He’s kind of like a reverse Tomoaki Honma at this point as the more he loses, the less over he gets.
Bray Wyatt came out for the match, but a person at ringside handed a note to the announcer. He announced that Randy Orton could not be cleared tonight, and that Wyatt has demanded the referee to count to ten to officially make it a forfeit. The referee counted to ten and Wyatt was awarded the win.
BUT WAIT! The announcer says instead, Bray Wyatt will compete in a no holds barred match against this man….and this man was none other than Kane. Why is it a No Holds Barred match? And who wrote the note, Wyatt? Shane McMahon? Daniel Bryan? Wait, sorry, I thought about this for more than ten seconds.
Kane defeated Bray Wyatt in a No Holds Barred match
Okay brawl of a match. They didn’t do anything excessive and was perfectly safe aside from the few normal bumps this match entails.
They brawled around ringside to start, then entered the ring. Wyatt got a chair and pummeled Kane with shots. Wyatt went for the Sister Abigail on the chair but Kane powered out and dragged him back outside. Wyatt came back with a clothesline, laying out Kane. He put him on the announce table and hit a running splash, sending him through it.
Wyatt threw him back in the ring and hit the Sister Abigail but Kane countered with a chokeslam. Wyatt came back with a chokeslam of his own on the chair or a near fall. Suddenly, Orton emerged, his foot all wrapped up. He took out Wyatt with the RKO, which allowed Kane to get the win after the chokeslam.
AJ Styles was backstage when he came across two indie guys. He says you guys know my story. You guys are destined for failure, don’t let it bother you. You can say you met him, the face that runs the place, the Phenomenal AJ Styles became WWE World Champion.
Heath Slater and Rhyno defeated The Usos to become the first SmackDown Tag Team champions
Most of this match was pretty boring, but once Rhyno got the tag things picked up a bit.
Usos focused on Slater, isolating him from Rhyno. With them as heels, Usos are really just there, losing the flash they had as babyfaces. After what feels like forever, Slater collides into his opponent and they both make the tag. Rhyno runs wild and goes for the Gore but is pushed head first into the turnbuckle.
Slater hits neckbreakers on both Usos and hits a lifting DDT for a near fall. Jimmy Uso hits a superkick on Slater but walks into a Gore by Rhyno and Slater gets the pin. So Heath is not only employed, but also one half of the tag team champions.
The new champions are interviewed. Heath said this is one of the biggest nights of his life, next to a couple of his kids being born. He finishes the interview saying “BEULAH, WE’RE GETTING A DOUBLE WIDE BABY!”
AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World championship
Pretty damn great main event. Really picked up during the second portion of the match with some good submission work and some crazy spots near the end.
Things started out tepidly as they did some brief back and forth. Styles exited the ring as Ambrose teased doing something, but AJ slid under Ambrose and sent him neck first to the middle rope, giving him control. Ambrose tried to rally a comeback, but Styles came back, only to miss a splash.
Ambrose tried to do something, but something seemed lost in communication as Styles was suplexed and landed chest first while Ambrose also fell hard. Some more back and forth. Styles tried to hook in the calf crusher but Styles countered and suplexed him into the turnbuckle.
Both men teased their finishes, but neither got it. Styles got Ambrose’s knee and started working on it. Styles got the calf crusher in but Ambrose made it to the ropes. He sunk it in again but Ambrose grabbed his head and smashed it to the floor repeatedly, freeing him.
Styles went for the Styles Clash but Ambrose managed to make it to the apron. Styles grabbed him but Ambrose countered and slingshotted him into the turnbuckle shoulder first. They make it back to the ring where Styles comes back with a flurry of offense. Styles hit the springboard 450 but Ambrose kicked out.
Ambrose made a comeback, dropkicking AJ through the ropes to the floor. Ambrose continued flinging him around like a ragdoll, throwing him into the announcers table then through the barricade. Ambrose took out Styles with a running clothesline as they brawled throughout the crowd.
They made it back to the ring where Ambrose went for the Dirty Deeds, but AJ pushed Ambrose into the ref. Seeing that the referee was down, Styles immediately low blowed Ambrose and hit the Styles Clash to pin Ambrose and win the title.
