Date: June 8, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL 

The Big Takeaway — 

Asuka and Charlotte teamed up and won a triple threat tag match against two of the teams in the upcoming Women’s Tag Title match at Backlash. Charlotte went on to pin Asuka in the main event after Nia Jax interfered 27 minutes into the match. 

The Peep Show segment was very good.

Show Recap — 

Asuka entered for her match, however, instead of her opponent Charlotte Flair coming out, the new tag champs Sasha Banks and Bayley entered instead. The wrestlers in attendance booed. They put over their win on Smackdown until they were interrupted by Asuka who called this her ring. Bayley said they were allowed to go to any brand they want as the champions. 

As Banks began telling Asuka to shut up, Charlotte interrupted. She noted that they were trying to go brand-to-brand like her but they didn’t have her stamina. She suggested they enjoy this while they can before someone takes the titles off of them. She told them to leave because people would rather see her match against Asuka. 

The IIconics interrupted. They said the match people really wanted to see was the tag team triple threat match on Sunday. They reminded Banks and Bayley that they lost to the IIconics at last year’s WrestleMania. Asuka yelled at everyone in Japanese. 

Banks and Bayley bragged to Charlotte who responded by saying she didn’t need titles to be relevant and said they’d always be garbage. Banks and Bayley attacked her, then everyone brawled. Charlotte and Asuka were the only two left standing in the ring. 

Non-title triple threat tag team match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka & Charlotte Flair defeated The IIconics and Tag Team Champions Bayley & Sasha Banks (10:48) 

The referee had difficulty getting the match started because everyone was yelling at each other in the ring. Tom Phillips said this match was made official during the break. A few minutes into the match, he mentioned that Asuka and Charlotte will still have a singles match later tonight. 

The IIconics worked over Bayley and Banks until Charlotte tagged herself in. The audience chanted “We want Asuka,” so Charlotte faked a tag. Asuka tagged herself in later and took down Banks, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce by herself. Asuka was still in control after a break until Royce distracted her, allowing Kay to hit a version of Eat Defeat. 

Charlotte tagged herself in and gave Royce an Exploder. Asuka tagged herself in and used Yes kicks on Kay before Charlotte tagged herself in again. This led to an argument. Charlotte booted Kay and went to the top. Asuka tagged herself and put Kay in the Asuka Lock for the submission win. (Bayley and Banks were taken out earlier and basically disappeared.) 

Charlotte attacked Asuka after the match, posed with the title and reminded Asuka that she’s never beaten her. 

Rey Mysterio interview 

The announcers talked about Rey Mysterio and their upcoming interview. Seth Rollins’ music hit, which surprised the announcers. Rollins went to the announce desk and politely motioned for Byron Saxton to give up his seat. Saxton reluctantly got up and gave Rollins his headset. Rollins said “hi” to Mysterio and Mysterio called him a son-of-a-bitch. 

(They went to break before the actual interview segment. Mysterio joined via video.) 

Phillips asked Mysterio for an update on his eye. Mysterio said his doctor didn’t want to make any promises but said it was encouraging. His doctor did warn not to take any more damage to it. Mysterio had a warning for Rollins when his time came. Mysterio said he wouldn’t wait for the “end of the match” to hit the 619 and would go for it as soon as the bell rang. 

Mysterio threatened Rollins over what he did to him and what he put his family through. “I’m going to kick your ass.” Rollins told Mysterio to stop spreading lies. He had the opportunity to walk away a hero but he continues to spread misinformation. Rollins wanted to give him one more chance and invited Mysterio and Dominik to Raw next week. 

Mysterio wasn’t buying it and knew Rollins was only inviting him because he knew he wasn’t cleared. As Rollins pleaded with Mysterio, Aleister Black flew in out of nowhere, dove at Rollins and attacked him and they quickly went to break. 

Mysterio’s line about the 619 was nonsensical. The last bit with Black was great. 

Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo defeated Austin Theory & Murphy (2:20) 

Black and Carrillo won very quickly. Carrillo took out Theory with a suicide dive. With Murphy sitting on the top rope, Black caught him with a leaping penalty kick for the pinfall win. 

After the match, Rollins came out to Mysterio’s music while wearing his mask. Rollins and his pals beat up Carrillo and Black. Theory took out Carrillo with an ATL. Murphy gave Black a Murphy’s Law and Rollins gave him a curb stomp. The audience chanted “you suck.” 

Charly Caruso interviewed Randy Orton. He just wanted to know if Edge was Christian’s only guest on the Peep Show. She said yes. He was about to walk away but she asked what he meant by that. Orton said that he might actually have two guests. Caruso was very confused. 

[Second hour] 

The Peep Show 

Christian introduced Edge, who was happy to see him. They hugged. Christian talked about how excited and happy he was to see Edge return at the Royal Rumble and get his WrestleMania moment. Christian wanted to be honest and said Edge was running on fumes. The audience chanted, “you still got it.” 

Christian didn’t think Edge could pull off the “greatest wrestling match ever” in his prime. Christian said they were friends and had to be honest with each other. He said Edge was lying to himself if he thought he could pull that off. 

Edge told him to pump the brakes and consider what he’s been through. Edge hasn’t had a straight wrestling match in over nine years and now was expected to have the best match ever. It was like being placed at the bottom of Mount Everest with nothing and told, “go.” 

Edge said this wasn’t the same Edge who would look Christian in the eye and give him confidence because he didn’t know if he could go out there and have a tag match. Edge knew Orton has been wrestling this whole time and was firing on all cylinders. Edge didn’t know how much he had left. 

Christian got up and got in Edge’s face, telling him that he was only hearing excuses. Christian asked if he thought he was back just to give everyone some greatest hits — hit a few spears and go home. Christian knew someone who always believed in Edge — his mom. She sat at ringside for every match and would again on Sunday. 

Christian said if “Edge” wasn’t going to show up at Backlash, to go home right now. The audience chanted for Edge. Christian smiled. He saw the look in Edge’s eyes. That’s what he wanted to see. “We believe in you.” It was the same look he had in his eyes when he put Orton down at Mania. He said Edge had the anti-venom. 

Christian added, “We have confidence in you. We think you can win. We think you can have the greatest wrestling match ever.” 

Orton appeared on the screen and begged them to shut up. Orton called it pathetic that all Edge could say was that he was going to try. Orton said he would embarrass and humiliate him. Oron would send Edge home where he belonged, with his wife and kids. The redemption of Edge was over at Backlash. 

Edge responded, “No, it’s not,” dropped the mic and left. Before going through the back, he turned and nodded at Christian. Everyone was very good in this segment. 

Caruso interviewed MVP, who wore a Shad Gaspard t-shirt. He said if she wanted a breakdown of the effectiveness of the full nelson, she’d have to tune into the VIP Lounge later. MVP became distracted by R-Truth. MVP called him a clown. As they argued, Bobby Lashley appeared and put Truth down with the full nelson. 

The Street Profits / Viking Raiders decathlon segment 

Each team picked five events. The first segment was a 1600-meter dash, chosen by the Street Profits. Montez Ford beat Ivar easily, lapping him a few times. The Raiders selected archery and Erik beat Angelo Dawkins (Ivar could be seen still trying to finish his lap in the background). 

The Profits won in cup flipping. The Raiders won in sword fighting after Ford forfeited before they even began. Dawkins beat Ivar in hurdles. Ivar thought he won because he crashed through all the hurdles. Erik beat Dawkins in “stick fighting,” which resulted in Dawkins being pulled into a kiddie pool. 

