Backlash X8 - 5/6/2022

[Nineteen]

2 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Why were the fans so anti-Bianca? I haven't been paying attention.

Feels like she's getting a little that territory where it's nothing exactly against her but she keeps beating people that fans would rather see.

Bayley comes back last year in a feel good moment with Iyo and Dakota backing her up and felt like she could have taken it off Bianca and have Bianca chase her to get it back but that didn't happen.

Asuka brings back the Kana persona as if she's going to go on a monster run then Bianca beats her clean so no possibility for a follow up.

It's that thing where "well, have have to get her to beat whoever's [Becky's?] record so we have to keep lining up people the fans love" Like milestones are great and all but sometimes other things are sacrificed for them. Bianca totally deserves to be the face of the women's division, don't get me wrong, but she doesn't need to have the belt all the time for that to happen.

[dragonzombie]

[EVA]

8 hours ago, TheVileOne said:

 

Brock does a blade job and gushes buckets in a WWE match again and no one is going to do or say shit because it's Lesnar.

 

It was hardway. The gash between his eyes is obvious the second his head hit the buckle, well before his hands go anywhere near his face. He hit his forehead, then jerked his head up, which seems to have dragged the metal buckle down his face until it…snagged some flesh.

Whether that was an intentional shot at getting some hardway going (a la Brock/Orton) or not, who knows, but it definitely added something to the match. And I’m glad they didn’t stop the match to clean him up.

Now, if they gimmicked the buckle with a blade…wow. *chef’s kiss* But as we saw with Cash Wheeler’s arm in AEW, those buckles can be plenty dangerous on their own.

Edited May 7, 2023 by EVA

[TheVileOne]

This being a recurring thing in Lesnar matchups can’t be accidental.

[keith_h]

Brock respecting the time honored tradition of spewing plasma in Puerto Rico was the highlight of the show. Otherwise a solid B show. Like everyone has said, the crowd made it so much better.

Edited May 7, 2023 by keith_h

[Infinit]

Is Omos any higher on the all time hierarchy of 7 footers than Ron Reis at this point?

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

I suppose it would have been asking too much of Savio Vega, pushing 60 years old, to give us one of his sweet as heck spinning heel kicks, so I'm just glad he got a payday.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Sparkleface
Fixing a typo.

[AverageKong]

PR was a hot crowd all night long for a pretty solid show. 

Bianca has now entered that John Cena/Trish Stratus phase of booking. While people may look at maybe the 5-10 smarky cities the WWE visit a yr and say: "Oh they're booing Bianca" "They're turning on Bianca"... she's still incredibly favored and is going to be the face of the division for a few more yrs to come. If they do turn her heel, great. I just don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon even if she's getting mixed reactions like she got here. 

All that said Bianca vs Iyo was amazing. Bianca has proved time and time again that she's a natural. Iyo needed a hot crowd that was going to pop big for her offense and she got it. Hopefully they can add some layers to this whole Dmg Ctrl storyline and it works out well for Iyo bc there's a lot more she and Bianca can do in the ring. I'd like to see this boil down to a 3 way of Bianca vs Bayley vs Iyo with Iyo breaking away from the faction and taking the title.

Loved the crystals in Seth Rollins gear. She's been killing it with her looks.

I didn't expect much from Rhea vs Zelina. I just don't think Zelina can keep up in the ring with the top tier women. Every big match she's in feels like her opponents are dailing it down. 

Kudos to Bunny for breaking out the strong style moveset. Pretty entertaining match with the run ins.

Cody is definitely the new Peoples Champ. Loved that sign. He needed this win to keep the steam. 

[odessasteps]

One of my friends texted me last night and asked 

“Does Bad Bunny join Logan Paul & Pat McAfee as yet another top-10 worker in WWE who is a part time occasional guy?”

it’s interesting how the celebrity guest stars are no longer just boxers or football players that look out of place. Admittedly, not everyone was trained by Rip Rogers like Pat was. As Kris P said on Twitter, they may have an advantage by not being trained in the WWE system.

 

[Coach]

This show overdelivered in spades.

How are some people shocked the crowd was as hot as it was seeing as though PR hasn’t had a PPV since Reagan was President?
 

Booking Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico was genius and the pops in that match off the charts. 
 

Biance/Iyo was fantastic and Zelina getting a hometown ovation ruled. 
 

 

[Steventon]

This show was so much FUN and the crowd were awesome. They need to run PR a PPV every year.

Belair vs Sky was awesome. So great to see Sky get another big spotlight match like this and such a reaction. She is massively under-utilised as 1/3 of a heel faction, turn her and run her vs Ripley. Belair to her credit held up her end and I thought she did a great job selling the arm, minus almost spiking Sky with that slam. The ending shmozz felt unnecessary and was a bit of a shitball (are they running the same break-up angle as with the Bloodline?) but good stuff otherwise.

