#8 Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe (Backlash)
![Chinlock City at 11 PM.](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=190 190w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=720 720w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=640 640w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/12/23ced-15454043616728-800.jpg 1920w)
The decision to headline Backlash with this match over the WWE title was questionable to begin with, but Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe are good in-ring competitors, so the match should be at worst OK, so we all thought.
What we got instead was a long, plodding match full of rest holds and arm drop spots at 11 PM, after watching hours of an atrocious pay per view beforehand.
The attempts were obviously to get Roman Reigns over as a fighting babyface, but Newark was having none of it. In one of the most infamous scenes of the year, fans were leaving early. Others were shouting "beat the traffic!" Still, others bolted out of their seats as soon as the final bell rang.
Manifestly wasteful use of both men's talents, this was an embarrassment of the main event.