Tag: backlash

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Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – RAW Flashback Analysis, Undertaker Kidnaps Stephanie, Convincing Austin to Make the Save, More!

On today’s show, Vince and his co-host Jeff Lane will discuss the episode of Monday Night RAW from April 26th, 1999.

The night before this show was the Backlash PPV where The Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie McMahon. The end of that PPV ended with a cliffhanger, where Undertaker was shown kidnapping McMahon and that led right into Monday’s episode of RAW. Russo mentions how effective this cliffhanger was, and he wishes WWE would use cliffhangers more often in today’s product.

To kick off RAW, The Rock came out and cut a promo. As Rock was making his way to the ring Jim Ross was updating fans on Stephanie’s situation, mentioning that she still hasn’t been heard from. The Rock was then interrupted by Shane McMahon and The Corporation, signalling the beginning of The Rock’s babyface turn.

The Rock issued a challenge to Shane McMahon for a match later in the night and McMahon accepted which Russo really liked. McMahon wasn’t a chicken heel and he shouldn’t have been because he had two or three guys standing behind him.

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Two Possible Matches for WWE Battleground

Dave Meltzer discussed the upcoming WWE Backlash event on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio. As of this writing there are only two matches confirmed for the show. Those matches are Jinder Mahal defending his WWE World Title against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match and The Usos defending their tag team championships against The New Day.

Meltzer revealed that two other matches that will take place on the card. Those matches are:

Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin

WWE Battleground takes place on July 23rd from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. As always, we will be providing live play-by-play coverage of the event.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

Someone Please Tell Me Where the Smackdown Midcard Is

These last few weeks on Smackdown, there’s been a noticeable lack of superstars on the show. I’m not even referring to American Alpha.

“We used to be your tag team champions!”

You’d think that with the Money in the Bank ladder match coming up, the blue brand would want to use that match to help build up some of their lower players. There’s no reason that Tye Dillinger, Luke Harper, or even Aiden English shouldn’t be in the match. Even if management didn’t want them there, at least have qualifying matches and have those guys lose. As much as I hate to say it, Smackdown’s been recycling matches ever since Backlash. Some variation of the 6 men in the ladder match will fight, they’ll tag against each other, etc. Quite a few people have been missing action, and it’s a shame, because the roster is so talented right now.

The United States Championship Is on Lock Right Now

Did you know that Luke Harper and Tye Dillinger won their matches at Backlash? Crazy, right? What are they up to now? Nothing, that’s what. They could have very easily been put into a program for the United States Championship. You know, the title that’s meant for the midcard guys? Instead, Kevin Owens is in the ladder match, and the title will not be defended at all this Sunday.

After Money in the Bank, I’m sure Shinsuke Nakamura will go on to take the title from Mr. Kevin Owens. I don’t mind that. I’m cool with that. However, it is highly unlikely that Nakamura will spend his time defending the title against Erick Rowan or Aiden English. It’s not happening.

They don’t have to win the title. I get that. Not everyone can be a champion. But give the guys some exposure. Rusev defended the title against Kalisto, Zack Ryder, and Titus O’Neil. John Cena fought the likes of Stardust and Neville for the US title. The point is, these guys who aren’t being used need a purpose.

Create Engaging Feuds For Them

Tye Dillinger had something interesting going on with Aiden English. Dillinger would beat him, and English would cry. English would also sing a lot and Dillinger would interrupt and kick him in the face. That was something.

Erick Rowan was angry at Luke Harper for leaving the family. He had a whole bunch of masks, and it was sort of cool. That was something.

After Backlash, what happened to Luke Harper and Erick Rowan? Absolutely nothing. What happened to Tye Dillinger and Aiden English? Absolutely nothing. Apparently they’re trying to start a program between Luke Harper and Aiden English. But how is someone supposed to know that if it isn’t even televised?

One of the best parts of Smackdown last year was the fact that almost everyone had something to do. Heath Slater got a job. The Usos became thugs. Kalisto wanted to fight Baron Corbin. When Raw was struggling to use more than 5 people per show, Smackdown had something for everyone. Sure, the roster was thinner, but even with the current roster  you should still be able to create engaging stories for everyone. Heck, that’s what Raw is doing right now. Who attacked Enzo? Who will join the Titus Brand? Even Goldust and R-Truth are battling each other via film quotes and vignettes.

Please, Smackdown. Make better use of your roster. It’s too talented to waste.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

Reason Why Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles Ended In Count-Out

As seen at the Backlash event last week, AJ Styles’s match against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship ended in a count-out. The reason WWE decided on that finish is because they plan to have the two feud in a series of matches.

The belief is that if Owens got the pinfall victory over Styles, it would have left very little ground for a rematch. Styles winning the match would have meant Owens losing the Championship on back-to-back pay-per-views and that would make him look very weak. WWE has also put money into Owen’s “Face of America” gimmick with merchandise, so him dropping the title this soon wouldn’t make much sense.

