The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Backlash and a Great Wrestling Match

I am back with a new Good, Bad, and Ugly segment after WWE's Backlash PPV.  In this article, we will go from ugly to good (let's end on a good note), primarily because Backlash 2020, a consistently underwhelming PPV, gave viewers emotional stories backed by physical, athletic, and innovative wrestling.  In a year filled by more ugly than good, Backlash provided some hope for the future and brought its audience away from the overwhelming aspects of life.

The Ugly 

I always love myself a good complaining, but Backlash did not deliver as much material as other recent PPVs.  But it started ugly.  It's hard to know how many people actually watch the pre-show, but the Women's tag team championship match belonged on it.  Smackdown's women division has lagged behind Raw's ever since the draft.  Alexa Bliss is not the wrestler she used to be (hence the pairing with Nikki Cross); Bayley and Sasha Banks may be, quite possibly, the two most overrated wrestlers (female or male) in WWE history; and top potential like Sonya Deville and Lacey have been overshadowed by WWE's playcation to Banks and Bayley.  Smackdown and Raw would benefit by promoting more women from NXT (especially tag teams) for more variety of wrestlers and stories (because the WWE universe has already had to endure Bayley and Banks being friends, breaking up as friends, and putting on pathetic matches).  That all being said, The Iconics, Bliss and Cross, and Bayley and Banks, was doomed from the beginning.  There just wasn't a ton they could do.  The Iconics are successful mainly because of their entertaining mic work, which compensates for their lack of wrestling prowess.  The match turned into a roll-up fest, so I guess if the WWE Universe loves watching underwhelming roll up after roll up that culminates in a 3 count of a roll up, then the match delivered.  Peyton Royce landed a spinning kick, Bliss (almost) landed a Twisted Bliss, and Bayley and Banks managed to do even less than they normally do, but still end up retaining their belts.  The story was bland, the wrestling was more bland, and somehow Bayley is still a double champion (with an even more bland catchpharse Bayley dos belts, but wait wasn't Becky Lynch Becky two belts...)  There was a flubbed suicide dive attempt by Peyton Royce, which was interesting, but this match was ugly.  Anyone trying to justify it is a Bayley and Banks fan boy who needs to understand that they are an embarrassment for the whole women's division.

The Bad 

Again, save for the opening match, there were not very many bad moments at Backlash.  Many people criticized Asuka and Nia Jax, partly because it ended in a strange double count out, but it was intriguing to watch Asuka's array of submission holds counter Jax's irresistible strength.  Other than Charlotte, Jax has to dumb down for most of WWE's women wrestlers.  It usually doesn't look real, and Jax's match ratings have suffered because of it, but her rivalry with Asuka has allowed her to showcase her power.  While showcasing her power, Asuka's retaliations have actually seemed plausible.  Her Octopus hold was a thing of beauty, and her multitude of guillotines and sleeper holds raised the caliber of the match.  Auska should stop using hip attacks, though.  They look painless and too much like Naomi's Rear View.  The ending of the match was not what most people wanted.  Asuka has not won the majority of matches as champion, but since when does the champion need to win every match?  There has to be some variety in champion holders.  Also, Jax is a formidable opponent.  It would be difficult for Asuka to beat her without any help.  This match could have gone on longer or ended in a more energizing double count out, but the fact that this match was the second worst of the night speaks volumes to the level at which all of the wrestlers are competing at.  

The Bad? 

It was hard to know how to characterize The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders cinematic adventure.  Was it really a match?  No.  Was it good?  No.  Was it entertaining?  Kind of.  They started out brawling for some strange reason that was never made evident.  Ivar pulled out a bowling ball to attack the Street Profits with and eventually hit Montez in the groin.  They broke Braun Stroman's car, fell into a garbage can with a trash monster, and I think they had to fight off some ninjas led by Akira Tozawa?  And then a seven foot three ninja chased off the Viking Profits.  It was all strange and felt much more like a dream than an actual WWE event.  All of the flashbacks to Ivar's past were about as funny as Otis Dozovich (I guess Mr. McMahon loves his fat guy stereotypes and also breaking the stereotypes).  Erik was once again called ugly and the whole WWE universe rubbed their eyes and pinched themselves to make sure they weren't sleeping.  The Viking Raiders are turning into the new Club: good wrestlers ruined by goofy storylines.  Hopefully, these teams will start wrestling and move on from one another, but who knows?  It was just a dream, wasn't it?

