WWE Backlash 2018: Analyzing and grading each match and segment

The first dual-brand WWE pay-per-view since the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up, Backlash, took place in Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.

Eight matches were on the main card, including Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe, AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Championship) and Seth Rollins vs. The Miz (Intercontinental Championship).

Both women’s titles were also on the line, with Nia Jax defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair challenging Carmella for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, while Ruby Riott fought Bayley on the kickoff show.

Elsewhere on the card, Jeff Hardy put his United States title on the line against Randy Orton, Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley teamed up against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and Big Cass fought Daniel Bryan.

In this article, let’s analyze what was good and bad about every match and segment on the show.

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#1 Ruby Riott def. Bayley (kickoff show)

Ruby Riott required help from The Riott Squad to win

Match: Sasha Banks watched from backstage after refusing an offer from frenemy Bayley to accompany her to ringside. That decision proved to be pivotal because, as expected, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan played their part in helping Ruby Riott, who picked up the win with a Riott Kick after Liv distracted Bayley.

Verdict: This was a standard kickoff show match with no major storyline heading into it and no major storyline coming out of it. It’ll be interesting to see how WWE handles Ruby going forward. She was impressive again and would be a good non-title opponent for Ronda Rousey before the former MMA star inevitably gets involved in the Raw Women’s Championship reckoning.

Grade: C+

#2 Seth Rollins def. The Miz (Intercontinental Championship)

Seth Rollins produced one of the best performances of the night

Match: Seth Rollins’ knee buckled four times during this high-tempo opening match after he crashed it into the ring post. He was still able to pick up the win, though, kicking out of two Skull Crushing Finales before finally connecting with a Curb Stomp on The Miz, who unsuccessfully tried to persuade The Miztourage to join him at ringside for the match.

Verdict: The outcome of this IC title match felt obvious as soon as The Miz was traded to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-Up, so credit to both guys for making the fans believe that “The A-Lister” really could steal a win on multiple occasions during the match. This was another outstanding performance from Rollins and it was by far Miz’s best match since his battle with Dolph Ziggler at No Mercy 2016.

Grade: A

#3 Nia Jax def. Alexa Bliss (Raw Women’s Championship)

Nia Jax retained the Raw Women's Championship

Match: Alexa Bliss was surprisingly dominant for large stages of the match and even connected with a vicious DDT onto the steel steps outside the ring. Once they returned to the ring, Nia Jax began to take control and she retained her title after reversing a Twisted Bliss into a giant Samoan Drop. Following the match, Nia dedicated the win to anybody who has been bullied.

Verdict: Like Seth Rollins vs. The Miz, the outcome of Nia vs. Alexa felt obvious as soon as it was announced for Backlash, but that didn’t take away from the match. This was just as good as the WrestleMania encounter that the two had and, presuming Alexa is now out of the title picture, it was the perfect way to bring the rivalry to an end.

Grade: B

#4 Jeff Hardy def. Randy Orton (United States Championship)

Jeff Hardy is still United States champion

Match: This was a slow match which the fans struggled to care about. Randy Orton tried to set Jeff Hardy up for an RKO on one occasion but failed to connect with his trusty finisher. Then, out of nowhere, Jeff struck Orton with a Twist of Fate, followed by a Swanton Bomb, to retain his title in surprisingly easy fashion.

Verdict: Fifteen years ago, these two probably would’ve had a Match of the Night contender. In 2018, however, this lacked energy and the crowd was more interested in chanting “Rusev Day” than paying attention to the match. Hopefully, this was merely a small chapter in a longer story which will see Orton finally turn heel. If not, WWE just wasted 12 minutes of everybody’s time!

Grade: D+

#5 Elias’ performance

Elias had to wait until the post-show to complete his performance

Segment: Elias tried to sing a song as a tribute to New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen. However, he was interrupted by The New Day, then Aiden English and Rusev, and then No Way Jose and a conga line (including Titus Worldwide and Breezango).

Then, just as Elias attempted to restart the song, Bobby Roode appeared and struck him with a Glorious DDT before dancing his way up the entrance ramp.

Verdict: If this was on Raw or SmackDown Live, fair enough, but it was an odd move by WWE to put this on a pay-per-view. The main show lasted almost 3 hours and 30 minutes, so it’s not as if there was time to fill.

