Wrestlemania Backlash 2022
Date: May 8, 2022
Location: Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

it’s time for a pay per view that feels like it has been little more than an obligation as the show is six matches long with a number of title matches. Granted in this case that number is one but take what you can get. The main event is a six man tag for reasons that I’m still not clear on but maybe the in-ring work can make up for it. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence looks at Wrestlemania and how we got here.

We get a long recap video on Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. Rhodes returned at Wrestlemania as a surprise opponent and beat Rollins, who isn’t happy about it. Now they are having a rematch with Rollins knowing what he is getting and both guys wanting to prove that they are better.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins

Cody starts fast by flipping out of a belly to back but the pop up uppercut is blocked. They take turns taking each other into the corner and Rollins rolls him up for two for a standoff. Cody is sent out to the apron for a knee out to the floor, where Rollins cuts him off with a clothesline. Back in and Cody fights out of a chinlock, setting up the Disaster Kick for two. Rollins knocks him out to the floor again and the crash puts Cody right back in trouble.

The chinlock goes on again but Cody fights up, only to get rolled up for two. Rollins heads up top, where Cody catches him with a delayed superplex for another big crash. They chop it out until the Cody Cutter gives Rhodes two but Rollins kicks him out of the air. They fight over a Pedigree attempt (that gets the fans’ attention) until Rollins grabs a Falcon Arrow for two. The Buckle Bomb into the frog splash gets two on Cody but he rolls away from the Phoenix splash.

A superkick (good one too) rocks Rollins, who is right there to catch him with the superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into Cross Rhodes, with Rollins’ foot landing in the rope on the cover. The moonsault misses and Rollins hits the Pedigree for two, leaving them both down. Rollins starts snapping off the Flip Flip And Fly, which Cody reverses into Cross Rhodes. Another is loaded up but Rollins snapmares out, only to have to flip out of a Vertebreaker. Rollins’ rollup with tights is reversed into a rollup with tights to give Cody the pin at 20:47.

Rating: B+. The Cody push continues as he gets another win over a former World Champion and proves that he belongs in the main event scene. These two have some very good chemistry together and I liked what we got here, even if the rest of the show might have some issues living up to this one. Heck of a match here, and Cody getting the title shot at Summerslam feels like a legitimate possibility.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

We recap Bobby Lashley vs. Omos. Lashley beat him at Wrestlemania, but now Omos has MVP in his corner as a guide to make him extra dangerous.

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

MVP is here with Omos. Lashley slugs away to start and knocks Omos up against the ropes but an MVP distraction lets Omos get in a cheap shot. The slow beating continues as Lashley is knocked into the corner, allowing Omos the chance to make various noises. Lashley is knocked down again, allowing MVP to ask if Lashley is regretting his life choices yet.

A choke slows Omos down though and it’s Lashley tying him in the ropes and hammering away. With Omos tied up, Lashley goes after MVP but has to stop for the Downward Spiral on Omos. The Hurt Lock goes on but Lashley gets driven into the corner for the fast break. Lashley manages a spinebuster and loads up the spear, which is cut off with a knee. MVP gets in a cane shot and the chokebomb gives Omos the pin at 8:52.

Rating: C-. Unfortunately, this is about as good as it’s going to get between these two. You’re just not going to be able to get much out of Omos, who shouldn’t be doing much as far as moving around. This was the way it should have been and they made the match work about as well as expected. Omos had to win here and they even got the MVP interference in there too. Not a good match, but how it should have gone.

We recap Edge vs. AJ Styles. Edge beat him at Wrestlemania with help from Damian Priest, but Priest is barred from ringside. Styles also has a bad arm coming in.

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Styles starts fast and knocks him to the floor for some rams into a few things. A dropkick through the ropes doesn’t seem to connect but a camera cut saves them. AJ hits a moonsault to the floor but the Phenomenal Forearm is cut off with a big boot. Edge sends him into the post and steps a few times as the arm starts getting banged up again. Styles gets pulled down by the arm to set up an armbar to keep Edge in control.

Back up and AJ scores with a Pele but stereo crossbodies give us another double knockdown. A belly to back faceplant gives AJ two but Edge goes up, only to get hurricanranaed back down. The fireman’s carry backbreaker onto the knee gets two and the Calf Crusher goes on. Edge breaks that up with a ram into the mat, but AJ is smart enough to put it right back on. This time Edge goes to the rope for the actual break and loads up the spear, which hits a buckle that got exposed somewhere in there.

The second spear attempt connects but Styles is back up with the Styles Clash for two. The Phenomenal Forearm is loaded up so here is Damian Priest, who comes to the aisle but not to ringside, meaning he’s fine (even commentary calls that out as a lame technicality). Finn Balor comes in to take out Priest so Styles goes up….and we’ve got someone in a mask to pull him off the ropes. Edge grabs a crossface sleeper for the knockout win at 15:28.

Rating: B-. I don’t think there was any doubt that this was going to be pretty good, but it’s basically the exact same finish they had at Wrestlemania. Edge wins off some mysterious interference, likely setting up another match between these two in the Cell, as WWE manages to get a third match out of one idea. At least the mask reveal should be interesting, as they tend to be.

Post match the masked person gets in the ring, kneels to Edge, and unmasks as….Rhea Ripley. That’s not surprising and that isn’t a bad thing.

Video on Bianca Belair, who isn’t on the show but we need something to fill in the Peacock commercial time.

We recap Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey for Charlotte’s Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte beat her via some shenanigans at Wrestlemania so now it’s an I Quit match. Rousey continues to look rather bored with everything she does, but that has been the case since she got back.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey

Charlotte is defending in an I Quit match. Rousey knees her down to start and goes with the judo throws to stay on the arm. A clothesline gets Charlotte out of trouble but she has to escape Piper’s Pit. Charlotte hits a rather nasty German suplex (with the referee checking on Rousey) before they head outside. The trash talk lets Rousey get in a posting and she whips Charlotte into the timekeeper’s area. Charlotte is back out with a big boot and it’s kendo stick time, because OF COURSE WE HAVE A KENDO STICK.

Rousey takes it away so Charlotte runs off and comes back with two sticks. That’s fine with Rousey, who monkey flips her away and grabs both sticks in the process. The sticks are broken over Charlotte so she grabs a camera and throws it at Rousey’s head. With that missing because it would have wrecked Rousey, they fight into the crowd with Rousey being whipped into the hockey boards.

Charlotte ties her into a hand rail and puts on something like a camel clutch (how Sasha Banks beat Charlotte years ago). A chair shot is blocked through and they head back to ringside with Rousey taking over again. Another Piper’s Pit is broken up with a rake to the eyes and Rousey gets posted hard. Rousey manages to get in an armbar in the corner but they fall out to the floor to break it up.

After McAfee asks if that’s the Fiend in the front row (noticing some good cosplay), Charlotte comes back in with Natural Selection onto a chair for a No. The chair is set up with Charlotte saying this is her last chance and Happy Mother’s Day. The armbar in the chair goes on but Charlotte won’t quit. Rousey: “I was hoping you would say that b****.” The arm is cranked even harder and Charlotte quits at 16:23.

Rating: B. What mattered the most here was that this felt like a fight. It came off like two women who wanted to hurt each other and had a brawl (kendo sticks aside). The ending was about Rousey going into full gear to put Charlotte away because she was so angry. I’m not sure what is next for Rousey, but she absolutely had to win this one.

Money in the Bank is coming, complete with Cody Rhodes in the empty Allegiant Stadium, talking about the show. They’re making him one of the faces of the show.

We recap Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin. After losing to Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania, Corbin blamed Moss, which split up the team. Then Corbin stole Moss’ Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy and the match was set to prove themselves.

Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin

They start fast with Moss hammering away and yelling about jokes. A hiptoss drops Corbin again but he sends Moss out to the apron. Back in and Corbin hits a chokeslam before they head outside with Moss being rammed into the barricade. The chinlock goes on back inside before Corbin hits a flipping slam. A backsplash of all things (commentary is surprised at that one) gets two but Moss is back up for a nice looking fall away slam.

The Punchline is broken up and countered into a belly to back slam for two. Deep Six gets two more so Corbin does the slide underneath the ropes for the clothesline. Moss ducks and grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 9:42. I don’t remember the last time I saw someone win clean with such a basic move out of nowhere like that.

Rating: C-. This was the match that they put out there for the sake of filling in time between the big matches and it felt like it. Moss vs. Corbin isn’t an interesting feud and it wasn’t going to be well received as a pay per view match. What we got was a passable brawl but the fans weren’t having it. I did like the sudden finish though as that is something you do not see nearly often enough these days.

Video on Drew McIntyre.

Charlotte has a broken radius and is out of action for the time being.

We recap RKBro/Drew McIntyre vs. the Bloodline. The original match was RKBro vs. Usos to unify the Tag Team Titles but then McIntyre and Roman Reigns got involved to make it a six man tag, which is far more interesting. Allegedly.

RKBro/Drew McIntyre vs. Bloodline

Paul Heyman is here with the Bloodline and Orton starts with Jimmy. Riddle comes in for the assisted Floating Bro but Jimmy sends him into the corner to take over. McIntyre comes in and tosses Jimmy into the corner, allowing him to do the dramatic point at Reigns. After thinking about it for a bit, Reigns accepts the tag and then hands it off to Jey (sending McAfee into a fit of laughter).

It’s back to Riddle, who gets taken into the corner as the Usos start the beating. With Riddle down, NOW Reigns is willing to come in and the slow beating is on before it’s back to Jimmy. Orton gets superkicked off the apron so Riddle is a bit more alone. Riddle finally gets in a shot to the face though and the Usos are knocked down, allowing the double tag to McIntyre and Reigns, the latter of whom realizes he screwed up by having no one to tag.

McIntyre wins the slugout and hits a belly to belly, setting up the jumping neckbreaker. The Usos come in for a distraction though and it’s Reigns knocking McIntyre down. Reigns stops to pose with the titles and it’s McIntyre coming in with a Claymore. The hot tag brings in Orton to clean house with RKO’s, meaning Jey needs to save Jimmy. Jey superkicks McIntyre to cut off the Claymore and drags Jimmy over to the corner in a smart move. The double tag brings in Jey and Riddle, with the ladder striking away to put Jey in trouble.

The Floating Bro gets two on Jey, who is right back with a pop up neckbreaker for the same. Everything breaks down and McIntyre loads up the announcers’ table, only to get release Rock Bottomed through it by Reigns. Riddle takes out Jimmy and Reigns but Jey is there with a suicide dive. Back in and Jey and Riddle kick each other down, earning a nice bit of applause. Jey goes up top but gets pulled down with a super RKO, only to have Reigns spear Riddle for the pin at 22:25.

Rating: B+. That would have been a hot fire house show main event and it was a very entertaining match. Then you get to the problem: there is a grand total of nothing to get out of it once the bell rings. Reigns has no challenger set up, the Bloodline wins, there is no Tag Team Title match scheduled for either team, and nothing was set up going forward. That being said, I’ll take a very good main event like this any time, as you had all six of them working hard and the fans were all the way in.

Overall Rating: B+. This was actually a heck of a show, assuming you don’t want it to mean anything going forward (save for Rousey winning the title). It was a bunch of good matches, with the two weakest being watchable, and a hot main event. There was nothing horrible on the card and the fans were into a lot of things on here, so we’ll call this a low rent version of Canadian Stampede (no, it isn’t that good) in what shouldn’t be a surprise. As usual, when WWE gets away from the goofy, the in-ring product is strong and they had another solid three hour show here. Just don’t expect it to mean anything and you’ll be fine.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Seth Rollins – Rollup with tights
Omos b. Bobby Lashley – Chokebomb
Edge b. AJ Styles – Crossface sleeper
Ronda Rousey b. Charlotte – Armbar
Madcap Moss b. Happy Corbin – Sunset flip
Bloodline b. RKBro/Drew McIntyre – Spear to Riddle

 

 

 

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Round two. Wrestlemania has come and gone and now it is time for…another show with Wrestlemania in the title. Just like last year, WWE has flat out said that this is going to be the Wrestlemania fallout show, even if some of the matches have little to do with what went down in Texas. It also doesn’t help that they have changed the main event from something somewhat interesting to something almost entirely uninteresting, but maybe they can pull something out here. Let’s get to it.

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

This is a Wrestlemania rematch (smart move) and the wild card here is MVP. Lashley beat Omos back at Wrestlemania but MVP was not involved, which is what caused MVP to turn on Lashley and join Omos. Then Lashley proceeded to beat Omos clean in arm wrestling as I try to figure out what in the world this story is supposed to be going. It’s going to a rematch here and there should be an obvious result.

In theory, this should be Omos’ big singles win and that would make the most sense. Omos has done a lot of things but he doesn’t have that big signature singles win. Beating Lashley with the help of MVP would be a good way to start and that is what we’ll say happens here. Odds are we see some kind of a rematch next month, but Omos needs this win after he lost a lot of momentum last month.

Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin

Yeah this is happening too and no I’m not entirely sure why. This is a feud that has gone on for a few weeks now and I don’t think it has had quite the impact that WWE was expecting. At the same time though, Moss has come out of Corbin’s shadow quite a bit and it isn’t like there is anything else for him to do. Corbin is also a good choice for a person to make someone new look good and maybe that is the case again here.

I’ll go with Moss winning here as there is no reason to have Corbin win. Moss isn’t likely to become the next big breakout star but he isn’t going to get anywhere if he loses his first big match after the face turn. Maybe this is the start of a nice midcard run for him, but it needs to be the end of the feud. I have no reason to believe that it will be, but that is what needs to happen here, starting with Moss winning.

AJ Styles vs. Edge

It’s another Wrestlemania rematch and another match that isn’t all that interesting. I’m still not sure if Edge is working in this role of not but he and Damian Priest seem in line for a pretty big push. That being said, there is no Priest at ringside here and even if there is, Finn Balor seems there to cancel him out. Edge won the first match so that should tell you where this is going, with the emphasis on should.

I’m going with Edge here, probably through some means of cheating. Edge and Priest haven’t been a thing for that long now and having the bigger name lose in his second match as part of the team doesn’t make sense. Styles is going to be a star if he loses the rest of the matches in his career and Edge/Priest need the win here. If you want to throw in a real curve, have Balor become the third member, as it isn’t like he has had anything going on lately. But yeah, Edge wins here, as he should.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins

Rhodes returning at WrestleMania was a great moment, but I’m not sure how much I care to see the rematch. While Rhodes’ return has gone well so far, this isn’t a match that has been well built. Granted that might be due to Rollins becoming a near parody that it is hard to take him seriously, but there is something here that isn’t getting my interest going so well. At least the match should be good though.