I say with 100% sincerity that Rollins vs Omos was the most I have enjoyed a Rollins match in forever. Omos is not great shakes, but he's improving and plays his role well enough, and Rollins was forced to work a match with a clear story rather than the usual workrate finisher overload wankfest he usually does.

Very cool that they gave Vega her moment here and you could see how much it meant to her. The match was so-so, because Vega is actually not a very good wrestler at all, but this was still a thumbs up because of the emotion of it.

Bad Bunny might be my pick for best celeb wrestler ever. He's here because he loves it and it shows. I thought the way they worked this was actually really strong and it felt realistic in how much he took and was able to give back (relatively of course, it is pro wrestling). Credit to Priest too how a career performance on his side too. All the run-ins were a blast, this whole deal just felt like a love letter to Puerto Rican wrestling fans and it ruled. The only thing missing was a fireball but you can't have it all.

The 6-man was good stuff and I am enjoying the Usos/Sikoa stuff to an extent, but agreed the guy who said it now feels more like the Bloodline are diong it to themselves than the babyfaces getting up on them. If it leads to Usos vs Reigns/Sikoa or something then fine, although that feels doubtful as they've stated in the past they have no desire to feud with each other, but otherwise it feels like Smackdown is just going to continue being The Bloodline Show.

Main event was probably the best Brock match in a while thanks to the early beatdown from Cody and the the BLOOD!~ Does this match rule as much without Brock leaking like a faucet? Nah, but getting BLOOD in PUERTO RICO in a wwe MAIN EVENT in 2023 is fucking rad.

 

[Eivion]

5 hours ago, Brandon Bones said:

But um… didn’t I hear they had a thing about blood these days?  You can never keep that straight with WWE.

They allow hardway blood though if it looks bad they may stop a match to tape/staple someone up like they did with Finn twice now actually. I assume it only didn't happen with Brock because he is Brock. I doubt anyone wants to risk annoying him during a big match. 

4 hours ago, Matt D said:

Why were the fans so anti-Bianca? I haven't been paying attention.

They are not quite anti-Bianca yet. That said, she is slowly getting into that Cena territory where smarkier audiences will boo her if she is against a talented worker they love. They didn't boo her at all during her entrance and clearly loved her. They just loved Io more. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

It's just a unique time in the business.  Bad Bunny is more athletic probably than anyone would expect but he's a life long wrestling fan and Hunter has said many times that Bad Bunny takes the training at the performance center seriously.  They are also hiding any weaknesses he may have.  

Same thing with Logan Paul.  He's a super athlete. He also goes to the performance center and trains.  He also wrestles primarily in matches that have a lot of shit going on.  

These guys are having good matches and it's great to see but they are also receiving the mid 2000s Edge booking.  Does anyone remember when Edge used to almost never have a straight up singles match?  It was all plunder. 

[Jamal]

Iyo/Bianca was pretty good. I almost wished they had pulled a Mickie/Trish at Mania and had Bianca bring back a little of that old NXT heel Bianca. I'm excited about where this storyline possibly leads for Iyo.

Very cool to see Zelina get her moment. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

5 hours ago, EVA said:

It was hardway. The gash between his eyes is obvious the second his head hit the buckle, well before his hands go anywhere near his face. He hit his forehead, then jerked his head up, which seems to have dragged the metal buckle down his face until it…snagged some flesh.

Whether that was an intentional shot at getting some hardway going (a la Brock/Orton) or not, who knows, but it definitely added something to the match. And I’m glad they didn’t stop the match to clean him up.

Now, if they gimmicked the buckle with a blade…wow. *chef’s kiss* But as we saw with Cash Wheeler’s arm in AEW, those buckles can be plenty dangerous on their own.

Yes. There's no way those polished metal rings are going to create that cut. I saw exactly what you saw, immediately after contact there was blood. No time to put hands up and blade. They had to have rigged the buckle ring with a gig. There's no possible way you get that perfect of a cut from smooth metal like that. They either notched in something sticking out or welded in a little blade or something of that nature.

But it's a narrative contradiction. Just regular match with buckets of blood, not stopped. "Hell in a Cell the ultimate career shortening match" was stopped for Finn's cut. Just doesn't jive. Clearly if it wasn't a scripted moment they wouldn't have shot Brock's face at the very least. But to me seems pretty obvious it was a planned spot in how no one over reacted, ref / trainers alike.

I don't have a problem with it at all and thought it was very well done. It just amplifies how shitty the actual stoppages are tho. Joe from NXT. Finn from Mania. Makes they look bad in comparison being "saved" by the trainer.

[VSG]

8 hours ago, Brandon Bones said:

So if Dom is a total simp for the Mami character.  Has it at all been suggested that they’ve actually fucked in kayfabe?

As I recall, right after Dom turned heel, Rhea cut a promo saying she made Dom a man and the Mami stuff spawned out of that, so yes they've certainly dropped hints that happened. 

