'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
That was a very bad night of wrestling.
A lot of problems became quite clear very quickly in the first dual-branded pay-per-view of the second brand split era. We had lots of short matches, terrible booking decisions and a lack of any real storyline progression. It was clearly an early contender for the worst pay-per-view of the year. It is quite depressing to see such a talented roster putting on such a bad pay-per-view in 2018. However, I don’t put most of the blame on them.
With all of this in my bored mind, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Backlash 2018:
#5 The Miz has the best match on the card again
It was amazing to say but you could make the case The Miz was a part of the best match on the last three pay-per-view cards. At WrestleMania 34, the Greatest Royal Rumble and Backlash, The Miz was a part of arguably the best match on each show. Who would ever have thought that would be in the case even just a few years ago?
I will grant it really helps that Seth Rollins, arguably the best performer on the main roster, is a part of those matches as well. But it takes two to tango as they say. The Miz didn’t just hold his own, his wrestling skill was on display these last few months during the exciting IC title matches.
The Miz could always talk an amazing game but to see the in-ring work get there as well? It is truly awesome.
#4 Big Cass isn’t ready for prime time
I will admit I like Big Cass. He has improved drastically in his promo and in-ring work since his NXT days. With a real lack of fresh heels on each roster, he had the opportunity to truly show he is ready to help lead the Smackdown brand going forward.
He was given the opportunity to face one of the most popular and best wrestlers in the company in Daniel Bryan at Backlash. The result? Well, it wasn’t pretty.
The match was a shockingly brief, eight-minute encounter. It consisted of bad selling by Big Cass, Daniel Bryan taking a brutal beating and Cass instantly tapping out to the Yes! Lock.
It was a waste of Daniel Bryan’s first singles pay-per-view match in his comeback. If Big Cass cannot get a good match out of Daniel Bryan, then his future looks really dim.
#3 Carmella wins clean
It is amazing to think Carmella hasn’t had a singles match on a WWE pay-per-view since December 2016. In that time she has found some success in being a really loud and obnoxious heel. It is safe to say Carmella will never need a microphone during one of her matches ever again.
I certainly was not surprised to see Carmella retain her title on Sunday. It would have been a true waste for her to lose it so quickly. But for her to beat the best female wrestler in the company clean? That was truly surprising. Carmella is a heel and for her to win without cheating is strange in this day and age.
So Charlotte can overcome the undefeated Asuka but a quick kick to her knee defeats her at Backlash? It was a shocking end to a very boring match.
#2 Another screwy finish for the WWE Championship?
I think the WWE hates their fans sometimes. How else can you explain a feud between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura being booked so terribly? We have now had three WWE Championship matches in less then a month and two have ended with a stupid non-ending.
As with the Greatest Royal Rumble the match was just starting to get really good. It took quite a while for the No-DQ match to actually have No-DQ elements but that crowd was getting into it. Then they hit each other in the balls and it ends. What was that?
How can a bout with no disqualification end with a double count out? Is that a real thing that can happen? It was another cheap finish that stretched out the feud in another unnecessary and frustrating way. These are two strong performers and we can’t get a real finish in a majority of their matches? It added another layer of disappointment to an already disappointing night.
# 1 The Audience Turns on a Boring Main Event
So when will Vince McMahon and WWE management learn? The majority of WWE fans do not want Roman Reigns in the main event in 2018. He hasn’t gotten cheered for a majority of the year.
At tonight’s match fans chanted “This is Boring”, “Rusev Day” and “Beat the Traffic” during the “main event”. I am thinking fans are sick of seeing an unpopular performer pushed to the moon constantly against their own wishes.
The match itself did no real favors to turn the crowd’s opinion back in their favor. Samoa Joe had Roman in a headlock for a majority of the 19-minute match. The action was slow and mat-based. The finish was out of nowhere with a random spear.
When the match ended and the first thing you see is a majority of the fans leaving, that isn’t a good sign. I was surprised to see how far Roman has fallen so quickly. This was a terrible main event.