WWE seems all in on Rhodes at the moment though and that means it is time for him to win again here. Much like Styles, Rollins is someone who can lose on a regular basis and still be a top star so Rhodes winning here is the right call. I’m not sure how far Rhodes is going to go in WWE, but it is way too early for him to lose here so I’ll take him to get the win in his first scheduled WWE pay per view match in years.

Drew McIntyre/RKBro vs. Bloodline

I guess the idea of unifying the Tag Team Titles scared someone off (possibly USA) so this is what we’re left with as one of the show’s big matches. I’m not sure why this is something that I would want to see, but odds are it sets up something down the line. That isn’t the worst idea for a Raw main event, but it’s a very odd way to go for a pay per view headlining match.

Give me McIntyre and RKBro to win here, as the Bloodline winning doesn’t really leave us with anywhere to go. McIntyre would seem to be the next big challenger to Reigns, who seems likely to hold the title for several more months to come. Let McIntyre get a pin on Reigns so he can become the new #1 contender and we can go from there, preferably with the Tag Team Title feud coming later.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte

I Quit match. Remember a few years ago when Rousey debuted and it was one of the coolest things to happen in women’s wrestling in the better part of ever? Well this second run isn’t going nearly as well and that isn’t a good sign for Rousey’s future. I’m not quite sure what it is, but things aren’t working out for her here and it feels like it really doesn’t matter. Maybe that changes here, but I’m not convinced.

In what is likely the coin flip pick of the show, I’ll take Rousey to win the title. Rousey has not been interesting this go around but maybe not chasing Charlotte will do her some good. She certainly needs something and if that means winning the title and Death Staring everyone else down is what it takes, then maybe that is where they need to go. Or Charlotte wins and people groan again.

Overall Thoughts

You have to think that something else is going to be added to the card as a six match pay per view with one title on the line isn’t much to write home about. What strikes me the most is just how unimportant this show feels, as it comes off like there is almost no reason to care about what happens on the card. The good thing is that these no pressure shows have a tendency to be among WWE’s best, so hopefully the quality makes up for the lame build.

 

 

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Wrestlemania Backlash
Date: May 16, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Adnan Virk, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Pat McAfee, Michael Cole

It’s time for the Wrestlemania fallout pay per view and this time WWE isn’t exactly being subtle with the concept. The Raw side is mainly consisting of Wrestlemania rematches with another name added in, while the Smackdown side actually feels like some fresh matches. Hopefully that mixes together for a good show. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Sheamus to issue the open challenge, non-title of course.

Kickoff Show: Sheamus vs. Ricochet

Ricochet hammers away to start but gets taken down with a heck of a clothesline. Sheamus takes him into the corner and pounds him down, setting up the forearms to the chest. The fishhooking (dubbed the Dublin Smile) has Ricochet in even more trouble but Ricochet gets in some kicks to the chest.

The springboard clothesline into the standing shooting star into the Lionsault gives Ricochet two. Sheamus knees the heck out of him though but Ricochet hits a Backstabber into a springboard 450. The 630 misses though and Sheamus blasts him with another knee for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C+. If nothing else, it was great to see Ricochet on a show outside of Main Event for a change as it makes me wonder if WWE is actually acknowledging the fact that he has been doing good stuff over there. That’s the kind of thing you can use these open challenges for, though the clean pin didn’t do him the most favors. It was better than nothing though, so maybe Ricochet’s fortunes are turning around a bit. I doubt it, but maybe.

Post match Sheamus puts on his hat and coat but Ricochet dropkicks him down and steals both of them.

The opening video, narrated by Batista, talks about how important Wrestlemania is while talking about where everything is going from here. The main matches get their focus as usual, while being interspersed with clips from Batista’s new Netflix film Army of the Dead.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match, with Rhea Ripley defending against Charlotte and Asuka. Ripley took the title from Asuka at Wrestlemania but then Charlotte returned and was put into the title match. Now it’s time for a triple threat for the title.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte vs. Asuka

Ripley is defending and Charlotte’s gear is Cruella de Ville/101 Dalmatians inspired. Graves calls Ripley “arguably the one with the most to lose in this match.” Charlotte bails to the floor to start but gets surrounded and the beating begins, including a double superkick to put her on the floor. Asuka rolls Ripley up for two but Charlotte pulls Asuka outside and grabs a suplex. Charlotte and Ripley have the showdown, with Charlotte shouting about being a THIRTEEN TIME CHAMPION.

Asuka is back up but Ripley kicks her down, followed by a dropkick to do the same to Charlotte. Ripley heads to the apron but Charlotte trips her down to take over. Back in and Charlotte talks trash to Asuka, who strikes away in a hurry. Asuka snaps off the armbar but Charlotte gets her feet to the ropes….which don’t count in a triple threat match. Ripley makes the save but Charlotte sends her face first into the middle buckle. Charlotte has to chop Asuka though, allowing Ripley to come back with some clotheslines.

