WWE’s annual follow-up PLE to WrestleMania, ‘Backlash’ took place this past Saturday, May 9th from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida. This was a 5-match card, like most of WWE’s “B-level” PLE’s outside of the big 4, but modernly that isn’t such a bad thing. The smaller card gives each match more time to breathe and the overall time of each match is therefore longer because they’re not trying to cram too much onto a mega show. I mean there were still plenty of 4-minute ad breaks throughout this PLE as well, but that’s just inescapable at this point in WWE so I just take it as part of the thing. I don’t mind some breathing room in between matches, in fact I prefer it, but WWE’s ad-breaks between matches have felt a bit more drawn out as of late. I really enjoyed ‘Backlash’ though, I’ll just preface this by saying that. There wasn’t really a match on the card that I didn’t enjoy to some degree. Backlash has delivered though these past few years really, I went to the one last year live and it was a great show, and Bad Bunny vs Damian Priest in the Street Fight in San Juan was a few years ago at a ‘Backlash’ show as well. This one was no different and delivered a fun, albeit predictable show as well. So, without further yapping, let’s get into it.
Like with WrestleMania, the first hour of the show was also available on ESPN 2 and then it switched over entirely to the streaming service. The first 2 matches aired for free on ESPN 2 as well that means, so they got a pretty sweet deal this time around, getting 2 of the 5 matches right there on their cable. I don’t have cable, but I do have plenty of streaming services so the first hour on ESPN thing doesn’t ever affect me personally anyways, but it is an intriguing move from a business standpoint and I wonder if they have the numbers to show it’s paying off for them or if it’s just something they’re trying out to see. Anyways, the show started off with the long-anticipated blood feud matchup between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker. Rollins wasted no time and came at Breakker before the bell even officially rang, but Breakker’s strength and intensity was enough to thwart Rollins offensive attempts in the early goings as Bron grounded and pounded him all over the ring and ringside area. Breakker attempted a Spear at the ringside area, but Rollins knocked him back with a Superkick and mounted a comeback from there eventually setting himself up for a Stomp before getting distracted by Paul Heyman who was barking at him from the ring apron and allowing Breakker enough time to reverse and get back in control. Bron sent Seth outside the ring before hitting him with a jumping clothesline over the announce table in a big spot. Rollins later reversed a ‘Breakkersteiner’ attempt by landing on his feet and suplexing Bron off the turnbuckles himself before setting up for the Stomp. Logan Paul and Austin Theory ran down to ringside as Heyman distracted the ref, but Rollins saw it coming and smacked them both with a steel chair before chasing them out of the ringside area. As he came back to the ring though, Breakker nailed him with a Spear, but Rollins was shockingly able to kick out at 2. Rollins countered another Spear attempt by Bron with a jumping, mid-air Pedigree, and this time Bron kicked out at 2. Rollins stayed on the offensive though with another Pedigree and attempted a Super-Stomp from the ropes on a dazed Breakker, but Bron caught him in the air with a Spear, before following up with a Super-Spear for the pin and win. These 2 delivered a great and compelling match to open up the show.
Next up, Trick Williams (w/Lil Yachty) defended his United States Championship against one of the last real good guys, the killer of the Gingerbread Man, Sami Zayn. Sami could hardly contain his hatred for Trick and started coming at him as soon as he entered the ring, pancaking his face and yelling at him as the ref tried to keep him back. Sami started the match strong, but Trick used his overall size and legs to throw kicks to turn this into a more back and forth affair. Sami attempted a Springboard moonsault at one point but landed on his feet and appeared to tweak his knee, which brought the ref over to check on him. It was all a ruse from the disingenuous Zayn though as he used the bought time and momentary distraction to take back control of the match. Yachty got up on the apron in frustration as Sami beat down Trick and Sami used the distraction to take Yachty’s kendo stick from ringside and get a couple of cheap shots in on Trick. Sami was setting up for a Helluva Kick on Trick, but Yachty blasted him across the back with the kendo stick as he was in the corner. Sami turned his attention to Yachty then and chased him ringside before beating him down. The distraction was enough time to get Trick back into the match though as he came to Yachty’s aid and dropped Sami on the steel steps. Sami regained the upper hand and nailed Yachty with a Helluva Kick over the barricade before dropping Trick on the steps and setting him up for another Helluva. Trick caught him on the run though and nailed him with a Trick Show for the pin and win. This was a pretty decent match, at least they had a little more time to work with this time around as compared to WrestleMania and Trick Willy retains the strap.
