Backlash in its entirety kicked off the new era for the blue brand. The Smackdown PPV gave us a new Women’s Champion, new tag team champions and a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. There were some legitimate shocking moments but all in all, if you’ve been an ardent fan of wrestling, this is a PPV that will definitely make you feel good about being a follower.
Clash of Champions has some catching up to do storyline-wise since the blue brand has been producing so much intrigue.
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Here are the 5 points to note from Smackdown Live’s first exclusive PPV of the year-
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1- Not a Joke
The build up to Styles’s match against Dean Ambrose has been about the former trying to prove to the champion that he’s no joke. Ambrose for his part has been carefree and nonchalant about the opponents he’s faced since being drafted to Smackdown. That characteristic came out pretty well during last week’s segments leading up to the main event confrontation between him and his challenger.
Styles did not win clean, though. He had to resort to a low blow while the referee was selling a bump. This was by far the best Ambrose match since he became champion at Money in the Bank. That was highly expected since he was up against a man known to have classic matches.
On a side note, AJ Styles’s next feud could be the continuation of his rivalry against John Cena, but this time, with the WWE title on the line, according to rumours.
2- Dream Come True
The only one from NXT’s Four Horsewomen to never win a title won the strap at Backlash. Becky Lynch pleasantly surprised everyone by winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship, and while it took some time for the first three eliminations, Nikki Bella’s elimination changed the tide of the match since she was rumored and hugely favored to win the championship.
That brought enough support for Becky against Carmella. Lynch finally locked in the Disarmer to win something that mattered in WWE. The pun queen is now the queen of the Blue brand. Soak it in.
3- Free Agent, no more
Heath Slater is a wonderful character or he’s just a guy who plays his character wonderfully. Throughout the tag team tournament, the writers made us care for that prize because Slater made us care about him and his quest for a contract. The family man is a typical and generic role to play.
One that many can play but only a few can sell what it actually means. Slater has long been the endearing loser and the reaction the crowd gave him after he finally scored the pin and the win against The Usos for his team was enough to show how successful this story has been.
4- RKO
Bray Wyatt did not get the match he wanted as Randy Orton was not cleared to wrestle. So, he got the referee initiate count-out and then got Kane in a No Holds Barred match. Not exactly sure how that was supposed to keep anyone interested but it got us a Randy Orton interference. And you knew what he’d do.
He gave Bray Wyatt an RKO that led Kane to chokeslam the 29-year-old for the pin and the win. Bray Wyatt lost to Kane! How is Bray Wyatt, the new face of Fear, a cult presence, leader of the buzzards going to be taken seriously after so many consistent losses?
5- Moneymaker
Miz still wrestled like he always does, Maryse still interfered and Dolph Ziggler still lost. The storyline has been simple and significant and a pro- wrestling beauty. The Miz gave a terrific promo on Talking Smack and that led to Ziggler challenging the champion and calling him a coward just like Daniel Bryan did. The Miz played that part with aplomb and still needed his wife to even the odds for him to keep the championship.
Ziggler, on the other hand, was having doubts about his career. About how he came close to the goal only to lose in the end. He lost again tonight and only on Tuesday will we know what’s going on in his mind now.
