AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is Universal Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion and Seth Rollins is face. What a time to be a wrestling fan!
Kevin Steen beat Tyler Black to fill the title vacated by Prince Devitt, while AJ Styles beat Jon Moxley for the other title. And Samoa Joe just dropped the developmental title to Shinsuke Nakamura. It's like some kind of late 2000s fantasy booking gone mad.
Trust me, if you told me in 2010 that AJ Styles would become he wwe champion six years from then, I would have called you crazy. It is great to see him as champ. Overall this was a pretty good event overall, the matches were pretty good and I did not feel like having to leave the room for a while (except for that dolph ziggler kernel sanders vs the miz chicken commercial 😑) so it was a pretty nice show :)
I was at this show with my friend, I live an hour away from Richmond. The pop for Rhino and Slater was much louder in person than what it was on tv the crowd was going nuts
I believe the popularity of NXT has paved the way for the direction that WWE is going. On top of these great choices for champions, you have all of those amazing cruiserweights coming to Raw. Perhaps McMahon is listening to the fans or at least seeing the positive reactions that these new stars are getting. All I have to say about that is "Thank you Triple H".
I don't think Vince has changed one bit. I think Trips has a bit more influence regarding booking and that's why we're seeing these people that should be champions being champions
You need to do a video about the weirdness of 2016 in wrestling. Imagine if someone told you on January 1st 2016 that: - Matt and Jeff Hardy are the hottest act in wrestling - Shane McMahon came back to fight The Undertaker at Wrestlemania in a Hell in a Cell match - Shane Vs Taker was not the weirdest match at Wrestlemania because The Rock had a match Eric Rowan - AJ Styles feuded with John Cena most of the year - AJ Styles is WWE World champion - Brand split - Both Finn Balor and Kevin Owens became champions of the top brand - Zack Ryder won a title at Wrestlemania - Shinsuke Nakamura is the top guy in NXT - Seth Rollins beat Roman Reigns clean - Dean Ambrose beat both Seth and Roman clean - Roman Reigns is a midcarder(or at least, not a main eventer) - Sheamus had a big role in a major movie - Nya Jax, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, Apollo Crewes, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley beat Bayley to the main roster - Heath Slater is a hot act that people want to see - Eva Marie is well booked
Roman is not a mid-carder, look at all the main event segments he's had since the suspension. beat rusev in a non- title match in the main event of a go-home raw, and his 'match' went on after both the world titles, then rather than finish the fued with rusev he gets put in the universal title match which he has a match against the champion to get another title shot.
Depends on the match. For Wyatt v Kane that really lacked any authenticity, but that wasn't WWE's fault. They thought Orton would be cleared to wrestle by Backlash so they needed to come up with a quick fix. The booking leading up to the Woman's Champion match was pretty terrible, but it still worked due to the personalities involved and what little time they all had to do thing. The match itself was so good that it just demanded that people pay attention and go with it. Usos and Slater/Rhyno was built up well. The don't like the Hype Bros so whatever I kind of tuned out during that match. Miz and Ziggler felt really rushed, but at least the match was great. I really liked the build up to Styles and Ambrose. Not due to the booking as much as how well the two played off of each other leading up to Backlash. They managed to turn an obviously rushed build up into something really fun.
Gotta agree with pretty much everything here. This PPV was much more enjoyable than SummerSlam. I'm really hoping they do something of more significance with Crewes and Corbin after Backlash. Becky winning the belt was so damn good and yep, Naomi and Alexa were the standouts in the match. Alexa is such a natural heel and I think shes going to be great on the main roster. Happy with Slater and Rhyno winning the tag belts too, that promo after the match was hilarious. The Usos are pretty good heels, #Hellsos. Miz vs Dolph was an excellent match and oh my Maryse, killing it in dat outfit. Didn't like the finish but I can see them getting something out of that on Smackdown. Bray vs Kane, I dug it, was nice seeing Kane pick up a notable victory and Wyatt still looked strong in my opinion. Styles VS Ambrose, man, what a good match. I loved Dean's counter to the calf crusher and the slingshot into the super turnbuckle post was sick. AJ winning it was a shocker but a smart move and a great way to capitalize on his momentum after beating Cena. I liked seeing a more serious side of Dean with the title but it'll be fun watching him chase the belt now. I love the current top champs right now (Owens, Styles and Nakamura). Its like someones Universe mode form the WWE Games come to life. After the disappointment that was SummerSlam, it was great to see them knock this first Show Exclusive PPV out the park. I really wish the Backlash stage had the old swing meathooks but I guess that wouldn't be PG.
I feel like the Miz and Bryan storylie may lead to a Team Bryan vs Team Miz at Survivor Series where if Team Bryan loses, Bryan will quit being the Smackdown GM.
Miz is the right choice for IC champ right now. He's one of the best heels in the company right now and he always puts on very solid matches. I can't think of any face on the SDLive roster right now, that isn't already busy with something else, that I'd want to see with the belt. Maybe Shelton Benjamin, when he's finally cleared to wrestle, assuming he's still able to put on good matches like he used to.
I would like to see Hawkins try for an IC run personally. I always felt his talent never got noticed. That is however, assuming WWE uses him as face for once instead of heel.
Miz is an awesome champ, pun totally intended. He completely controlled the crowd last night. The one true heel in the entire company and he's very good at it.
+Red Skunk And it was a very entertaining match, no crazy spots needed. Not huge, but I was a lot more into it than into AJ vs. Ambrose. Nice psychology.
An interesting storyline theory on the Kane situation is that he is taking orders from Daniel Bryan. The "Milkman" was holding up the show, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Fandango was holding the show up, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Wyatt injured Orton and caused BackLash to be down a match, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of it. This is something that should continue for awhile without acknowledging it on screen. Miz wants his contract renegotiated and paid more. One interesting bit would be for Bryan to add a clause that says Miz has to defend the title whenever Bryan says so and against whomever he (Bryan) chooses. It could eventually lead to a Kane/Miz feud for the IC title. Kane might be a little older, but he showed tonight that he can still go in the ring.