WWE was left with two options, ending the match by disqualification or count-out. Creative ultimately decided on the count-out decision.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Smackdown Analysis, Mahal’s Celebration, Where’s Randy Orton? More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

Russo says that he switched brands this week, and he’s going to review Smackdown Live instead of RAW. He points out that it’s probably a good thing that he didn’t watch RAW this week because it hit a new low rating. Unfortunately, after watching Smackdown Live, he assumes that Smackdown Live’s rating this week is going to be poor as well.

If Russo was writing this week’s episode of Smackdown Live, it would have been Jinder Mahal’s show. From the beginning to the end, this entire show would have been based around the new WWE Champion. He feels that WWE dropped the ball in this area.

In the opening segment of the show we saw a prime example of WWE’s lack of roster depth. This comes as a result of the brand split, and WWE has no other choice but to use the same 5 or 6 performers for every big match such as Money in the Bank. Dolph Ziggler, A.J. Styles and Baron Corbin all lost at Backlash, but now they’re rewarded with an opportunity for some reason.

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The Backlash from Backlash: What’s Next for Smackdown

They actually did it, you guys. The absolute madmen, they actually did it. Jinder Mahal beat Randy Orton at Backlash to become the WWE Champion. Not only that, but he is the 50th person to hold the title. He’s now in the same league as men like The Rock, Stone Cold, Bret Hart, and Hulk Hogan.

Meanwhile, Kevin Owens retained the US title by trapping AJ Styles’ leg in an announce table. Natalya beat Becky Lynch (no surprise there) to pick up a victory for the Welcoming Committee. Shinsuke Nakamura finally had a match. Obviously all of these have repercussions and consequences, so let’s try to figure out how the Smackdown environment will change.

The Tag Team Division

Unfortunately, Tyler Breeze and Fandango were not able to pick up a win (and the Smackdown Tag Team Championship) at Backlash. They lost to the Usos, who resorted to sort of underhanded tactics to win. This “tainted” win will most likely mean that this feud is not over.

Unfortunately it really feels like the tag team division is spinning its wheels until the New Day can arrive. While they put on quite a match and won our hearts, Breezango ultimately feel like placeholder contenders to be fed to the Usos while New Day is on hold. With the Hype Bros out and American Alpha MIA (hopefully doing a hard reset), there was clearly no one else left to challenge the Usos.

This most likely means that Breezango gets one more match and then brutalized to give the Usos some heat. With the ever looming threat of the New Day hanging over the tag division, I expect the Usos will be keeping the titles warm for the them to take.

The United States Championship

Kevin Owens barely won the match. After securing a count-out victory, Owens proclaimed that he was better than AJ Styles. Styles, of course, will not take that lying down. He will most likely demand a rematch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that as they put on a great match.

Maybe at Money in the Bank, Styles and Owens will lock horns again. Hopefully this time there will be a decisive winner. The question is, will it be AJ Styles or will Kevin Owens hold onto the gold?

Styles has just come off one of the best debut years in recent history. He debuted in a WWE Championship match, was in the main event of two pay-per-views within the first four months of his WWE career, beat John Cena clean as a whistle, and became WWE Champion. Meanwhile Kevin Owens became Universal Champion, was unable to successfully defend it without interference, and lost to Goldberg in under 30 seconds. Who needs a win more?

I feel that Owens will retain the US title, which will free up Styles to re-enter the WWE title picture. That’s already starting to look crowded, but in a good way. Meanwhile Owens can defend the title against Sami Zayn or Tye Dillinger. Both of those programs show promise.

The Women’s Division

The Welcoming Committee have firmly established their dominance over the whole division (read: six people) at Backlash by making Becky Lynch tap out to Natalya. The backlash from this? We’re about to find out.

Charlotte is still gunning after the Women’s Championship, but there are other sharks circling about. Carmella can claim a shot at the title, because she pinned Naomi. As they say, you pin the champion, you get a title match.

Natalya, however, also may have a few words to say. She won the match for her team, which means she beat Naomi and Charlotte. She beat the champion and the number one contender. Surely that boosts her standing a little? Either way, Naomi has new foes to face.

She is probably going to drop the title soon, most likely to Charlotte. Hopefully this will allow for a Becky Lynch v. Charlotte match at Summerslam where Becky can pick up the win. It’s been so long since she has won.

The WWE Championship

The million dollar question now is this: what’s going to happen to the WWE Championship? Jinder Mahal is for sure not holding onto the title for very long.

Orton was kicking his ass decisively until the Singh Brothers came along and Randy casually murdered them. Randy Orton is not someone you want as your enemy.

There’s also Rusev demanding a title shot. While he hasn’t shown up yet, surely they’ll humor him. He’s on the hunt, and right now his target is Jinder Mahal. If all goes well, Rusev will have a match at Money in the Bank.

Money in the Bank. You know, where someone gets an opportunity for a WWE Championship match anytime and anywhere? That thing? Yeah, it’s happening next month. So now the champion has to potentially deal with Randy Orton, Rusev, and Mr. Money in the Bank. It could be Baron Corbin, or Sami Zayn. Heck, it could even be Erick Rowan. This is going to be an interesting title picture for the next few months.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

The Next Challenger for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Backlash event, Natayla ended up getting the victory for her team in the six-women tag match that featured herself teaming with Carmella and Tamina to take on the team of Naomi, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

Dave Meltzer indicated on Wrestling Observer Radio that the plan is for Natalya to be the next challenger for Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at a future date and that’s the reason she got the win for her team.

There was speculation a while back that Charlotte would possibly do a turn at Backlash to set up a match between Naomi and Charlotte at a later date. That obviously wasn’t done here and the company is now going with Natalya vs. Naomi moving forward.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

Reasons Why Backlash Will Be A Great Show on Sunday

This Sunday, Backlash will grace our screens. Many bemoaned the event’s lackluster build-up. Jinder Mahal is challenging for the WWE Championship. The women’s division is caught in a six-man tag team match that doesn’t look too promising. Many would even say that Smackdown has lost its groove. While it may be true, Backlash still looks exciting. Hopefully the event sets in motion a return to action and excellence for the blue brand. Even if it doesn’t, it looks like it will be hard to be disappointed with Backlash.

Luke Harper Fights Erick Rowan

This doesn’t sound too exciting, I know. Erick Rowan’s wrestling skills are quite pedestrian. It’s hard to imagine him having a match on pay-per-view. Yet here he is. The reason this match has a lot of promise, though, is because of Rowan’s opponent, Luke Harper.

Harper was on a roll on the Road to Wrestlemania. For a while, it seemed like he would be added to the WWE Championship match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. He wasn’t, but fans were behind the big man, and it wasn’t hard to see why. He had an organic face turn in a well-crafted story (that bombed in the end, but it was good for a while), and he is a skilled athlete. He’s tall and heavy, but he can perform frankensteiners and suicide dives as if he was significantly lighter. He was given time to develop his character, and the fans loved it. Combine all of this with Erick Rowan’s unsettling Talking Smack promo, an you have a match with a surprising amount of potential.

Rowan is the potential perfect counterpart for Harper. Harper will shine in this match, which is what many of us want to see. Hopefully their styles can mesh well and they can deliver a good match.

Breezango Is Getting a Championship Match

People often talk about Cesaro or Sami Zayn being underutilized. They may be, but at least they appear on TV regularly. Not Breezango, though. Last month, many people even forgot they existed. Fandango has been on the roster for almost a decade. How many Fandango matches can you name?

Both Tyler Breeze and Fandango are criminally underrated performers. Wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler have praised Breeze’s skill. He was part of a 5-star match, for goodness’ sake. As for Fandango, he’s not even bad in the ring. He’s more than capable of having good matches. Together both men work well, and their charisma and charm works well. They’re also quite funny, and it’s nice to see them getting such a high-profile match.

However, standing in their way is the Usos. Many people didn’t like them, but the Usos are quite skilled at this whole “wrestling” thing. Look back at their matches with American Alpha over the Tag Team Championship. Those were TV matches, but by god they felt like PPV quality matches. It’s insane.

The two teams had an exciting contest last year on the Battleground pre-show, so there’s no reason for them not to have another good match.

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

Lana & Sasha Banks Engage In Twitter Drama

There was some drama today on Twitter after Lana liked the following tweets made by former WWE Diva Melina:

Fans saw Lana liking these tweets and took it as her dissing Sasha Banks. Lana sent out the following tweet in regards to the backlash from fans:

Sasha then sent out the following tweet in response to Lana:

Sasha, Summer Rae and their friends then started using the “#BL2017” hashtag, which means “Block Lana 2017” after Lana tweeted on how she would block anyone who left negative comments for her:

Featured NEWS Other ROH TNA WWE

The Ross Report Recap w/ Roderick Strong – Strowman’s Injury, Strong’s Road to WWE, Who is Strong’s Dream Opponent, More!

Ross informs that he’s going to be busy this week commentating NJPW events for AXS TV, and he says he enjoys doing commentary for NJPW because it’s very one-dimentional in the sense that it’s a wrestling-heavy product. He’ll also be flying to Stanford on Wednesday to do voice over work for WWE’s UK Special which will air later this week on the WWE Network

From Ross’ understanding, the UK special will be 90 minutes in length. He says he’s quite excited to do voice over work for that WWE special, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate the other commentary work he does for NJPW or any other promotions. He says that whenever he sits down at a commentary booth he gives 100% and does his best to serve the product, regardless of the style of wrestling.

Ross informs that he will be Chicago this weekend for his one-man show, but as of this recording he has no appearance confirmed for WWE’s Backlash PPV or the NXT Takeover show. He says that it’s certainly a possibility that he has a role on one of those shows, and he’d be happy if that were to occur. He adds that he’s just happy to be home in WWE and have a role with the company.

Ross says that his book will be coming out in October, and he has just finished confirming names to do forewords and add dialogue to it. He says he already has some great words submitted from Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, The Rock and Mark Cuban to name a few.