Asuka is back up with the rapid fire strikes and the rolling German suplexes to Charlotte. The missile dropkick hits Ripley and a sliding knee from the apron rocks her again. Charlotte kicks Asuka outside and there’s the moonsault to take both of them down. Back in and a double superplex drops Charlotte to put everyone down. They slug it out from their knees but Charlotte flips out of another double suplex and chop blocks them both.

A double Natural Selection gets a double near fall but Charlotte misses the moonsault. Asuka Codebreakers Charlotte and counters the Riptide, allowing Charlotte to boot Ripley in the face. Charlotte spins out of the Asuka Lock and boots down a charging Asuka. The boot causes Charlotte to fall to the floor though and Ripley Riptides Asuka to retain at 15:22.

Rating: C+. As expected, this was more about Charlotte than anything else, as it seems to be in her contract. Ripley escaped with the title (as commentary put it) and odds are we are going to be seeing the Ripley vs. Charlotte showdown in the near future. Ripley winning is good, but it would be nice to not have to be reminded that Charlotte is the greatest and most amazing thing ever every time she is in a big story (which is about all she does).

We look back at Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley brawling on Raw.

Miz isn’t scared of Damian Priest but doesn’t know why this is a lumberjack match. Not to worry though as John Morrison is ready to take care of the lumberjacks and make Priest fall into his thirst trap. Miz: “I don’t think you know what thirst trap means.”

We look at Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler attacking Dominik Mysterio on the Kickoff Show.

Dominik can’t go so Rey Mysterio says he’ll do this himself.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode vs. Rey Mysterio

Mysterio, in Adam West era Batman gear, is challenging on his own and hits them both in the face to start. Ziggler is knocked outside and a baseball slide sends him into the announcers’ table. Mysterio slides through Roode’s legs to splash Ziggler but Roode sends him head first into the apron. Back in and Rey drop toeholds Roode down setting up a victory roll for two.

Roode blasts Rey with a clothesline though and Ziggler comes in to rip at the face. It’s already back to Roode, who sends Rey into the corner to remind him there is no one to tag. Rey avoids a charge and dropkicks Ziggler off the apron but Roode knocks Mysterio into the Tree of Woe. Roode starts working on Rey’s knee and a wheelbarrow Fameasser combination gets two. Ziggler heads outside so Roode can throw Mysterio into a superkick (that was new/cool) for the nine as Ziggler can’t believe he beat the count.

Back in and Rey hits a double DDT, setting up a toss to send Ziggler into the post. Cue the banged up Dominik to get on the apron as Rey sends Roode outside, only to get Zig Zagged. Roode is back in for two off a gutbuster but he takes too long going up, allowing Rey to hit a super bulldog.

Rey gets over to the corner where Dominik tags himself in…and is spinebustered by Roode. Dominik is sent into the post but comes back with a superkick to Ziggler. The hot tag brings in Rey to clean house, including a 619 to Roode in the corner. Rey brings Dominik back in and sunset bombs Ziggler into the apron, setting up Dominik’s frog splash for the pin and the titles at 16:59.

Rating: B-. The action was good and the result is the right way to go, but I’m not sure why they couldn’t have just done the scheduled match without the Dominik injury angle. It was a dull start until Dominik got in and some things started happening though and that’s what mattered. What matters is getting the titles off of Roode and Ziggler though, as their reign was about as useless as you could get.

Post match, the Mysterios are rather pleased.

John Morrison goes to the lumberjacks’ conveniently labeled dressing room and finds….a bunch of zombies.

Jimmy Uso goes in to see Roman Reigns but finds Jey Uso. Jimmy thinks the door needs to say Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, or better yet, “Jimmy and Jey Uso, Tag Team Champions.” Does Jey even do Reigns’ laundry? Jey is ready to fight but here is Roman Reigns to stare Jimmy down. Jimmy wishes him good luck tonight and leaves.

John Morrison reports his zombie findings to Miz, who seems to think Morrison imagined it. The two leave and the zombies stagger after them.

Commentary (with a zombie on one of the screens behind them) explains that the zombies are from Batista’s Army of the Dead movie. Ah. Well that makes up for everything.

Damian Priest vs. Miz

John Morrison is here and there are indeed zombies, who have their own Titantron and theme music. They are everywhere, including underneath the announcers’ table, sending commentary running. Priest hammers away to start but gets knocked outside, where he beats up the zombies. Back inside and Miz gets in a big boot as Graves hits his tenth Walking Dead reference in about two minutes.

Priest sends him outside for a change and hits a clothesline on the way back in. The spinwheel kick sets up the top rope spinwheel kick for two more. Miz is back with the Figure Four until they get over to the ropes for the break. Both of them head outside to beat up the zombies together before diving back inside. Morrison gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Miz to hit the running knee for two. The zombies pull Morrison behind the barricade and apparently eat him, leaving Priest to Hit The Lights on Miz for the pin at 6:54.