The Internet was abuzz Sunday with unconfirmed rumors that former WWE champion and Smackdown star Randy Orton may be off Sunday’s Backlash PPV.
Our Dave Meltzer confirmed the story and indeed, Orton is out as he hasn’t been cleared to wrestle. There is no word yet on how the show lineup will change.
The story began with a tweet from a Pro Wrestling Sheet reporter that he was told Orton was off the show, nursing an undisclosed injury that he still hasn’t been cleared from. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson then ran a confirmation, adding that the injury is concussion related.
Meltzer has additional details:
“Since then, we had several people within the company say that they believed (Orton off the show) was the case but were unable to say with certainty. It has not been confirmed exactly what the injury is, although Orton took a legitimate beating from Lesnar’s elbows on the ground, which sliced him up (at SummerSlam).
WWE hasn’t responded regarding the question. Kane subbed for Orton on Sunday’s show in Raleigh, NC. Unless they were to bring in a surprise, he’d be the most likely replacement.”
Orton was scheduled to face Bray Wyatt on the first PPV of the brand split era, headlined by WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles. As of now, he is scheduled to rematch Lesnar on September 24th on a WWE Chicago, IL, house show.
WWE Backlash, the first PPV of that name since 2009, will be the first brand split PPV of the new era. The build has been rather solid, but seems a bit rushed as SummerSlam is still fresh on everyone’s minds. Unfortunately, that isn’t changing anytime soon, given the rest of the year’s schedule.
The main event of the show will be AJ Styles getting another crack at the WWE title, this time challenging Dean Ambrose for the title. Getting a big win over John Cena at SummerSlam has cemented him as a top act on the brand, so it only makes sense to go in this direction while the iron is still hot. Whether or not he wins the title, however, is another story.
Ambrose is also pretty much cemented as a top guy on the blue brand for the moment. Timing is probably not on AJ’s side, but it could be if there are more rematches afoot in the coming months.
Your previewers with pick points to date:
Steve Khan (WWE SmackDown Live Recapper) (44 points)
Kevin LaRose (WWE Main Event and Total Divas Recapper)
JJ Williams (NXT/CWC Spoiler)
Winner Advances to SD Tag Title Match: The Usos vs. The Hype Bros
Bryan Rose: Usos finally turned heel in the last week. They needed that as while they’re a good team, they are just stale as hell in the role they’ve been in for years. This gives them some momentum, and I don’t see it being derailed by The Hype Bros., who I don’t think were even getting much of a push on NXT before being called up.
Winner: The Usos
Steve Khan: The Usos should win. They just turned, and the Hype Bros already lost to Slater & Rhyno on SmackDown.
Winner: The Usos
James Cox: Wouldn’t put it past them to put over the Hype Bros, but Usos should win.
Winner: The Usos
PeachMachine: This is a punishment match for the Usos. They must have irritated someone.
Losers: The Usos
Brian Hoops: Throw away match.
Winners: The Usos
Jeremy Peeples: Usos are getting a push, the Hype Bros are just another team…in a roster of maybe six teams – Usos win this easily.
Winners: The Usos
Paul Fontaine: Rhyno and Slater are winning the tournament and they’ve already wrested the Hype Bros, so we don’t need to see that match in the finals again. Logic says the Uso win, so of course….
Winners: Hype Bros
Kevin LaRose: The Hype Brothers are super over good guys, the Usos just destroyed the top contenders in the tournament, turning heel. The Usos are winning by nefarious means.
Winners: The Usos
JJ Williams: The Hype Brothers as Daniel Bryan calls them will be no match for the redundant Uso Brothers who are clearly on their way to the silver.
Winners: The Usos
Kyle S. Johnson: This is building to a Usos vs. American Alpha program. The Hype Bros are perfect fodder for getting over a newly-turned heel team.
Winners: The Usos
Ryan Frederick: There is a clear direction of going to an Usos vs. American Alpha program and this is just a throwaway match added to the card to fill time. Usos win and advance.
