WWE Royal Rumble 2011

WWE Royal Rumble 2011

Boston, MA - January 2011

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was The Miz, the World Heavyweight Champion was Edge, the United States Champion was Daniel Bryan, and the Intercontinental Champion was Kofi Kingston. The WWE Tag Team Champions were Santino and Koslov and the WWE Divas Champion was Natalya.

With the 2021 Royal Rumble not too far away, I opted to watch the 2011 edition for the first time. After a video hyping the night's main event - the Rumble match itself - the show kicked off with World Heavyweight Champion Edge defending the title against Dolph Ziggler, who was Vickie Guerrero's storyline boyfriend and poised as "the future of the WWE." As we now 10 years later, Ziggler never really broke out much higher than this - though he did flirt with being considered a "true" main eventer a couple more times over the next decade only to then be stuffed back into the midcard and used a utility player. The Spear is banned in this match, which makes the eventual finish somewhat predictable (Edge eventually lands one when the referee and General Manager Vickie are knocked unconscious), but there is also at least one effective false finish after Ziggler hits the ZigZag. All in all, a good match but not necessarily a great one. I'm guessing these two knew their marching orders were to warm up the crowd but not burn them out and were perfectly fine and willing to do the best job of that possible. (3/5)

The Miz defended the WWE Championship against the man he "stole" it from, Randy Orton, next. This was The Miz's first and arguably only real main event run, having won the Money In The Bank Briefcase and cashed it in on The Viper, who was technically a babyface (but always more of a "tweener") and had been feuding with Nexus' Wade Barrett. This seems like The Miz's biggest "warm-up match" for his eventual WrestleMania main event as he and Orton are given quite a bit of time. Orton is definitely "leading the dance"; this might be one of the best (of very few?) examples of Orton proving why other wrestlers have always heaped him with immense praise as this match, while not overly intricate, still comes off as seamless and tells a logical story. The Miz may not have the greatest offense, but he is wily, while Orton, who should be (and is) in control of most of the match, almost seems off his game, frustrated from the very start as he just can't seem to finish The Miz off at any point. Its a dynamic that worked for me, though, at the time many complained at how Orton basically dominated most of the match. The finish is another thing that I'd say aged better than it was received in 2011. Yes, Orton gets screwed by CM Punk and his New Nexus acolytes and, yes, this sort of screwy finish leading to a future non-title WrestleMania match is Royal Rumble PPV trope that dates back to at least Randy Savage costing the Ultimate Warrior the title at the 91' Royal Rumble, but The Miz's title reign was built on the premise of him being a lucky scapegrace (that's a new word I just learned), a guy that shouldn't be the WWE Champion but managed to not only steal the title but make it his rightful property and, in this case, not even by outsmarting his opponent or setting forth a devious plot. When the match ends, Miz doesn't even know how he's won! Its a perfectly fine set-up for both Orton/Punk and Cena eventually coming in to save the day. Another match I wouldn't consider truly great, but definitely above average and, despite its 20 minute length, never being boring. (3/5)

The next match was supposed to be a 2-on-1 handicap match pitting Layla and Michelle  McCool (collectively known as LayCool) against Natalya for her Divas Championship, but before match begins, the General Manager Podium *dings* and Michael Cole, the voice of the GM, announces that the match will now be a Fatal Fourway involving an additional woman - Eve. Ugh. If you're going to include another woman in this match, why not choose one that the fans would actually be excited to see? Or, barring that, one that is capable of lifting this match from being just a "bathroom break" into being something really good? I mean no disrespect to Eve's hard work, attitude, or what she could bring to the table, but if this match needed a spark, she was ill equipped to provide it and the crowd's indifference is proof of it. The match goes just about 5 minutes which feels rushed, but I'm not sure that there's a better match waiting to happen here. This one barely gets a point for its finish - which is well-executed - and at least teasing a LayCool split, which got the biggest reaction of the match by a country mile. (1/5)

