Moving on from the euphoria of a generally well-received WrestleMania weekend, WWE got themselves back to “normal” in pretty swift order with the exception of a few things. First, Cody Rhodes was here and he was getting a Push on RAW. Second, WWE was really into the prospect of unifying the Tag Team Titles — until a week or two before WrestleMania Backlash when they weren’t.
Third, though WrestleMania Backlash relied mostly on extending the WrestleMania feuds that didn’t end at WrestleMania, a bunch of new faces joined the party in addition to Rhodes: Asuka, Mustafa Ali, Ciampa, Gunther and Veer Mahaan all became a regular part of TV if not PPV, while Madcap Moss went babyface(ish) and Lacey Evans told the WWE Universe… a lot. So much. So much.
Also, Shinsuke Nakamura confronted Roman Reigns on the SmackDown after WrestleMania but got superkicked by an Uso and they didn’t address it until they had returned from a tour in the UK that didn’t air on TV. Like I said: normal. This was WrestleMania Backlash.
1. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
With no match on the Kickoff Show, it was up to Kayla & Friends to fill more time and Cody & Seth to properly open up this professional wrestling card. The inherent big feel that came with WrestleMania and Cody’s return was swapped with the inherent exciting feel of a WWE PPV opener, and this ended up a more focused, surprising, and just better wrestling match than their first one – which was already pretty good, even if both occasionally felt like subpar tributes to Cena or Triple H’s efforts after 2015. Special shoutout to Rollins’ early counter of the Beautiful Disaster too: a push! ***3/4
2. Bobby Lashley vs. Omos w/ MVP
WWE ring ropes definitely got heavier over the years, but watching Omos and Lashley blatantly cooperate to do the old giant-stuck-in-the-ropes spot really said a lot about the whole Omos experiment. Mainly: it stinks! After taking a bump on a Lashley spinebuster and looking like he never wanted to wrestle again, Omos persevered and won with MVP’s help. *
3. Damian Priest Banned from Ringside: AJ Styles vs. Edge
Just like the opener, a rematch that was better (and shorter!) than what they did at WrestleMania. AJ Styles hit a gorgeous quebrada and koppou kick, and countered the spear late in the match with a step-up knee – he throws really good knees actually and should use them more. Edge, for his part, sported really nice bright purple tights. About 15 minutes into the match, Damian Priest (banned at ringside) walked down the entrance ramp to… not ringside and was attacked by Finn Balor, which setup a masked character helping Edge choke out AJ. That masked character? Rhea Ripley. In black. ***1/4
4. I Quit Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Ronda Rousey
After a disappointing WrestleMania match, Charlotte and Ronda threw it back to the days of the WWE women’s division when sometimes a couple ladies would beat the shit out of each other. In between the brawling they packed this with cool spots and kept an unbelievable pace, like Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher if they had God-tier cardio.
Charlotte dropped Rousey on her head with a half-nelson suplex pretty early which really set a tone. They started bashing each other with kendo sticks, too, and on the entrance ramp, Charlotte yelled “oh shit” before Ronda monkey flipped her to steal her stick, then posed and continued beating on her with both sticks.
What stood out most about this (beyond the visceral goddamn violence) was their approach to the “I Quit” stipulation, which was rooted less in submissions or goofy spot setups and more just them trying to kill each other and assuming the other would say it was over.
Charlotte grabbed a camera on the floor and just launched it at Ronda, then tried to escape through the crowd as Ronda threw body blows. During the crowd brawl Charlotte pulled out a spot from her Falls Count Anywhere match with Sasha Banks, a choke assisted by the stair railing – that’s when you know it’s special.
Charlotte dropped Ronda with a nasty powerbomb on the guardrail, but got caught in an upside-down cross armbreaker on the corner post which felt like a completely reasonable finish. When Ronda decided Charlotte wasn’t going to quit, she let go and they both came down which 1) felt really dangerous and reckless and 2) continued the whole vibe of this being pretty freakin’ cool.
The actual finish continued that vibe too, as Charlotte condescendingly wished Rousey a “Happy Mother’s Day” and things didn’t go great for her from there. ****1/4
5. Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin
How to follow the I Quit Match? Madcap and Happy put on their stupid costumes and took some bumps before a sunset flip out of nowhere got 3. Just like a WWF house show in the 80s. *3/4
6. Drew McIntyre & RK-Bro vs. Roman Reigns & The Usos w/ Paul Heyman
Very fun 6-man tag that got pretty incredible off a few near falls towards the end, and would’ve been even better if Riddle was a better or more sympathetic face-in-peril. It couldn’t help but feel like something thrown together to pass the time, but then again: what is professional wrestling, anyways? Namaste. ****
Happy Thoughts: A few great wrestling matches, particularly that I Quit Match, highlighted this solid wrestling card delivered within a cold and distant sports entertainment context. 3.5 / 5.0