Winners: The Usos
Smackdown Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella
Bryan Rose: This will probably not be pretty. Any time a women’s match goes beyond 3 or more people it probably isn’t going to turn out good. In terms of who’s winning the title, Becky makes the most sense, but they could also go with Nkki. No one is really strong on a heel side, so makes sense you go with one of those two. I’ll go with Becky.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Steve Khan: After tapping out on SmackDown, I can see Nikki going heel, but I’m not sure how that plays into this match. They won’t have Lynch win just yet but they do need to establish the new title. I’ll go out on a limb, I guess, and say Natalya.
Winner: Natalya
James Cox: I think it’s Becky Lynch’s time, but I see it going down to her and Nikki.
Winner: Becky Lynch
PeachMachine: Bliss sucks. Lynch is the worst performer on the roster. Carmella is lost alone. Naomi’s entrance is rad. Natalya is fantastic… but I’m picking Nikki because of the Total Bellas TV show.
Winner: Nikki Cena
Brian Hoops: Another match that no one will care about. Natalya is the only one that can carry the match and resemble a credible champion.
Winner: Natalya
Jeremy Peeples: Nikki is getting the biggest overall push of the group, but she’s a part-timer, so I don’t see her getting it until Cena’s back. Becky seems logical, but it would also make sense for her to be frustrated by losing a lot and turn heel. That would be awful for her character, so I’m going with a win for her in this “history-making” match.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Paul Fontaine: The promo “battle” to kick off Smackdown did something I didn’t think was possible…it made me less interested in this match. I’m fairly certain that Nikki Bella takes this bout for some reason though and ends up feuding over the belt with Carmella.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Kevin LaRose: Nikki came back on the heel team at Summerslam, while Carmella was on the good team. Now Carmella is heel for attacking Nikki Bella for no reason. This could only mean one thing: Naomi is winning.
Winner: Naomi
JJ Williams: Launching a new title on a brand that needs strong babyface characters for both television and live events says this is the perfect time to reward Becky Lynch for her past couple years work.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Kyle S. Johnson: This one is absolutely a toss-up. Becky should get it, but it seems almost as likely that the belt would wind up on Nikki.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Ryan Frederick: If it were me, I’d put the title on Becky Lynch. I don’t see them doing that, though, at least not right now. Nikki Bella has been pushed the hardest since she came back, and it seems like she’s the choice to win.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
Bryan Rose: The Miz retains. Dolph Ziggler is pretty much useless as a character. He cuts promos like he’s a main eventer but never pulls off the wins to attain the status of one. Unless they just don’t care about this title right now, Miz is probably retaining.
Winner: The Miz
Steve Khan: Ziggler losing again would suck for him, but Miz has some momentum for once, so I’ll go with Miz retaining.
Winner: The Miz
James Cox: I think it’s time for a switch, Miz has had the title for a long time now. He doesn’t need it.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
PeachMachine: There’s no point to this feud. Thus no winner is necessary.
Winner: Alan4L
Brian Hoops: The fact they have moved on from Apollo Crews so quickly tells you volumes what WWE thinks of his upside. Would make zero sense to take the title off the Miz and a clean loss to the Miz for Ziggler drops him to entry level status.
Winner: The Miz
Jeremy Peeples: These two have had good chemistry before, but this just feels like a rushed program with no real reason to exist. There is one Miz match people want and we’re not getting it, so the winner here doesn’t seem important.
Winner: The Miz
Paul Fontaine: Miz might as well keep this belt until Daniel Bryan comes back to wrestle or forever, whichever comes first. Ziggler should be in next year’s BOLA tournament or something.
Winner: The Miz
Kevin LaRose: Ziggler is passing by the Miz now on his trip back down the card. Wave goodbye to the Main Event, Dolph.
Winner: Miz
JJ Williams: It isn’t the time to take the Intercontinental title off The Miz yet, Dolph needs a good match here as well to make people care if this is all leading to a burn out heel turn down the line.
Winner: The Miz
Kyle S. Johnson: Miz is suddenly one of the most talked-about guys on Smackdown, which in and of itself would almost indicate that WWE now decides to take the IC belt off of him. Miz should win the match by nefarious means, and this feud will probably continue.
Winner: The Miz
Ryan Frederick: The Miz has a lot of momentum and it seems like the angle is going towards Dolph Ziggler turning heel because he can’t win when it counts. I see Miz cheating his way towards victory.