Its a good idea but honestly I don't want to see Kane again as just a lackey for the person in charge, I would like to see Kane win one more title before he retires but I imagine it being another tag team title
Lets take a few things in here. AJ Styles is WWE Champion Adam Cole is ROH Champion Kenny Omega is G1 Climax Tournament winner The Bullet Club, rules the Wrestling World.
Love your reviews Brian! Minor nitpick: is there any way you can turn the volume of your vid overall up a little? Just seems a little quiet in comparison to other TH-cam videos when played at the same level. But like I said, minor nitpick, keep up the great work!
I think this would be the perfect time for CM Punk to consider a return. All the right people are champions. Punk could defintely get over. This is the perfect time. He could definitely restake his claim.
I didn't see it... but I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as you did; makes me proud to know that the WWE has done something that someone, ANYONE, can enjoy fully.
+Jeremy Wheeler they did want Ambrose as champ but the booking he got was boring so the iwc turned on him like they always do with champions they wanted .
AJ Styles is officially the first Wrestler to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship before the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, & Jeff Hardy all won the WWE Championship before they won the TNA Championship
+Ho-Lee Chit - Tones of people have held the NWA and WWE Championships in their career though. Hell, the Big Gold Belt was the NWA World Championship for a while.
Are you going to be doing a special kind of "Who War it Better?" each month by comparing the seperate PPVS or just sum up which did it better at the end of whichever comes second? (In this case Clash of Champions)
I might do a quick little comparison at the end of my CoC review, but I wouldn't make it a competition between the PPVs. I probably will keep the WWIB competition between the weekly shows.
It's crazy, that those three men are the top champions...I've only been a wrestling fan for 3 years now, close to 4, and even I know how insane it is that Nakamura runs NXT, Owens runs RAW and now Styles runs Smackdown. Anyway, love your videos man. The review of John Cena's You Can't See Me will always be my favorite. "Yeah, this shit is hype!" Cracks me up every time. - Sean, The Factory Boys
+WWE Me too. As his in ring psychology and acting is far away from guys like Zayn/Owens. His moves are absolutely great...still he will hardly create moving memorable moments like Zayn/Owens do.
Sirion zayn and owens are great but they can't be compared to aj styles.... styles can have great matches with anyone and owens Zayn are only good for some type of wrestler....
Sirion besides if you look at popularity....aj styles is much better star than owens.... Owens vs Cena was great but it didn't look like a big match but styles vs Cena always looked like a big stars match and crowd were always hot for styles vs Cena
Pretty great show. AJ, Becky, Heath wining the titles deserved. Bray's still a top guy no matter what people think, he's always gonna be a major player on Smackdown.
16 minutes of commentary and no graphic back up (again)! How did you get the plaque from TH-cam? From the amount of videos you have done? By the way did the new fall season start already? BZtv?
I didn't care about this card at all coming in, and during the show I got crazy invested in each match as it went on. Each match told a great story and was impossible to turn away from. This show really impressed
+Wrestling With Wregret Brian, can you freakin' believe it... Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion, AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is WWE Universal Champion, a WWE pay-per-view that was not one of the BIG 4 (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam or Survivor Series) actually gets an 'A' grade? What a time to be alive! What a time to be a wrestling fan. All is right in the world!! You could spray me in the eyes with green mist, kick me in the balls, then roll me up with a handful of tights for the victory and I still couldn't complain about how great things are looking in WWE right now. Seriously, if Bray Wyatt had won his impromptu match against Kane, Backlash would've been a virtually flawless PPV event. After a disappointing Wrestlemania and a long-winded Summerslam, WWE finally got it right with Backlash by doing two things: 1. actually listening to the WWE Universe (smarks are always right) 2. Sending the fans home happy. To sum it all up, WWE Backlash 2016 was the 'feel-good' pay-per-view of the year for the SmackDown Live brand. #YourMoveRaw #ClashOfChampions
The entire PPV was great with the exception of Bray, instead of (finally) letting him become the monster or the god he always says he is by beating up both Randy and Kane and winning 2 matches on one night they made him look super weak again and let Kane (Kane??) get the pinfall..... it was really bad.
I agree...Wyatt needs a decent win at some point. He was made to look like a pretender against Taker and Kane, and pretty much anyone else he's faced other than Daniel Bryan. They want him to face Orton eventually, they could've done the exact same thing as last night, except the RKO didn't lead to him losing. He could've countered Kane and got the win, turning the tables on Randy a little by having Randy act surprised or intimidated that what he did didn't cost Wyatt, and go from there. He should've been WWE's monster heel by now, and they've continued to use him poorly. He's great on the mic and sells his character brilliantly, yet here we are, he's getting pinned by old man Kane in 2016, interference or not.
Bray Wyatt needs a win badly. His gimmick is pretty entertaining and dark, and his promos are cool, but he just cannot get a win for some reason. I imagine he would've lost to Orton, and losing to Kane is just bad. It's disappointing seeing such a potentially scary character a la Taker or Kane lose all the time. Other than that though, great PPV, especially the Miz/Ziggler match.
I initially thought that Alexa Bliss being eliminated first was a bit weird but she did lose while taking, what I thought, was the most impactful move in the whole match, so I did not get that mad that she got eliminated firstly
+Wrestling with Wregret Thank you for being among the non-douches who include the Winner of the main event in the title of their video along with a Thumbnail of them holding the title. I've had so many PPVs spoiled when I come on TH-cam to check out predictions before watching the event. You rock.
Being there live with rather low expectations, I found myself really enjoying the show as a whole. Of all the WWF/WWE shows I've been to in my life I've never seen a Coliseum crowd that hot throughout since a random 1998 houseshow that featured Austin vs. Undertaker vs. Mankind vs. Kane as the main event.