The 2011 Royal Rumble Match is next, with CM Punk drawing number one. Before the man (or woman) who drew number two can come out, the rest of Punk's New Nexus stable and The Corre show up and start brawling. We hear another *ding* and Cole, speaking for the General Manager, announces that everyone must clear the ring except for Punk and that if the brawling continues, both sides' entrants will be automatically eliminated from the Royal Rumble. I don't get what the point of this was. If I recall correctly, the Corre and the New Nexus weren't even feuding with each other at the time - they were on separate brands - plus there's really no logic in them going after each other before the match in the ring when, ultimately, that would've just caused them to waste energy and effort. I mean, wouldn't it have made more sense to do this as a backstage segment? Anyway, its stupid and also undercuts the idea that these factions are rulebreakers that are dead-set on terrorizing the company because they follow the GM's orders. Punk stays in and fortunately, the Rumble itself is basically rescued by Daniel Bryan being the number #2 pick. As Striker notes on commentary, this was definitely a not-so-subtle nod to Bryan's cult following, though its clear from the audience's response that while internet fans at home may have been "marking out," the general audience wasn't yet behind the former RoH World Champion. CM Punk makes mean faces and gloats over the course of the first ten entrants, but he gets the most cheers of anyone for quite awhile. John Morrison comes in and we get our first ever (?) crazy non-elimination spot involving JoMo as he somehow flies off the apron onto the barrier and uses his parkour skills to jump back onto the apron. When Morrison left the company a couple years (?) after this, Kofi took over him. Husky Harris comes in and Striker makes a comment about how if this is what Husky is like at 24, what will he be like at 30? Well, Matt, he'll be much, much, much different...The ring fills up with the occasional elimination until David Otunga arrives and we've got 4 New Nexus members in the ring together. I absolutely loved the stretch of the match that followed as the New Nexus cleared everyone out of the ring and then proceeded to eliminate R-Truth, Koslov, and Tyler Reks (along with Yoshi Tatsu, seeing Reks was the biggest "He actually was in a Rumble once?" moment for me). The Great Khali comes out to a sizable pop because the audience has grown sick of seeing the New Nexus dominate and I love the "hope spot" (if one can call it that) of Khali eliminating Harris and then looking like he might knock out everyone else only for Mason Ryan, another New Nexus member, to show up. Gold star to whoever came up with that sequence. Khali gets eliminated and we get our first big shocker of the night - Booker T is back! Booker T comes out to a huge ovation and kicks major ass, but gets eliminated much to the dissatisfaction of the crowd. Side note - Booker T would have a few more televised matches over the next year and a half, but never really had a true, major "retirement" match, though his final feud was with Cody Rhodes. Back to the action - at 22, we get noneother than John Cena! At the time, I'm sure eyes were rolling all across this great nation, but watching this a decade later, I'm not ashamed to admit that I got goosebumps and loved seeing Cena come out and eliminate everyone (except Punk of course). If you're going to create a Superman character, you gotta let him do Superman things and that's what this is. We'd seen Khali fail to get the job done, we'd seen Booker T strike out, but Cena was the man and, hey, its not like CM Punk doesn't get to shine either as Punk's facial expressions and the fact that Cena doesn't eliminate him so easily makes it clear that he's still a real threat and not just a pushover hiding behind his acolytes. Hornswoggle comes in and...sadly...this is where the match loses for me a little. For some reason, after a stretch of intense action, they boomerang the exact opposite way and turn the next several minutes into children's programming as Cena (after seeing Hornswoggle eat a roundhouse) eliminates Punk and then allows the lil' Leprechaun to stick around just for the hell of it. I get that Cena doesn't see 'Swoggle as a threat, but its just too cutesy for me. Cena and 'Swoggle eliminate Tyson Kidd and Heath Slater with ease and the match doesn't really pick up again until the ring starts filling up and Swagger, Sheamus, Mysterio, and Barrett arrive. Around this time, Hornswoggle is mercifully eliminated and the match gets serious again. We get our second WTF return as Kevin "Diesel" Nash comes in at #32. Drew McIntyre comes in next, but the crowd is full-on in Nash's corner at this point, chanting "Let's Go Diesel" and booing when Mysterio strikes him with the 619. Alex Riley comes in at #34, the WWE Champion at his side. Barrett eliminates Diesel to get some heat and The Miz joins the commentary team. The Big Show comes in next. Ziggler gets tossed soon after, as does Drew McIntyre, before Ezekial Jackson comes in and eliminates Big Show. Jackson had size, strength, and the support of management for a minute but ended up released a few years after this, never really living up to his potential. Santino comes in next to a sizable pop. Santino gets booted by Sheamus and rolls under the bottom rope and onto the floor. Alberto Del Rio comes in at #38, showing up in a Bentley. Orton comes in at #39 and immediately goes after Del Rio, who had taken his sweet ass time getting to the ring. Orton hits an RKO on Del Rio and then Sheamus and then Kofi, eliminating Kingston and Sheamus in rapid succession before squaring off with John Cena to a surprisingly mild reaction from the crowd. As Cena and Orton have their staredown, they're interrupted by the countdown to our final entrant...Kane. That goes over like a fart in church, the crowd not reacting at all. Kane outsmarts Zeke, leading to Jackson's elimination, and we're down to six. Kane gets eliminated by a Rey Mysterio headscissors, but Barrett knocks Rey out soon after and we're down to 4 now. Cole describes the scene as a battle between two iconic stars and two guys that are going to be the future of the WWE - he'd be right if he included the word "endeavored" after the word "future." The crowd just doesn't seem to give a shit anymore, nobody in the ring getting a pop for anything they do. Cena hits the AA on Del Rio but Alex Riley shows up and distracts him as The Miz slides into the ring and dumps him over the top! That gets a huge reaction from the crowd, but its not necessarily a negative one. Orton tosses Barrett and then, in a mundane finish, Del Rio dumps Orton...but wait...Santino was never eliminated! Santino comes in and nails Del Rio with the Cobra! The crowd pops for Santino's shocking "return," but the excitement is cut short as Del Rio counters Santino's attempt to toss him over the ropes and ends up eliminating Marella. Aside from Punk and the New Nexus controlling the match early, this Rumble lacked an engaging throughline and while there were two cool returns - Booker T and Diesel - the crowd lost all interest once it became clear that the viable winners included Cena, Orton, Del Rio, and Barrett, all of whom had been overexposed over the previous few months. (2/5)

With an unremarkable Kwang Score of 2-out-of-5, Royal Rumble 2011 is a largely forgettable show that will likely only lessen in importance and value over time. 10 years after, the "young stars" it was seemingly designed to push forward as the future of the company are either completely out of the company (Del Rio), were never actually handed "the ball" (Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus), or reached their ceiling soon after this show (The Miz). Meanwhile, the guys who supposedly had one foot out the door ten years ago are largely still around and still being promoted as a step above the guys they were seemingly "passing the torch to" (Orton being the most prominent, but its only been about a year since Cena unofficially "retired" and Edge and Mysterio were heavily featured in 2020). This show doesn't make a very strong case for the WWE evolving very much over the past 10 years, while, if you look at the roster differences between 91' and 01' or even 01' and this show, the contrast would be undeniable. Now, that's not to say there hasn't been some reshuffling going on - in the past 10 years, the WWE's women's division went through a much-needed revolution, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk got their well-deserved main event runs (though both were tragically cut short by either bad booking or injury), The Shield created three new top-of-the-card fixtures, and Husky Harris became Bray Wyatt. But it is still a bit sad that guys like Ziggler, Kofi, and Sheamus are essentially in the exact same position they were in 2011, their gimmicks and personas barely changed in all this time. Without a single "must see" match and a rather lackluster Rumble, I'm giving this one a...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Unforgiven 2006

WWE Unforgiven 06'

Toronto, ON, CA - September 2006

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Champion was Edge, the ECW Champion was The Big Show, the World Heavyweight Champion was King Booker, the Women's Champion was Lita, The World Tag Team Champions were The Spirit Squad, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Kendrick & London, the Intercontinental Champion was Johnny Nitro, the United States Champion was Big Show, and Greg Helms held the Cruiserweight Championship. 