Rating: F. Yeah I’m thinking no on this one. A zombie horde just attacked Miz, Morrison and Priest on pay per view and outside of what is likely a comedy spot tomorrow night for Miz and Morrison, we’re just going to move on. It’s a paid sponsorship and all that jazz, but Priest could be something on Raw (which desperately needs it) and he gets this instead. This was really annoying and as little as I was looking forward to another Miz vs. Priest match, they managed to make it even worse. The wrestling itself was pretty dull, but egads man. Just let Priest be a star already.

Post match the zombies swarm Miz as Priest leaves.

Hell in a Cell is coming on June 20. Normally that’s an October show so that’s interesting.

Jey Uso catches up with Jimmy Uso, who thinks the sign on the door should say “Roman Reigns and his b****.”

We recap Bayley vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Belair won the title at Wrestlemania and Bayley is ready to prove that it was a fluke, because she is the best ever.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending as Miz and Morrison being devoured by zombies about ten minutes ago is already just a memory. They go technical to start but Belair takes her down into a waistlock with ease, seemingly freaking Bayley out. Bayley teases going after the hair so Belair rolls her up for two, with the kickout sending Belair into the corner. A hiptoss brings Bayley back in from the apron and it’s already time for the breather.

Back in and Bayley knees her down, setting up a chinlock to draw Belair back to her feet. A belly to back suplex gets two on Belair but she catches Bayley on top and hits a delayed suplex. They head outside with Bayley dropping her ribs first onto the steps and adding a suplex onto the floor for two. A spinning side slam gives Bayley two more but Belair sends her outside for a change.

That gets on Bayley’s nerves and she comes back in to hammer away. Belair makes the comeback and hits a spinebuster for two. Bayley runs her over again with a clotheslines and drops the top rope elbow for two of her own. With Belair sent outside again, Bayley misses a charge, allowing McAfee to get in MJF’s “better than you and you know it” line.

Back in and a rollup with feet on the ropes gives Bayley two. Bayley even rakes the eyes to keep Belair in trouble, allowing her to use the hair for a ripcord Bayley to Belly and another near fall. With nothing else working, Bayley loads up the Rose Plant with the hair, but Belair rolls her up and uses the hair to hook the leg for the pin to retain at 16:02. The ending might have been a bit botched though as the hair dropped the leg halfway through, making it looked like Bayley kicked out.

Rating: B-. There were some somewhat sloppy moments here but they did a nice job of keeping me into the match. It might not have had a ton of drama, but what mattered here was getting a lot of time on the way to getting Belair her first major title defense out of the way. The ending could set up a rematch, which somehow may already be inside the Cell. That’s a bit of a jump, but I could go for a rematch.

MVP suggests that Braun Strowman isn’t smart enough to accept the business offer he was given and tonight, he is going to lose as a result.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Bobby Lashley won the title in March, beat Drew McIntyre to retain at Wrestlemania, and then both McIntyre and Braun Strowman became #1 contender.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman

Lashley, with MVP, is defending. It’s a brawl to start with Strowman getting double teamed as the other two head outside. McIntyre sends Lashley into the post until Strowman dives off the apron to drop both of them. Back in and McIntyre runs Lashley over before hitting a neckbreaker on Strowman. They head outside again with Strowman using the steps to take both of them down but the non-Strowmans double team him down too.

Lashley suplexes McIntyre onto the ramp but another suplex into the ramp is blocked. McIntyre rams Lashley head first into the set over and over before tossing him through it, meaning we get some sparks. That leaves McIntyre alone to scream and…..get taken down by Strowman. There’s the Strowman Express to put McIntyre down at ringside, setting up the backsplash for two back inside. A missed charge sends Strowman into the corner though and McIntyre hits a pretty impressive Michinoku Driver for two.

Strowman backdrops him to the floor and tries the Express again but McIntyre belly to belly suplexes him (with Strowman landing on his head). The Claymore is countered into a powerbomb through the announcers’ table as the canned chants declare this awesome. Commentary declares that Strowman is about to be the new champion because WWE commentary gets extra dumb in triple threat matches. Back in and the running powerslam is countered, with McIntyre hitting the Claymore. The spear to Strowman retains the title at 14:18.

Rating: C+. And then they go on to the Cell with Lashley vs. McIntyre because this feud needs to continue to suit the calendar so Raw doesn’t have to come up with a single new idea ever because that’s not what they do. I did not want to see this match coming in and I don’t want to see any form of a rematch, but that is what we are going to get because Raw doesn’t exist to be entertaining or creative any longer. This was a completely watchable triple threat power match with one of the most overdone endings you’ll get, which shouldn’t surprise you at all.

Hell in a Cell ad.

We recap Cesaro vs Roman Reigns. After dispatching Daniel Bryan, Reigns needed a new challenger so Cesaro stepped up and issued the challenge. Cesaro then beat Seth Rollins to earn the shot, his first ever one on one match at the World Title. Jimmy Uso returning and not being cool with Reigns treating his brother like a servant is being added in as a bonus factor.

