The WWE held their annual WWE Backlash event this past weekend for the first time in Lyon, France. The event overall was a complete success, from being the largest gate of any arena show in the company’s history to the matches themselves. WWE has been on a roll since WrestleMania XL and it does not seem that they will be slowing down anytime soon.
Here’s the quick recap of the matches from WWE Backlash, followed by the four biggest takeaways from the event.
Undisputed WWE Championship match
Cody Rhodes (c) defeated AJ Styles to retain.
WWE’s Women’s Tag Team Championship match
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defeated The Kabui Warriors (c) to become new champions.
World Heavyweight Championship match
Damian Priest (c) defeated Jey Uso to retain.
WWE Women’s Championship match
Bayley (c) defeated Naomi & Tiffany Stratton to retain.
Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga defeated Randy Orton & Kevin Owens.
The new Bloodline is more violent and uncontrollable than before.
I do not know how fans thought once WrestleMania ended and with the Rock returning to Hollywood and Roman Reigns on his well-deserved break, how the Bloodline story would continue? Insert Solo Sikoa being the new dominate heel with a new menacing tag team in the form of Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa. If they go with their tag team name “Guerillas of Destiny” they will have their history associated with them. Former Ring of Honor tag team champions and IWGP heavyweight tag team champions. The team has reached legendary status from their encounters with the Briscoes and Young Bucks here in the states.
Now, Solo can continue to build the momentum he has from the SmackDown after WrestleMania. With his in-ring skills improving and mic skills also improving, hopefully this new Bloodline can replicate even a fraction of what the Roman-led Bloodline reached, even if it’s a slow burn towards championship gold in 2024.
Bianca Belair winning tag team gold with Jade Cargill is the ideal situation.
Nothing against the Kabuki Warriors, however the best-case scenario for Jade Cargill was to let her come into her own when it comes to adapting to WWE television and style of wrestling. It’s not like she is straight from NXT or anything like that, as she was the longest TBS Champion from AEW. Teaming with Bianca Belair will give her more time to polish any details she may still be needing, while also giving her time with a championship on WWE programming. The default scenario the two see themselves in will be akin to the Mega Powers imploding. They both are believable threats to any of the major singles’ women’s championship and both will be a major thorn to Bayley and her reign. I do see them being tag team champions into the summer with the cracks in the team forming around Survivor Series, which will lead to their implosion at next year’s Royal Rumble match.
Damian Priest had a good first defense, but something is missing in his reign.
Priest had a successful moment at WrestleMania XL when he cashed in on Drew McIntyre. I would have thought they would do the rematch at Backlash. However, they continued the story between Drew and CM Punk while giving another star an opportunity at the title: Jey Uso. The entrance alone at the event for Jey was a sight to see. And given Jey’s incredible run it was not too out of the normal to see him as a legitimate challenger to the title.
So why I am sitting here typing this up and feeling indifferent for Priest retaining? Is it that he is a legit big man who needed assistance from Finn Balor and JD McDonagh? Something is just missing from this title reign, and I cannot pinpoint to one thing. Jey definitely was the top first choice outside of Drew, Seth, Punk from RAW. Hopefully once Seth and Punk return, Damian can cement his championship reign with victories over the top draws from Monday nights, or maybe this is the start of Damian removing himself from Finn and JD after both interfered with his championship bout when he directed for both to not run in.
Cody Rhodes is the face of the WWE championship and had a solid performance with AJ Styles.
Cody won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after one of the wildest and most Avengers: Endgame-esque in WWE history. He conquered the mythical beast that named Roman Reigns, will go down in history as one of the greatest championships run of the modern era. Now Cody will have to live up to that run. And what better way than to have a string of fantastic matches with the first defense of the title being against arguably one of the best modern era wrestlers in AJ Styles.
Prior to the bell, one of the best moments of the night was France giving AJ a soccer-esque chant to his moniker to the point that the camera was shaking during his ring introduction. The match that followed was one of the better matches Cody has had outside of Roman and Seth. This is the ideal start to Cody’s reign. By separating himself from Roman he can be a defending champion at each premier live event, even on SmackDown. That’s something Roman would not do as his character is better suited to being the high-profile champion who appears and performs sporadically. Cody‘s character more captures the feeling of a defending champion. The challengers will be endless for Cody as it does seem Cody will carry the championship and company through the remainder of the year. Only time will tell, if a contender from SmackDown will rise to equal Cody or if he will have to finish his other story with another iconic Samoan in the near future.