Jeff Hardy challenged Johnny Nitro (now Morrison) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in the opening contest. Hardy had only just recently returned to the WWE after a 3-year hiatus caused by drug issues, no-shows, and a reported refusal to attend that led to a firing. Hardy works this match like a man with something to prove - this isn't an out-and-out carry job, but man, Jeff goes on a tear here, his bumps, timing, and selling looking absolutely terrific from beginning to end. Hardy was still a couple years away from being arguably the most popular babyface on the roster, but the audience is 90% in the corner until, as the match progresses, Nitro's toughness and targeting of Hardy's knee seem to win over a portion of the crowd. Speaking of Nitro/Morrison, at this point, he looked like a guy who could be slotted into a main event run within the next few years but it just never materialized. At this time, though, his act with Melina wasn't yet stale and hadn't proven to be as one-dimensional as it ended up being. There are some great false finishes here and there and Hardy puts in the kind of performance that he hung his hat on for so many years - losing but winning over the crowd and getting himself over even when failing to get the W. (3.5/5)

Umaga vs. Kane followed. Everytime Kane has a match that doesn't completely bore me to tears, I feel surprised. Could it be that Kane is actually better than I think he is? I don't think so. I mean, based on the dozens of Kane matches I've seen, he's really only consistently good in multi-man matches and when his opponent is someone who can pull a great match out of a corpse - like Daniel Bryan or Rey Mysterio. Umaga is not that great a worker, but I like that he gives no quarter to the Big Red Machine, taking the fight to him and making Kane look vulnerable at times. When Kane takes over, Umaga proves he can bump and sell too, the fight eventually spilling out into the audience (which was fully into this). This one doesn't overstay its welcome, but I wish it would've ended cleanly with Umaga going over as he - along with the dearly missed Armando Allejandro Estrada - were a much better act than I thought at the time (when I incorrectly judged Umaga as a "Samoa Joe" knock-off). This wasn't as good as the opener, but it exceeded my expectations just by being a stiff slugfest between two super heavyweights. (3/5)

Backstage, Vince and Shane are backstage rewatching a clip from RAW where Vince ended up pinning Triple H after hitting him with a sledgehammer. 

The Spirit Squad, who held the World Tag Team Championships at the time, come out next to defend their gold against The Highlanders, a team with a gimmick that I feel like the WWE has tried to get over multiple times but were never able to. The Highlanders aren't very interesting or fun to watch, so I spent some of the match time reading up on them. I was shocked to learn that they're still competing, mostly in Canada it seems. Robbie McAllister had particularly decent size and a good look, but was fired for showing up on-camera in TNA as a spectator. Whoops. The Spirit Squad are fine as heels, but the best part of their act was always their cheers and trampoline usage. Kenny and Mikey are representing the Squad, another two guys that I was surprised were still going strong in the business. I like the Highlander's finish - a double-team reverse slingshot suplex - but I'm glad they ate the pin. (1.5/5)

