Backlash, while predictable, was necessary for WWE and served as a stepping stone to new champions and storylines at WrestleMania and numerous quality post-match matches.
Cody Rhodes’ reign is off to a strong start, but Bayley and Damian Priest each have some things going on around them.
There was a bit of a surprise when the new members of Bloodline debuted, but it wasn’t what people were expecting, and having a new Women’s Tag Team Champion meant that WWE didn’t have the title holders before WrestleMania. This means that it has become an almost completely blank slate.
It wasn’t hard to pick a winner, which can sometimes be an issue for WWE on smaller PLEs with 5-7 matches per card, but WWE plans to hold WrestleMania 41 next April in Las Vegas. announced that it will be held at Allegiant Stadium in
The crowd in Lyon, France, was loud, unrelenting, and entertaining for most of Saturday afternoon’s show.
Here are five takeaways from Backlash. ”
new rhodes
Cody Rhodes fought as a World Champion for the first time in WWE and it was a very good start to his reign against a suitable opponent in AJ Styles who put in an exciting performance.
The two talked about toughness, resilience and gamesmanship.
The early matches were about Rhodes needing to overcome the punishment Styles dealt him and showing he wasn’t going to back down, but later both men countered each other’s heavier moves. It evolved into a series.
Rose showed off a new level of resilience for the champion in this match, landing a springboard 450 splash and an incredible forearm from Styles.
When Kenta Kobashi hit the famous Burning Hammer Drive, Rose jumped out and performed a babyface comeback at the count of 2.
Knowing he needed to dig a little deeper to take down Styles, Rose jumped off the top turnbuckle and then performed a Cody Cutter.
After getting fired up and pounding her chest, he hits a crossroads, locking Styles in the shoulder for the win.
Surprisingly, the crowd was louder at this match than at any other match, as if the crowd were more interested in listening to the chants they’d been hearing all night than having a real emotional reaction. It was a little daunting for me because I could feel it. What we were seeing in the ring was distracting at times.
new blood
Bloodlines continues to grow and may not be finished yet, as the new members who debuted in Backlash weren’t what fans were expecting.
Arriving to relieve Tonga and Solo Shikoa was not former MLW Champion Jacob Fatu, but Toma Tonga’s younger brother Tanga Loa, son of the legendary Haku.
Roa came just in time to slam Tonga’s Kevin Owens into multiple chairs with an avalanche brainbuster and pull him out of the pin.
The shocked look on Paul Heyman’s face when he saw Roar arrive said it all.
His involvement opened up the possibility for Sicoah to land a Samoan Spike on Owens to end the match.
The match never stopped as Nick Aldis engaged in a street fight after Owens, Orton, Sicore and Tonga brawled before the opening bell. They took it into the crowd and used tables, ring stairs, kendo sticks, and trash cans.
Orton got an RKO on both of them, including Sicoah “out of nowhere” on the announce table, but it didn’t break.
This was a great way to open the show.
Tiffy time is coming
The best thing about the triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship was that it consistently went for the pin, there were very few isolated moments, and all three women were able to consistently participate in the action together. That’s what happened.
This led to some fun sequences of counters and reversals, often requiring Bayley to dive in and make saves.
Stratton made an impression in this match, which was her first championship appearance on the main roster, showing poise, ability to interact with the crowd, and physical talent that many admired about her.
That included cartwheeling Naomi while pinning her against the announce table with the Alabama Slam.
Finally, Naomi and Bayley got tired of the young upstart and teamed up in 1D, taking her out of the match for the first time.
The match ended with both babyfaces left in the ring.
Bayley reversed the pinning combination and was eventually able to force Naomi’s shoulders into the mat.
The two embraced in the ring, and Stratton was forced to return to the one-on-one match after Bayley as he was not pinned.
cracks in the foundation
It’s not always easy to build up excitement within a faction for a victory, but WWE was able to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso as Damian Priest was able to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso at The Judgment Day. We were able to achieve that.
J.D. McDonagh and Finn Balor provided important aid to their faction allies, despite Priest’s stated unwillingness. He reprimanded McDonough for getting in the way for the first time before Baylor came to his aid.
Priest didn’t see McDonagh save Bacon by putting his foot on the ropes after Uso delivered a superkick and a Uso splash that seemed to win the match. The champion countered another splash from Uso and hit a top rope chokeslam to finish him off.
Priest then accused McDonough and Baylor of attacking Uso after the match, instructing them to just stand next to him and celebrate.
WWE set up a storyline where Priest tried to shelve Rhea Ripley and assert his place as the leader of the group, and set up a formula where Priest would ultimately lose if Baylor and McDonough stopped helping Priest. .
The match itself was solid with some great exchanges and a pretty drama-filled moment when Uso, who was excited about the new Bloodline before the match, was late and kicked out of South of Heaven.
WWE’s New Golden Girls
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane for the Women’s Tag Team Championship, where the referee has to tell Sane that she is not a legal participant in the ring when she goes to get the pin. Things got a little confusing because of this. It was a little bit unfixed as Asuka tagged her when she didn’t need to before Sani was tagged correctly. Still, for a few minutes, the movement felt a little strange.
That being said, there were a lot of good things here. Cargill countered Sane’s top rope dive and caught her head in the former AEW star’s legs, lifting her onto her shoulders and then smoothly dropping her into her Jaded-off position . Charts are cool.
Cargill also took a springboard off the ropes, which we had never seen before from here.
Also, coming up with some tandem moves like she and Belair already have would be fun to watch.
Belair, who was in danger as a babyface for much of the match, ended the match with Asuka hitting the KOD on Sane and pinning Sane for the win.
With this win, Belair became WWE’s eighth Women’s Triple Crown Champion.
Biggest winner: Tiffany Strattom
Biggest loser: Asuka and Kari Sane
Best match: AJ Styles vs. Cody Rhodes
prediction: 5-0
School year: B+
