Five Things to Take Away from WWE Backlash
Shinsuke Nakamura is Gonna Be a Huge Deal
I'll start today's blog post off by telling you point blank that there were not many matches I was actually looking forward to last night. Similarly to NXT Takeover Chicago it just didn't feel as though the build up had been effective enough to make me wanna tune in into the show. I will however admit that the kick off show did change that for me a little, being able to take one last in depth look at the card made me realized that while we may not have the strongest matches booked there were a number of unpredictable matches and the night really was about creating new stars and allowing new men and women take the spotlight and standout on what feels like an empty roster. The night kick started with one of the most anticipated matches of the night, the in ring debut of former two time NXT Champion vs WWE veteran, Dolph Ziggler. Debuting for Smackdown LIVE the first show backafter Wrestlemania it was unclear at first as to what Shinsuke would be doing during his first month up on the main roster. Interrupting the Miz during an in ring promo it initially appeared as though the two would work a feud and I tweeted out on the night that the Miz VS Shinsuke Nakamura is a feud I could really invest in. However, a week later we had the superstar shakeup which saw the Miz move over to Monday night RAW and Shinsuke remain on the blue brand. Taking a look at what could now be the next best move the WWE decided to kick start a feud between the Artist (I hate that nickname) and the show off. Now, we all knew that regardless of who Nakamura first feuded with in the WWE he was going to walk out the victor it was only a matter of who exactly his opponent would be. No surprises were made when good old Ziggler was named as the first man on Nakamura's hit list. We have seen Dolph previously used to put over up and coming stars and while he has done an okay job in the past, at first I was disappointed that this was booked and while my opinions have changed greatly I still believe that Shinsuke could have worked a better feud with The Miz. Now, the match itself last night was a really good, solid opener. Looking at the comments its clear that there were many fans that most certainly not happy to see one of the most hyped matches of the night placed as the opener, I understand that the prediction was that this would be booked much later on the show maybe as a pick me up somewhere in the middle. However, I actually really liked that opened the show. The WWE wasted no time getting Nakamura on the show and it was fantastic way to get the live crowd and everyone at home pumped and excited for the night. The energy in the room completely lifted when Nakamura's music hit and in actual fact I felt as though this match kick starting the show made Nakamura feel like an even bigger deal. If we had had something like Erick Rowan VS Luke Harper open the show everyone would have been complaining and we would have gotten off to a far less exciting start to the night. Personally, I did enjoy the match. It was a little slower paced at the start than I thought but in the end this was one of my favourite matches of the night. Looking ahead, I don't believe there is much need to keep these two working together for much longer, the sooner they both move on the better and it will be interesting seeing now where they both fit on the roster especially with the build up to Money in the bank just around the corner. So what can we take away from this match? Its simple, Shinsuke Nakamura will be the top dog on the blue brand very very soon. They have taken the slow approach to his build up and its working. He made an impact last night, he was massively over and he competed in a strong opening match. What do we have to complain about?
The Match of the Night?
I was honestly surprised at just how much I actually enjoyed the Backlash pay per view. I know there weren't a great deal of fans that walked away claiming they loved the show but it was a decent night and we actually got treated to a couple of really really good matches. The match of the night however without a shadow of a doubt came from AJ Styles and Kevin Owens as the pair competed for the United States Championship. We all expected this to be a standout of the night and looking at the card it was most certainly expected to be the match of the night and these two did not disappoint what so ever. The little video package prior to the match was a nice little reminder of the fact that for gods sake this was two of the best freaking wrestlers in the world going head to head inside a WWE ring. Automatically I was reminded of just how big this match is and the excitement rushed through me. I have always been such big fans of both these men and watching the careers over the years has really been amazing! Now, focusing on the match itself I cannot fault it. This was easily one of the best matches of the entire weekend and one to consider in the talking's of match of the year. Could it have been better? Sure, there is still plenty more we could have see from the two of them but I personally felt as though this was match of the year worthy or at least in the top five so far. It was thrilling, on the edge of your seat action and while I wasn't watching this backing one superstar in particular it easy to get hooked and emotionally invested. It was a fun match to watch and the phenomenal spots and outstanding wrestling from both men was such a highlight of the night. I would have liked to have seen a tad more storytelling between the two but overall this was the match of the night and I don't really have any complaints Looking towards the future and if the ending of this match has anything to go off this feud is far from over. The count out ending was the one thing I didn't expect what so ever and certainly implied that there was more to come between these two, something I have no problem with. I don't believe anyone can say they don't wanna see AJ Styles and Kevin Owens go at it again in the near future. This will defiantly be a feud to keep your eyes on.Baron Corbin is Deep Deep Trouble
While the night was full of surprises I was honestly most surprised to see Sami Zayn pick up the win in his singles match against Baron Corbin. When I was making my predictions for this match I honestly did believe this was the match I was most confident on in regards to its end result. To myself and many others it was pretty clear Corbin was getting the win here. He just felt as though he needed it more. I know there will be a load of fans who will believe the complete opposite and I get that. Sami hasn't really picked up a meaning full win in a long time and a pay per view victory will help him massively. He's the one superstar we wanted to see switch brands during the superstar shakeup because we all belied he would be given an opportunity there. The slow start however has been a little disheartening and we have all been disappointed with Sami's first month as part of the Smackdown LIVE roster. However, in this match in-particular I really did believe that Corbin needed the win more than Zayn. While Sami can bounce back fine from a loss and would have enabled the pair to work a longer and even stronger feud Corbin losing does nothing. Sure it gives Sami the spotlight for a little while and it gives him the little momentum boost he has needed but in my opinion Baron needed this more. He will suffer far greater from a loss. We have seen him booked in matches against big name opponents but he's not coming up on top. Walking out of Backlash we now have to pay very close attention on the lone wolf and the WWE are going to have give hims something really strong to bounce back. He remains one of the Money in the bank favourites but in the build up to that the WWE need to make him feel like a slightly bigger deal and stop making him loose clean! He doesn't necessarily need a big feud right now, the best option does appear to be to simply let him dominant. Give him the Braun Strowman treatment. Have him out the designating superstars left right and center. Following what we saw last night I don't feel as though keeping these two feuding for a long time will work or do either of the men any favors. The next months made by the WWE in regards to Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn are going to be very interesting telling as both remain fan favourites in this years Money in the Bank pay per view.A Night of Creating Stars