Degneration X took on The McMahons and Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match. In 2006, the WWE was not yet fully "PG," but the humor and adult content was more sophomoric than anything (though, credit where its due, the Mickie James/Trish Stratus sex stalker angle was awesome). This first of two reunions of DX seemed like it served two purposes at the time - first and foremost, it helped the WWE move a ton of merch and, second, it gave Triple H something to do aside from dominate RAW's World Title scene as he'd done for basically the previous 5 years. When the match begins, a very loud "You Screwed Bret" chant breaks out, which is funny because it could be aimed at 3-out-of-5 guys (if you believe Triple H's story that he was one of the guys who helped conceive the Screwjob). Shane gets busted open almost immediately after getting tossed in the cage and then Vince follows suit. Considering that Vince found blade jobs to be "barbaric," he sure didn't mind doing them to himself for nearly every match he was in from 1998 on. The numbers game catches up with Shawn and Triple H and the McMahons and Big Show go after Triple H's damaged ear. Show delivers a cool move where he lifts Shawn up into a powerbomb position and bashes him face-first into the cell wall before dropping him. I loved Show around this time as he was adding all sorts of cool moves to his arsenal as ECW Champion. Show follows it up by sending Michaels like a dart into the wall and then returns to punishing Triple H in the ring. Shane takes out a trash can and the audience pops in anticipation for the Van Terminator / Coast-to-Coast. McMahon nails it and the blood drips down from The Game's ear as the crowd chants "Holy Shit." Michaels rolls back into the ring and he's a bloody mess too. The "color" in this match is why a Hell in a Cell needs blood. You can perform all the moves in the world, break a million tables, have guys fall from 30 feet in the air, but what really sells the brutality is the blood. Shane catapults Triple H into the cell wall and The Game has a full crimson mask now. Back in the ring, McMahon directs Big Show to beat down on Shawn more. Big Show hits a Vader Bomb that draws an audible gasp from the crowd. Vince looks like he may have the W sewn up but decides to inflict more punishment. There's the nasty Cobra Clutch Backbreaker by Big Show! I love that move. He hits him with a leg drop and McMahon makes the cover - but refuses to accept victory. Triple H valiantly comes back into the ring and trips Big Show over the top rope before getting some offense in against Vince. Shane breaks up a Pedigree attempt and puts Triple H up in a Torture Rack! Wow. Michaels is on his feet now and he hits an enziguiri on Shane! The heels regain control, though, and Vince unbuckles his pants, looking to add insult to injury. Vince bends over and exposes his thong-covered ass, but Triple H is back up and sends Vince to the mat. Big Show clocks him, though, and bodyslams Shawn. Vince tells Big Show to splash Shawn, but Shawn pulls Vince in the way and its Vince who takes the full 500 pounds. DX split Big Show's leg and pull him into the post crotch-first. A loud "DX' chant breaks out as they ping-pong Shane O-Mac with right hands. Shane eats an atomic drop and then a spinebuster! Triple H pulls Shane into the center of the ring and grabs some chairs, putting one around Shane's neck. Shawn hits an elbow drop onto the chair! It didn't look great, but the sentiment was there and Shane starts coughing up blood to really sell it. Big Show is back up and the war continues, Show sliding some steps into the ring. Show tries to bash the steps into Triple H, but The Game catches him with a chairshot to the gut! Show falls into the steps and Triple H bashes the chair onto the steps. Again, its not necessarily a "realistic" maneuver, but it gets a great sound and response. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Big Show and now they're left with just Vince. In a great moment of poetic justice, Shawn and Triple H pull down Big Show's shorts and shove Vince's face into it! Vince sells it like his face has been doused with acid and the crowd goes absolutely insane. Triple H grabs a sledgehammer as Shawn tunes up the band. Shawn hits him with a superkick as Triple H nails him in the back of the neck with a sledgehammer shot that leads to the sledgehammer's top snapping off and flying out of the ring. One of the most thoroughly violent and entertaining Hell in a Cell matches ever. I've got no problem putting this match up there with the best Hell in a Cell matches ever. (4.5/5)

The WWE Women's Champion, Lita, defends her title against Trish Stratus in Stratus's retirement match next (Stratus would come out of retirement several years later, but this was her last match for a good number of years). Compared to today's better women's wrestling matches - or even the ones that were happening on the indie scene or in Japan for well over a decade before this - this match doesn't measure up as an all-time great one, but context is important. It was a rarity to see a Women's Championship go longer than 10 minutes. It was a rarity to see two women actually get to deliver a competitive match without being told to restrict themselves from certain spots. It was a rarity to have two women competing that had similar levels of experience and talent (as it was more typical for one woman to be the "worker" and the other the "eye candy" and then have the worker lead the less skilled grappler through a filler match). This match has purpose, has physicality, and may even be Lita's career match (while there are just a few Stratus matches I'd rate higher for her). At the time, I could see this being considered within the top 5 women's matches the WWE had ever produced - maybe even in the top 3 - but, fortunately, it is no longer even in the top 20 as, in the decade plus since this match, the female talent has finally been given the opportunity to showcase their toughness and ability. Still, due to the hot crowd, this is a well above-average match even in 2020. (3/5)

Randy Orton took on Carlito in what was essentially a "filler" match. I appreciate what they attempted to do here, but these two just didn't totally click, an example of a bunch of good ingredients not coming together to form a great dish. One might think Orton was putting on a lazy performance, but his effort isn't the problem. Carlito doesn't do a poor job of anything either. They're even blood! They're given almost the perfect amount of time - a little under 10 minutes - and the commentary work is no better or worse than anything that came before it. But this just isn't anything more than "pretty good," maybe slightly above average. The crowd obviously knew that the main event was next and seem to be just buzzing with that expectation (and I'm guessing that many were going to the beer lines to grab one more before cut-off) rather than investing in the match. (3/5)

Main event time - John Cena challenging Edge for the WWE Championship in a TLC Match. I just reviewed the first TLC pay-per-view and commented about how underwhelming that show was so this match was a nice reminder of just how good a TLC match could be. This match has everything that a TLC needs to have to really work: heightened stakes (not only is Edge's WWE Championship on the line, but if Cena loses he is forced to leave Raw), a reason for happening that made logical sense (Edge only willing to grant Cena a title shot if he got to choose the location and the stipulation), two guys that were unafraid to do some potentially permanent damage to their bodies for the sake of stealing the show (and this was not an easy to show to steal after the excellent Hell in a Cell, memorable Stratus/Lita match, and a strong opener), and perfectly timed, sequenced, and executed (mostly) spots. Cena and Edge went all out, bashing each other with ladders, flying and falling through tables, and the kind of chair shots that the company no longer allows anyone to do. Again, the context plays a role too. Not only is this match fought in front of a very passionate, very pro-Edge crowd (though Cena has a decent number of fans in attendance too), but the match does feel like the perfect punctuation point on a night that, from beginning to end, harkened back to so many of the WWE's hallmarks: The McMahons bleeding buckets, crotch chops, tables and ladders and chairs being swung and smashed with enthusiasm, Jeff Hardy fighting from underneath, an old school hoss fight in Umaga/Kane, and the literal conclusion of Trish Stratus' career. There is one notable "botch" - a failed sunset flip-powerbomb through a table early on that they turn into a bodyslam through the thing, but aside from that, everything feels organic. Even some of the table spots are almost surprisingly brilliant in the way they are captured - with the audience sometimes wondering if the victim actually went through a table or just fell 30 feet onto the arena floor. The final 5-6 are terrific and do not feel forced (and even benefit a little bit from an unplanned moment when the double-table stack accidentally gets undone after Cena FUs Lita). Definitely a top 5 singles match for Edge and maybe even in the running for Cena. (4.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 3.29-out-of-5, Unforgiven 2006 is an above-average show, enjoyable from beginning to end and featuring at least two matches that I'd figure, without digging through my own reviews or trying to conjure up great matches I haven't reviewed, would land in the top 30 of the decade for the WWE. What really makes this a top tier show, though, is that aside from the Highlanders/Spirit Squad, the rest of the card is mostly good-to-great (and I've seen some fans heap more stars on the Stratus/Lita match even 14 years later). With barely any fat to trim, I'm comfortable rating this...

FINAL RATING - Watch It

WWE TLC 2020

WWE TLC 2020

The Thunderdome, St.Petersburg, FL - December 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Champion was Drew McIntyre, while the Universal Champion was Roman Reigns. The United States Champion was Bobby Lashley, the Intercontinental Champion was Sami Zayn, and the 24/7 Champion R-Truth. The RAW Women's Champion was Asuka, the SmackDown Women's Champion was Sasha Banks, and the Women's Tag Team Titles were held by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. Finally, the RAW Tag Team Champions were The New Day and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The Street Profits.

The 11th annual TLC pay-per-view began with Drew McIntyre defending his WWE Championship against AJ Styles in a ladder match. Styles was accompanied by the gargantuan Omos, who I was surprised was not the same huge dude that was Shane McMahon's bodyguard during the RAW Underground segments a few months back. Regardless, I was somewhat excited for this match, eager to see what these two would put together. Unfortunately, while they delivered the thrills and spills one would expect out of a ladder match - with Styles even getting bit of "color" (I think? He inexplicably kept it off camera despite it coming "hard way") - this one suffered, like most of the matches we've seen in the Thunderdome, from a lack of a crowd and feeling a bit "samey" after a year full of matches with almost identical stipulations (including AJ Styles himself wrestling a 3-way ladder match at the Clash of the Champions show in September). I'd argue it would've been more exciting and interesting to see these guys put on a straight-up 1-on-1 match and get creative with Omos' interference and the suspense of having The Miz insert himself into the action than go through the motions of a match with a stipulation that no longer provides any real sort of novelty. The Miz's failure to capitalize on his briefcase cash-in added nothing either, though it almost seems that was done by design as The Miz and Morrison have been demoted to "minor villains" on the card, nuisances more than legit threats, and for whatever reason the boss man chilled on the original briefcase holder, Otis, over the summer. For what this was, this wasn't a bad match - McIntyre and Styles are too proficient to complete strike out and this match did have some undeniably hard hits - but this wasn't the best match they could've had. If anything, the addition of tables and ladders and chairs hindered more than helped. (3/5)

Sasha Banks defended her SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella next. Carmella is not the best worker in the world, but she's been on a bit of a tear with her new character - the self-obsessed, champagne-sipping egomaniac. Its a bit of a throwback gimmick to the 90s and early 00s when basically every heel woman was a "diva" and all the babyfaces were plucky girl-next-door types. Anyway, Banks had her workboots on here, driving this match and taking some big bumps early including a head scissors on the floor and a back bump onto the apron of the ring. Some of Carmella's selling and facial expressions were awkward and there were some noticeable moments of cooperation and spot-calling, but I've made the same critiques about all sorts of matches over the past 5 years. The action was good enough that these brief moments didn't take me out of the match, though; I even bit on an excellent Carmella counter to a tilt-a-whirl. Carmella seemed to have victory within reach until Sasha countered a frankensteiner off the top rope into a series of clever pinning combinations. Carmella wouldn't quit, though, locking in the Cone of Silence and then a Double Chickenwing. Dang, Carmella didn't impress me all that much in the opening minutes but in the second half, she absolutely shined with some of her quickness and submissions. Banks eventually locked in the Banks Statement and it looked like the match was over, but Carmella's sommelier, Reginald, pulled her out of the ring. Banks hit him with the Meteora, but got superkicked immediately after! Great sequence there. She shoved her into the ring, but only got 2.9. In her frustration, Carmella slapped and screamed in the face of Sasha before attempting another facebuster - only for Banks to lock in the Banks Statement and get a hard-earned victory. That match overdelivered and may have even been Carmella's career match. (3.5/5)

Backstage, Asuka was warming up before getting interrupted by Billie Kaye. Kaye claims she is proficient in Japanese but doesn't understand Asuka turning down her offer to be her tag partner tonight. 

The Hurt Business - Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander (managed by MVP) - challenged The New Day for the RAW Tag Team Championships in the next bout. The New Day came out swinging, hitting a series of double-team and rapid-succession maneuvers that would make the average team's head spin. Benjamin came in and used his size to get some offense in but the New Day regained control moments later, hitting all sorts of signature and well-executed offense inside and out. As Joe noted on commentary, The New Day were out to prove something here and I'm not unsure it wasn't that they deserve to be in the conversation with the Bucks and the Revival as the best tag team in the world. The weakest link of the match was Alexander, the least experienced of the four talents involved (5 if you include MVP), a guy that - like Shelton and Kofi in their first years - is a remarkable athlete but has not yet mastered the subtleties of storytelling and timing and positioning that separate the best from the rest. After a dazzling array of offense from Kofi, the Hurt Business hit a series of big moves of their own, but Kofi cut Benjamin off with a big dropkick and then one to Cedric on the outside too. Kofi looked to hit a top rope move, but the Gold Standard met him up there and delivered his trademark superplex. Benjamin didn't capitalize, though, and Cedric tagged himself in to deliver a lumbar check to get the clean 3. I didn't love the finish. For starters, Kofi was left overselling the superplex when Cedric waited too long to tag himself in and I'm not sure why Xavier was unable to make the save (which, when you've got MVP on the outside, should be a question that is easy to answer). This was still another great match on New Day's resume, but could've been even better with a more thoughtful finish. (3/5)