The Good

There was a whole lot of good.  Backlash could prove to be one of the top PPVs of 2020.  Apollo Crews retained his US championship in the kickoff show while continuing to flash signs of life into the Raw men's midcard.  Sheamus and Jeff Hardy, while dancing on fire with such a serious and close to home story, provided a physical and entertaining match.  Jeff doesn't have a whole lot in the tank, but Sheamus can hit hard.  He says he is in the best shape of his life, but dang, he might actually be.  The Brogue Kick he gave to Hardy after Hardy launched himself from the barricade was devastating.  The replays didn't even have to speed up because Sheamus connected flush with Hardy's chin.  Sheamus flashed out his Cloverleaf submission, White noise, a few Irish curse backbreakers, and a second Brogue Kick in the ring to defeat Jeff Hardy.  Sheamus deserves a shot at a title (maybe Braun Strowman at Extreme Rules), but the landscape in Smackdown looks to be forming without him.  Speaking of Strowman, he retained his Universal title against Miz and Morrison.  The expectations were fairly low for this match, and it very easily could have been put under The Bad, but Miz and Morrison are just too good at being heels.  They used tags effectively at the start of the match.  Morrison flashed his aerial prowess with enziguri after enziguri and Miz helped land a Super-Hey Hey-Ho Hoooh-Skull Crushing Finale.  Also, the music video was hilarious and had Miz's humor written all over it.  Strowman won when Miz pulled Morrison away from a pinfall attempt.  It really did suck that they couldn't be co-champs, so Miz tried to win for himself and now he may have to fight Morrison for awhile.  The Universal champ, Braun, does not have a clear opponent for Extreme Rules.  A rivalry with Sheamus could be fresh and one of the more physical matchups the WWE has seen, Dolph Ziggler hasn't been in the title hunt for some time, but all thoughts point back to a potential Fiend vs Strowman contest.  Bray Wyatt has been off TV since losing to Strowman at Money in the Bank, which may end up benefiting Wyatt.  It would make sense for The Fiend to challenge Strowman at Summerslam, but Strowman will most likely not take Extreme Rules off and Miz and Morrison seemed like a transition match.  Maybe The Fiend will win the belt at Extreme Rules and fight an angry monster at Summerslam in some kind of cinematic rematch?  The Blue brand has a lot to work with in their men's title holders.  

But the red brand delivered and then some in their two marquee matchups.  To begin things, Bobby Lashley locked McIntyre in a full nelson before the match started.  McIntyre was unable to break the hold, and three officials couldn't even manage to pry the All-Mighty Lashley from the neck of McIntyre.  Lashley finally released the hold so as to let the official ring the bell.  At first, Lashley's devastating full nelson seemed about as interesting as another wrestler taking the Spear as their finisher, but Lashley is improving at a high rate.  He makes the full nelson look like a hellish submission hold that should not be taken lightly (which it is).  It may be simple, but it is a deadly effective move, which seems to be the summation of Lashley's character.  So, in reality, it is a perfect finisher.  The two men hammered each other throughout the ring.  Lashley landed a flatliner and a chokeslam while McIntyre countered with a spinbuster and an alabama slam.  Everyone knew these two men could throw haymakers like no other, but what impressed wrestling purists were the flashes of submission holds.  Lashley, a former UFC and mixed martial arts combat fighter, used a variety of rear naked chin locks and choke holds, and even pulled out the ankle lock.  McIntyre blocked one of Lashley's spear attempts with a Kimura lock.  McIntyre almost tore the roofs off of the WWE universe's residential homes when he teased a Tombstone piledriver, but he thought better of it.  Lashley eventually lost due to the distraction of his wife Lana.  He got hit by a Glasgow kiss and a Claymore and was down for the three count.  Another tremendous victory by Drew McIntyre, and I hope a rematch is in store at Extreme Rules.  When two men can use their physical intimidation to get the blood flowing in the audience, then that is chemistry.  Lashley's full nelson at the start of the match was the immediate tension breaker that everyone wanted.  MVP has aided Lashley's cause, and this chapter in McIntyre's championship reign should not be over so soon.  

The night ended with a great match.  Probably not the greatest match ever, but by anyone's standards, Edge and Randy Orton put on an instant classic.  Given the extreme expectations and constant pool of criticism heaped on the GOAT moniker, the positive feedback on Orton and Edge's grudge match proves the match was greater than anyone really expected.  They started off old school with some mat wrestling, working holds, and wrestling basics 101.  The match was almost a story of wrestling history.  The middle of the match showcased a superplex, a blood drawing headbutt, and some athletic aerials.  Orton continued to use stiff uppercuts while licking the blood of his wounds.  When people thought the match might end, it only increased in greatness.  Edge pulled out the Kill Switch, Edge O Matic, Rock Bottom, Edgecution, and two emotionally charged Spears.  Orton, not to be outdone, landed an Angle Slam, Draping DDT, Pedigree, and two innovative RKOs.  The two were stalemated until Orton landed his legend killing Punt.  Sadly, Edge actually injured his triceps during the match, which will sideline him for awhile, but he accomplished what he set out to do: prove he can still wrestle.  

I went to bed at night feeling good at the state of the WWE.  I still can't believe Otis has the money in the bank, but one chink in a shining suit of armor is still amazing.  No fans has brought the best out of some wrestlers.  And, also, the lesser NXT fans are way better then the majority of the WWE universe.

overall rating 9.1/10 😄