WWE Backlash (September 9, 2016) - First SmackDown Exclusive PPV -- Results & Afterthoughts

Backlash (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on September 11, 2016 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. It was the twelfth event in the Backlash chronology and the first SmackDown branded event following the second brand split in July 2016.

Eight matches were contested at the event, including one match contested on the pre-show. In the main event, AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Championship. The event also determined the inaugural champions in SmackDown's Women's and Tag Team divisions, which were respectively won by Becky Lynch and the team of Heath Slater and Rhyno.

Becky Lynch wins the 6-Pack Challenge and becomes the first ever SmackDown Women's Champion

This match had a VERY sloppy start, but it came together by the end. Even though Becky won at the end, the unsung star of this match was Naomi from all of her amazing (no pun intended) spots in this match. Natalya definitely no slouch either but she played the part of ring general in controlling the pacing and keeping this match organized for the most part. Carmella and Nikki Bella put more eyes on their personal feud but not at the cost of the title as Nikki was eliminated in an upset by Carmella, who ended up being the final obstacle in the way of the fan-favorite Becky Lynch. I'm just glad to see Becky finally pick up a championship win after being robbed of that opportunity when she was at the peak of her popularity when she was still in NXT. Instead, NXT went with milking Bayley until that well ran dry...

Holy fuck though... the more I see of Carmella's ring work, the more I wish they kept her on NXT to get some polish. She still comes off really green to me. At least Alexa is a much better worker than her.

The Usos def. The Hype Bros to advance to the last round of the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament

It was a little odd to see the Usos not in their traditional gear and looking like they dressed out of Roman Reigns' closet, but I can understand the change in styles if they are going with this heel turn with the utmost confidence. I'm a little surprised that Mojo Rawley doesn't adopt a few of Monty Brown/Marcus Cor Von's moveset to say that they came from similar backgrounds. Besides, it's not like that guy is coming back to the world of wrestling anytime soon - if ever. After seeing the Usos fly around so much for the last few years, I'm glad to see them work a slower more methodical style. Those guys have been injured left and right over the last two years so they deserve to work smarter now.

The Miz (c) w/ Maryse def. Dolph Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental Championship

I honestly didn't give a flying fuck about this match for the most part, save for Maryse looking hot as ever at ringside, but they won me over by the end of it. The crowd was so quiet at one point that you could hear Dolph shouting spots to Miz throughout the match. I didn't have a problem with Miz retaining after Maryse blinded Ziggler with the hairspray, but I have to wonder what do they have planned for Ziggler long-term when they keep handing him loss after loss. The New Era has done absolutely NOTHING to repair the damage that the last few years have done to Ziggler's image.

Bray Wyatt def. Randy Orton via count out since Orton no shows...
BUT Kane def. Bray Wyatt in an impromptu No Holds Barred Match

Outside of the Running Senton spot that Bray did to put Kane through the commentary table, there wasn't much to talk about here. Bray had this in the bag until Orton limped out and hit him with the RKO to allow Kane to pick up the win. I would've had Bray kick out to shock Orton but still have Kane put him away with a Tombstone Piledriver (a la The Undertaker) to pick up the win. Not just that he's laid out already by one move he's already kicked out of previously in this match and a move that's already diluted by an "injured" Orton. That just makes Bray look weak in my honest opinion. We should be salvaging Bray's image here not damaging it further.

Heath Slater & Rhyno def. The Usos to become the first ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions

Much like the previous tag team bout on this card, there wasn't much to write home about other than the Usos' new offensive approach but I was under the impression that Rhyno was going to turn on Slater at the last moment. I'm glad that I was wrong there. Rhyno ends up doing the work to lay out the Usos for Slater could pick up the win but much like the Bray Wyatt match, I would be repairing the Usos' image. They should have been derailed by American Alpha screwing them out of the win, allowing Slater and Rhyno to pick up the win instead. That way you got new champions and a solid tag team feud right off the boot. Instead, it comes off with the Usos looking weak coming off their heel turn after they dominated several teams in this tournament and sidelined Alpha for nothing.

AJ Styles def. Dean Ambrose (c) to become the NEW WWE World Champion

This was a solid main event, which was reminiscent of the Attitude Era and NWA-TNA era main events from both WWF and TNA/Impact Wrestling. That couldn't be more ironic though with Styles walking away with the title. Let's be serious here and admit to ourselves that Ambrose didn't bring anything new nor add any depth nor substance to his gimmick/character nor to the SmackDown brand as champion. As champion, he is supposed to be carrying the show and it was more like the show was carrying him. I'm MORE than happy with this title change. Love or hate Roman Reigns but at least people were behind him one way or another in terms of drawing a crowd. Ambrose was just showing up for a paycheck.

Afterthoughts

After SmackDown Live this week, we have two major matches already set in stone for the next PPV event, No Mercy, in which AJ Styles will defend the WWE Championship versus Dean Ambrose and the returning John Cena and SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch will defend her title against Alexa "Harley Quinn Cosplay" Bliss. I'm puzzled why Cena is acting like he's going to get title win number 16 at a non-Big Four WWE PPV. On top of that, he's set to take more time off until early 2017, so SmackDown must be really in rough shape if they called him off the bench already. No offense to Bliss, but they are grooming her for failure in that match against Becky in an easy title defense.

That being said, this wasn't a bad show - it just lacked star power. The absence of John Cena and the omission of Randy Orton stuck out like a sore thumb to show the entire WWE Universe how lacking the SmackDown roster is compared to the RAW brand. The SD roster worked their asses off on a show that was literally a 2.5 hour episode of SmackDown Live, but at the end of the day, I'm sure more people felt ripped off with this event than satisfied with it, despite the results of the three marquee title matches. This show reminds me of Impact Wrestling on a bigger scale, where the talent is busting their asses to get noticed but at the end of the day, most casual fans won't give a damn because it's not their top favorite wrestlers aren't on the card and as a result, they don't give a damn because they didn't pay to see this.

I really liked a lot of the matches on this show, but I couldn't help wanting more afterwards, especially when the show ended 10:40PMish instead of closer to 11PM.