The Women's Tag Team Champions - Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler - took on Asuka and her mystery partner, Charlotte Flair! Flair's return was not a huge shocker as most dirtsheets had been spreading the news that she was due back soon, but I did still think there was an outside chance they'd call up an NXT talent. Asuka and Baszler started things off and I immediately thought it was possible that Flair would turn on Asuka the same way her father did Sting countless times. Instead, after a brief exchange, Asuka tagged Charlotte in and she went right after Baszler. Charlotte begged for Jax to come in and the match continued on, both sides getting in some good offense but unable to get full control until Asuka got her arm stomped on by Baszler. Its some sort of amazing that we were over an hour into a show and this was the first match in which we saw someone actually work a body part. I miss the dominant Asuka of the past, but she wasn't a bad face-in-peril either, eventually making the hot tag to Charlotte, who came in and took Jax out with a series of kicks, showing absolutely no ring rust. I loved Charlotte going after Jax's knee to softern her up for the Figure 8. Asuka hit a nasty sliding kick into Baszler before Flair launched herself off the post and hit the heels with a moonsault. Flair attempted the Figure 8 but Jax kicked her into the corner. Jax followed it with a Samoan Drop but Flair made the tag and Asuka came off the top with a missile dropkick. Asuka and Baszler each attempted their submission, but Flair came in and cleaned house. Flair finally got the Figure 8 on Baszler, but Jax broke it up. Hip attack on the outside by Asuka! Baszler locked in the Kokina Clutch but Flair rolled through, got a 2 count, and then hit the Natural Selection to win the match! Wow. Great finishing sequence. I'm sure many on the internet will take issue with Flair coming in and getting the W as Jax and Baszler were gaining a ton of steam as a partnership, but I expect that we'll get a rematch - or six dozen - over the next few weeks. This may also be leading to a Flair heel turn and another round of matches between herself and Asuka, which are almost aways welcome. Whether or not one likes the way this was booked, this match was really good. (3.5/5)

Roman Reigns defended his Universal Championship against Kevin Owens next. Reigns has been red hot since returning to the company as a heel in the fall while Owens has been rudderless for some time now. Still, credit due to KO - with just a few promos and segments, he did make himself an interesting (if not actually credible) challenger to Reigns. Before the bell could even ring, Owens used the element of surprise to take control of the match, taking out Jey Uso with a series of chair shots. As Uso was helped to the back, Reigns hit a Drive-By and then smashed a table top onto Owens. Reigns maintained control for a spell, back-dropping Owens into a pair of chairs. Reigns went up the ladder to try to grab the title, but Owens took him down with a chair and then a fisherman suplex into a chair. Owens went to retrieve the title, but Jey Uso disrupted him and Owens got struck by a Superman Punch. Reigns and Uso set up some tables but didn't really take advantage of their...uh...advantage, allowing Owens to recuperate. Owens hit a stunner on Reigns and then went after Uso, powerbombing him through a table and then burying him underneath a stack of wreckage. Owens went back to grab the title, but Reigns caught him with a powerbomb onto a ladder in the corner. He then hit him with a nasty sidewalk slam onto a ladder that was turned on its side and put him through a table outside the ring for good measure. Reigns wasn't done, though, putting Owens through another table with a Samoan Drop. Reigns climbed the ladder, but Owens somehow found his way back into the ring, clutching onto Reigns' pants. Instead of grabbing the belt, Reigns decided to inflict more damage, spearing Owens through a table in the corner. Owens rolled out of the ring but wouldn't quit and when Reigns went for another spear into the barricade, KO moved out of the way and Reigns went through it himself! Owens climbed up the ladder, but Reigns got a hold of his foot at the last second and pulled him back down, sending him face first into the ladder's legs. Owens caught Reigns with some superkicks and attempted a pop-up powerbomb by Reigns nailed him with a Superman Punch. Reigns went for another, but got powerbombed through a table! Owens went for the title, but this time it was Jey Uso who prevented him from grabbing the belt. Owens hit him with a stunner, though, and climbed back up the ladder - only to be stopped by a Reigns low blow. Reigns then applied a guillotine at the top of the ladder, sending Owens down in a heap and winning the match. I liked the simplicity of the finish and Reigns' general dominance. This was not a back-and-forth battle as much as Owens trying to overcome the odds but never actually being in control of the match. A smartly-worked match even if it wasn't the wildest TLC ever. (3.5/5)

Main event time - "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton in a Firefly Inferno Match. These two have had some of the most outlandish, ridiculous matches ever against each other - worms at WrestleMania, the match at the Wyatt Compound - but I must admit there is an odd enjoyment in seeing them continue to skirt the line between cartoonishly fun and outright terrible. This one started off horrendously with Wyatt no-selling Orton's initial attempts at offense, but then turned into your typical Fiend brawl. The first sign that this match was not "live" but obviously taped was the virtual crowd reactions, which were "mild" to say the least. At various points, if one looked at the digital audience, you might see someone eating cereal or sleeping, not exactly enthralled in what was a high-stakes match involving fire. There was a cool moment when Wyatt attempted to light Orton aflame while he was sitting in a rocking chair and an attempted murder when The Fiend tried to use a pick axe on the Viper, but really, this one was all about the finish. Orton eventually shoved Wyatt into a fire and then hit him with an RKO to get the official victory but it was the post-match that really sealed the deal as Orton coolly dumped gasoline onto The Fiend's lifeless body and set him on fire. I'm not sure why the commentators were so appalled by his actions - I mean, isn't The Fiend supposed to be a non-human monster? Also, this is another great example of Orton, who is supposed to be a heel, coming off as a bad ass that I want to cheer as he had the balls and bravado to do what countless other babyfaces were afraid to do. All in all, not a great match or anything, but fun nonetheless. (3/5)

