WWE Backlash 2016: Reactions & Review

Here’s our final review of WWE Backlash 2016!

Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin

Reactions: This Kickoff match got announced during the actual PPV pre-show, so we weren’t expecting too much from it. But to our pleasant shock and surprise, this was a fine showcase of two up and coming young studs. Crews has proven to be one of the more athletic and exciting Superstars on the current SmackDown roster. While Corbin hasn’t really impressed much in the ring (he’s a beast on the mic, though), he proved he’s steadily improving during this match. Both men put on a good contest where the action stayed at a constant pace and a lot of big near falls came into play. Thanks to the new WWE Brand Era, we get to see matches like this get the time and PPV placement they deserve. This was a pretty good outing.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella (Six-Pack Elimination Challenge for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)

Reactions: SmackDown made sure to ring in the new era of Women’s wrestling for the Blue Brand right. All six women did an great job showcasing their brand and their individual talents. Alexa and Carmella were the dark horses of this match, but they almost made us think they’d win it due to how extra fierce they were. Carmella was focused on destroying Nikki, Naomi was a high-flying machine, Natalya got in some powerful maneuvers on each lady in her path and Becky was a suplexing machine. The Tower of Doom moment stood out the most, plus Carmella’s quick elimination of Nikki and Becky’s triumphant victory made this opening match such a treat. The pace of this match never let up and we loved the ending. This was a fine match to welcome the first ever SmackDown Women’s Champion.

Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars

The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) vs. The Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) (Tag Team Match to Qualify for the Tag Team Championship Tournament Final)

Reactions: The Usos have went full heel, just as we expected. They no longer don the face paint that the crowd adored, which is something that stood out the most to us. And you know what? We love it. The Hype Bros hype and The Usos’ new attitude made this matchup a bit more interesting. This one wasn’t amazing by any means, but it was a fine match that gave us a good look at some newly pissed off Samoan twins. Ryder and Mojo pulled off some big moves (especially on the outside), but The Usos cut them off on more than one occasion. The Usos work to take out lower limbs now it seems since they did just that to Ryder. Moments after tearing his leg up, The Usos eventually made Ryder tap out. The match was ok, but getting to see The Usos emerge as heels again was what really had us a bit more invested in it.

Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars

The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Intercontinental Championship)

Reactions: After seeing both of these guys fight countless times, we weren’t all that invested in seeing them doing it again. But their matches have never been unwatchable, which was the case here. This was a solid IC Championship match. What made it just a bit more special this time around was Miz’s constant taunting of Daniel Bryan. Not only did The Miz use Bryan’s “YES!” thumbs up chant, he used some of his best moves. Ziggler and Miz engaged in a war that resulted in both men having injured limbs throughout. The leg work from The Miz and the shoulder work Ziggler focused on dishing out also made this encounter stand out from their previous meetings. The ending may have been a cheap copout to keep Miz as champ, but it makes sense for him to win that way anyway. This was actually kind of enjoyable.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars