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The first cobranded PPV started off with a bang reminding us that this, in fact, was a PPV that featured both RAW and SmackDown Live Superstars with The Miz and Seth Rollins fighting it out for the Intercontinental Title.
While AJ Styles and Nakamura stole the show and Daniel Bryan showed that he can hold his own in singles competition, the rest of the PPV was very bland, to say the least.
The crowd didn't seem very interested in most of the matches that the night offered with it screaming Rusev Day throughout different matches.
One would expect that Backlash would have provided its viewers with stellar matches and a few twists after WWE missed the mark with the Greatest Royal Rumble and the go home shows of RAW and SmackDown Live.
Here are a few bookings of the nit so memorable night that could have been avoided or done better.
#5 No Andrade Cien Almas
It has been two weeks since the Superstar shake-up and there is still no physical presence of Almas in the WWE. He has been sending videos with Vega addressing how he will change the landscape of the blue brand.
Almas should have interrupted the Orton vs Hardy match. The match anyway wasn't keeping the crowd engrossed and this could have brought in a twist that nobody was expecting. This move would have been welcomed with excitement and the crowd would have been brought back to life.
#4 Carmella winning clean
In the match for the Women's Title, on one side we had Carmella who played the cowardly heel champion and was pretty much lost in the shuffle until she cashed in her MITB contract on the SmackDown after WrestleMania, and on the other end was Charlotte who had beaten Asuka's streak at WrestleMania 34 and retained her Women's Title.
The fact that Carmella won the title after Charlotte was ambushed by the IIconics must also not be forgotten.
When one considers the above facts, it is really hard to believe that someone of Charlotte's caliber would lose to Carmella clean.
Yes, there was an instance that showed Charlotte clenching her knee after she missed the moonsault, but Carmella easily rolling her up for the win could have been avoided.
The Queen gave us all a stellar performance almost a month back when she faced Asuka at WrestleMania. She dug deep down and gave us a match worth remembering. And now, what looks like a sprained knee proved too much for Charlotte.
The IIconics could have easily proved to be the difference makers in his match and should have provided the distraction for Carmella to again come out victorious against Charlotte.
#3 The WWE Title match not closing the show
Styles and Nakamura put up the match of the night in their no disqualification bout for the WWE Title.
This was the kind of performance that the spectators at WrestleMania were expecting. Both men gave it their all and took one another to the extreme. This match had it all, from close calls to quick moves. We even saw the much awaited low blow from Styles to Nakamura.
The match could have quite easily been the one to main event the show and the crowd would have left a lot more satisfied.
Instead, this match was followed by two meaningless title matches. The crowd didn't seem to vested in the Reign vs Joe main event and this could have been easily changed if this match had gone on last.
#2 No clear winner in the WWE Title match
The WWE Title match sure was off the hook with a lot of back and forth competition. This was the third time that Styles and Nakamura went head to head in the span of a month and the second time that this match has had no definite winner.
While their first bout had no build, ever since Nakamura's heel turn, the crowd has been high on wanting to see who the better man out of the two is. This may only mean that this rivalry is far from over.
Hopefully, WWE adds a few more explosive names such as Samoa Joe or Daniel Bryan in the mix just to shake up the main event picture and prevent it from becoming stale. But a match like this was definitely a sight to watch.
#1 New Day, Titus Worldwide, Noway Jose, Rusev Day and Breezango interrupting Elias
Just when Newark was going to be enlightened about what WWE stands for, The New Day interrupted Elias with Big E and Kingston holding a drum and cymbals respectively. Woods suggested that Elias and The New Day form a band and perform but Elias objected.
When the lights went off again, Aiden English interrupted Elias reminding everyone that it was Rusev Day. After Rusev called Elias and the New Day names, Elias demanded that his concert is restarted.
But this time he was interrupted by Noway Jose, Titus Worldwide, and Breezango. Elias cut the fiesta early and again waited for his concert to be restarted. This was again interrupted by Bobby Roode who instantly appeared in the ring and delivered a DDT to Elias.
The whole idea of making a cross-brand segment may have been a good call, but the final outcome was stressed on taking forward the Roode and Elias rivalry. This could have been done without the dragging segment with The New Day and other teams interrupting Elias.
Had all the teams performed together or played a relevant role in the segment, the segment wouldn't have seemed too draggy and the crowd would have been a lot nicer during the Reigns and Joe main event. This segment was unnecessarily long.
