Our WWE Backlash results for tonight include IYO SKY clashing with Asuka, Danhausen teaming up with a Mystery Partner to take on The Miz and Kit Wilson, Seth Rollins battling The Vision’s Bron Breakker, Trick Williams defending the United States Championship against Sami Zayn, and Jacob Fatu challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
WWE Backlash Card:
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship | Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
- WWE United States Championship | Trick Williams (c) vs. Sami Zayn
- Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
- IYO SKY vs. Asuka
- Danhausen and Mystery Partner vs. The Miz and Kit Wilson
WWE Backlash Results:
Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker w/Paul Heyman
Breakker charges in for a Spear as soon as the bell rings. Rollins leaps over Breakker and lands a head kick. Breakker tumbles out of the ring. Dive by Rollins. Breakker fires back with a few right hands. Breakker tosses Rollins into the crowd. Rollins leaps off the barricade and clotheslines Breakker. Breakker rolls in. Rollins leaps off the top, but gets caught by Breakker. Breakker suplexes Rollins over the top. Breakker works over Rollins. Rollins struggles to his feet. Bron Breakker lands three release German suplexes. Rolling kicks out. Breakinstiener by Breakker. Rollins kicks out. Breakker tosses Rollins out of the ring and sets up a super Spear.
As Breakker leaps in the air, Rollins superkicks Breakker out of the air. Both men are almost counted out. Rollins lands a running knee. Breakker kicks out again. Wrist clutch stomps by Rollins. Rollins calls for the Stomp. After blowing a kiss to Heyman, Rollins tries a Stomp, but Breakker blocks it and lands a press slam. Rollins tries… and lands on his head in the process. Breakker crushes Rollins with a standing moonsault. Kick out by Rollins. Rollins counters the 10 punches in the corner with a buckle bomb! Rollins bounces off the ropes and runs into a lariat from Breakker. Seth Rollins rolls out. Breakker follows and slams Rollins’ head into the commentary desk.
The Finish
Rollins sets up on the desk. Breakker leaps off the apron and clotheslines Rollins off the desk! Breakker goes up top. Rollins leaps up top and takes Breakker to the mat with a superplex. Rollins tries to roll into a falcon arrow, but Breakker counters with a falcon arrow of his own! Kick out by Rollins. Breakker lands a second Breakinstiener! Breakker tries a third Breakinstiener, but Rollins does a front flip and lands on his feet! Pedigree by Rollins. Rollins hits the Stomp! Heyman hops up on the apron and argues with the referee. Rollins rolls out of the ring and grabs a chair.
Austin Theory and Logan Paul teleport into the arena. Rollins beats them both down with the chair. Stomp to Theory by Rollins. Paul runs away. Rollins runs back to the ring and eats a Spear from Breakker! Rollins kicks out! Breakker is stunned. After pulling down the straps, Breakker sets up a Torpedo Spear. Rollins counters with a pedigree! Rollins goes up top for a Super Stomp. Breakker Spears Rollins out of the air for the win.
Winner- Bron Breakker
Grade: B
This may have been Breakker’s best match since arriving on the main roster. Rollins and Breakker killed it out there. One thing that gets lost at times is maintaining the proper level of aggression in the feud. Breakker and Rollins hate each other and did their best to murder each other tonight. Well done.
WWE United States Championship | Trick Williams (c) w/Lil Yachty vs. Sami Zayn
Williams pushes Zayn before the match starts. Zayn goes nuts. The bell rings, and Zayn lights Williams up with a few chops. Zayn runs into a leaping clothesline from Williams. Williams lands a few chops of his own, followed by some Trick stomps in the corner. Williams sends Zayn into the ropes, but Zayn ducks under and takes a minute outside the ring. Zayn follows and tries to hit Williams with the ring steps. Yachty steps in the way with a kendo stick. Williams rolls back in. Zayn follows and works over Williams. Williams fires up and catches Zayn with a Harlem side kick.
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Zayn counters the slingshot Bookend, but still eats a big boot. Zayn avoids the Trick Shot. Williams escapes a blue thunder bomb and hits the Bookend. Kick out by Zayn. Sunset flip powerbomb by Zayn. Kick out. Williams counters the Helluva Kick with a big boot. Zayn ducks the cyclone boot and lands his blue thunder bomb! Williams kicks at two. Zayn tries his patented reverse leap frog, but his knee gives out. The referee checks on Zayn. Zayn surprises Williams with a small package! Williams kicks out. Yachty hops on the apron.
The Finish
While the referee is distracted, Zayn hits Williams with Yachty’s kendo stick! Williams kicks out. The referee checks on Williams in the corner. Zayn tries a sneaky Helluva Kick. Yachty hits Zayn with the kendo stick. Williams counters with a cyclone boot. Kick out by Zayn. The fight spills out of the ring. Williams sets up a bookend on the ring steps. Zayn reverses it into a DDT on the steps. Yachty tries to check Zayn drops Yachty with a Helluva Kick to the back of the head. Zayn rolls back in, misses another Helleva Kick, and eats a Trick Shot! Williams pins Zayn.
Winner and STILL United States Champion, Trick Williams!