Smackdown World Title: Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending but before the match, he has Jey stay in the back because he is too worried about Jimmy. They start slowly with Cesaro powering him into the corner. A shoulder doesn’t get anyone anywhere as McAfee’s microphone is breaking up badly. Cesaro rolls him up for two and it’s time for a meeting with Paul Heyman at ringside. Back in and Reigns sends Cesaro face first into the buckle but Cesaro scores with the springboard spinning uppercut.

The Swing is blocked though and Cesaro tweaks his arm, which Reigns sends into the post. Reigns grabs a cravate and suplexes him down for daring to try a comeback. The cravate goes on again and the jumping clothesline gives Reigns two. Reigns loads up the Superman Punch but Cesaro counters it into the pop up uppercut. Some kicks and elbows to the leg set up the Sharpshooter on Reigns, who gets to the ropes in a hurry. Cesaro sends him outside for a corkscrew dive, followed by a high crossbody for two.

Reigns catches him on top though and grabs the arm again for a big boot, meaning the arm gets pulled again. The shotgun dropkick sends Cesaro’s shoulder into the post for two back inside and it’s time to crank on the arm even more. Reigns mocks Cesaro saying wrestling is fun and knees away in the corner, followed by a big boot to drop him again. Some uppercuts give Cesaro a breather and the discus lariat drops Reigns, only to bang up the bad arm even more.

They slug it out from their knees with Cesaro knocking him to the apron, setting up the apron superplex for two more. The arm gives out on the Neutralizer attempt though and Reigns pulls him down into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s reversed into a cradle for two but another springboard uppercut is Superman Punched out of the air for two.

The pop up uppercut doesn’t work again as the arm gives out, allowing Reigns to grab the guillotine. Cesaro powers out and gets the Sharpshooter (pulling back with the hands instead of wrapping the arm around) before switching into a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Reigns powers out of the grip and unloads with forearms to the face, followed by a Batista Bomb for two.

Cesaro flips him over but Reigns is right back with a front facelock into the guillotine. That’s reverses with something close to a powerbomb and Cesaro slips out, only to get pulled into it again. Cesaro tries to power out of the grip but the arm can’t do it and Cesaro is finally out at 27:24.

Rating: B+. Cesaro certainly brought it here and will likely get another title shot at some point. There is zero shame in losing to Reigns at the moment and Cesaro gave it quite the run here. This felt like a main event and Reigns broke a sweat, though I wasn’t quite believing that Cesaro was going to pull it off. Cesaro just getting here was the real accomplishment, making this more like the first Rocky vs. Apollo Creed fight. Very good match here, as Cesaro showed he can go at this level.

Post match here is Jey Uso to acknowledge Reigns with the lei, before jumping Cesaro. Cue Seth Rollins….to go after Cesaro as well. Rollins stomps him to the floor and hits him with a few chair shots. The chair is wrapped around the bad arm and sent into the post, followed by a Stomp on the floor to end the show. That’s probably your Smackdown Cell match.

Overall Rating: C+. This is one of the hardest ratings I’ve ever had to put together because the show is so torn down the middle. The Smackdown stuff was good to very good with matches that had been built up (some better than others) and then executed well enough. Their side did well and it felt like half of a pay per view.

Then there’s Raw and oh my goodness. I watch the show every week and somehow they have managed to get even worse time after time. Not only did the build feel lazy coming into the show (Hey, here are the Wrestlemania matches with one extra person added in as we keep talking about Wrestlemania!), but then you had another Charlotte showcase (#1928 I believe), a three way match where they hit each other over and over and then someone stole the pin and then……that other match.

First of all, I get why they did the zombie tie-in. It’s a check from Netflix and Batista is in the movie and all that good stuff. All fine and good, but there was NOWHERE else on the show to put that? Not as a segment, a backstage deal, or with R-Truth or something? No clearly the best solution was to put it in a match that didn’t need to happen in the first place and make the whole thing into a commercial instead of a way to make Priest look good. The match completely took me out of the rest of the show and I could not bring myself to be interested in anything else they did until the main event got rolling.

Tonight was a perfect summary of Raw in a few hours: the creative is repetitive and lazy and they do not care about building up anyone new because they know people are going to watch anyway. Smackdown is a perfectly fine if not good wrestling show and Raw is whatever garbage Vince and Bruce green light after turning down what are probably much better ideas. So enjoy your three hours of nonsense as the show continues to spin its wheels for years on end because WWE has gotten paid and it isn’t like they would get paid MORE with a bigger audience or anything.

Overall, this show was right down the middle, with the Smackdown stuff feeling good and the Raw stuff feeling like Raw stuff. Outside of the commercial called a match, the Raw matches were far from terrible, but they felt like something that had to be done instead of something with effort put into them. That has been the case from Raw for a long time now and there is nothing to suggest it is going to get any better.

