For the first time ever, the country of France will host a Premium Live Event for the WWE, when the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines hosts Backlash France. Four huge championship matches and a first time ever tag team meeting are set to take place, including new Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defending his title against AJ Styles in the main event. Elsewhere on the card, Damien Priest defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso. The new WWE Women’s Champion Bayley will defend her newly won gold against both Naomi and Tiffany Stratton, and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships are on the line when Asuka & KAIRI of Damage CTRL defend against the powerhouse duo of Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair. Finally, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens team up to face Solo Sikoa and the newly debuted and unhinged Tama Tonga of The Bloodline in tag team action.
+ Cody Rhodes (c) vs AJ Styles (Undisputed WWE Championship): this was absolutely incredible, and one of the best matches you will see this year. The crowd was absolutely insane the entire time, and it made for an atmosphere that may not be reached again for a very long time. There was ‘one particular moment’ that many people were debating and will be debating for a long time, but I didn’t mind it at all and it only added to the hype of the match. AJ Styles may well be the best he has ever been as he enters his late 40s, but Cody is the babyface Champion we all needed after sitting through Roman Reigns for so long. This was phenomenal, hilarious pun intended.
+ Damage CTRL (Asuka & KAIRI) (c) vs Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships): poor KAIRI got ragdolled so many times I can’t believe she isn’t dead. This was okay, maybe even bordering on good when Asuka and Belair were in together, but fell apart to a huge degree in the middle portion. I don’t know if the referee missed something or if maybe there was a translation issue with Asuka and KAIRI to Cargill the like, but something went wrong and the match fell apart. Thankfully it got back on track and there was a fantastic finishing sequence to wash the bad taste out of my mouth
+ Bayley (c) vs Naomi vs Tiffany Stratton (WWE Women’s Championship): overall this was perfectly okay, but Stratton was clearly a step behind at one or two points. Or perhaps it is fairer to say that the three were not quite on the same page at one or two points. Tiffany Stratton can do some incredible things physically, as you would expect from someone with her athletic background. I enjoyed this overall but was taken out of the action at those few moments of indecision or miscommunication
+ Kevin Owens & Randy Orton vs The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga) (w/ Paul Heyman): this match was an absolute mess of the best kind with an ending tailor made for me personally. The action here was wild, with liberal use of split-screen to show each combinations, and it seemed Randy Orton genuinely lost track of where people were at some point which really added to the chaos. Tama Tonga already comes off like a real star in the WWE, which is incredibly satisfying as a fan of his from NJPW. Though slightly altered from what was advertised, the entrances and immediate beginning of this were so hype it’s hard not to list it as a positive. And I’m told that while watching with headphones on, I gasped out loud at one point. And remembering a spot or two, I believe it
+ this crowd was absolutely bonkers all night. From singing the wrestlers’ entrance music, chanting all through the matches and even introducing most people alongside Samantha Irvin, this was one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen, heard and felt
– Damien Priest (c) vs Jey Uso (World Heavyweight Championship): I have nothing bad to say about this match as frankly, as I sit here writing about it a week later, I can’t remember anything standout about it. I remember a few things I disliked, and I remember the finish, but otherwise I would be watching the whole thing again like new, if I decided to do so. And frankly, I don’t know if I can be bothered
Should you watch this event: This was a very, very easy show to watch with a crowd that improved every single moment into something great. Every match was fun to watch, even if somewhat forgettable after the fact, but you need to go out of your way to see Rhodes/Styles.
MoshFish Reviews 