Next was a dance-off. Ford danced to Shawn Michaels’ theme music, then Ivar danced to Fandango’s music. He danced with a lady judge, who called him cute. She voted for the Raiders but the two male judges picked the Profits, so they won. The Profits won shot put, the Raiders won at turkey leg eating. Ivar beat Ford at pole vault, so the event ended in a 5-5 draw. 

Apollo Crews entered. He was excited to defend his US title against the winner of tonight’s triple threat. Andrade and Angel Garza began making their entrance for the match when they were attacked by Kevin Owens. Owens tossed them around ringside leading to a break. 

Triple threat match: Andrade defeated Angel Garza and Kevin Owens to become number one contender for the US Championship (13:38)  

Zelina Vega was ringside for Garza and Andrade. They teamed up and attacked Owens immediately. Owens tried fighting back a few times but they kept cutting him off. They hit a double suplex and Andrade went for a cover but Garza broke it up. They argued, then a shoving match turned into a brawl. Vega tried breaking it up but they knocked her over by accident. 

Vega was taken to the back during a break. Owens went to the top but Garza caught him with a kick. Owens elbowed him and hit a senton but Andrade broke up the cover. Owens had Andrade on his shoulders while giving Garza a senton. Owens handed out cannonballs to each man, but Andrade avoided one and handed out running double knee strikes. 

Garza superkicked Andrade, then Owens superkicked Garza and gave Andrade a frog splash for a nearfall. Andrade then hit Owens with a back elbow for a nearfall. Garza gave Owens a missile dropkick, then Garza and Andrade traded strikes. Owens took out both guys with a flip dive. 

Garza countered an Owens’ stunner attempt and kicked his leg out of his leg. Owens fought out of a submission and gave Garza a stunner, but Andrade dropkicked Owens and covered Garza for the pinfall win. Fun match. 

Sarah Schreiber asked Charlotte about her loss last night. Charlotte said she didn’t lose last night. She accomplished her goal to elevate the NXT title. She main evented Takeover and would main event Raw. Asuka danced in with her title. Charlotte asked if she ever took anything seriously. Asuka said, “yes, I do,” and slapped her in the face. 

Garza and Andrade argued backstage. Vega appeared while holding her neck and they both fell silent. She pointed for them to walk and they did. 

Kurt Angle talked about the upcoming Edge/Orton match. He said having a great match came down to chemistry. He spoke about the chemistry between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, as well as himself and Brock Lesnar. He said Edge and Orton had that chemistry. He picked Edge to win. 

In the back, the Viking Raiders asked Drew McIntyre was ready to become a Viking. McIntyre was impressed with their performance earlier and with the ladies man Ivar. He liked their odds in their match against MVP and Lashley and invited them to join him after the show for a celebration. He also suggested they watch the VIP Lounge next. 

[Third hour] 

MVP’s VIP Lounge 

MVP began introducing Lashley, calling him a once-in-a-generation athlete. McIntyre came out instead and thanked him for the great introduction. McIntyre told MVP that he forgot to mention that he was WWE Champion. MVP asked him why he was there. 

McIntyre noticed Lana and Lashley having a disagreement backstage. He asked MVP to continue talking about his devastating finisher. MVP told him that he wasn’t talking about him, he was talking about Lashley. 

They argued for a bit, which led to McIntyre questioning the nature of their relationship. He wondered if MVP was Lashley’s Yoda, and wondered if he would teach him how to become champion despite never winning a world title. He threatened to put MVP down again with a Claymore when Lashley magically appeared behind him. 

McIntyre issued a warning to Lashley. MVP tried attacking him from behind but McIntyre gave him a headbutt. The Viking Raiders entered for their match against MVP and Lashley. The Street Profits came out too for back-up. 

Bobby Lashley & MVP defeated The Viking Raiders (15:13) 

McIntyre and the Street Profits watched from ringside. Lana was shown watching in the back. 

Ivar made a hot tag and ran wild until he was yanked out of the ring by Lashley and slammed against the announce table. Lashley and MVP got in the faces of the Street Profits, then Ivar wiped out the heels with a suicide dive. The Raiders worked over Lashley after a break until he gave Ivar a clothesline and tagged in MVP who hit a running boot. 

