4/26 WWE Backlash PPV Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (9.0): Best: Christian vs. Swagger. Worst: Kane vs. Punk. Looking at my expectation checklist, how did Backlash fare? Christian wins the ECW Title in a good or great match...check and check. Jericho defeats Steamboat in a good or great match...check and check. The fact that Steamboat had trouble mid-match with the figure four didn't bother me. Santino gets out of actually kissing Khali...check. Beth played her usually scrappy fearless part well, though the Miss WrestleMania challenge was lamely handled. Kane defeats Punk in a match that would pretty much lose the crowd...check on the latter. I'm hoping there is no more to this feud because neither seemed to want to be in it. Jeff makes Matt say "I Quit"...check. And I give extra props for the finishing moments; whodathunkit that duct tape would ever figure into the finish of any match? Edge is The Last Man Standing (despite his knee still bothering him)...check. I'm guessing Vickie wasn't supposed to give away the finish when she first announced the match. When "Edge's last chance" was said again tonight, it was written on the wall except for how. Only once have I seen it not go with the grain (Batista's last chance against Edge in 2007). There were even a few moments where a double turn could have happened, and the crowd would have bought it. Big Show's been drafted to Raw, so it looks like it's Cena-Show when he returns down the road (to properly sell the finish). Randy Orton
defeats Triple H...well, this one surprised me. Not in the obvious way, because when Orton's track record for losing the title to Triple H came up, the finish was set in stone. But the finish was definitive and decisive. Wow. And "Nah Nah Hey Hey Goodbye" to Triple H as he's being stretchered out? Double Wow. This moment of Legacy ascension really should have taken place at WrestleMania when it would have meant a whole lot more. At this point, three of Raw's top guys are - or should be - gone from the spring and early summer for varying reasons (Shawn, Cena, Hunter). Randy's got the yard to himself for a while. Five years ago, most people would have said he wasn't ready; the tide has apparently turned on that decision. It looks to be Orton-Batista right out of the gate, so he's off to a good start. Let's hope WWE doesn't drop the ball on this huge opportunity. I don't expect Randy Orton to.

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (4.0): Best Match: Cena vs. Edge. Worst Match: The Kiss Cam. Backlash was an awkward show that was carried entirely by the Cena-Edge main event on the night, but even that couldn't escape what I thought was mind-boggling booking for the night. We open with the underwhelming ECW Title match which had the first of several terrible finishes. Surely the returning, all-conquering face should be winning the title cleanly? And as much as certain factions may claim otherwise I'm still not hearing these superstar ovations for Christian. Steamboat-Jericho was a dud and an example of the WWE going to the well one too many times. Without the WrestleMania emotion and element of surprise, Steamboat doesn't still have it. He might not have embarrassed out there, although that figure four was embarrassing but he didn't do himself justice either. C.M. Punk loses to Kane; apparently WWE didn't learn anything from how they pushed Punk last year. The "I Quit" match was disappointing. As with their Mania outing, Matt and Jeff lacked any real intensity or fire. I can see what WWE was shooting for with the finish, but I don't think it worked, not for a final blow-off match. Matt and Jeff just do not click in the ring together. The Kiss Cam segment or the annual "embarrass J.R. segment" was worse than I expected, which is an achievement. The WWE Title match was much better than I expected it. Amazingly, Rhodes and DiBiase weren't made to look like total jobbers. I'll also give credit to Triple H for taking the fall since I assumed this match was all about getting the belt off Trips without him losing. The finish, despite the premature bell-ringing, was very good and the punt to wrap things up was nice to give Triple H some much needed time off. He's just become incredibly stale. The Last Man Standing match for the World Title was very good. Not the best Edge-Cena offering, but it was still very good with a couple of very good spots. Cena throwing the steps out of the ring at Edge and the Attitude Adjuster into the crowd was an especially brilliant touch. I hated the finish though. The spot was nice, but Show winning the match for Edge was ridiculous. For the second time in 30 minutes, the focus wasn't on the new champion, but the injured former champion. Title changes should be all-important and running essentially the exact same angle twice in the space of 30 minutes was incredibly lazy. It also does nothing but weaken the impact of both injury angles. I did not enjoy tonight's show, but as a transition show out of WrestleMania, it served its purpose and set up a new slate of storylines.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE PPV REAX #1: "I wanted the biggest event of the summer to end with an exclamation point; it ended with a semicolon and a question"

WWE PPV REAX #1: Battleground finish generates mixed reactions...

WWE PPV REAX #2: In-Person Battleground Report on overall show, reactions, more