By Mark Armstrong@MarkArmstrong
Backlash feels like a strange PPV event, given that several matches have been hindered by the Superstar Shake-Up and that some other bouts have had minimal hype. But SmackDown has been doing its bit to promote the blue brand’s top bouts at this Sunday’s supershow, so tonight’s episode would likely have the primary purpose of adding extra fuel to the various fires that will explode at Backlash.
Backstage, Paige opened the show by announcing that the AJ Styles-Shinsuke Nakamura clash on Sunday would now be a No Disqualification match.
Miz TV w/ Jeff Hardy
Miz TV kicked things off proper. After slating Daniel Bryan for missing last week’s Miz TV after an attack by Big Cass, Miz said that Bryan was indefinitely banned from his talk show. After also throwing shade at Seth Rollins ahead of their Intercontinental Championship battle at Backlash, Miz introduced his guest, the United States Champion, Jeff Hardy. It didn’t take long for the two to begin disagreeing, before Miz introduced a surprise second guest, Randy Orton (it sounded like Miz called him the “Liper” in a presumed slip of the tongue).
Orton told Miz that there was no real issue between him and his Backlash opponent based on their recent on-screen altercations. Miz continued to try and stir the pot, and Orton seemed to elicit a genuine laugh at one point. In trying to get Randy and Jeff to fight one another, Miz only succeeded in making himself more of a potential target to both men, but before he could taste an attack from either man, Shelton Benjamin turned up and suggested that he, not Orton, deserved a United States Championship opportunity against Hardy. It quickly degenerated into a faces vs. heels brawl, and since this is SmackDown, you know what comes next …
Jeff Hardy & Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin & The Miz
Yep, it’s a “TAG TEAM MATCH, PLAYA!” Orton and Hardy worked together well early on, playing off the fact that their storyline is based on mutual respect and a simple desire to hold the U.S. Championship. That could change beyond Backlash, since it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for these two to have a lengthy feud, with Orton turning heel again in the process.
Back to this match: a Dragon Whip changed the momentum for Benjamin, and he tagged in Miz (who was booed like crazy in Montreal) to further isolate Orton. It didn’t last long, as Randy tagged in Jeff who unleashed his usual signature offence on Miz. A few near-falls for Jeff led to a Twist Of Fate on Shelton, but Miz prevented the Swanton Bomb, and both Benjamin and Miz struck to send Hardy out to the floor.
After a commercial, Miz remained in control with a chinlock and a DDT on Jeff. After denying one tag attempt to Orton, Miz drilled Jeff with the Daniel Bryan corner dropkicks, but tasted a sleeper slam for his efforts. Orton then tagged in and unleashed his own signature offence on both heels, inside and outside the ring, including a double DDT through the ropes (which we haven’t seen for a while). An RKO and Swanton Bomb combo led to Jeff pinning Shelton for the win. Post-match, Orton dropped Hardy with an RKO out of nowhere. Message sent.
After the announcers told us that the fear of a chest infection would prevent Daniel Bryan from wrestling on tonight’s show, we had another backstage confrontation between The Bar and The New Day. Big E randomly rubbing baby oil over his pecs, and seeming excited by his relaxation, was priceless. Funnier still was his reaction to Sheamus’ challenge for a fight, which was instead aimed at Xavier Woods.
Another backstage segment saw Lana reunite on-screen with Rusev, as she implied that Aiden English was holding him back. Surely not!
Big Cass Promo
Big Cass came out for an unscheduled (?) promo. After reminding us once again that he’s taller and stronger than Daniel Bryan, Cass challenged Bryan to face him there and then, only to introduce a smaller version of D.Bryan (who fans chanted “Yes!” along with anyway). Unsurprisingly, it ended with Cass booting him in the face and pummelling him. I mean, you just can’t teach that.
