After putting together a solid WrestleMania 37 in April, WWE decided to attach the ‘Mania name to this year’s Backlash event in the hope that it would drive up interest. Whether it succeeded is up for debate.
The post-WrestleMania pay-per-view featured five title bouts, a Lumberjack match and plenty of action. All four of the top titles across the men’s and women’s divisions were defended in addition to the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte (Raw Women’s Championship)
All three competitors circled each other before Charlotte rolled out of the ring. Asuka and Ripley forced her back in and momentarily teamed up on her before turning on each other.
The Queen pulled Asuka out of the ring and hit a fallaway slam to take her out of the equation for a little while. Ripley and Charlotte then played a game of oneupmanship that ended when Charlotte played dirty.
She tripped The Nightmare on the apron before rolling Asuka back into the ring for an illegal choke against the middle rope. The Empress of Tomorrow got fired up and hit a flurry of strikes.
Ripley went on a rampage and almost scored the win with a northern lights suplex. Charlotte got both women out of the ring and took them out with a moonsault from the top turnbuckle.
Moments later, Asuka and Ripley teamed up to hit a double superplex on Charlotte. After a brief exchange, they both kicked out of a double Natural Selection.
But Ripley was able to take advantage of a mistake from Charlotte and hit Asuka with Riptide for the win.
Grade: B+
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley (SmackDown Women’s Championship)
The match started with an exchange of waistlocks that ended with Bianca Belair throwing Bayley out of the ring. The Role Model got right back in and locked up with her again.
They kept things technical for a few minutes but as soon as Belair hit the first dropkick, the tone shifted. She whipped Bayley from corner to corner while taunting her with the threat of a hair whip.
The challenger grabbed Belair’s ear and yanked her down to take control. They fought at ringside where Bayley dropped The EST of WWE onto the steel steps and then suplexed her onto the floor.
The Role Model laughed at The EST until Belair dropped her with a right hand. Bayley hit an elbow drop for a two-count as they started to build toward the finish.
Bayley raked the eyes of Belair while the ref had his back turned. She hit the Bayley to Belly, but The EST refused to stay down for the count. The champion rolled her up with some help from her braid to get the victory.
Grade: B
Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro (Universal Championship)
Roman Reigns was accompanied by Paul Heyman, but he seemingly told Jey Uso to stay back because he sounded like he had doubt in his voice.
The Tribal Chief backed Cesaro to the corner but they made a clean break. Reigns scored the first takedown with a shoulder tackle. The challenger returned the favor and got a few near-falls, forcing Reigns to take a breather at ringside.
They kept the pace steady as they traded strikes. The Big Dog took control again and beat Cesaro down in the corner. The Swiss Superman drilled him with a popup uppercut out of nowhere.
He brought Reigns down with a corkscrew plancha over the top rope. A running uppercut and a crossbody almost got Cesaro the win. The Tribal Chief countered him on the apron and regained the upper hand, but he couldn’t keep him down for a three-count.
He began focusing on the arm Cesaro injured earlier in the match. Reigns even addressed Daniel Bryan directly as he looked into the camera while punishing The Swiss Superman.
Cesaro began to build some momentum and hit a superplex from the apron for a two-count. Reigns countered the Neutralizer and locked in an armbar. The Swiss Superstar broke free but was quickly taken down with a Superman Punch.
Cesaro broke a guillotine choke and put Reigns in the Sharpshooter. The Tribal Chief put him back in the guillotine and choked him out to win after a long struggle.
After it was over, Jey Uso attacked Cesaro with Reigns’ blessing. Seth Rollins came down and joined in on the beating. He put a chair on The Swiss Superman’s arm and whipped it into the ring post before hitting a Stomp to end the show.
Grade: A+
the big dog won!!