Backlash 2023 began with RAW (now SmackDown?) Women's Champion Bianca Belair defending her championship against IYO Sky of Damage CTRL. I'm not sure if its just that Belair has been the champion for so long or if IYO's recent character development of being "held back" by Bayley is more over than I thought but the Puerto Rico crowd was notably behind IYO from beginning to end (to the point that even Cole and Graves have to acknowledge it on commentary). This was an excellent opening contest and felt like the best match IYO has had since joining the WWE's main roster (its possible that she had even better matches in NXT, but if she did, I didn't see them). I didn't love Belair doing her best Ultimate Warrior impression and dropping IYO face-first onto the mat from a guerilla press position (it looked nasty, but very unsafe too), but everything else they did was well-executed. I didn't love the finish either as I wish it would've been even more apparent that Bayley Dakota's interference harmed more than it helped. They tried to get over the fact that IYO could've won without their meddling, but, if anything, Bayley and Dakota distracted Belair (and the ref) effectively and IYO just couldn't capitalize. I would've also preferred Bayley just flat out costing IYO the match to cement her status as the leader of Damage CTRL. Maybe that would've been trope-ish? Regardless, a very good match, but not quite must-see. (3.5/5)
Omos took on Seth Rollins in the next contest. Rollins was mega-over with the crowd - unsurprisingly - and put on a great performance, essentially "carrying" Omos to the best match of his young career. Omos gets a ton of hate online, but he has undeniable presence and can clearly be guided and coached into perfectly passable matches (more than I believe Great Khali ever was). This wasn't a "miracle" bout or anything as most of the action revolved around Rollins' bumping and selling and making big comebacks and feigning shock as Omos kicked out of multiple signature moves (including 2 Curb Stomps). On the booking side of things, after losing at Mania and here at Backlash, Omos needs some big victories sooner than later, preferably over guys that have some actual credibility (for example, I wouldn't mind seeing him squash a guy like Riddle a couple times to establish that his size is enough of an advantage to take out a top-tier athlete's agility and submission-based offense). Rollins has to be the top pick to win the new World Heavyweight Championship after a showing like this. (2.5/5)
Austin Theory put his United States Championship on the line in a fun-albeit-brief triple threat match against Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed. The crowd's chanting, which I couldn't make out (because I don't know Spanish), was a bit distracting to me, but hey, how can one knock fan enthusiasm? I really liked some of the sequences of this match and I don't mind a a "filler" match on a 3-hour broadcast to cool the crowd but still provide a spotlight to worthy wrestlers. Theory, to me, is still stuck in a vanilla role despite getting the W over John Cena at WrestleMania (which Cena kinda predicted) while Lashley is almost supernatural in his ability to remain looking like a huge deal despite not having much direction since his underwhelming feud with Brock Lesnar earlier in the year. Lashley going to SmackDown should lead to a few new interesting match-ups, but I kinda feel like they lost a better opportunity in keeping on RAW and having him feud with GUNTHER. Anyway, this exceeded my expectations and Bronson Reed looked good and, as I'd learn later, was the clear "fan favorite" as the crowd chanted "El Gordito" ("the fat one") throughout the bout. (3/5)
Rhea Ripley defended her SmackDown Women's Championship in the next match against Zelina Vega, who came out decked out in gear inspired by the Puerto Rican flag to a huge pop (despite Ripley being quite over with the crowd as well due to her relationship with Dom Mysterio). I really liked Ripley's body language in the early going, the dominant champion looking almost eager to quiet the crowd and break their spirit (especially as Vega teared up in the biggest moment of her career). The atmosphere of this match was uncanny, the crowd every bit behind their hometown hero. This, like the Mysterios match at WrestleMania, is my favorite form of pro-wrestling, a match that isn't about "movez" and elaborate sequences, but about characters and emotion and a crowd that is fully invested in the outcome. This match would've been fine without Ripley also being an absolute beast, but she was that too, executing a snappy powerbomb early and following it up some minutes later with an impressive take on the Gory Special. Ripley oversold a few times, but if there was ever a time for it, it was in front of this crowd. This match maybe could've and should've gone just a few minutes longer as it felt like they could've taken the crowd on an even longer ride to get to the same finish, but for what this was, it was a very good defense and further cements Ripley as a deserving and dominant champion. (3.5/5)