Winner: The Miz
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Bryan Rose: Here’s the gist of their feud: Bray Wyatt talked. Randy Orton responded by talking and telling a story about a snake. Here we are. Doesn’t feel compelling in any way, shape or form. Probably some sort of lame finish to continue the feud. Let’s go with Bray?
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Steve Khan: This feud will likely continue which points to a win for Bray, but Orton needs a win after SummerSlam.
Winner: Randy Orton
James Cox: Orton should win to save face after that SummerSlam finish.
Winner: Randy Orton
PeachMachine: They should just put the Bo Dallas and Wyatt together and watch their real life drama unfold.
Winner: Irwin R. Schyster
Jeremy Peeples: Orton needs to rebound from Brock, and Bray can lose any match as long as he says spooky things afterwards. Bray can win when Harper returns.
Winner: Randy Orton
Brian Hoops: After the beating he took at SummerSlam, WWE owes Orton to squash Wyatt.
Winner: Orton
Paul Fontaine: First match of a feud that’s probably going to have go through Survivor Series. The heel should win and Orton should have enough control over his own program to make that happen. I like Luke Harper returning to help cost Orton the bout.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Kevin LaRose: Wyatt’s alway running around trying to bring the evil out of his opponents. Someone needs to bring the evil out of Wyatt. Wyatt loses. Dejected, he goes on a Spirit Quest, eating gelato, going on dates, and praying. He finds himself.
Winner: Randy Orton
JJ Williams: As with most talents coming out of a program with Lesnar, we are going to act like their last program didn’t happen. Randy Orton will win and move on to the title picture.
Winner: Randy Orton
Kyle S. Johnson: Is it possible for both guys to win? Because god knows that both Bray and Randy both could use one here. Given that Orton’s most recent claim to fame was being beaten to near-death and bled dry by Brock Lesnar, he probably needs it just a bit more.
Winner: Randy Orton
Ryan Frederick: Randy Orton needs the win more after Summerslam and this is likely the first match of a series. Bray can always lose and it not kill him, but he should be kept strong in a losing effort. Going with Orton to win this time.
Winner: Randy Orton
Smackdown Tag Team Championship: Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. TBD
Bryan Rose: I’m guessing it’s gotta be Slater and Rhyno, right? Makes sense considering they wrote Gable and Jordan out of the finals. Though it doesn’t make any sense for the Usos to do a job early, but whatever. The Slater stuff has been the most interesting part of Smackdown so far.
Winner: Heath Slater and Rhyno
Steve Khan: I figure it’ll be the Usos in the finals. Maybe they’ll cheat to win and delay Slater getting a contract, but taking American Alpha out of this spot was obviously by design, so I’ll go with Slater & Rhyno. Perhaps Jordan (and Gable) will interfere to cost the Usos.
Winner: Heath Slater & Rhyno
James Cox: Credit to Slater, he’s really made the most of his position and the stuff they’ve given him.
Winner: Heath Slater & Rhyno
Jeremy Peeples: Rhyno and Slater have great chemistry and solid momentum – they should win this.
Winner: Slater and Rhyno
PeachMachine: It’s gotta be the Ascension.
Winner: Ascension
Brian Hoops: Good storyline with Slater, I say keep it going.
Winners: Slater/Rhyno
Paul Fontaine: Slater and Rhyno are the best thing on Smackdown, besides Talking Smack, and maybe my favorite thing on the main roster right now. They absolutely deserve the titles. That said, I suspect they somehow lose, continuing the storyline of Heath trying to get a contract. Maybe Rhyno turns on him or something.
Winners: Hype Bros (oh, and Peach is an idiot)
Kevin LaRose: The stakes couldn’t be higher. The whole world wants to see Slater in a brand new above ground pool. WWE isn’t that cruel as to deny us that.
Winners: Slater/Rhyno
JJ Williams: The now heel Usos will cheat to win the greatest prize in the historic Smackdown tag team division’s history against the lovable team of Heath Slater and The Rhyno. After all those weeks of actually being a tag team, it just wasn’t enough to beat the lifetime tag partners.
Winners: The Usos
Kyle S. Johnson: The “Slater must win or he doesn’t get a contract” stip might resonate a bit more if WWE didn’t break stips like they were crackers at communion. Usos will win the belts, Slater and Rhyno will get signed anyway, the world keeps on spinning.
