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CALDWELL'S POLL ANALYSIS 4/27: Backlash PPV polls - What was the second best match behind Cena vs. Edge? Apr 27, 2009 - 6:30:35 PM
Torch Backlash PPV Poll 4/27: What was the Best Match on the show? We asked Torch readers on Sunday night to pick the Best Match from the Backlash PPV. Not surprisingly, John Cena vs. Edge in a Last Man Standing match for the World Hvt. Title easily won the voting with 58 percent of the vote.
Keep that in mind for the "Second Best Match of April" poll we'll be running at the end of the month. Yes, Taker vs. HBK automatically wins for the month of April, so we'll be looking for the Second Best Match of the month when we run our monthly polls.
Cena vs. Edge was a great match because they worked the formula WWE main event style match, used some props, delivered some memorable and unique spots, and built to an epic conclusion when neither man was going to lose and only an external person/item/force could end the match.
TNA books the "run up and down the stairs" spot on every PPV, but it's not often WWE pulls that out to integrate the fans into the action. Cena and Edge fighting up the stairs, into the arena concourse, and back down to the stage was a memorable part of the match.
With 30 minutes at their disposal, Edge and Cena told a brilliant story with believable nearfalls that the live crowd audibly bought into. Torch readers agreed, with the match taking the majority of the votes for Best Match last night.
I'm mildly surprised that Jack Swagger vs. Christian took second place in the voting. I thought it was a good match, a solid opener, and delivered great athleticism featuring ECW's top two stars, but the match was underwhelming to me.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, thinking WWE would give them 15 minutes to work with. They were given a little over ten minutes and those five minutes could have made a world of difference to take it from just-under three stars to a near-four-star match.
I would have had Jericho vs. Steamboat as the second-best match on the PPV, but some folks were a little down on it. The match still took third place, just slightly behind the ECW Title bout.
After the ECW Title bout, the voting was very tight with the exception of the Santino(a)/Beth/Khali fiasco and Punk vs. Kane. But, Torch readers gave a nod to the Santino(a) deal ahead of Punk vs. Kane, which only grabbed two percent of the vote compared to four percent for Santino. Shock. Horror.
The problem with Punk vs. Kane is that it wasn't memorable, even if it was an above-average Kane PPV match. It's just that only family and friends would pick it as the Best Match of the PPV, whereas some folks who perhaps thought the moment of the night was Jim Ross shooting on Michael Cole was worthy of a Best Match pick. Any other logical explanations are certainly welcome!
Poll Results as of 6:30 p.m. CST on Monday
Jack Swagger vs. Christian ... 11%
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat ... 9 %
Kane vs. C.M. Punk ... 2 %
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy ... 8%
Santina vs. Beth "match/segment" ... 4%
Team McMahon vs. Team Orton ... 7%
John Cena vs. Edge ... 58%
Torch readers write back! How do you see the voting? Have additional thoughts on the poll results? Send in your feedback to pwtorch@gmail.com
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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