Next up, The Miz & Kit Wilson took on the thorn in their side, Danhausen and a mystery opponent. Basically, Danhausen has made Miz and Kit’s life hell for the last handful of weeks through his “curse” and they eventually boiled over and beat him down on Smackdown. Danhausen demanded a match with them, but Nick Aldis said he’d give him one at Backlash but only if he could find a tag team partner. He was given the bright idea, ironically by The Miz & Kit Wilson, to make another one of himself to tag with him. So, Danhausen makes his entrance and there’s a “cloning machine” on the stage, one of Danhausen’s masterful inventions of course. He runs the machine and a bunch of beeps set off and the machine opens up and through the smoke pops out a Mini-Hausen (played by El Torito or Mascarita Dorado but shhh). Danhausen was visibly upset by this but said screw it and drove the 2 of them down to the ring in his casketmobile. Mini-Hausen surprised and overwhelmed Miz & Kit early as the 2 scrambled to find their footing in the matchup. Miz sending Danhausen into the ring post and singling Mini-Hausen was the way to do it though as the 2 beat up on the smaller opponent and showboated in the process. Mini hit a moonsault onto Kit and made the hot tag to Danhausen who exploded into the match with a German Suplex to Kit and a DDT to Miz. Miz regained the upper hand on Danhausen as Kit wrestled Mini-Hausen up the ramp before tossing him back into the cloning device and shutting him in. This caused the machine to run again though and out popped a whole squad of Mini-Hausens who started wreaking havoc around ringside. Miz hit the Skull Crushing finale on Mini and almost got the win before Danhausen broke it up, causing Miz to fight him to the outside before grabbing a fire extinguisher and shooting it at Danhausen but it wouldn’t spray…until he pointed it at himself and inadvertently blinded himself and Kit with the dust. Mini-Hausen hit a tope rope splash onto Kit on the outside as Danhausen hit a blinded Miz with a running boot for the pin and win. This match was so bonkers and silly and I loved every minute of it.
Next up, Iyo Sky battled her longtime mentor and role model and more recently bitter rival, Asuka. The crowd let loose with the “We Want Kairi!” chants a few times throughout the match, but not to the point of being too obnoxious which I’m happy about. Don’t get me wrong, I hope the best for Kairi as well and I get why people are upset because she was a central figure in this story, but this may be good for her in the long run as she wasn’t being utilized that great on the main roster anyways and she was never really going to reach the highs that Asuka saw or Iyo is seeing now it didn’t feel like. I just knew this match was going to deliver because these 2 women are so special in the ring and have chemistry with one another, so I didn’t want to be the takeaway from this match being that the crowd took it over with chants, and luckily these women were able to sell them back into the contest pretty quickly and get them invested and backing Iyo. Iyo found early success by being quicker and outmaneuvering her more cerebral opponent in Asuka. That was stopped though when Asuka caught her on a springboard attempt to the outside and sent the back of her headfirst into the ring apron, all before delivering a series of kicks to the side of her head. The 2 battled back and forth throughout the matchup a lot though as Iyo seemed to have a counter for a lot of Asuka’s big offense, rolling through a powerbomb like move of Asuka’s for a double stomp on her and countering out of an Asuka Lock first with a modified stunner and then later with an Asuka Lock of her own as well. Asuka countered out of some of Iyo’s top rope offense for a sunset flip to regain control of the match as she took Iyo to the outside and drug her on top the announce table. She attempted to blind Iyo with her patented mist, but Iyo read the situation and saw it coming, as she held announcer Wade Barrett’s notebook over her face and blocked the mist from hitting her eyes before sending Asuka face first into the table. Back in the ring, Asuka countered an Over-The-Moonsault into a triangle choke and nearly caused Iyo to pass out, but she rolled through it for a near fall. Iyo got to her feet first and nailed Asuka with a bullet train in the corner before successfully connecting with an Over-The-Moonsault for the pin and win. After the match, Iyo and Asuka embraced in the ring as a teary-eyed Asuka held Iyo’s arm up. People are speculating that is it for Asuka in WWE because of how she acted after the match and maybe it is but I’m not going to say too much until we know for sure. She’s an incredible talent though and if this is it, these 2 delivered quite a show in her swan song with the company.