The WWE should really stop doing TLC pay-per-views. The promise of ladders, tables, and chairs worked well in the late 90s and early 2000s, when weapons-based carnage was a rarity and the entire wrestling world was going through an arms race of ultraviolence, a time before every insane spot imaginable had been done, when there were still envelopes to be pushed. In 2011, when the WWE decided to base a whole show on these type of matches, it was already old hat. In 2020, it actively hurts the company. The best matches on this show - Banks/Carmella, the tag match - worked because they didn't feature needless weapons. Owens/Reigns was good, but probably wouldn't even rake in the top 10 TLC matches and was carried heavily by the characters involved rather than any particular spot. The conclusion of the main event will likely be what most fans remember this show for and, though it wasn't every one's cup of tea, I liked the inanity of it. With a very solid Kwang Score of 3.25-out-of-5, gets a thumbs up from me.

FINAL RATING - Watch It

WWE Backlash 2007

 WWE Backlash 2007

Atlanta, GA - April 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion is John Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion was The Undertaker, and the ECW Champion was Bobby Lashley. The Intercontinental Champion was Santino Marella and the United States Champion was Chris Benoit. The World Tag Team Champions were Matt and Jeff Hardy, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Deuce and Domino, and the Women's Champion was Melina. Finally, the Cruiserweight Champion was Chavo Guerrero (he'd lose the title to Hornswoggle a few months after this, who would end up being the last Cruiserweight Champion for quite awhile). 

Kicking off the show we've got the very popular Hardys defending the World Tag Team Titles against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Matt and Lance start things off with some good old fashioned wrestling, collar-and-elbows and whatnot. Jeff comes in and we get some classic Hardy double-teams and then a Whisper in the Wind. Hardy hits the Air Sabu off of Matt Hardy's back and onto the arena floor in a terrific spot. The heels eventually cut off the Hardys with a nifty spot that saw Hardy go for a baseball slide only to get pulled out of the ring and onto the arena floor by Cade. Cade slams Hardy down with a sit-out chokeslam-like maneuver and then drops Murdoch onto him with what I would call an Atomic Leg Drop. Its good stuff. Cade hits a rough short-arm clothesline for 2 before tagging Murdoch back in. The heels' heat segment maybe goes a touch too long - its not anything they do is particularly boring or poorly executed, its more that some of the match's momentum gets lost just watching Jeff Hardy take punishment. The hot tag to Matt Hardy still gets a sizable pop. The Hardys seem to botch another Air Sabu attempt, but it works in context because Cade pulls Murdoch out of the way anyway and it makes Hardy hitting the corner look even more vicious. Hardy almost gets the victory anyway, but Cade breaks it up. Murdoch almost gets the pin, but only gets 2. Murdoch brings Hardy up in a fireman's carry, but Matt counters it into a Twist of Fate. Jeff hits the Swanton off the top on Murdoch, though, and gets the 3 count! This match started off really hot, stayed warm for a long time, but kinda ended in a bit of a mess. A play with 2 good acts that ends in an unremarkable way. (3/5)

Mickie James challenged Melina for the Women's Championship next. While not a "must see" match, this is still a really strong match. Lawler's commentary is a bit odd; He makes comments early on that make it seem like he wants the audience to respect what they're getting - a physical, athletic contest between two undeniably good wrestlers - but always lets his inner horn dog ruin any gravitas this match would probably have if commentated by today's broadcast team. This match is loaded with "mirror spots," which didn't exactly fit the narrative of the build (if I remember correctly), but absolutely works as a way of showing that these two women are both ultra-talented wrestlers, not just models doing hair-tosses (though, that's not to say there isn't a hair-toss in this match). Like the opener, my biggest gripe was probably the finish, which seemed a bit tacked-on and not as clever as the rest of the match's high points. (3/5)

Chris Benoit defended his US Championship against Montel Vontavius Porter - aka MVP - in the next bout. Michael Cole mentions that these two had a barnburner at WrestleMania the month prior, but I was at that event and cannot honestly remember of it. That probably had much more to do with our seats being in the nosebleeds at Ford Field than anything, but I wasn't blown away by this match either. There are some great moments - any Chris Benoit match is bound to feature a few awesome sequences - and MVP shows off his mat wrestling ability too, but my issue with him was always that, for a guy whose gimmick was all about flash and panache, he was really more of an old school, roughneck, grind-your-face-in-the-mat technician. Reviewing a Benoit match in 2020 is different than it was in 2010 or in 2008 or even in May 2007 (before Benoit murdered his wife and child and then killed himself). At the time, there was certainly a sentiment that practically every Benoit match was a master class in wrestling, that Benoit was as good an in-ring worker as had ever lived. 13 years later, its clear to see that Benoit, like any worker, produced plenty of forgettable matches, that while his "average match' was still probably better than the average match of a Brian "Crush" Adam or *throwing up in my mouth* IRS era Mike Rotunda, Chris Benoit was a guy whose great matches tended to rely on an insane workrate - for example, delivering 5 consecutive German Suplexes like he does in this match. Now, that's not to say that Benoit's resume isn't loaded with some of the hardest-hitting, most intense and influential matches of the past 30 years. He was, at various times during his career, the best pure wrestler working in North America and maybe the whole world. But its also worth noting that now, 13 years removed from the Benoit tragedy, we can objectively look at his work as being a bit one-dimensional at times, at not always being "fun," as not always connecting with the live crowd. This is one such match. (2.5/5)

Bobby Lashley takes on Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a 3-on-1 match for the ECW Championship (with whoever scores the pinfall getting the title). Lashley and Shane-O start things off and the crowd seems to enjoy seeing McMahon take some punishment. Umaga comes in soon after and withstands a little punishment before cutting off Lashley with a foot to the face. Lashley rallies, though, and clotheslines Umaga out of the ring and then tosses Shane into the rail for good measure. Vince teases coming in, but Umaga and Shane distract Lashley long enough to make sure Vince doesn't have to. There's some smart sequences in this match - surely, as one would expect, the agents and producers wanted to make sure everyone was protected here and mapped this one out with quality, credible transitions. After Umaga puts the boots to the ECW Champion for awhile, clawing at his back and chest, Shane applies an armbar, showing off some of the MMA he loves so much. Lashley gets to a vertical base and powerbombs his way out of it, though. Lashley gets cut off again by an interfering Umaga and then the Samoan Bulldozer comes in and delivers a headbutt. Umaga applies a bearhug and the crowd breaks into a "Bobby!" chant. Lashley breaks free but gets Samoan Drop'd. Umaga tags Shane back in and he delivers an elbow and then knees to Lashley's back. Credit to Shane, he does a decent job targeting Lashley's lower back, eventually applying a camel clutch. Lashley fights out, though, and not only takes out Shane but also Umaga with a series of impressive power moves. Finally VInce comes in to break up a pinfall attempt and Lashley goes for a Dominator but falls prey to the numbers game once again. As the ref attempts to regain control, Shane strikes Lashley with the Championship belt and goes for the cov - no, he tags in Vince instead! Vince makes the cover but only gets 2. Lashley goes for the roll-up but Shane breaks up the count. Shane helps position Lashley for an Umaga splash and Vince comes back in. Vince again makes the cover but only gets 2. Umaga comes back in and delivers another big splash. He makes them look easy and painful. This time when Vince makes the cover, Lashley doesn't kick out and we've got a new ECW World Champion. Everyone got to shine and the story made sense. (3/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next as The Undertaker defends against Batista in a Last Man Standing Match. I just watched their Chairs Match from 2009 (?) and was disappointed, noting that the stipulation itself was the biggest problem - these two don't need weapons to get their matches over, they just need to level each other with big power moves, spears, boots to the face, and maybe a couple table spots. This match feels like two monsters set on destroying each other and not needing to do anything fancy to accomplish it. At one point, Batista delivers a series of crushing spine busters to the Undertaker and it actually feels like that could end the match. Unlike the bloated epics of today, with their never-ending sequences of superkicks and finisher kickouts - the personalities in this match actually have weight and the moves they deliver have enough impact that you're not rolling your eyes every time someone barely makes the 10 count. And, in fact, because they don't rely too much on gimmicks and weaponry, neither guy is defying logic when they stagger up at 8 and the match resumes. Nowadays, we've seen guys kickout of chair shots and belts to the face and everything in between, while these guys get the Last Man Standing gimmick over mostly with straight-up power moves. When they finally do make their way up to the stage for the final spot - a spear off the side that leaves them both in a heap of wreckage - it doesn't feel cheap at all because they weren't miraculously recovering from 9 other moves just as damaging. I wouldn't call this a masterpiece because, ultimately, we're still talking about an indecisive finish to a Last Man Standing match (which kinda defeats the whole purpose) plus I'm not sure why its Taker who gets to basically come out of the wreckage first when, considering how much longer this feud progresses, it should be Batista who looks like he had Taker beat. Still, a really, really good, physical contest that deserves the accolades often heaped upon it. (4/5)

Main event time - a Fatal Fourway for John Cena's WWE Championship featuring the aforementioned Cena, Shawn Michaels, Edge, and Randy Orton. As JR and The King note on commentary, Cena comes into this with no advantage - any pin on anybody will end the match and potentially lead to the crowning of a new WWE Champion. I didn't necessarily come into this match with the highest of hopes, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. I'm not sure I'd call it the best Fatal Fourway match ever - as one reviewer did - but I also can't really name a better one off the top of my head. Like the Last Man Standing match before it, this one doesn't over-rely on weapons, though there is a table spot and Edge does deliver a hell of a chair shot to Orton at one point, but it doesn't really need it with each guy having so many signature moves to pull out. I didn't dig Edge and Orton's weak-looking double Boston Crab and John Cena successfully applying the STFU onto 2-out-of-3 opponents was a bit cutesy, but there were also moments I really liked - a perfectly-executed double leg drop from the top rope by The Champ, a Tower of Doom spot that actually looked organic (and devastating), the aforementioned table spot and chair shots. Plus, the finish is one of the all-time great multi-man endings, expertly sold in the post-match too by Shawn Michaels. (4/5)

Backlash 2007 has a reputation for being one of the best WWE pay-per-views of all-time and, match-for-match, it earns that reputation - especially for its time, when consistency up and down the card was not the company's strong suit. This show, more than the pay-per-views of the brand split era that came before it and eventually came back around, highlighted the very best the WWE had to offer at the time - the revitalized Hardys, a women's division that was being taken seriously for a brief moment, fresh characters in Umaga and MVP, and two very, very good title matches in Batista/Undertaker and, in some people's opinions, the best Fatal Fourway match in company history. With a strong Kwang Score of 3.25-out-of-5 but not a single match that's overstays its welcome or flops, this one earns a...

FINAL RATING - Watch It All