Grade: B-
Solid match. Tons of shenanigans, but that’s perfectly fine considering the angle. Zayn works as the heel who is unwilling to accept that everyone hates him. This writer has no idea who these ride or dies that Zayn is talking about are, but I’m sure they go to school in another state. Williams is a star, and this angle is going to benefit Williams AND Zayn in the long run.
Danhausen and Mystery Partner vs. The Miz and Kit Wilson
As Miz and Wilson wait in the ring, Danhausen rides out on the stage and opens his cloning machine. A little person walks out of the machine. Danhausen is surprised, but shrugs and tells Minihausen to follow him. Danhausen drives them to the ring. Miz and Wilson laugh at Minihausen. Wilson begs to start the match against Minihausen. Wilson kicks Minihausen in the face and poses to the crowd. Minihausen does a backflip to avoid Wilson, followed by a springboard headbutt. La Mistica by Minihausen. Miz tags in and eats a rana from Minihausen. Minihausen walks the rope and kicks Miz in the face. Minihausen sends Wilson out of the ring. Danhausen carries Minihausen on his shoulders for a dive to the floor. Miz sends Danhausen into the ring post.
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Wilson attacks Minihausen from behind. Miz and Wilson beat down Minihausen. Minihausen takes a double suplex from Miz and Wilson. After avoiding a corner spear from Wilson, Minihausen takes down Wilson with a moonsault off the top! Minihausen manages to tag in Danhausen, who clears the ring. Wilson pushes Miz out of the way while Danhausen tries his running boot finish. Minihausen gets the tag and lands a dive. Wilson tries to run away to the back. Minihausen follows and gets tossed back into the cloning machine. Wilson closes the door. The cloning machine restarts, and a bunch of Minihausens run out of the box! The Minihausens attack Kit Wilson!
The Finish
Wilson runs back to the ring and gets airplane spun by Minihausen! Minihausen hits Wastland on Wilson, much to Wade Barrett’s chagrin. Minihausen tries to curse Wilson, but Wilson holds up a mirror, sending the curse back to Minihausen!. Miz hits Minihausen with massive Skull Crushing Finale! Danhausen breaks up the pin. Miz grabs a fire extinguisher. Danhausen and the Minihausens all curse Miz at the same time! The fire extinguisher doesn’t go off. Miz looks in the barrel of the fire extinguisher, and it goes off in his face, blinding Miz and Wilson in the process. Minihausen takes Wilson out with a dive while Danhause boots Miz in the head for the win.
Winners- Danhausen and Minihausen
Grade: C+
This was so, so dumb… but in the best way possible. Comedy in wrestling only works if it’s actually funny. This was pretty funny.
IYO SKY vs. Asuka
The crowd chants, “We want Kairi!” as Asuka and SKY lock up. Asuka works over SKY. SKY counters a roll up with a double stomp. SKY collapses to the mat. Missle dropkick by SKY. Asuka crawls to the corner. Bullet Train attack by SKY. Asuka kicks at two. Asuka escapes a double under hook and unleashes a flurry of strikes, capped with a running knee for a near fall. SKY ducks a headkick and lands one of her own. Asuka kicks out. German suplex hold by SKY. Asuka kicks out and locks SKY in a Kimura. SKY escapes and lands a kick. Pop-up knee by Asuka. Back leg front kick (lol) by SKY.
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Both women are down. Rolling armbar by Asuka. Asuka transitions into the Asuka Lock. SKY elbows her way out of the hold and lands a stunner. IYO SKY runs into an armbar from Asuka. SKY reverses it into an Asuka Lock! Asuka gets her foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. SKY tries a rana off the top. Asuka rolls through into a pin. SKY kicks out at 2.9. Asuka misses a hip attack. SKY knocks Asuka to the floor. SKY is favoring her arm, but tries a dive. Asuka cuts SKY off with an elbow to the head. Asuka lays SKY on the commentary desk. SKY blocks Asuka’s suplex attempt.
The Finish
Asuka tries the mist, but SKY uses Wade Barrett’s notebook as a shield! SKY trips Asuka onto the commentary desk. Asai moonsault by SKY. SKY tries the Over the Moonsault. Asuka avoids it and locks in an armbar. SKY turns it into a pin. Asuka kicks out, but rolls into the Asuka Lock! SKY starts to fade, but escapes the hold. SKY and Asuka trade strikes. Asuka counters and lands a release German suplex. SKY responds with a half-nelson suplex. SKY crushes Asuka with the Over the Moonsault for the win!
Winner- IYO SKY
After the match, SKY bows to Asuka. Asuka starts to cry and hugs SKY.
Grade: B+
This match was fantastic. SKY and Asuka told one hell of a story in the ring tonight with so many close nearfalls and submissions. These two are wrestling soulmates. This felt a bit like a goodbye for Asuka, which would be odd. Not that she is walking away, but that we didn’t get any notice. I’m sure this crowd would have celebrated Asuka even more if that was the case. Asuka is too much of a legend not to give her an official farewell if that’s the case.