Bad Bunny fought Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight next. As expected, Bad Bunny was massively over in front of his hometown crowd so unless these two completely stunk the joint out, this crowd was going to pop, cheer, and jeer for every shift in momentum and major spot. I'm not a big fan of celebrities going toe-to-toe with wrestlers - especially the size of Damien Priest, one of the bigger bruisers on the roster - but Bad Bunny's size and build isn't anything to sneeze at as I'm guessing he put in some serious gym time to look as big as he did. With this being the WWE, I wasn't expecting to see a classic WWC-style brawl with lots of "color," but Priest and Bunny made up for it with furniture wreckage, weapon shots, and even some old-fashioned limb selling out of Priest after Bunny wisely attacked his knee. We also got, in one of the best sequences of the night, some heroic rescue spots from Rey Mysterio, Carlito, and then Savio Vega and the rest of the Latino World Order as they took out Finn Balor and Dom Mysterio. This was a terrific, fun match wrestled in front of a crowd that was fully invested and passionate about seeing their hero wrestle. Unfortunately, it also required quite a bit of a suspension of disbelief that an untrained musical artist - even one that looks as fit as Bunny - could last 20+ minutes with a WWE Superstar, a professional athlete that we are meant to believe is tougher and more dangerous than 99% of the human population. This didn't reach the level of "must see" for me, but very few celebrity matches do. (3.5/5)
The Usos and Solo Sikoa took on Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Matt Riddle in the next match. I'm not sure what it was about this match that didn't click with me, but I'll run down a few: Matt Riddle is still a sex creep in my eyes, some of the spots and moments felt like a retread of better segments and moments from better matches at Hell in a Cell, the Rumble, and Mania (one of the Usos slamming Owens' back-first into the steps, one of the Usos being "extra" with his dramatic shouting at Sami Zayn, etc.), and at least one telegraphed spot that was eye-rolling in its idiocy (Sami Zayn going for a flying nothing into both Usos, who caught him with a double superkick). The best parts of the match was the tension between Solo and his brothers, but they didn't need 15+ minutes to get there. For as much as Corey Graves likes to emphasize how the Usos are the best tag team in WWE history, I would contend that to truly reach that level, they're going to need to keep my interest when they're not the tag team champions (something that one could argue that teams like the Hardy Boys, the Dudleys, and, at their peak, even the Legion of Doom were able to do during their WWE runs...though, match-for-match, I'm still taking the Usos in terms of in-ring performance). Granted, the WWE has never been known for booking strong teams, but I'm not sure how much more patience I have for an extended Usos/Zayn & Owens feud at this point. (2.5/5)
Main event time - Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar got color. Cody Rhodes stole a win by countering a Lesner Kimura by pinning the Beast's shoulders to the mat. Cody ate a ton of suplexes and even kicked out of an F-5. It was made up of interesting parts, but the overall match (one of the shortest of the night) wasn't anything I'd consider must-see. Like the rest of the matches of the night, the crowd's passionate chants and engagement lifted this one by at least a half-point, but I don't see this match making either guy's Greatest Hits package. (3/5)
Backlash 2023 may not have delivered any of the instant classics that WrestleMania did, but the passionate, vocal crowd responded to practically every match like it were one anyway. Both women's matches were very good for very different reasons, the Bad Bunny match was great sports-entertainment, and though the main event was underwhelming and ended in somewhat screwy fashion, it did serve its purpose and had "big fight feel." Earning a very respectable Kwang Score of 3.07-out-of-5, here's hoping that this year's Backlash will set a trend for putting on shows in more diverse locales targeting those specific fan bases, a move that made this show memorable and unique.
FINAL RATING - Watch It
No comments:
Post a Comment