Caruso interviewed Lana mid-match and asked if it bothered her that Lashley has been asking her to stay backstage. She called MVP a leech and admitted that it did bother her, but it was okay because they would be the champion soon. It would also give her time to focus on herself and make 2020 the year of Lana. Lashley gave Ivar a powerslam for two. 

Erik made a hot tag and suplexed MVP. The Raiders double-teamed MVP until Lashley made the save. They chucked Lashley from the ring and he bumped into McIntyre before spearing Ivar. Lashley blind tagged in as Erik hit MVP with a knee strike. Lashley grabbed Erik from behind, putting him in the full nelson and Erik tapped out. 

After the match, Lashley taunted McIntyre who just sat there for a moment. Ivar decked MVP, so Lashley put him in the full nelson. The Street Profits tried pulling Lashley off but they couldn’t. McIntyre jumped in and gave Lashley a Claymore kick. This knocked Lashley out of the ring but he didn’t really sell it. McIntyre said Sunday would be a war. 

The announcers ran down the Backlash card. In addition to the greatest wrestling match ever, we could get the greatest fight ever with McIntyre vs. Lashley. (This was a Saxton line.) 

Charlotte Flair defeated Raw Women’s Champion Asuka in a non-title match (27:15) 

As soon as the opening bell rang, Banks and Bayley entered to their music. They joined commentary. 

Charlotte decked Asuka but Asuka came back with strikes. Charlotte pulled Asuka from the ring and launched her over the announce desk. Everyone at the desk saw it coming and bailed with plenty of time. They went to break two minutes into this main event match. 

Charlotte was still attacking Asuka on the outside after the break. Asuka came back with a kick, blocked a big boot and applied an octopus hold. Charlotte slipped out and hit a low dropkick. The IIconics were shown watching from the crowd. 

Charlotte was in control until she missed a baseball slide. Asuka blocked a boot again, used a dragon screw and a running hip attack into the barricade. Charlotte shoved her into the barricade/plexiglass and clotheslined her into it to take control again. 

Bayley asked the announcers if they kept any snacks under the desk. They also told Saxton that he was dumber than Michael Cole. Asuka blocked a forearm and came back with forearms and low kicks, however, Charlotte knocked her off the top with a boot. 

The IIconics suddenly attacked Bayley and Banks. They gave Bayley their double team finisher. When they returned from break, Phillips loudly told us that Bayley, Banks, Kay and Royce were barred from ringside. 

Asuka hit a running hip attack and kicks. Charlotte avoided an armbar and hit a series of forearms. Charlotte caught Asuka as she tried a running hip attack and hit a back suplex for two. Charlotte did a nonchalant cover after a knee strike but Asuka kicked out quickly. 

Asuka came back with a missile dropkick, German suplex, hip attack in the corner, kicks and another hip attack sending Charlotte from the ring. Charlotte drove Asuka into the barricade but Asuka came right back with a sliding kick from the apron. They fought on the apron and the referee stopped his count at seven for some reason. 

Charlotte booted Asuka right in the face then hit a moonsault off the barricade. About ten people chanted “this is awesome.” Charlotte hit a big boot soon after for a nearfall. Charlotte tried a spear but Asuka countered with a knee/Codebreaker for two. Charlotte came back with a spear for a nearfall. They traded strikes until Asuka tried for a submission but Charlotte blocked. 

Asuka nailed a roundhouse kick, then Nia Jax ran down and jumped on the apron. Asuka knocked her down with a hip attack, then Charlotte gave Asuka a big boot for the pinfall win. 

As Charlotte posed, Jax gave Asuka a Samoan drop. Jax’s music played as the show ended. 

Not sure why Nia Jax waited 27 minutes to interfere. I know why they did it, but this finish was brutal.