 

Was this the first time WWE has used local legends for run-ins/parts of a key match? Piper/Snuka were in the '08 Rumble but that was more due to ties to the building (unless I'm misremembering something). 

[odessasteps]

My gut says yes, but trying to remember when? (Also how far back you are going) 

 

[Eivion]

12 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I don't have a problem with it at all and thought it was very well done. It just amplifies how shitty the actual stoppages are tho. Joe from NXT. Finn from Mania. Makes they look bad in comparison being "saved" by the trainer.

Seeing how bad Finn's cut was I don't blame them at all for the stoppage. 

[writeradam84]

I really enjoyed Backlash last night. Probably the best WWE show I've seen in a while.

Bianca vs IYO was a fantastic match from what I saw. Need to go back and watch it properly as my 5-year-old kept pestering me for some of my buffalo chicken nachos. He doesn't really give up without a fight so I ended up caving in and giving him some chips and whatnot. Liked what I saw though! Don't understand why the crowd was so anti-Bianca but hopefully this was a match where IYO finally breaks out and becomes a singles star. One could argue they could've done an audible and had IYO win, especially since Bianca is switching brands but then again IYO is too (I think?)

Omos match was good but that's mostly because of Seth Rollins making him look great. IDK, not much else to say about it.

Triple threat was fun, especially with the three involved. I was kinda hoping Bronson Reed would take the title and Austin Theory might be the guy they put in the World Heavyweight Title picture with Rollins and he still could be. Really want to see a 10-minute hoss fight between Lashley and Reed. That would be fun.

Even though Rhea winning was a forgone conclusion, it was really nice to see Zelina get her moment. Win, lose or draw this felt like the biggest match of her career by far and that she should be a title contender. I still feel bad she was screwed out of that match a few years ago at MSG on a Sept 11th Smackdown they did because it got cut for time and she had that whole tribute to her dad going on.

Bad Bunny vs Priest was a hell of a lot of fun! Bunny bounces around like crazy and I've always dug Priest dating back to his ROH days as Punisher Martinez. The big suplex off the production equipment was absolutely nuts. Then we get CARLITO showing up! Ok yeah, that's cool. Pun fully intended. As Judgment Day retreats they run into SAVIO VEGA! Holy shit, he did the spin kick and there was a TNT reference on commentary. Don't remember the finish. Bunny won. Probably my top five favorite WWE matches this year.

I was going to watch the final two matches tonight (6-man tag and Cody vs. Brock) as I was falling asleep after the Bunny match last night and only saw bits and pieces while nodding off. Saw Brock's face covered in blood and Cody win but still want to see it in full. My brother-in-law (the one my wife and I actually talk to) came by for a visit and to catch up so that was nice. 

[Dolphman 3000]

3 hours ago, VSG said:

Was this the first time WWE has used local legends for run-ins/parts of a key match? Piper/Snuka were in the '08 Rumble but that was more due to ties to the building (unless I'm misremembering something). 

The Hart Family jumping the rail at In Your House: Canadian Stampede? But if you're going to count ringside guests, then Mad Dog Vachon's leg has to also get a mention

[worldcupfever]

2 hours ago, writeradam84 said:

As Judgment Day retreats they run into SAVIO VEGA! Holy shit, he did the spin kick and there was a TNT reference on commentary. 

I totally popped for Graves making the TNT reference.

[Johnny Sorrow]

That was one of, if not the, most FUN Wrestling shows I've seen on TV in fucking years. 

[username]

6 hours ago, Eivion said:

Seeing how bad Finn's cut was I don't blame them at all for the stoppage. 

Yeah, Finn's cut at Mania would have gotten a fight stopped in either boxing or MMA so I can deal with them having to patch it up, it was probably either that or having to immediately go to the finish.

I think the crowd in general still thinks very highly of Bianca, but I also think she's been stuck doing the same thing for extended stretches between big PPV matches and more and more of the crowd is ready for someone else to get a run with the belt.

[Go2Sleep]

The answer is Brock wants to bleed in his matches and no one's gonna stop him. Vince is too enamored with him to say anything, is well past the point of even thinking about stepping up to him physically even in a futile effort, and Brock doesn't actually care if he never appears on WWE tv again. What 170 pound ref is gonna step in and tell Brock it's company policy to stop his match when he's "in the zone?"

[James F'n X]

Caught the show this afternoon and outside of Bad Bunny/Damien Priest (for obvious reasons) and Bianca/IYO, this felt like a big house show. Which isn't a sleight. House shows have great atmosphere and are usually pretty fun even if the matches are very by the numbers. The PR crowd was unreal hot all night and it took a B or B- show in ring and pushed it to an A experience. WWE should run more major events in neglected markets or smaller buildings and embrace their audience reactions instead of doing as much as they can to homogenize the TV product.