Also, what happened to the brand split?! The whole concept of the Superstar Shake-Up is dead if so many cross-brand Superstars are going to be involved in matches and segments together at PPV events every month.

Grade: D

#6 Daniel Bryan def. Big Cass

Daniel Bryan won his first PPV singles match since his return

Match: Big Cass was dominant for much of this match, connecting with multiple clotheslines and heavy strikes while taunting fans with his trademark right-arm raise. It was Daniel Bryan who ultimately prevailed, though, making surprisingly light work of his opponent by making him tap in less than eight minutes to a crossface. Following the match, Cass continued to attack Bryan and struck him in the head with a big boot.

Verdict: Our pre-show prediction of a victory for Cass, courtesy of Miz interference, proved to be well wide of the mark. Still, even in defeat, the 7-footer comes away from this match with his reputation enhanced.

The fans reacted to everything he did (once they stopped disappointingly chanting for Enzo Amore) and the “You tapped out” chant will likely become a theme on SmackDown Live moving forward.

Grade: B

#7 Carmella def. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown Women’s Championship)

Carmella retained her SmackDown Women's title

Match: Carmella locked in several lengthy submission moves on Charlotte Flair and was in control for a lot of the match. The finish came when Charlotte attempted her Figure Eight submission but she was kicked into the turnbuckle by the champion.

She then tried to hit a Moonsault from the top rope, only for her left knee to buckle. That allowed Carmella to take full advantage by covering her opponent with a deep pinfall for the win.

Verdict: Okay, so it wasn’t a 100 percent clean finish for Carmella, but the end of this match still made Charlotte look incredibly weak. If “The Queen” really is seen by WWE as the top woman on the roster, then it’s absolutely baffling that she would defeat the unstoppable Asuka at WrestleMania 34 and then follow it up by losing in this fashion to Carmella.

Grade: C

#8 AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ends in a draw (WWE Championship)

Shinsuke Nakamura has had five WWE title opportunities and failed to win every time

Match: The first half of the match featured heavy strikes and plenty of heel offense from Shinsuke Nakamura – but, surprisingly for a No DQ match, no weapons. A chair was then introduced and it was used to good effect by AJ Styles to counter a Kinshasa.

However, in the process, it cannoned back off Nakamura and left Styles with a cut to his face. A few minutes later, after a low-blow apiece, both men kicked each other in the groin and failed to stand up after a 10-count, meaning the match ended as a draw.

Verdict: The crowd reaction to this finish – a series of boos – said it all. The show hadn’t been great until this point and it didn’t get much better when the only No DQ match on the card featured hardly any weapons and ended in such ridiculous fashion. This is the kind of finish you’d expect in a comedy match featuring Breezango – not a WWE title match that was expected to be the main event.

Grade: C

#9 Bobby Lashley & Braun Strowman def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were defeated again

Match: The dysfunctional tag team of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn fell apart when Zayn tried to leave the match early and then threw Owens back into the ring, where he received a delayed vertical suplex from Lashley and was pinned for the 1-2-3. Following the match, Strowman stood tall after attacking both of his opponents.

Verdict: Well, this was largely pointless. We’ve seen similar matches and post-match attacks to this on a weekly basis on Raw over the last month, so this really didn't feel worthy of being on a PPV. The only positive: Zayn’s mannerisms were hilarious when he was trying to escape Lashley and Strowman.

Grade: D

#10 Roman Reigns def. Samoa Joe

Roman Reigns was victorious in the main event

Match: Samoa Joe threw Roman Reigns through an announce table and launched him over two more announce tables before the match even started. Once the contest began, Joe dominated much of it with lengthy submission moves and heavy offence. In the end, Reigns escaped the Coquina Clutch and got the win a couple of minutes later with a spear.

Verdict: When a totally meaningless match with next-to-no storyline build-up headlines a disappointing PPV, you can hardly blame fans for hijacking it with “CM Punk”, “Boring”, “Rusev Day” and “Delete” chants.

The match was too slow and had nothing riding on it, with both men set to return to different brands over the next couple of days. It's crazy to think that WWE had a whole month to think of a main event for the first post-WrestleMania dual-brand PPV and they delivered THIS!

Grade: D