As wrestling fans we are constantly moaning about the product we love the most. We are forever seeing the same men in the spotlight, competing in the main event and getting the big guy push. We sit at our laptops and phones and wish to see something different, something new. However, the moment we are given exactly what we requested ("demanded" seems more appropriate) we moan again either because its not what we wanted or not the superstar we wanted. While the superstar shakeup gave Smackdown LIVE lemons they managed to make lemonade and gave us fans what we had been asking for, something different. Their main event picture was not looking half as strong with the likes of Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and the Miz all moving over to Monday night RAW and the roster felt rather empty. So the only option was to make do with what they have and since then we have seen the blue brand go down a little in ratings but on the plus side they are doing something I personally have been wanting to see for a long time; making stars out of the stars they have. Instead of bringing up new names or pushing its bigger stars in even higher the WWE took a bunch of superstars and said hey lets make these guys into something big. Jinder Mahal being the main man but for now we are not going to be talking about him and instead are going to be talking about some of the names that could be following in his footsteps taking a look at what we saw from last nights show. First up is the women's division. There have been several discussion about a certain WWE female superstars, that women being Carmella. It's been made clear that higher ups are very very high on Carmella and to be fair I wasn't surprised by this sudden announcement. Pretty much from the moment she was called up its been clear that they are high on her. The WWE have been doing everything in their power to get her over from turning her heel, to having feud with the most popular women in the division, Nikki Bella, to giving her more mic time and of course pairing her with James Ellsworth. So far she hasn't been able to get as over as they would like her to be but she is slowly getting there. She has forever been a personal favourite of mine and I can honestly say that she really has improved in the ring over the past couple of years and I believe that with more in ring exposer she could turn more heads. It does appear as though the plan is to have her go on to be crowned the next Smackdown LIVE women's champion which I don't have a problem with at all as long as its done right. This is a topic I'm going to be talking about in more detail very soon in another post. During the show last night Carmella and the rest of her team did pick up the win after Natalya made Becky Lynch tap out something I didn't see coming at all but I loved! The booking was far stronger than I expected and I'm glad Nattie was able to pick up the win for her team, it really did speak volumes about the direction the WWE are taking. We also have to talk about Tyler Breeze and Fandango who were two of the biggest surprises of the night. While they didn't win their match they most certainly had heads turning. They were massively entertaining throughout their match last night and had the full crowd support. I don't know how long their little push will last but I really do hope the WWE have plans on giving them the spotlight more and keeping them at the pace they are at. They're both hard hard workers and were so impressive last nights, it's worth giving them a chance and taking a risk there. And finally we have Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. I do still worry about these two. They appear to be a little lost and in need of serious direction. Their match last night wasn't the match of the night but it was decent and we do have something we can work on with both characters and there really is a story to be told and if the WWE put enough time and effort into both men they could have something really really strong and captivating. Again I have a whole post on Rowan coming up.Jinder Mahal.... Jinder Mahal is the new WWE Champion
So he did it. Jinder Mahal is the new WWE Champion. We are living in a very strange world right now but I have no complaints. I know there are so many people that are not happy with this result but honestly I don't understand why. I wasn't enjoying Orton's run as champion, in fact I was actually getting pretty bored. I haven't been entertained at all throughout his time as champion and I honestly, do believe that Jinder is gonna make a damn entertaining WWE champ. Not to mention that we just needed something different. Sure Jinder Mahal is a very random, out of the blue pick and his push
was so unexpected but its a risk and a risk that is actually starting to pay off. It's going to take some time before he feels like a big enough deal but the work we have seen from him, the character development and the potential to push him even further is so high and so impressive that lets just run with it. I honestly don't have any problems. It does feel like a new era now. A crazy one but an interesting one. It's a fresh start and the dawn of something that could either be freaking fantastic and a total success or a huge huge huge mistake and something that gets the WWE in a position they can't get out of. Smackdown LIVE is going to have to tred very carefully but I like this. I like the new approach, I like the new champion and I like that we have been given something new and completely not what we as fans expected. The match itself wasn't the best. I wasn't good. It was decent but didn't feel like a main event. It was also kinda weird that the baby face attacked the heel prior to the match... but again because of this feud in particular it managed to actually work. What I did like was the unpredictability and what that brought. I was on the edge of my seat throughout this match more than any other on the night and the result had me honestly just laughing but certainly interested in this new fresh start. Plus I have to say that Jinder's celebration was pretty great too, I really hope they go all out with a celebration on this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE.
Honestly, I enjoyed the WWE Backlash pay per view far more than I ever could have expected. The show really focused on creating new stars and setting their sights on the future. We had a couple of strong matches with AJ and Owens stealing the show and by the end of the night I was left really excited about the future of Smackdown LIVE. As always you can let me know what you thought of the show by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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