Our WWE Backlash results for tonight include Pat McAfee clashing with the former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther in a grudge match, Penta challenging Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship, United States Champion defending against LA Knight, Damian Priest, and Drew McIntyre in a fatal four-way match, Becky Lynch battling Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, Undisputed WWE Championship John Cena facing his old rival Randy Orton in what will be their final match. Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
WWE Backlash Card:
- Undisputed WWE Championship Match: John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- United States Championship Fatal Four-Way Match: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. LA Knight vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
- Intercontinental Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta
- Gunther vs. Pat McAfee
WWE Backlash Results:
First up is the United States Championship fatal four-way match.
WWE United States Championship Fatal Four-Way Match: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. LA Knight vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
As the bell rings, all four men stare each other down. Knight lunges at Fatu, landing a flurry of strikes. Priest and McIntyre brawl, and their fight spills out of the ring. Knight lands a leaping neckbreaker that floors Fatu. Slingshot shoulderblock by Knight. McIntyre charges in and gets powerslamed by Knight. Knight calls for his elbow, but gets goosled by Priest. Knight DDTs Priest and lands a double elbow drop on Priest and McIntyre. McIntyre lands a flurry of spinebusters and neckbreakers.
McIntyre calls for a Claymore. Knight breaks it up. Priest sends Fatu flying with a rana off the top. Knight runs into a leaping flatliner by Priest. Priest charges at Fatu, who Samoan drops Priest on the barricade. Fatu and McIntyre lock eyes from opposite sides of the ring. Both men slowly get in the ring and have a standoff. McIntyre and Fatu trade punches. Fatu blasts McIntyre with a pop-up Samoan drop. Drew McIntyre gets crushed by a running hip attack from Fatu.
McIntyre gets trapped in a tree of woe while Fatu is crotched on the top. McIntyre sits up and suplexes Fatu on top of Knight. Everyone lands a big move. McIntyre catches Priest with a Claymore. Priest falls on top of Knight. McIntyre breaks up the pin. Knight eats a Claymore. Priest pulls the referee out of the ring before the three count. McIntyre is livid. McIntyre attacks Priest, and both men fall into the timekeeper’s area. Fatu misses the BME on Knight. Knight lands the LA Elbow off the top. Fatu kicks out.
Priest and McIntyre fight into the crowd. Priest puts McIntyre through a table with a diving South of Heaven. Knight puts Fatu on the commentary desk and sets up an elbow drop. Solo Sikoa appears and pulls Fatu off the table. Knight gets in Sikoa’s face. Someone in from the crowd attacks Knight. It’s Jeff Cobb! Cobb crossbody blocks Knight against the ring post. Fatu realizes what’s happening and doesn’t seem pleased. Sikoa tells Fatu to finish the job. Fatu lands a running hip attack to Knight, followed by the BME for the win.
Winner and STILL United States Champion, Jacob Fatu!
Grade: B
Hell of a fatal four-way match. Fatu is a future world champion, and how he dominated here proves that he may be one of the top 3 signings in the last year. Jeff Cobb’s appearance here is fascinating. Sikoa mentioned on SmackDown that he was out of soldiers, so Cobb being the new guy makes perfect sense. The split between Fatu and Sikoa has been simmering for months. Fatu just got his first glimpse at his replacement, and based on Fatu’s body language, he knows it.
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WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Lynch floors Valkyria with a shoulder block. Lynch and Valkyria trade takedowns and submission holds. Valkyria sends Lynch out of the ring. Middle rope dropkick by Valkyria. Lynch goes low on Valkyria and lays in a flurry of strikes. Lynch beats down Valkyria outside the ring while mocking one of Valkyria’s family members in the crowd. Valkyria fires up and lands a fisherman’s suplex. Powerbomb by Valkyria. Lynch kicks out. Lynch goes up top. Valkyria cuts her off and lands a superplex. Valkyria tries a moonsault off the top, but Lynch gets her knees up. Both women trade strikes. Lynch and Valkyria trade submission holds. Valkyria kicks out of a Manhandle Slam.
Lynch can’t believe it. Lynch grabs a chair and brings it into the ring. The referee takes the chair, but as the referee walks away, Lynch removes one of the turnbuckle pads. After another exchange, Valkyria lands a moonsault off the second rope. Lynch kicks out. Lynch lands another Manhandle Slam out of nowhere. Valkyria kicks out again! Lynch slams Valkyria’s head into the mat. The referee stops Lynch from using the exposed turnbuckle. As the referee tries to replace the turnbuckle pad, Valkyria hits Nightwing. The referee is slow to make the count. Lynch kicks out. After a series of pin attempts, Valkyria holds Lynch down for the three count.
Winner and STILL Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Lyra Valkyria!
As soon as the bell rings, Lynch attacks Valkyria and locks her in the Disarmher. Referees and officials eventually pull Lynch off Valkyria.
Grade: B
For a grudge match, this one started slow, but it finished strong. At first, this match didn’t have the animosity you would expect from a match featuring two former friends. Lynch wasn’t particularly vicious, and Valkyria seemed intent on having a mat classic instead of extracting revenge from her former mentor. As the match built, these two ratcheted up the intensity and managed to have a shockingly hard-hitting contest. Anyone who reads these reviews regularly knows that this writer is not a fan of Valkyria, but with performances like this, that may change. If they just fill out Valkyria’s character beyond “Becky Lynch super fan and bird enthusiast,” they may have something there.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta
Penta sends Dominik flying with a rana. Dominik responds with a rana of his own. Penta sends Dominik into the corner and lands a superkick, followed by a backstabber. Penta misses a boot and gets hung up in the ropes. Dominik sends Penta out of the ring. Dominik dives through the ropes and lands a tornado DDT out on the floor. Penta and Dominik trade strikes. Dominik sends Penta into the ring steps. Dominik works over Penta.Penta misses the 619. Penta lands a dive. Dominik surprises Penta with his girlfriend Liv Morgan‘s finisher, Oblivion. Penta kicks out.
The fight spills out to the apron. Penta obliterates Dominik with a Mexican Destroyer on the apron. Carlito runs down to ringside and distracts the referee. JD McDonagh and Finn Bálor hop the barricade. McDonagh holds Penta in place. Bálor takes forever getting a chair and gets caught by the referee. Penta lands a dive that takes out Carlito and McDonagh. Bálor runs back to the ring and distracts the referee. El Grande Americano hops the barricade and headbutts Penta with his loaded mask. Dominik lands a frog splash for the win.
Winner and STILL Intercontinental Champion, Dominik Mysterio!
Grade: B-
Solid match that turned into a predictable interference-laden mess. It’s one thing for Dominik’s Judgement Day compatriots to interfere, but the inclusion of El Grande Americano was just a bit much. Yes, Americano is feuding with Penta, but his inclusion here was just a hat on a hat on a durag.
Gunther vs. Pat McAfee
Gunther takes McAfee down and works his arm. McAfee escapes and narrowly avoids a chop from the Ring General. McAfee grabs a headlock. Gunther sets McAfee on the apron and gives him a clean break. Gunther pats McAfee on the head. McAfee tries to leap over the top rope, but trips himself. McAfee recovers and blasts Gunther with an elbow strike. Gunther destroys McAfee with a chop. McAfee tries to fight back and manages to land a series of chops. Gunther begs. McAfee to bring it on. Gunther lands a chop so thunderous that Michael Cole probably felt it.Gunther stops McAfee as he tries to fire up. The crowd cheers as McAfee lands another chop. Gunther responds with a big boot and another nasty chop.
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Gunther jaws at Michael Cole at ringside. McAfee slaps Gunther. Gunther sends McAfee flying with a German suplex. Gunther locks McAfee in a rear naked choke. McAfee gets to the ropes. Gunther German suplexes McAfee instead of breaking the hold. Gunther tries to German suplex off the top. McAfee lands on his feet. Gunther tries another suplex, and McAfee does a backflip and lands on his feet. McAfee lands a flurry of strikes. Big boot by McAfee. Gunther Powerbombs McAfee. At the commentary desk, Cole screams for Gunther to just cover McAfee to end it. Gunther laughs and puts McAfee in a Boston crab.
Cole leaves the desk and goes to ringside to cheer McAfee on. McAfee tries to get to the ropes. Gunther transitions into an STF. Cole screams at Gunther. Gunther drags Cole into the ring and sets up a powerbomb. McAfee kicks Gunther in the face. Roll up by McAfee. Gunther kicks out. McAfee counters a suplex into a pin. Cole holds Gunther’s leg, but Gunther manages to kick out. McAfee traps Gunther in a choke. Gunther escapes and obliterates McAfee with a lariat. Rear naked choke by Gunther. McAfee refuses to tap out. McAfee passes out.