Results

Rhea Ripley b. Asuka and Charlotte – Riptide to Asuka

Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Frog splash to Roode

Damian Priest b. Miz – Hit The Lights

Bianca Belair b. Bayley – Rollup

Bobby Lashley b. Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre – Spear to Strowman

Roman Reigns b. Cesaro – Guillotine
 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

It’s time for the followup to Wrestlemania and this time they are making that as obvious as possible by calling the show Wrestlemania Backlash. WWE has run Backlash for years but this time around, WWE does not exactly seem to be putting much effort into the Raw side of things. Smackdown is a different story, but egads Raw is not exactly inspiring me here. Maybe the show can wind up going a bit better in action. Let’s get to it.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte

There is no word on if WWE is going to do what they want to do and bill this as Charlotte vs. the world, as Asuka and Ripley, the champion, have felt like afterthoughts in the whole thing. That is not exactly a shock but unfortunately it is reality, as Ripley already beat Asuka at Wrestlemania so now it is time to bring Charlotte in. Why? Well because it’s always time to bring Charlotte in.

I’ll take Ripley to retain here though, as I think WWE knows they can’t just put the title right back on Charlotte as soon as possible. Ripley absolutely needs the win more, though it isn’t going to matter all that much if Charlotte continues to get all of the focus. Asuka is probably taking the fall here, setting up the rematch from Wrestlemania XXXVI so Charlotte and Ripley can have their showdown. I’m not sure where it goes from there, but Ripley holds onto the title here to keep things moving.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler(c) vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

The fact that I sighed as soon as I typed that out says a lot about the match. Ziggler and Rey had a match on Smackdown which had me wondering how much longer I could keep my eyes open. The tag format should be a little bit better and the idea of the father and son going after the titles works fine. The problem is Ziggler and Roode have defended the titles twice in four months, which isn’t the right way to make the fans care about them or the titles.

I think the Mysterios get the titles here, though it seems to be a matter of time before the reunited Usos get the belts back. There is zero point to keeping the titles on Ziggler and Roode at the moment, though they have been around for a long time now and them retaining would not stun me. I’ll go with the title change here though, if nothing else for a nice moment.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bianca Belair(c) vs. Bayley

This is Belair’s first major defense after winning the title at Wrestlemania, which should tell you where this is going. I’m curious to see how Belair does in a slightly less high pressure situation which is still a pretty high level match. Bayley is a good person to put her out there with though, and hopefully everything winds up working well. Belair is the future though and I think you know what that means.

Belair retains here, as we get to find out where she can go as the long term champion. If nothing else, they aren’t taking the title off of her before they get to the big rematch with Sasha Banks. Bayley is the right kind of opponent to boost up Belair’s stock and we could be in for a pretty good match as well. There shouldn’t be much doubt here, so being able to create some is going to be a nice challenge.

Damian Priest vs. The Miz

Yeah this is still going and I’m not sure I get why either. It isn’t a fresh match and it isn’t an interesting one, but above all else it isn’t something that is going to help Priest in the long run. Priest is already in his late 30s and I’m really not sure why he is wasting even more time facing Miz, who he has beaten before. This really needs to be it, but that was the case with Wrestlemania too.

I’ll go with what makes sense here, as there is no reason for Priest to lose or come close to it. They seem to be teasing the idea of splitting up Miz and John Morrison in the near future, which wouldn’t be the greatest thing in the world but right now, Priest needs to win. He doesn’t have the big singles win on his own yet and while Miz isn’t that, a win could be a nice stepping stone to his future.

Raw World Title: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre

Egads I don’t care. I really just do not care. Strowman is being added to the whole thing to keep this from being a rematch from Wrestlemania/this week’s Raw and….my goodness I don’t know why that is supposed to be interesting. Strowman has not been interesting in a long time and adding him in isn’t going to make fans care about this match any more than they already do. That’s what we’re getting here though and hopefully we are done soon thereafter.

In theory, Lashley should retain here as there is almost no reason for anything else to happen. Strowman getting the title back is not going going to happen and McIntyre doesn’t need it again. The match is going to be the hoss fight and should be entertaining enough, but my goodness it has been a rough build, and that is not the kind of thing that makes me want to see the match.

Smackdown World Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Cesaro

We’ve finally gotten to Cesaro’s title shot, though honestly that might be what qualifies as making it for him. Reigns is on another planet at this point and no one should be taking the title from him for a LONG time, so Cesaro just getting to this spot after all these years is pretty impressive. It would be an amazing match to see with fans in person, especially if Cesaro gets to Swing him, but I think you know how this is ending.

Of course Reigns retains here, because there is no reason for anything else to happen. There might be a rematch set up and they might do it again at Money in the Bank, but Reigns could lose a pair of limbs and still wind up retaining the title here. Cesaro might win the title one day, but that day is not going to be Sunday, because Reigns is going to be champion for a long time to come.

Overall Thoughts

This feels more and more like the May pay per view that is taking place because we have to have a May pay per view, which isn’t exactly keeping my interest up. That being said, the six match card probably means they are likely to be out in less than three hours. That’s quite the relief, as this does not feel like anything resembling a major pay per view. If they can get in, get out and be done, this could be a lot worse. I’m not overly thrilled to see the show, but I’ve seen worse cards.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Raw does it again (and again and again and again and again).

 

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-time-sure/