Special Announcement
John Cena is out in a nicely tailored suit to make a special announcement. As the crowd cheers, Cena notes how cool this all is. Cena thanks the crowd, which leads to “Thank you, Cena!” chants. Cena says he has been thinking about what to do next in his career. The crowd wants one more match. Cena thinks about that last match, but despite some people being upset, he was 100% happy with how everything went. That night, it was an evening of opportunity. Cena puts everyone over Oba Femi, Sol Ruca, and Je’Von Evans. Femi gets put over hard, as Cena reminds everyone he debuted on Cena’s retirment show.
A few months later, Femi was strutting to the ring to beat the Beast, Brock Lesnar. Cena wants to do it all again. As the crowd cheers, Cena announces the John Cena Classic, an event where up-and-coming stars will face the current stars, and a new championship, personally endorsed by Cena, will also debut. Also, the WWE Universe will vote to crown the champion of the John Cena Classic. Every participant will have to qualify, but for the first time, everyone who doesn’t win their match could still be crowned the champion based on a fan vote.
Grade: C
They had this writer until they mentioned the fan vote part of this. The WWE doesn’t need another championship, but if they were adding one, having it be more of a TV Championship would make sense. Make it what the og WCW TV Championship was supposed to be. A title that is defended on TV each week with a time limit. Having it so the fans can potentially vote for someone who lost their match is asinine. You would basically be giving this person a participation trophy. How could you respect a title win under those circumstances? Also, recent history tells us that people are basically stupid. We don’t do well when given the opportunity to vote on things. Super curious to hear what you all think about this. Let us know in the comments!
WWE World Heavyweight Championship | Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
Reigns locks in a side headlock. Fatu escapes but gets a shoulder tackle for his troubles. Reigns puts up the one, but Fatu pops back up to his feet. When Reigns turns around, Fatu stares a hole through him. Fatu runs over Reigns. Reigns tries a clothesline, but Fatu shrugs it off. Fatu floors Reigns with a clothesline. Reigns rolls out. Fatu follows and locks in the Tongan Death Grip! Fatu sends Reigns into the ring post. Reigns recovers and tries to break Fatu’s Tongan Death Grip hand. Reigns focuses his assault on Fatu’s hand. Corner clotheslines by Reigns.
Fatu blocks one and lands a clothesline of his own. Jacob Fatu posts Reigns. Fatu misses a splash in the corner. Reigns lands a flurry of strikes. Big boot by Reigns. Reigns lands a Superman Punch! Fatu kicks out at one and pops back up to his feet! Reigns looks shocked. Fatu and Reigns trade punches. Fatu eats a kick, but again shrugs it off and lays Reigns out with a clothesline. Running hip attack by Fatu. Fatu tries another, but Reigns meets him in the middle with a Superman Punch! Kick out by Fatu. Fatu powerbombs Reigns through the commentary desk!
The Finish
Fatu charges in for another hip attack, but Reigns counters with a Spear! Kick out by Fatu! Reigns calls for another Spear. Fatu reverses it into a pop-up Samoan drop. Mighty Moonsault by Fatu. Reigns kicks out! Fatu is stunned. After dropping several headbutts, Fatu lays in a few punches for good measure. Fatu goes up top for a swanton. Reigns gets his knees up. Fatu and Reigns meet in the middle to trade strikes. Reigns falls into the corner. Fatu hits two running hip attacks. Fatu locks in the Tongan Death Grip. Reigns starts to fade.
Reigns gets to his feet and drives Fatu into the corner, crushing the referee! After trading big shots, Reigns counters a pop-up Samoan drop into a Superman Punch! Spear by Reigns! Fatu kicks out again! Reigns tries to pick Fatu up off the mat, but Fatu locks in the Tongan Death Grip. Reigns thrashes around helplessly and grabs the referee. The turnbuckle pad is eventually ripped off in the process. While the referee is turned around, Reigns slams Fatu’s head into the exposed turnbuckle pad. While Fatu is dazed, Reigns hits another Spear for the win.
Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns!
After the match, Fatu puts Reigns back in the grip. Officials hit the ring, and Fatu superkicks the Hurricane. Fatu eventually leaves, but comes back and puts Reigns in the Tongan Death Grip again. It takes seven people to pull Fatu off of Reigns.
Grade: C+
This match did a good job of establishing the Death Grip as a terrifying maneuver. That said, having Fatu take out several others, maybe even a few high-ranking officials, with the Death Grip leading up to this, would have added so much more to everything that happened here tonight. The match itself was good, but the finish fell a little flat. Considering how unstoppable Fatu seemed before the finish, the turnbuckle being enough to put Fatu down was a bit of a reach, Spear or no.
WWE Backlash Review:
Tonight’s show was leaps and bounds better than anyone expected heading into this. Cena’s announcement was as big as he claimed, but the proposed execution of the John Cena Classic leaves a bit to be desired. Match of the night honors belong to Asuka and IYO SKY. They put on a classic WRESTLING contest. Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker were a close second, with a hard-hitting contest that we have to see run back several times. All in all, this was a solid outing for WWE. With all the roster upheaval, they managed to put on quite a good show from top to bottom. What did you all think about the show? Let us know in the comments below!
Rating: B
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