Winner- Gunther
After the match, McAfee gets to his feet. Gunther gives McAfee a head nod before leaving the ring.
Grade: C+
Gunther beat the brakes off of McAfee. It’s slightly embarrassing that this is the next thing they had for Gunther after losing the world championship, but it led us to watch McAfee get dog-walked, so it was worth it. Despite Gunther’s dominance here, he wasn’t quite dominant enough. McAfee only mustered a bit of offense, but that was too much. McAfee should have been carried out on a damn stretcher. Side note, Gunther giving McAfee a nod of approval was downright silly. Gunther didn’t give that to Jey Uso, who tapped him out at WrestleMania. In the end just make things make sense and this didn’t.
Undisputed WWE Championship Match: John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton
Cena and Orton lock up. Orton pokes Cena in the eye. Cena rolls out of the ring and stews. Cena rushes the ring and eats another right hand. Orton works a headlock. After a tackle/leapfrog spot, Orton floors Cena with a shoulder block. Orton goes back to working the headlock. Cena eats another shoulder block and decides he’s had enough. Cena tries to walk away. Orton drags Cena back to the ring. Cena floors Orton with an elbow strike. Cena works over Orton. Orton traps Cena in the corner and lays in a series of punches. Garvin stomp by Orton. Cena traps Orton in a sleeper.
Orton counters with one of his own. Cena and Orton take turns reversing the sleeper into a sleeper. Orton suplexes Cena to break the hold, finally. Cena tries the five moves of doom, but Orton escapes the AA. Powerslam by Orton. Cena trips Orton into the STF. Orton kicks his way out of it and lands a draping DDT. Orton calls for the RKO. Cena escapes the RKO and sets up the AA. As Cena drops Orton, Orton reverses the AA into an RKO. Both men are down. Cena and Orton trade strikes. Cena surprises Orton with an AA! Orton kicks out!
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Orton gets to his feet. Cena tries another AA. Orton hooks the ropes. Cena tries the five moves of doom again, but Orton counters a shoulder block into an RKO! Orton misses the Punt kick. Cena hits the AA! Orton kicks out! Cena mocks Orton taunt and sets up a Punt kick of his own. Orton avoids it and tries another RKO. Cena pushes Orton into the referee. AA by Cena. Cena shushes the crowd and grabs the championship belt. Orton avoids the belt shot from Cena and hits another RKO! Cena kicks at two and rolls out of the ring.
Orton clears the commentary desk. Cena pushes Orton into the referee, who crashes into the ring steps. Cena sends Orton into the ring post. Orton AAs Cena through the commentary desk. Orton sets up a table at ringside. After a struggle, Orton and Cena through a table. Orton grabs a drink from someone in the crowd and takes a swig. Orton lands another RKO. A new referee runs down to the ring to make the count. Cena kicks out! Orton argues with the referee.
Cena misses another belt shot and ends up hitting the referee. RKO by Orton. Orton pins Cena, but there is no referee. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and officials hit the ring to check on the referee. Orton gets in Aldis’ face about not being a referee. Orton RKOs Aldis, and every other official in the ring. With the ring cleared, Orton calls for the Punt kick. R-Truth hops in the ring and stands in front of Cena. Orton RKOs Truth. Cena low blows Orton and hits him in the head with the championship. Cena pins Orton.
Winner and STILL Undisputed WWE Champion, John Cena!
After the match, Cena grabs a mic and says he needs competition, and he doesn’t need the WWE Universe. He tells the crowd to drink it in because this is what the last real-world champion looks like.
Grade: B+
This was another one that started slow but built to solid action. Cena and Orton played the hits tonight, and it worked. With Cena being a super heel now, the amount of ref bumps and tomfoolery here actually added to the match. The only thing missing was Cena getting himself DQ’d by hitting the referee like Orton did years ago against Cena. Of all Cena’s matches during his part-time period, this was his best. Cena didn’t hide in a tag or multi-person match; he put on his working boots and put on a classic against Orton. If Cena is going to work at this level, it’s hard not to be excited to see who he clashes with next during his retirment tour.
WWE Backlash Review:
Top-to-bottom, this card delivered a wildly entertaining night of wrestling, even if some of the finishes and pacing choices left a bit to be desired.
Rating: B-
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