Shinsuke Nakamura Demands An Apology
Almost midway through the show and we’ve still only had one match, and up next was another talking segment. Why Shinsuke Nakamura was demanding an apology at all, I don’t know, though it was AJ Styles that came out first to chat with Renee Young. Styles revived the “cheap shot artist” like he’d used on Baron Corbin last year (“CHEAP SHOT! CHEAP SHOT!”), before AJ noted that Nakamura spoiled WrestleMania 34 for him, and along with other recent attacks, Shinsuke had become a coward to Styles by breaking the rules. But the No Disqualification stipulation would also allow AJ to break the rules at Backlash. Thus, no apology.
Styles was then interrupted not by Nakamura, but by Samoa Joe. Joe then told Roman Reigns that he couldn’t beat Brock Lesnar … just kidding. Instead, Joe told AJ he’d lost his focus and that he should be thinking about Joe beating Roman at Backlash, especially after Reigns failed to beat Lesnar in Saudi Arabia (I was joking, and yet he brought up Roman-Lesnar again!). Joe said that he would challenge whomever left Backlash with the WWE crown. Nakamura’s new music then hit, and he caught Styles with yet another low blow. There was no apology, but Shinsuke did make a statement at AJ’s expense in his own, now-signature way, and followed that up with a teased Kinshasa to the back of the head, followed by him actually hitting the move to his face. What a heel.
Sheamus vs. Xavier Woods
Finally, another match! Sheamus pushes Woods away early on, but Xavier rebounded with a low dropkick, a rolling elbow and a big senton bomb to the floor (Big E: “Give it up for my boy, sucka!”). A distraction by Cesaro (with pancakes inside his jacket) allowed Sheamus to regain control of the contest.
A botched Irish Curse was followed by a successful execution of the move as Sheamus continued to dominate Xavier. Woods fought back again with chops and a few kicks to the ribs, along with a stiff knee to the head. A twisting legdrop earned a two-count for Woods, and a Shining Wizard seemed to set up a big Xavier elbow. But this only led to shenanigans at ringside, and it ultimately resulted in Sheamus attacking Xavier and throwing him back into the ring, only to be rolled up for the three-count.
Backstage, Paige reunited with Absolution. Mandy Rose was chosen, not for a Women’s Championship match as the duo believed, but for a singles showdown with Becky Lynch the following week. Paige closed the conversation by saying that “Absolution is … dead.”
Charlotte, Asuka & Becky Lynch vs. Carmella & The IIconics
Carmella ran from Charlotte to begin with, leading to Peyton Royce and Becky Lynch tagging into properly start the action. They traded the advantage early on, though Becky and (after tagging in) Asuka soon took over on Billie Kay, and a slap by Kay led to Asuka pounding the newcomer. Charlotte came back in, and after she collided with the turnbuckles, Carmella finally tagged in, only to panic when Flair almost trapped her in the Figure-Eight. Carmella escaped, but Charlotte took out both IIconics with a plancha to the floor.
After the break, the heels looked to dominate and isolate Lynch, preventing her attempts at tagging out before she finally tagged out to Charlotte. Flair chopped Carmella multiple times and suplexed all three of her opponents. Carmella bounced back by driving Charlotte’s face into the post, but the match soon turned into a brawl with frequent tags and similarly frequent interference by the other, non-legal participants. Carmella tried to put Charlotte away but she just couldn’t do it, and grew more and more frustrated with each failed attempt. Asuka finally tagged back in herself and quickly hammered everybody, particularly Royce. Peyton almost scored an upset win following a hard kick, but Asuka struck with a huge kick of their own. Each lady hit a signature move from there, and after a Charlotte moonsault to Carmella and Kay at ringside, the Asuka Lock finished off Royce via submission.
This was another “just okay” episode of SmackDown. The show is in a safe formula at present (a six-person bout headlined for the second straight week, and all three matches saw a commercial break end with a heel having a babyface in a chinlock), and it feels like the brand is only going to truly make strides once Backlash is out of the way. It was enjoyable enough, and the main event was exciting, but there was nothing must-see here.
