Backlash ended up being a very impressive PPV from WWE and was better than Wrestlemania 25. Everything on the card was at least watchable with nothing big to gripe about. This PPV also featured all of the three world titles changing hands so I definitely recommend checking it out.

 

ECW Championship: Jack Swagger (c) vs. Christian

This was a very good opening match, probably Swagger’s best match so far in WWE. For the first time he was really able to command a match by hitting a bunch of suplexes and power moves rather than abdominal holds to wear down Christian. Christian also performed very well by hitting many high flying moves including a tornado DDT out of the corner. Surprisingly this match was given enough time to be good rather than just ending in less than 10 minutes like so many other ECW title matches before it on PPV. After a lot of back and forth action, both Swagger and Christian uncover turnbuckle pads on opposite corners of the ring. While the ref is fixing the one Swagger undid, Swagger charges at Christian but goes headfirst into the other turnbuckle. Christian then nails the Killswitch (AKA Unprettier) for the win and the ECW Championship. Very happy to see Christian as the champion and a pretty good opener. Match Rating: 7/10

 

 

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

This was another good match. Although Steamboat’s impressive in-ring work wasn’t as stunning this time around, he was still able to have a good match with Jericho. It is amazing, however, to see this 56-year-old man flying around with arm drags and crossbodies. Jericho really helped out Steamboat here and made him look even more credible. Steamboat locked on the Figure Four at one point which got a huge response from the crowd even though Steamboat struggled to lock it on at first. Many near falls in this one. Steamboat was able to nail a flying crossbody for two as well as a back suplex from the top turnbuckle. Jericho hit a nice mid-air Codebreaker as Steamboat attempted a second crossbody for a near fall as well. The match finally comes to an end when Jericho forces Steamboat to tap out to the Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring. Steamboat gets an ovation post match. Overall a good match. Match Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

CM Punk vs. Kane

This was the worst match of the night, which isn’t even saying a whole lot because it wasn’t atrociously bad. This match was a little below average, but did feature some OK psychology with Punk working over Kane’s arm. Kane was working over Punk’s lower body as well. There was one nice spot where Punk countered the chokeslam with an armbar. Commentary botch here as Michaels Cole called a roundhouse kick from Punk an Enzuigiri. Nice one! The way this match ended was Punk went for another kick but Kane caught him and hit the chokeslam. Clearly the wrong person went over here as Punk needed a PPV win badly since he has Money in the Bank and you would think they would want to build him up as a legitimate threat to the champions. Weak match.

Match Rating: 4/10

 

 

I Quit match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

Going into this match, I’m sure many were expecting a hardcore brawl that spilled out all over the arena with many weapons spots. We didn’t get that here at all. Instead these two put on a very methodical match that wasn’t as fast-paced as their match at Wrestlemania, but ended up being better than that match anyway. Both guys worked over each other’s legs, mainly Matt working over Jeff’s knee. Matt even ended up slapping on a Figure Four a couple times to try to get Jeff to quit. I especially liked a moment where Matt was screaming at Jeff to quit. After some very good wrestling that was given a lot of time, Jeff brought out a table and placed Matt on it. He proceeded to duct tape Matt’s hands and feet together before tying him to the table. Jeff then set up a ladder next to the table before Matt got on the mic and cut an excellent promo telling Jeff that their parents wouldn’t want this and that he still loves Jeff and that they are brothers. Matt finally says I Quit, but Jeff leapfrogs over the ladder and legdrops Matt through the table anyway. A very good match between these two, better than their Wrestlemania bout.

Match Rating: 7/10

 

In-Ring Segment

Following this was the Khali Kiss Cam segment with special guest “Santina” Marella. Santina comes out and says that she’s been pretending to be something she’s not: single. “She” then says that she’s in love with Jim Ross which led to Cole picking on him. This horrendously bad segment continues with Beth Phoenix coming out and berating Khali and calling him the world’ s biggest idiot. Phoenix also challenged Santina for her Miss Wrestlemania status. Khali pushed down Phoenix and Santina asked for the bell to be rung. This led to…

 

 

“Miss Wrestlemania”: Santina Marella vs. Beth Phoenix

Marella immediately covers Phoenix for the three-second win. After the match Khali rips “her” top off and “she” ran away. Dumb segment, but the match I will not rate.

Match Rating: N/A

 

 

Six-Man Tag Team match for the WWE Championship: Triple H(c), Batista, and Shane McMahon vs. Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes , and Ted Dibiase)

(If anyone on Triple H’s team was pinned, Orton would become WWE Champion and Triple H would retain if anyone on Orton’s team was pinned)

 

This match is living proof that long matches are not necessarily good ones. This was a decent match but much of it was very dull and uninteresting. It wasn’t terrible but also wasn’t very entertaining. Before the match even starts, Triple H and Orton brawl to the back, and Orton doesn’t return. The match begins as 3 on 2. This is stupid as you don’t put the HEELS at a disadvantage. The next 6 minutes or so mainly consisted of Rhodes and Dibiase getting dominated until Orton comes back. The match then got a little better, but Batista’s lazy side showed up on this night and slowed down the match. Legacy worked over Batista until he managed a tag to Shane. Shane actually was moving pretty quickly and made the match a little better. This match really got going in the last few minutes when Triple H is finally tagged in and gets to do some work with Orton. Shane and Batista are brawling with Rhodes and Dibiase on the outside simultaneously.  Batista goes to use a chair, but Triple H snatches it from him to prevent a DQ. Orton then catches Triple H with an RKO for a very, very close 2 count. There was also a botch here as the bell was rung after that near fall. Orton then punts Triple H in the head before pinning him to win the WWE Championship. I was really happy to see Orton win and hopefully they give him a lengthy run with this belt. Overall this ended up being a slightly above average match.

Match Rating: 6/10

 

 

Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena(c) vs. Edge

This was a great match, by far match of the night. Cena and Edge have a ton of chemistry and were given a lot of time here. They didn’t really go outside of the ring for much of the first 10-15 minutes but still did some good stuff. Edge utilized a sharpshooter which got a big crowd response. The match really got good once they moved out of the ring and started using the steel steps. Edge charged at Cena but ended up going shoulder first into the steps. After Cena threw them in the ring, Edge dropkicked the steps into Cena in the corner. At another point, Edge was outside the ring when Cena threw the steps right at his face for a near fall. After a brief slugfest, Edge went for the Five Knuckle shuffle but Cena countered with an STF, garnering an 8 count. Cena is also able to connect with a nice Attitude Adjustment off the top turnbuckle into the ring. Edge is back up at 9, however, and soon after connects with a nice mid air spear on Cena, who was coming off the top turnbuckle. The two end up fighting on the announce table, where Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment to Edge into the crowd (I hear that indy workers caught him so no one was actually hurt).  Edge starts to run away through the crowd but Cena starts to chase after him. After running through outside through the concourse they get back into the main arena where Cena is able to connect with a running bulldog onto some technical equipment next to the stage. After crawling onto the stage, Edge hits DDT to Cena before grabbing a chair and hitting a conchairto. Cena gets up and scoops Edge onto his shoulders, looking for an Attitude Adjustment off the stage. But then, Big Show comes out to interfere. He grabs Cena by the throat and chokeslams him off the stage through a spotlight, causing an explosion. Cena is unable to make the 10 count and Edge is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Didn’t like the ending that much but still an extremely good match.

Match Rating: 8.5/10

 

 

Overall PPV Rating: 8/10