Winner: The Usos
Ryan Frederick: They have something here with this Heath Slater angle. I have the feeling they’ll keep it going by having them lose here, but maybe Slater is the guy to beat Miz to get on the show. The Usos by cheating to further cement their heel turn.
Winners: The Usos
WWE Championship: Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles
Bryan Rose: Well, I dunno. Personally I think Smackdown should be headed by Styles as champion. He has all the momentum in the world after beating John Cena clean at SummerSlam, and it just feels like the right moment to do it is here at Backlash. Ambrose has been fine as champion, but nothing out of this world. AJ consistently working Smackdown main events I think is the best thing to do at the moment, but since WWE doesn’t normally book like that…hell, I dunno. I’ll go with Styles anyway
Winner: AJ Styles
Steve Khan: This should be interesting. The real World Champion against the guy who beat the face of the company. Styles should be the champion even if there was only one brand, but it also seems too early to take the title off Ambrose. This is the first split-brand PPV, so they should really start off strong, and that could be good news for Styles.
Winner: AJ Styles
James Cox: Ambrose really surprised me on the Stone Cold podcast; I wouldn’t want him as my babyface champion if that’s how he’s going to be. Styles is fantastic, it’s time.
Winner: AJ Styles
PeachMachine: This should be a hair match. Both men have horrible hair, especially Ambrose who is slowly losing it to time.
Winner: Mother nature.
Jeremy Peeples: Styles is the best overall act in the company, while Dean is pretty ice-cold after the Dolph program that saw each man shine and yet their stock plummeted. AJ should win this and become the only man to win the TNA, IWGP, and WWE Titles.
Winner: AJ Styles
Brian Hoops: Only match that has any intrigue. Beating Styles clean in this match removes any intrigue for future matches. They need to keep both guys strong and build to a rematch. Styles should be the champion and let Ambrose chase him for the title in a series of rematches. To make a statement on the first brand split PPV, look for a title change.
Winner: AJ Styles
Paul Fontaine: I’m going with the upset and a new champion here. Ambrose has been slacking it for months now and it may be because he knew this was coming. AJ should get a good run before dropping the belt to Cena at the Rumble.
Winner: AJ Styles
Kevin LaRose: Dean Ambrose is the Bruce Willis of WWE. That’s cool. I like his attitude.
Winner: AJ Styles
JJ Williams: This match is a test for AJ Styles to see if he can get yet another great match out of a WWE sculpted superstar. Can’t see them taking the title off Ambrose this soon after putting him over both Rollins and Reigns clean so recently, could see them stretching this program out and possibly adding Cena in to make it a triple threat in the coming months so for now I’m going with Dean Ambrose to retain.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Kyle S. Johnson: Despite reasonable doubt, AJ Styles became a top guy in WWE by sheer virtue of being one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Along the way, he’s also become one of the company’s most entertaining and compelling acts, and he seems to get more and more comfortable on the microphone and in long segments as each week passes. Dean has been a bit flat of late, and I can’t see AJ eating a pin this early into what should be a huge hot streak that builds to the return of John Cena.
Winner: AJ Styles
Ryan Frederick: I’m torn on this one. Dean Ambrose is perfectly fine as champion, but AJ Styles is the biggest star they have on Smackdown. They have the face that runs the place angle going, and Styles should win the title this time. It’s not the last time we see these two square off.
Despite winning their semifinal match on Tuesday night, American Alpha won’t be competing in Sunday’s SmackDown tag tournament finals at Backlash.
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan announced on Talking Smack that Chad Gable will be out 2-4 weeks with a MCL sprain after being attacked by The Usos on SmackDown. The injury is part of the storyline.
After making quick work of The Usos in their semifinal match, Gable and Jason Jordan offered a handshake to their opponents, but The Usos instead turned heel and laid them out. They isolated Gable’s knee, hitting a splash from the top rope on it.
The Usos will get a chance to redeem themselves in the tournament as they’ll face The Hype Bros at Backlash. Whichever team wins that match will fill the spot vacated by American Alpha and face Heath Slater and Rhyno later in the night for the newly created SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Slater and Rhyno defeated The Hype Bros on SmackDown to earn their spot in the finals.