Have to agree with you Brian, Backlash was the best WWE PPV in recent memory. Smaller card - which meant longer matches - allowing more better in-ring storytelling, good quality matches and outcomes. I'm hoping sets a trend for the brand exclusive PPVs.
although I don't think every match was an A grade I don't think it should take away from this ppv being a A grade as many are saying... you got your women's fun match that show cased them all well, with a great ending. aj vs ambrose was the same , fun and a stellar match. the rest was like brain said , in the right directions ... think anyone expecting all matches to be 10s are getting a bit spoiled by nxt and the cwc... but in any event good ppv and can't wait to see what's next now that we got champions.
12:39, My only problem with this theory is that it's heavily reminiscent of something that happened in late 2011-early 2012. Post TLC 2011 Champions: O WWE Champion: CM Punk (Held it until Royal Rumble 2013), Feuded with Undertaker, Lesnar, Heyman, and the Authority. Left company after Royal Rumble 2014. O World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Won World Title three more times and IC Title once, retired due to injury February 2016 (ironically on my 21 birthday). O Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Relegated to midcard until leaving company in Summer 2016. O United States Champion: Zack Ryder (Held it until January), Relegated to jobber status until WM 32, where he won the Intercontinental Championship. He lost the title the next day to the Miz. O Tag Team Champions: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (Held it until January), Bourne was suspended in January, injured in March, released in 2014. Kingston won the US, IC, and Tag Titles numerous times afterwards. Currently with the New Day, who won Rolling Stone's WWE Superstar(s) of the Year for 2015 and hold record for longest WWE Tag Title reign (not counting Demolition). O Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix (Held it until April), Left the company in September. Looking at this, the two individuals who actually progressed as superstars after their championship victories were Bryan and Kingston, and Bryan's now retired. It's too early to tell if the scope of WWE really is changing, but as we see it now, the future does look bright for the current champions. Let's just hope it stays that way. Current Champions: WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens (14 Days) WWE Champion: AJ Styles (1 Day) NXT Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura (22 Days) Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (161 Days) United States Champion: Rusev (113 Days) WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: The New Day (386 Days) WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions: Heath Slater and Rhyno (1 Day) NXT Tag Team Champions: The Revival (96 Days) WWE Raw Women's Champion: Charlotte (21 Days) WWE Smackdown Women's Champion: Becky Lynch (1 Day) NXT Women's Champion: Asuka (164 Days) Check back later to see if everything sticks.
*Excellent* video Brian! I thought the PPV was a solid *B*...could have been longer, but it was enjoyable. Glad to see Styles and Becky win their respective titles.
When I met AJ Friday and went to his panel, I asked a question then told him "When you win Sunday, it will be 'Too Sweet!'" It was no surprise to me the crowd booed Ambrose and cheered AJ. Everyone loved him in Richmond. Also, Alexa Bliss was dressed as Harley Quinn presumably because of the convention there all weekend. WWE had a huge presence there so I would not be shocked if she did that just to kinda pop the local crowd and maybe she thought it would be cute to do that. She was correct.
I don't normally take the time to actually comment on videos, though I watch all of them... I just wanted to say it's my personal opinion that Miz and Ziggler was the best match on the card. I enjoyed the show overall but I was really into that one.
Backlash was awesome! I think the subtle booking in recent weeks gave the PPV payoff so much more punch. I was impressed with everyone on the card. No overly long promos! No authority figures! No bullshit! Straight Pro-Wrestling!
A few thoughts on the show, in list form: 1.) I want more segments where Carmella ambushes Nikki Bella when she's trying to talk. Like, she's out buying stuff and then BAM, Carmella from behind! 2.) Miz is probably the best heel in WWE right now. If nothing else, he has the classic heel formula down to a science. 3.) who the hell were those guys backstage? Like, the ones that were all geared up and ready to wrestle?!
After seeing a good smackdown tonight, and a pretty bad raw last night and a great backlash, I wonder how raw will change, if at all. Also, does anyone know why none of the triple h-Owens alliance has been explained yet?
I think this was booked really well with some great matches and the appropriate finishes. When matches end with results like Becky Lynch and Slater & Rhyno and leave me with a genuine smile, they're doing something right.
With AJ, Kevin, and Shinsuke all having world titles, its like the Warring Triad statues from Final Fantasy 6 in place to restore balance in the world.
I really enjoyed Backlash I thought it was an excellent show. I was worried when they announced that each show would get exclusive PPVs that Smackdown might be left in the dust just because they have a much smaller roster than Raw but this has proved me wrong. While the whole card was great and I do agree each match ended the way that it should have I thought the main event was excellent. Ambrose busted out moves I have never seen him do ever and Aj Styles was great like he always is. This match also felt like it had everything in it. Big spots, submissions, brawling to the outside. It felt like an epic match. The build to the match was also excellent. Ambrose has been booked really strong as a champion, getting clean wins over top guys. Aj Styles has been booked just as equally strong getting a clean win against John Cena, which for me made this match unpredictable because I honestly didn't know who would win. I figured AJ would be the next champion however I didn't know they would pull the trigger so soon on him.
Christian also won the Big Gold Belt twice. Once after Edge retired and again a few months later. Sorry, just thought that was a better comparison than the "ECW" title.
We have Rollins vs Owens and that's it. All the rest will just be a botch fest piece of shit. Just like Summerslam. The smaller roster is doing Smackdown wonders. But in the long run there could be some problems but that's not for now.
I feel that putting the WWE Championship on A.J. Styles is not only great, but at the same time it probably sets up a rivalry between Cena and Styles when Cena returns.
Making the Kane vs Bray Wyatt match a no holds barred match was a good idea because it made it fun to watch better than have them fight a regular match
It was a solid PPV for sure. What I was most impressed with was how they booked the women's title match. Because Becky only eliminated Carmella to win the belt (who is undoubtbly the weakest of the roster) so it preserves all future feuds. I'm ready to see Becky/Nikki and Becky/Alexa after tonight.
Was the old school comment referring to how MIZ wrestled and acted in 2008? If referencing 2008 WWE as old school was the meaning, that statement makes me feel very, very old.
Heath Slater tag match for the title was the best storyline tag team title match since The Shield vs Goldust n Cody w/ Dusty at BattleGround 2013. Jobs on the line for The Rhodes vs the dominating Shield faction
In regards to Punk in the UFC, it's probably not going to happen again anytime soon. Dana White (President of the UFC) has been quoted saying that Punk "probably shouldn't have his next fight in the UFC", and that's actually okay. In his Post Match Press Conference, Punk said "My initial venture into this (MMA) was going to be at the lowest level. This opportunity (fighting in the UFC) was just presented to myself, and I would have been a fool to say no." So while I don't expect to see Punk in the Octagon any time soon (seeing as most people who make it there have close to if not more than a decade of experience just training let alone fighting actual fights...), I don't think he's giving up, so he could end up being a draw for a smaller promotion.
did you steal my comments on a message board? cause we share the same opinion on everything everything. even the prediction on them pulling a zack ryder after Mania with Slater/Rhino, and about a year ago nobody would guess that Styles, Owens, Balor, and Nakamura would all be WWE World Champions (counting finn cause of injury). (I dont really think you ripped me off, great minds just think alike.)
If you think about it if Balor wouldn't have been injured the champions right now would be Balor, Styles and Shinsuke. All former stars from NJPW and the main show champions are former Bullet Club leaders. I really hope to see those 3 guys face off in a triple threat some day.
AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is Universal Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion and Seth Rollins is face. What a time to be a wrestling fan!
you found your way in here
Agreed, my obsolete friend
+Broken Matt Hardy You're obsolete
+Broken Matt Hardy DELETE!!!!
I agree except for the AJ Styles being champion part
Kevin Steen beat Tyler Black to fill the title vacated by Prince Devitt, while AJ Styles beat Jon Moxley for the other title. And Samoa Joe just dropped the developmental title to Shinsuke Nakamura. It's like some kind of late 2000s fantasy booking gone mad.
Trust me, if you told me in 2010 that AJ Styles would become he wwe champion six years from then, I would have called you crazy. It is great to see him as champ. Overall this was a pretty good event overall, the matches were pretty good and I did not feel like having to leave the room for a while (except for that dolph ziggler kernel sanders vs the miz chicken commercial 😑) so it was a pretty nice show :)
Let's just take a moment to reflect that in less than a year Mr TNA has captured the WWE Championship
I was at this show with my friend, I live an hour away from Richmond. The pop for Rhino and Slater was much louder in person than what it was on tv the crowd was going nuts
I believe the popularity of NXT has paved the way for the direction that WWE is going. On top of these great choices for champions, you have all of those amazing cruiserweights coming to Raw. Perhaps McMahon is listening to the fans or at least seeing the positive reactions that these new stars are getting. All I have to say about that is "Thank you Triple H".
I don't think Vince has changed one bit. I think Trips has a bit more influence regarding booking and that's why we're seeing these people that should be champions being champions
My only problem is that as they get better with matches, they're getting a lot weaker on storylines.
You need to do a video about the weirdness of 2016 in wrestling. Imagine if someone told you on January 1st 2016 that:
- Matt and Jeff Hardy are the hottest act in wrestling
- Shane McMahon came back to fight The Undertaker at Wrestlemania in a Hell in a Cell match
- Shane Vs Taker was not the weirdest match at Wrestlemania because The Rock had a match Eric Rowan
- AJ Styles feuded with John Cena most of the year
- AJ Styles is WWE World champion
- Brand split
- Both Finn Balor and Kevin Owens became champions of the top brand
- Zack Ryder won a title at Wrestlemania
- Shinsuke Nakamura is the top guy in NXT
- Seth Rollins beat Roman Reigns clean
- Dean Ambrose beat both Seth and Roman clean
- Roman Reigns is a midcarder(or at least, not a main eventer)
- Sheamus had a big role in a major movie
- Nya Jax, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, Apollo Crewes, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley beat Bayley to the main roster
- Heath Slater is a hot act that people want to see
- Eva Marie is well booked
Wtf is this year
Roman is not a mid-carder, look at all the main event segments he's had since the suspension. beat rusev in a non- title match in the main event of a go-home raw, and his 'match' went on after both the world titles, then rather than finish the fued with rusev he gets put in the universal title match which he has a match against the champion to get another title shot.
Matt and Jeff being hottest act in wrestling? Oh please More like biggest jokes.
isis kidnap vince
+^NutcasE^ biggest joke? They are one of the hottest acts in wrestling and they are one of the biggest reasons people are watching tna again.
Its just me or Alexa was dressed like Harley Quinn??
She was , that shit made me diamonds.
Yes it wasn't supposed to be something hidden😂
+Killing4Pleasure404 Diamond hard?
Alexa Bliss is my wife 😍🔥😫
+Cimura Nope I would just stand there and have her beat me up.... is that weird?
I don't always agree with you Brian but I'm with you 100% on this one. Every right person won. A grade PPV.
Cept Wyatt.
He didn't lose clean tho thats the thing
Depends on the match. For Wyatt v Kane that really lacked any authenticity, but that wasn't WWE's fault. They thought Orton would be cleared to wrestle by Backlash so they needed to come up with a quick fix. The booking leading up to the Woman's Champion match was pretty terrible, but it still worked due to the personalities involved and what little time they all had to do thing. The match itself was so good that it just demanded that people pay attention and go with it. Usos and Slater/Rhyno was built up well. The don't like the Hype Bros so whatever I kind of tuned out during that match. Miz and Ziggler felt really rushed, but at least the match was great. I really liked the build up to Styles and Ambrose. Not due to the booking as much as how well the two played off of each other leading up to Backlash. They managed to turn an obviously rushed build up into something really fun.
Other than Kane
Kane put on a good match on short notice and the win was dirty and keeps the Orton feud alive. No problem.
As long as Wyatt wins in the end
Gotta agree with pretty much everything here. This PPV was much more enjoyable than SummerSlam. I'm really hoping they do something of more significance with Crewes and Corbin after Backlash.
Becky winning the belt was so damn good and yep, Naomi and Alexa were the standouts in the match. Alexa is such a natural heel and I think shes going to be great on the main roster.
Happy with Slater and Rhyno winning the tag belts too, that promo after the match was hilarious. The Usos are pretty good heels, #Hellsos.
Miz vs Dolph was an excellent match and oh my Maryse, killing it in dat outfit. Didn't like the finish but I can see them getting something out of that on Smackdown.
Bray vs Kane, I dug it, was nice seeing Kane pick up a notable victory and Wyatt still looked strong in my opinion.
Styles VS Ambrose, man, what a good match. I loved Dean's counter to the calf crusher and the slingshot into the super turnbuckle post was sick. AJ winning it was a shocker but a smart move and a great way to capitalize on his momentum after beating Cena. I liked seeing a more serious side of Dean with the title but it'll be fun watching him chase the belt now.
I love the current top champs right now (Owens, Styles and Nakamura). Its like someones Universe mode form the WWE Games come to life. After the disappointment that was SummerSlam, it was great to see them knock this first Show Exclusive PPV out the park.
I really wish the Backlash stage had the old swing meathooks but I guess that wouldn't be PG.
I like your customs you make
i couldnt disagree more. summerslam was much much better than backlash. cena vs styles was better than any match on backlash
I feel like the Miz and Bryan storylie may lead to a Team Bryan vs Team Miz at Survivor Series where if Team Bryan loses, Bryan will quit being the Smackdown GM.
agree
But what if Team Miz losses
+Voon Keet Then there will be a 6 Person IC Title Match at the following Smackdown PPV.
That's a damn good idea.
no thanks
You deserve it! The chant for all the champs right now... Except The Miz!
Miz is the right choice for IC champ right now. He's one of the best heels in the company right now and he always puts on very solid matches. I can't think of any face on the SDLive roster right now, that isn't already busy with something else, that I'd want to see with the belt. Maybe Shelton Benjamin, when he's finally cleared to wrestle, assuming he's still able to put on good matches like he used to.
I would like to see Hawkins try for an IC run personally. I always felt his talent never got noticed. That is however, assuming WWE uses him as face for once instead of heel.
Miz is the best champ
Miz is an awesome champ, pun totally intended. He completely controlled the crowd last night. The one true heel in the entire company and he's very good at it.
+Red Skunk And it was a very entertaining match, no crazy spots needed. Not huge, but I was a lot more into it than into AJ vs. Ambrose. Nice psychology.
4:32 Nice reference to Rikishi's Bad Man theme.
Agreed! I was wondering who else caught that.
I caught that too.
An interesting storyline theory on the Kane situation is that he is taking orders from Daniel Bryan. The "Milkman" was holding up the show, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Fandango was holding the show up, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of him. Wyatt injured Orton and caused BackLash to be down a match, Bryan sent Kane out to take care of it.
This is something that should continue for awhile without acknowledging it on screen.
Miz wants his contract renegotiated and paid more. One interesting bit would be for Bryan to add a clause that says Miz has to defend the title whenever Bryan says so and against whomever he (Bryan) chooses. It could eventually lead to a Kane/Miz feud for the IC title.
Kane might be a little older, but he showed tonight that he can still go in the ring.
Nah, never. Bryan is a face and straightforward. And has to be as he does commentary at CWC. And there is zero connection with Kane.
+Sirion there is a connection from the team hell no days
Its a good idea but honestly I don't want to see Kane again as just a lackey for the person in charge, I would like to see Kane win one more title before he retires but I imagine it being another tag team title
BRING BACK CORPORATE KANE!
Saying that there's no connection between DB and Kane is laughable
Lets take a few things in here.
AJ Styles is WWE Champion
Adam Cole is ROH Champion
Kenny Omega is G1 Climax Tournament winner
The Bullet Club, rules the Wrestling World.
And Balor became the first Universal Champion
Adam Cole Baby!!
+Justin B yea you're super dumb for that statement
congratulations on the TH-cam Awards there Brian
Love your reviews Brian! Minor nitpick: is there any way you can turn the volume of your vid overall up a little? Just seems a little quiet in comparison to other TH-cam videos when played at the same level. But like I said, minor nitpick, keep up the great work!
I think this would be the perfect time for CM Punk to consider a return. All the right people are champions. Punk could defintely get over. This is the perfect time. He could definitely restake his claim.
I didn't see it... but I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as you did; makes me proud to know that the WWE has done something that someone, ANYONE, can enjoy fully.
The next obvious step for Ziggler is to reprise his role as a male cheerleader or just let him milk the Col. Sanders gimmick for all its worth....
Backlash in one word: Satisfying.
Good matches. Good booking. Good night.
Man, two years later and this PPV doesn’t make me any less emotional. :)
I think this’ll always be my favorite PPV ever. :)
wwe finally listening to the fans who would of thought AJ Styles as champ
You mean besides the fact that the fans wanted Dean Ambrose for champ?
+Jeremy Wheeler they did want Ambrose as champ but the booking he got was boring so the iwc turned on him like they always do with champions they wanted .
Ron- T oh I know, but I was replying to the whole oh the wwe FINALLY listened bit....they listen, sometimes it works and sometimes wwe screws it up
Uhh I wanted Styles more. So I am apart of the majority who wanted Styles.