Next up, John Cena made his entrance. Gracing us with his presence for a second straight PLE following up being the host of this year’s WrestleMania. Cena was promoting this appearance all week, saying stuff like he had some news that was going “to shake the very foundation of the company for fans and performers alike”, and to be honest with you I thought it was just going to be some ‘Club WWE’ nonsense and it was going to piss me off that this company isn’t appreciating the sanctity of Cena’s retirement match and story and they were going to have him out here peddling their nonsense, but it was nothing like that. Actually, it was far more confusing. He introduced this new concept that will be happening at some point, when I’m not entirely sure, but it’s called the “John Cena Classic”! It’ll feature stars of the main roster squaring off against stars in NXT, but that’s not the only thing, the event will also crown a “John Cena Classic Champion”. The champion though isn’t necessarily who wins the matches in a tournament style way because it’s placed to a fan vote (supposedly), meaning that theoretically even a talent that loses their match can still win the title if the crowd appreciates their heart and their hustle shown throughout their match enough. Interesting enough concept and I appreciate Cena branding something on his name to try out that’s new, but it feels a little strange to have this fan vote concept thing because no one will believe it or they’ll make it rather obvious I feel like. Regardless though, excited for an NXT vs WWE event, should be fresh and fun.
Then it was time for the main event as the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against his own blood, the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu. I’ve appreciated the story being told heading into this match, it’s been pretty well done. Adding in those family ties immediately following up Mania and taking things in a completely different direction with Punk’s momentary departure isn’t a bad thing and Jacob was a really interesting choice for Roman. Fatu is like the rogue family member in the Samoan Dynasty; he wasn’t brought in by the Bloodline because he has a checkered past and was seen as “too dangerous” and like he wouldn’t play by the rules and fall in line, so he had to carve out his own way in and now he’s stepping up to the Tribal Chief against all of the family’s rules and wishes, but he doesn’t give a damn. It’s a pretty cool little familial yarn and I’m digging it on a week to week basis, Jacob feels kind of like the good guy because he’s the one that’s felt like he’s been held down and held back and he’s finally made his way and feels he’s earned his chance, but the way he’s going about it and how far he’s taking things while Roman is consistently keeping his cool and trying to keep the family together makes Fatu seem like the bad guy as well. This was illustrated perfectly on how they wrestled this match and how the crowd responded, with a 50/50 split from the audience. Roman came out Fatu strong in the early going, but Jacob had an answer for everything thrown at him. Fatu kicked out early off a Superman Punch and put Roman through the announce table with a powerbomb shortly after. As Fatu entered the ring, Roman caught him with a Spear for a near fall. Roman set up for another Spear, but Fatu caught him with a Samoan Drop and followed it up with a Moonsault for a near fall of his own. The 2 traded blows until Fatu locked in the Tongan Death Grip on Roman and Roman inadvertently backed him into the ref getting out of it. Roman followed up with another Superman Punch and another Spear, but still only got the 2 count. The 2 continued to trade shots until Roman removed the turnbuckle pad and ended up sending Fatu headfirst into it before following up with another Spear for the pin and win.
After the match, a beaten and desperate Reigns sat with the title before Fatu attacked him from behind. Punching him and stomping him before eventually applying the Tongan Death Grip yet again. Referees and officials ran to the ring to get him off the champ, but Fatu was worked up and in full-on crash out mode as he attacked refs and officials and even tossed Raw GM Adam Pearce out of the ring before eventually leaving under his own free will.
Match Ratings: 1-10 scale (.25 applicable)
- Seth Rollins vs Bron Breakker- 9/10
- United States Championship Match: Trick Williams (c) w/Lil Yachty vs Sami Zayn- 7/10
- Tag Team match: Danhausen & Mini-Hausen(s) vs The Miz & Kit Wilson- 8/10
- Iyo Sky vs Asuka- 9/10
- World Heavyweight Championship match: Roman Reigns (c) vs Jacob Fatu- 8.5/10
That’ll do it for this one though folks! Make sure to like the page on social media or come back to the website often to keep up with all of my latest pieces over WWE wrestling, horror films (both old & new), newly released movies, and so much more! Thank you for the time and until next time, be good to one another.
