WWE SmackDown is first up to bat for the new brand split PPV era. They’re ready to bring back a PPV staple with the return of Backlash.
Fresh off his massive win against John Cena at SummerSlam, AJ Styles has taken his momentum and switched his focus to Dean Ambrose. The main event of the 2016 return of Backlash will feature Styles vs. Ambrose in a battle for the WWE World Championship. Also on deck for this card is Randy Orton squaring off with Bray Wyatt, The Miz defending his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler and two matches that will crown the Blue Brand’s Tag Team and Women’s champions. Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon have managed to put together a solid card that’s a great representation of its varied roster.
Now that Backlash 2016 is officially underway, we’ll be here to give you all the match results and highlights you need to know.
Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin
Winners: Baron Corbin!
Highlights: Both men circled each other for a bit and finally locked up. Corbin used his power to shove Crews on their initial lockup. Crews tried his hand at doing the same thing, but Corbin shoved him away a second time. Both men exchanged shoulder charges, which Corbin got the better of. Crews finally got in some offense with a nice dropkick on Corbin. When Crews went for a big springboard move, he paid for it when he caught a swift right hand from Corbin.
Corbin grounded Crews with a submission hold for a few moments. When Crews tried to get back into fighting spirit, he ate a quick shoulder shove. Crews eventually got into overdrive mode with his slick comeback offense. His fiery burst of moves worked for a bit, but Corbin cut him off with a stiff strike to the back of Crews’ head. Corbin continued beating down Crews with punches and knee strikes. Corbin’s jaw jacking almost cost him, but he quickly recovered and laid in a lethal lariat on Crews. Corbin looked for another running strike, but Crews put him down with a jumping single leg kick. Crews then landed a nice Enzuguri and standing Moonsault, but Corbin survived the pin attempt right after. Corbin then hit Crews with a nice STO sweep. Crews got back to his feet and dropped Corbin with an Olympic Slam, but following that big move he got caught with Corbin’s Deep Six Slam.
The match got even crazier as it went to the outside. Corbin ran right into the steel steps and then got Samoan Slammed onto the mats. Back in the ring, Crews went crazy on Corbin with strikes. But after shoving Crews face first into his knee, Corbin capitalized by finishing Crews off with his End of Days.
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)
Winner: The 1st ever SmackDown Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch!
Highlights: Once the bell rang, every woman got into intense brawls against one another. Becky and Naomi ended up going head to head in the ring while the rest of the pack were outside. They got into a counter contest that was capped off with Naomi’s constant side kicks. Naomi got kicked out of the ring, which left Carmella and Becky to then engage. Carmella flipped Becky right off the top rope, but she turned right around to meet up with Nikki. Alexa and Natalya interrupted their face off by beating then both down. Nikki ended up landing a nice kick off the top rope on Alexa in the ring, though. Alexa fought back with a Code Red, but she was unable to keep Nikki down. Natalya finally entered the ring and put down Alexa, but Becky went to town on her and Alexa.
Becky landed a few good moves on both women at first, but Naomi soon made her return and took down all three ladies herself. Carmella used a quick Super Kick to put Naomi down and then she turned her attention to Nikki. Nikki almost got locked in Carmella’s submission, but she rebounded and took her down with an Alabamaslam. Both women then ended up on the top rope, which ended up resulting in a Tower of Doom moment with Natalya included. Alexa ran into the ring and tried to get quick pins on each woman, but all her attempts failed. Becky re-entered the bout and ended up getting dropped with a Code Red from Alexa. Carmella ended up dumping Alexa out of the ring, but then Carmella got the same treatment from Nikki. Both women soon ended up on the outside, which was followed up by a nice dive over the top rope from Naomi.
Alexa then followed Natalya into the ring for more punishment. Naomi hopped to the top rope and helped land a super Overcast/Powerbomb combo with Natalya’s aid on Alexa for the elimination. Naomi used her long legs to flip Natalya out of the ring and then she landed a nice side kick to Nikki. Naomi went for another springboard move, but Nikki used a stiff elbow shot to knock her out of the air. Natalya then made Naomi tap out to the Sharpshooter. Carmella put Becky down on the outside and then tried aligning herself with Natalya. Natalya chose not to, but she soon got taken down and eliminated by Nikki with a TKO slam. Carmella then got the sneaky pin by rolling up Nikki up and getting rid of her. Nikki made sure to get in one last slap on Carmella before she left the ring.
Becky and Carmella then got into an intense brawl as the match wore down. Carmella did her best to take out Becky, but Becky used her suplexes to jack up the back of her final opponent. Becky went for another big move, but she ended up eating a Carmella superkick. Afterwards, she ended up getting caught in Becky’s Dis-Arm-Her and finally tapping out.
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)
Winners: The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso)!
Highlights: Mojo got extra hype as he started the bout with Jey. He ran right into a backdrop from the big man, which forced him to catch his breath on the outside. Ryder soon got tagged in to help land a big body splash. His lead didn’t stay going for too long though once Jimmy got tagged in. Ryder ended up doing his best to keep both twins down with his baseball slide and dropkick from the ring apron. Mojo helped his bro out by shoving down both men on the outside. Back in the ring, The Usos ended up taking down Ryder by shoving his shoulder into the ring apron and beating him down on the outside. Jey and Jimmy then began beating the hell out of a now halfway expired Ryder. After several moments of offense from The Usos, Ryder countered Jimmy by taking him down with a neckbreaker.
Ryder tried making the tag to Mojo, but Jey kicked Mojo right off the ring apron. Ryder managed to take out both twins and get in a crucial tag to Mojo. Mojo’s hypeness helped him as he went crazy with big moves on The Usos. The Hype Bros went for their finish, but The Usos put a stop to it. Ryder ended up landing a Frankensteiner on Jey off the top rope later on. Mojo got shoved right into the ring barrier, though. Ryder’s knee got assaulted by The Usos, which led to him tapping out once he locked in a single-leg crab variation.
The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Winner: And still the WWE Intercontinental Champion, The Miz!
Highlights: The Miz went full steam ahead and Ziggler and paid for it once he got taken down with a powerful double leg takedown. Miz got back into the ring and became the victim of Ziggler’s amateur wrestling skills. Once the ref got both men apart for a few seconds, The Miz landed a cheap shot on Ziggler and began working him over. His offense didn’t last too long though once Ziggler landed two nice dropkicks on him. Ziggler missed a Superkick, which cost him and ended up getting The Miz back in control. The Miz worked on Ziggler’s back and even broke out a Bow & Arrow submission on his spine. Ziggler tried getting back into his groove, but Miz kept taking him down. Ziggler even got locked into the Romero Special submission by The Miz (which was obviously a shot at Daniel Bryan).
Miz mocked Bryan some more by landing corner dropkick on Ziggler and using his taunt. Miz then took own Ziggler in the corner with his corner clothesline and a flying double axe handle strike. Miz went for his finisher, but Ziggler wiggled out of it and caught Miz with a nice dropkick. Then Ziggler finally got into his comeback sequence on the IC Champion. After almost getting rolled up, Miz ended up escaping and running his shoulder into the ring post. Still, he managed to get Miz back up into a powerbomb position and slam him to the mat. The Miz soon got the upper hand by working on Ziggler’s leg, but Ziggler kicked him in his injured shoulder and almost ended him with a Fame Asser. After some back and forth countering, The Miz got locked into Ziggler’s lethal sleeper hold.
The Miz looked like he was ready to quit, but he instead shoved Ziggler’s head into the corner ring padding. Miz then ran right at Ziggler, but he paid for that mistake by getting DDT’d hard to the mat. Ziggler went for a Superkick, but Miz dodged it and kicked him right in the knee. Miz then DDT’d him and locked in the Figure Four Leg Lock. Ziggler fought for dear life as Miz kept his submission hold locked in. Ziggler grabbed the ropes to escape, but Miz made sure to stay on him with more leg work. Ziggler saved himself by catching miz off guard with a Superkick, but Miz ran to the outside. Ziggler ended up having to carry Miz into the ring. Some roll up’s ensued, but Miz got the win by landing his Skull Crushing Finale after Ziggler got sprayed in the face by Maryse.
Find out how to watch a free live stream of WWE Backlash 2016 here:
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WWE Backlash 2016: The Results & Highlights You Need to Know