"Who would've thought he'd be WWE champ?" Everybody because he was originally planned to be the first Universal champion
AJ Styles is officially the first Wrestler to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship before the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, & Jeff Hardy all won the WWE Championship before they won the TNA Championship
Also the first man in history to be the TNA, IWGP and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in his career
As well as the NWA title. Styles has made history.
Well I know you said TNA and WWE titles but I feel that Christian holding the NWA and then the big gold belt is comparable as well.
+Ho-Lee Chit - Tones of people have held the NWA and WWE Championships in their career though. Hell, the Big Gold Belt was the NWA World Championship for a while.
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a World Title.
Are you going to be doing a special kind of "Who War it Better?" each month by comparing the seperate PPVS or just sum up which did it better at the end of whichever comes second? (In this case Clash of Champions)
That's awesome.
id watch it
I might do a quick little comparison at the end of my CoC review, but I wouldn't make it a competition between the PPVs. I probably will keep the WWIB competition between the weekly shows.
+ Filip Jakov - I don't know, Mania was pretty bad this year.
Sacramento School District Spelling Bee Champion. Lmfao
It's crazy, that those three men are the top champions...I've only been a wrestling fan for 3 years now, close to 4, and even I know how insane it is that Nakamura runs NXT, Owens runs RAW and now Styles runs Smackdown. Anyway, love your videos man. The review of John Cena's You Can't See Me will always be my favorite. "Yeah, this shit is hype!" Cracks me up every time.
- Sean, The Factory Boys
AJ is the greatest in ring performer in WWE since HBK.
I beg to differ
+WWE Me too. As his in ring psychology and acting is far away from guys like Zayn/Owens.
His moves are absolutely great...still he will hardly create moving memorable moments like Zayn/Owens do.
Sirion zayn and owens are great but they can't be compared to aj styles.... styles can have great matches with anyone and owens Zayn are only good for some type of wrestler....
Sirion besides if you look at popularity....aj styles is much better star than owens.... Owens vs Cena was great but it didn't look like a big match but styles vs Cena always looked like a big stars match and crowd were always hot for styles vs Cena
I don’t think anyone can argue with this now. :)
Pretty great show. AJ, Becky, Heath wining the titles deserved. Bray's still a top guy no matter what people think, he's always gonna be a major player on Smackdown.
i love wrestling with wregret all the shows so far are awesome
Backlash 2016 from my hometown, Richmond, Virginia. My hometown getting some WWE love that night. Very proud.
Your positive outlook on punk made me happy. I can't explain why but it got me emotional
nice reference to rikishi's theme
YOUR TEARING ME APART LISA!
16 minutes of commentary and no graphic back up (again)! How did you get the plaque from TH-cam? From the amount of videos you have done? By the way did the new fall season start already? BZtv?
Dolph Ziggler had a better match with The Miz than with Dean Ambrose.
Why does that sound so weird?
To be fair, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz have probably worked 100 matches with each other and they are IRL friends, so they have a lot of chemistry.
In-ring chemistry is very important.
It doesn't really. Ambrose isn't that good. And Miz isn't as bad as people make him out to be.
Ambrose had a better match with Triple H than CM Punk did. Sometimes weird combinations just work..
"Were Alexa Bliss and Naomi" I'll give you Bliss, but everyone else outshined Naomi in the match. Especially Becky.
I didn't care about this card at all coming in, and during the show I got crazy invested in each match as it went on. Each match told a great story and was impossible to turn away from. This show really impressed
+Wrestling With Wregret Brian, can you freakin' believe it... Shinsuke Nakamura is NXT Champion, AJ Styles is WWE World Champion, Kevin Owens is WWE Universal Champion, a WWE pay-per-view that was not one of the BIG 4 (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam or Survivor Series) actually gets an 'A' grade? What a time to be alive! What a time to be a wrestling fan. All is right in the world!! You could spray me in the eyes with green mist, kick me in the balls, then roll me up with a handful of tights for the victory and I still couldn't complain about how great things are looking in WWE right now. Seriously, if Bray Wyatt had won his impromptu match against Kane, Backlash would've been a virtually flawless PPV event. After a disappointing Wrestlemania and a long-winded Summerslam, WWE finally got it right with Backlash by doing two things: 1. actually listening to the WWE Universe (smarks are always right) 2. Sending the fans home happy. To sum it all up, WWE Backlash 2016 was the 'feel-good' pay-per-view of the year for the SmackDown Live brand. #YourMoveRaw #ClashOfChampions
The entire PPV was great with the exception of Bray, instead of (finally) letting him become the monster or the god he always says he is by beating up both Randy and Kane and winning 2 matches on one night they made him look super weak again and let Kane (Kane??) get the pinfall..... it was really bad.
I agree...Wyatt needs a decent win at some point. He was made to look like a pretender against Taker and Kane, and pretty much anyone else he's faced other than Daniel Bryan. They want him to face Orton eventually, they could've done the exact same thing as last night, except the RKO didn't lead to him losing. He could've countered Kane and got the win, turning the tables on Randy a little by having Randy act surprised or intimidated that what he did didn't cost Wyatt, and go from there.
He should've been WWE's monster heel by now, and they've continued to use him poorly. He's great on the mic and sells his character brilliantly, yet here we are, he's getting pinned by old man Kane in 2016, interference or not.
Bray Wyatt needs a win badly. His gimmick is pretty entertaining and dark, and his promos are cool, but he just cannot get a win for some reason. I imagine he would've lost to Orton, and losing to Kane is just bad. It's disappointing seeing such a potentially scary character a la Taker or Kane lose all the time. Other than that though, great PPV, especially the Miz/Ziggler match.
He didn't lose to Kane clean, so it didn't matter at all.
How could you not know what Maryse sprayed Dolph with? Isn't that like you're gimmick?
Nah, I just have water in my spray bottle. It's to cool my clients down!
She should call it "Arrogance" as a homage to Rick Martel...make it like Maryse has her own fragrance line or something lol
it was almost a tribute to mr fuji
I think you said it best. It's one of the best, most satisfying ppv's I've seen in a while.
I initially thought that Alexa Bliss being eliminated first was a bit weird but she did lose while taking, what I thought, was the most impactful move in the whole match, so I did not get that mad that she got eliminated firstly
When KANE'S your best choice for anything in 2016 your roster is as thin as Corbin's hair.
awesome comment literally lmfao
+avothello I second that.
it should have been Luke Harper
Well he put on a good match despite his age....
Well he put on a good match despite his age....
just shows how great styles is. he can carry anybody to a classic match
Zane nice touch with the Post It note on Warrior! Had me dying!
+Wrestling with Wregret Thank you for being among the non-douches who include the Winner of the main event in the title of their video along with a Thumbnail of them holding the title. I've had so many PPVs spoiled when I come on TH-cam to check out predictions before watching the event. You rock.
LMAO! Love the nod to Rikishi's "Bad Man" theme!
are you cool with the fightful guys cause they used one of yor videos for the brawl for all. just curious.
As part of the crowd, yeah this was awesome to see live.
Being there live with rather low expectations, I found myself really enjoying the show as a whole. Of all the WWF/WWE shows I've been to in my life I've never seen a Coliseum crowd that hot throughout since a random 1998 houseshow that featured Austin vs. Undertaker vs. Mankind vs. Kane as the main event.
Have to agree with you Brian, Backlash was the best WWE PPV in recent memory. Smaller card - which meant longer matches - allowing more better in-ring storytelling, good quality matches and outcomes. I'm hoping sets a trend for the brand exclusive PPVs.
although I don't think every match was an A grade I don't think it should take away from this ppv being a A grade as many are saying... you got your women's fun match that show cased them all well, with a great ending. aj vs ambrose was the same , fun and a stellar match. the rest was like brain said , in the right directions ... think anyone expecting all matches to be 10s are getting a bit spoiled by nxt and the cwc... but in any event good ppv and can't wait to see what's next now that we got champions.
101% agreed
12:39, My only problem with this theory is that it's heavily reminiscent of something that happened in late 2011-early 2012. Post TLC 2011 Champions:
O WWE Champion: CM Punk (Held it until Royal Rumble 2013), Feuded with Undertaker, Lesnar, Heyman, and the Authority. Left company after Royal Rumble 2014.
O World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Won World Title three more times and IC Title once, retired due to injury February 2016 (ironically on my 21 birthday).
O Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes (Held it until Wrestlemania 28), Relegated to midcard until leaving company in Summer 2016.
O United States Champion: Zack Ryder (Held it until January), Relegated to jobber status until WM 32, where he won the Intercontinental Championship. He lost the title the next day to the Miz.
O Tag Team Champions: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (Held it until January), Bourne was suspended in January, injured in March, released in 2014. Kingston won the US, IC, and Tag Titles numerous times afterwards. Currently with the New Day, who won Rolling Stone's WWE Superstar(s) of the Year for 2015 and hold record for longest WWE Tag Title reign (not counting Demolition).
O Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix (Held it until April), Left the company in September.
Looking at this, the two individuals who actually progressed as superstars after their championship victories were Bryan and Kingston, and Bryan's now retired. It's too early to tell if the scope of WWE really is changing, but as we see it now, the future does look bright for the current champions. Let's just hope it stays that way.
Current Champions:
WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens (14 Days)
WWE Champion: AJ Styles (1 Day)
NXT Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura (22 Days)
Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (161 Days)
United States Champion: Rusev (113 Days)
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: The New Day (386 Days)
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions: Heath Slater and Rhyno (1 Day)
NXT Tag Team Champions: The Revival (96 Days)
WWE Raw Women's Champion: Charlotte (21 Days)
WWE Smackdown Women's Champion: Becky Lynch (1 Day)
NXT Women's Champion: Asuka (164 Days)
Check back later to see if everything sticks.
Thank you for the "Bad Man" reference! Nobody got it when I mentioned it last week :(
I was actually at the event. I was the dude holding the "REE!" sign. I also got a thumbs up from Booker T :)
*Excellent* video Brian! I thought the PPV was a solid *B*...could have been longer, but it was enjoyable. Glad to see Styles and Becky win their respective titles.
I feel ya... over a year ago I would have never thought of seeing AJ Styles in a WWE ring, let alone a champion
When I met AJ Friday and went to his panel, I asked a question then told him "When you win Sunday, it will be 'Too Sweet!'" It was no surprise to me the crowd booed Ambrose and cheered AJ. Everyone loved him in Richmond. Also, Alexa Bliss was dressed as Harley Quinn presumably because of the convention there all weekend. WWE had a huge presence there so I would not be shocked if she did that just to kinda pop the local crowd and maybe she thought it would be cute to do that. She was correct.
If you told me a decade ago Rhyno would be a champion in WWE in any capacity, I would have ROFLed for probably a minute.
I don't normally take the time to actually comment on videos, though I watch all of them... I just wanted to say it's my personal opinion that Miz and Ziggler was the best match on the card. I enjoyed the show overall but I was really into that one.
The Miz against Dolph really was an amazing match, I loved that Miz actually looked strong, despite the heel ending.
Backlash was awesome! I think the subtle booking in recent weeks gave the PPV payoff so much more punch. I was impressed with everyone on the card. No overly long promos!
No authority figures! No bullshit!
Straight Pro-Wrestling!
Really? I got bored with it... 5 hours or raw and smackdown a week then to have a PPV every 2 weeks is just too much.
Why not just watch every second show? In most cases they will repeat most of it in the next show anyway.
A few thoughts on the show, in list form:
1.) I want more segments where Carmella ambushes Nikki Bella when she's trying to talk. Like, she's out buying stuff and then BAM, Carmella from behind!
2.) Miz is probably the best heel in WWE right now. If nothing else, he has the classic heel formula down to a science.
3.) who the hell were those guys backstage? Like, the ones that were all geared up and ready to wrestle?!
I thought Rowan was going to be Bray's opponent. That would've been so much better for him than losing to Kane.
Samoa Joe winning the NXT Championship kinda had the same "A TNA guy winning a WWE title" but AJ winning the WWE belt is just unbelieveable
I love the queen reference actually paused the video and sang the rest of the verse don't Judge me!
Backlash was awesome and I highly doubt Clash of Champions can keep up.
it was alright
"CM Punk isn't done in UFC."
Find Dana white's post event interview. Punk's done.
2 lazy 2 look it up what did he say,Punk sucks and is nearly 40 and he's fired?
Loved the Rikishi reference at 4:32, haha
After seeing a good smackdown tonight, and a pretty bad raw last night and a great backlash, I wonder how raw will change, if at all. Also, does anyone know why none of the triple h-Owens alliance has been explained yet?
I think this was booked really well with some great matches and the appropriate finishes. When matches end with results like Becky Lynch and Slater & Rhyno and leave me with a genuine smile, they're doing something right.
With AJ, Kevin, and Shinsuke all having world titles, its like the Warring Triad statues from Final Fantasy 6 in place to restore balance in the world.
I really enjoyed Backlash I thought it was an excellent show. I was worried when they announced that each show would get exclusive PPVs that Smackdown might be left in the dust just because they have a much smaller roster than Raw but this has proved me wrong. While the whole card was great and I do agree each match ended the way that it should have I thought the main event was excellent. Ambrose busted out moves I have never seen him do ever and Aj Styles was great like he always is. This match also felt like it had everything in it. Big spots, submissions, brawling to the outside. It felt like an epic match. The build to the match was also excellent. Ambrose has been booked really strong as a champion, getting clean wins over top guys. Aj Styles has been booked just as equally strong getting a clean win against John Cena, which for me made this match unpredictable because I honestly didn't know who would win. I figured AJ would be the next champion however I didn't know they would pull the trigger so soon on him.
Christian also won the Big Gold Belt twice. Once after Edge retired and again a few months later. Sorry, just thought that was a better comparison than the "ECW" title.
We live in WWE where KO, AJ, and Nakamura are champions of their respective brands...let that sink in for a minute.
I liked it!! it was hella good
brian are your glasses messed up or is it the camera
Easily one of the best PPV in a long while
4:36 they want bad women, bad cars, bad hoods, bad dudes. They're makin they're own rules.
Backlash Is most likely gonna be better than Clash Of Champions
It's gonna be pretty hard for Clash Of Champions to do better than Backlash
We have Rollins vs Owens and that's it. All the rest will just be a botch fest piece of shit. Just like Summerslam. The smaller roster is doing Smackdown wonders. But in the long run there could be some problems but that's not for now.
Max Pierre Pretty much,and yea I guess
+Max Pierre banks and Charlotte will be good it was shit because she hurt he neck
jon kaulay It will be good if Charlotte doesn't get reckless like last time
+RyanCC I agree
I feel that putting the WWE Championship on A.J. Styles is not only great, but at the same time it probably sets up a rivalry between Cena and Styles when Cena returns.
Making the Kane vs Bray Wyatt match a no holds barred match was a good idea because it made it fun to watch better than have them fight a regular match
Brian, what do you think of CM Punk???
Love how you quoted Rikishi's heel theme. That was the only good thing about his heel turn.
I definitely enjoyed Backlash. My favorite match was Miz vs. Ziggler, loving the mean streak they're giving Miz.
It was a solid PPV for sure. What I was most impressed with was how they booked the women's title match. Because Becky only eliminated Carmella to win the belt (who is undoubtbly the weakest of the roster) so it preserves all future feuds. I'm ready to see Becky/Nikki and Becky/Alexa after tonight.
is this real life? is this just fantasy? neither, and both... it's pro wrestling. :)
Thoughts about the miz and ziggler trolling cm punks ufc loss with the opening sequence to their match?
Was the old school comment referring to how MIZ wrestled and acted in 2008? If referencing 2008 WWE as old school was the meaning, that statement makes me feel very, very old.
Is that an officially licensed Smackdown spray bottle in the background?
Heath Slater tag match for the title was the best storyline tag team title match since The Shield vs Goldust n Cody w/ Dusty at BattleGround 2013. Jobs on the line for The Rhodes vs the dominating Shield faction
WWE was not ready for Apollo Crews they need to send him back to NXT until they are ready to use him properly.
In regards to Punk in the UFC, it's probably not going to happen again anytime soon. Dana White (President of the UFC) has been quoted saying that Punk "probably shouldn't have his next fight in the UFC", and that's actually okay. In his Post Match Press Conference, Punk said "My initial venture into this (MMA) was going to be at the lowest level. This opportunity (fighting in the UFC) was just presented to myself, and I would have been a fool to say no." So while I don't expect to see Punk in the Octagon any time soon (seeing as most people who make it there have close to if not more than a decade of experience just training let alone fighting actual fights...), I don't think he's giving up, so he could end up being a draw for a smaller promotion.
I agree with you. the only part I didn't like was Kane. I was hoping Goldberg came out or maybe undertaker.
Do we think there's even a chance we champion vs champion with Shinsuke Vs AJ Styles in the next couple months?
did you steal my comments on a message board? cause we share the same opinion on everything everything. even the prediction on them pulling a zack ryder after Mania with Slater/Rhino, and about a year ago nobody would guess that Styles, Owens, Balor, and Nakamura would all be WWE World Champions (counting finn cause of injury). (I dont really think you ripped me off, great minds just think alike.)
If you think about it if Balor wouldn't have been injured the champions right now would be Balor, Styles and Shinsuke. All former stars from NJPW and the main show champions are former Bullet Club leaders. I really hope to see those 3 guys face off in a triple threat some day.
Lol'd at the Bohemian rhapsody lyrics